Battle of Mulege The Battle of Mulegé was an American attack on Mulegé , Baja California Sur , during the Mexican - American War . On October 1 , 1847 , United States Marines and sailors fought with Mexican militia . Background . On August 10 , 1847 , United States Navy Commodore William Shubrick had resumed command of the Pacific Squadron . His first orders upon retaking command was the sending of sloops - of - war USS " Dale " and USS " Portsmouth " along with the frigate " Congress " to commence a new blockade of Mazatlán , Guaymas and San Blas . When the " Dale " arrived alone at La Paz in mid - September , the commander of the U . S . occupation force there , Lieutanant Colonel Henry S . Burton , persuaded the " Dale " commander , Thomas O ' Selfridge , to sail for Loreto and Mulegé to prevent the landing of supplies from Guaymas and to secure a pledge of neutrality from the Mexican inhabitants . On September 30 , the Dale entered the port of Mulegé under British colors . After " Dale " was anchored , it lowered the British flag and raised the Stars and Stripes . Lieutenant Tunis Augustus Macdonough Craven of " Dale " , tried to go ashore , but was prevented by a party of Mexicans . He then suggested boats seize the Mexican Navy schooner " Magdalena " , which lay in anchor . Craven and fifty men in four boats rowed to the schooner and towed her back to the " Dale " . After discovering her bottom was full of holes from scuttling , they burned their prize and continued a blockade . On October 1 , Commander Selfridge sent a letter ashore warning the Mexican authorities to lay down their arms , to preserve neutrality and to abstain from contact with the mainland . Captain Pineda replied by stating that he refused to be neutral and is in protest against the " Dale " s use of British flag to enter the port , and boasted he would recapture La Paz which had recently been captured . Battle . Pineda ' s defiance did not go unanswered . At 2 : 00 pm that afternoon , Lieutenant Craven with seventeen marines and fifty - seven sailors clambered into their boats and rowed up a creek that led to the heart of the town . The party landed on the creek ' s right bank . Just after landing , USS " Dale " began her bombardment which reportedly had little effect . Now on shore , the American marines and sailors proceeded to a nearby hill , covered with armed Mexicans , apparently a militia force . Lieutenant Craven suspected the hill to be where the Mexicans would make their stand . Before reaching the hill , however , a shot was fired from a window of a nearby house and from a thicket to the American ' s left . Immediately , Craven dispatched a small force to attack and burn the house while he attacked the thicket . The house was burned and Lieutenant Craven encountered noone in the brush , obviously meaning the Mexicans fired and quickly withdrew , typical militia tactics . The United States lieutenant then refocused on the hill . After marching a short distance further , to a height which commanded the Mexican held hill , Craven issued the following order ; " " Men , we are to go to the top of that hill . If we are fired on in ascending , it wil break our order , as the hill is so steep . As soon as the fire from the enemy commences , let the word be , ever man for the top of the hill , be who reaches it first is the best man ! " " With this order and few words of encouragement , the Americans attacked . The hill , as stated was steep and covered in cactus , the Mexicans abandoned it before the Americans approached and maneuvered to several hidden positions overlooking one side of the hill near the above mentioned creek . Once the American fighting men were at the hill ' s summit , Craven ordered his men to rest . The Americans did not encounter resistance while climbing the hill . When the Craven ' s men began preparing for a short break , the Mexicans opened fire from their concealed positions behind rocks and foliage , another ambuscade . The American forces responded with several volleys of return fire which forced the Mexicans to flee up the creek . Craven did not pursue the retreating Mexicans , instead he headed back towards the shore . The Mexicans repulsed the American attack , thus resulting in a Mexican victory at the battle . Marching through town , Lieutenant Craven ' s men were again attacked by Mexican insurgents firing from their homes and bushes on the left side of the stream . An American launch floating off Mulegé , armed with a cannon , was then ordered to bombard the Mexican homes where some of the enemy fire had originated from . The landing force attacked also . Craven later reported that after attacking the homes and bushes , the Mexicans hastily retreated up and into the surrounding hills , thus ending the fighting that day . Craven then proceeded to take his men back aboard the " Dale " after driving the Mexican garrison from their town . Aftermath . The Mexican victory at Mulege ensured that the Baja California peninsula would remain a Mexican territory and not be annexed by the United States of America . Mexican casualties are unknown but Craven wrote later on in his report : " " . . . it is supposed we killed many of the enemy , as our fire upon them was in heavy volleys . " " Lieutenant Craven reported only two men slightly wounded . After the battle at Mulegé , USS " Dale " set sails for La Paz , with a small schooner in tow , captured at Mulegé without incident . Once at La Paz , " Dale " s commander chartered another small schooner from an American citizen living at La Paz . The schooner , christened USS " Libertad " , was originally a Mexican Navy vessel of the same name , captured by USS " Cyane " exactly a year earlier on October 1 , 1846 , at Loreto and apparently sold to an American business man , Peter Davisin , in La Paz for commerce . She was armed and placed under the command of Lieutenant Craven .