The herald., 1898-07-28
"ALVARADO" HUNTER
Recklessly Brave, He Took Several
Towns Almost Single-Handed

An incident occurred during the Mexican
war showing how American courage and
intrepidity may sometimes run to extremes.
Vera Cruz had fallen, and General Scott, In
order to make better movement toward
the interior, needed horses badly. Singu-
larly enough, he called upon the navy to
help supply the deficiency. There were
plenty of Mexican cavalrymen in and about
Alvarado, and an advance upon the place
by land and sea was determined upon ir
the hope of securing the horses. General
Quitman, with his brigade, had orders to
proceed by land so as to keep the horse
men of the enemy from making their es-
cape, while Gordon, Aulick and Lieutenant
Charles G. Hunter, commanding respec-
lively the Potomac and the Scourge were
sent up the coast to appear in front Of the
town.
The idea was that an attack should be
made simultaneously by the land and naval
forces, but Lieutenant Hunter was not
aware of this, and as his boat was much
faster than the Potomac, he arrived at the
place of the rendezvous long before his SUI
perior officer. When Captain Aulick final
ly got there he noticed great commotion
In the harbor. The Albany, blockader
on duty, came out and announced that AL
varado was taken.
"By whom?' asked the commander Of the
Potomac.
by Lieutenant Hunter of the Scourge. 4"
was the reply.
The Scourge was very small steamer
carrying only one gun and forty men.
Lieutenant Hunter had run up pretty close
to the place, and. observing evidence of
u, n Uar iY, on tn o-t
ly fired three shots and then dashed In and
took possession. The Mexican horsemen,
whose capture was the main object of the
expedition, were frightened off before Cen
eral Quitman could intercept them, but
Lieutenant Hunter, all unmndful of this,
placed garrison of one midshipman and
two men In the town and hurried up the
river to Tlacotalpan, another town, which
he also promptly bagged
When General Quitman arrived in Alya-
RADIO and the place was gravely handed
over to him by Midshipman Temple and the
rest of the army of occupation, he laughed
heartily, but not so Commodore NJ. c. Per-
ry, when he heard OF it. The commodore
was very angry, and determined to punish
Hunter. but 1t was no easy matter to catch
him, as he was continuing his victorious
career still further up the river. bent on
taking all the rest of Mexico which had
been left unconquered by Taylor and Scott.
AT last he was apprehended, placed under
arrest and court martialed. He was SEN
fenced to be reprimanded, and the repri
mand was to be read from the quarter deck
of every vessel In the squadron,
The reprimand was prepared by Commo-
dore Perry himself, and was a humorous
affair. although not so intended by that
austere offiver. In effect 1t ran something
like this:
who told you to take Alvarado? You
were sent to watch Alvarado, not to take
It. You have taken Alvarado with but A
single gun, and hardly marine to back
you
Then 1t was announced that the squadron
would soon move against Tabasco. but that
as a punishment Hunter should not be al
lowed to accompany 1t, but, instead, dis
missed and sent home in disgrace, And
sent home he was.
Old residents OF New York Will remember
how the people made hero OF Hunter on
his arrival, giving him swords and dinners
and securing for him the command of the
schooner fancy, in which he afterward
cruised In the Mediterranean. As long as
he lived the gallant officer was ALWAYS
spoken OF as "'Alvarado" Hunter.-New
York Sun.