USRC Walter Forward ( 1841 ) USRC " Walter Forward " ( 1841 ) was a schooner constructed for service with the United States Revenue Marine . She served with the U . S . Navy in Mexican waters during the Mexican - American War and was , after the war , was temporarily transferred to the U . S . Coast Survey as " USC & GS Walter Forward " before being returned to the U . S . Revenue Marine for service during the American Civil War . Schooner constructed for the Revenue Marine . The cutter " Forward " was built in Washington , D . C . and was first stationed at Baltimore , Maryland . She also served out of Wilmington , Delaware later in her career . She was charged with enforcing customs laws , sailing on annual winter cruises , and assisting mariners in distress . She was ordered to the Gulf of Mexico in May 1846 to cooperate with the U . S . Army and U . S . Navy during the Mexican - American War . She participated in the blockade of Vera Cruz and in the amphibious assaults on Tabasco , coming under enemy fire , and receiving a commendation from Commodore Matthew C . Perry . She returned to Wilmington , DE in May 1847 . From mid - 1862 until the end of the Civil War , she was stationed at Beaufort , North Carolina . She was decommissioned and sold in Baltimore , Maryland in November 1865 for approximately $ 5 , 000 . Assigned to join U . S . Naval forces . On 16 May 1846 , soon after hostilities broke out with Mexico , " Walter Forward " was ordered to sail to Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , make repairs there , and then to join the naval forces in the Gulf of Mexico as soon as possible . Mexican - American War operations . She set sail for the gulf on 23 May 1846 in company with another cutter , USRC " Ewing " , and arrived at South West Pass of the Mississippi River on 19 June 1846 . There , General Zachary Taylor ordered the ship to blockade a stretch of the Mexican coast near Soto la Marina and capture any ships engaged in trade with the enemy . That and similar missions occupied her the mid - summer of 1846 . Patrolling off Tampico , Mexico . On 23 August 1846 , she received orders to report for duty with Commodore David Conner ' s naval squadron off Tampico , Mexico . Four days later , she entered the anchorage at Anton Lizardo and began patrolling off Tampico . That assignment lasted until the middle of September 1846 , at which time she moved farther down the coast to join the blockade of Veracruz . Attempting to save Revenue Cutter McLane . In mid - October 1846 , she joined a force commanded by Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry , U . S . N . . On 15 October 1846 , Perry ' s ships attempted to cross the bar at the mouth of the Alvarado River . The steamer " Vixen " led the way and succeeded in making her crossing , and " Walter Forward " followed , in tow of sister revenue cutter the USRC " McClane . " McLane " grounded on the bar while the three ships she towed fouled each other ' s towlines . " Vixen " engaged the Mexican batteries on shore but , when it became apparent that " McLane " would never succeed in getting across the bar , she and her tows retired . Luckily , " McLane " came off the bar , and all American ships retired . Foray on the Tabasco River . The next day , however , " Walter Forward " set sail for a similar , but far more successful , amphibious operation at the mouth of the Tabasco River on the Yucatan peninsula . Successfully navigating the bar on 23 October 1846 , the force quickly seized the town of Frontera and took several prizes in the process . " Walter Forward " and the other small steamers attached to Perry ' s force then continued the foray , sailing 74 miles up the river through hostile territory to the town of Tabasco . There , they seized additional enemy shipping — before returning to the ocean on 26 October 1846 . However , " Walter Forward " remained at Frontera until late November 1846 , engaged in the destruction of the captured Mexican shipping . She departed the area on 21 November 1846 and returned to the base at Anton Lizardo on 23 November 1846 . U . S . Navy commendation . The " Forward " received a commendation from Commodore Matthew C . Perry , U . S . N , vice commander of the U . S . Navy Home Squadron for her participation in the Tabasco River landings , where - in he said in part : " " I am gratified to bear witness to the valuable services of the Revenue Schooner ( sic ) Forward " . " Carrying dispatches to Belize . In December 1846 , the revenue cutter left the Mexican coast to carry dispatches to Belize City in British Honduras . She returned to blockade duty on 7 February 1847 and took station off Veracruz once again on 9 February 1847 . She continued routine blockade operations at various points along the eastern coast of Mexico until April 1847 . On 15 April1847 , she received orders to set sail for Wilmington , Delaware . Voyaging by way of New Orleans , Louisiana , she reached her destination on 23 May 1847 . Temporarily transferred to the Coast Survey . She underwent repairs during the summer of 1847 and , that fall , transferred to the cognizance of the U . S . Coast Survey . Returned to service with the Revenue Marine . " Walter Forward " completed that duty in mid - December 1847 and resumed service with the Revenue Marine at Wilmington . She performed routine Revenue Marine duty for most of the remainder of her active career . American Civil War service . During the American Civil War , " Walter Forward " participated in troop transport convoys in the Chesapeake Bay and took part in one small skirmish at the mouth of Wicomico River in Virginia . Post - war decommissioning and sale . Her career ended soon after the end of that war . Her sale was ordered at Baltimore , Maryland , on 30 November 1865 .