Battle of Boca Teacapan
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The Battle of Boca Teacapan was the result of a
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
expedition to destroy a Mexican
pirate ship Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
which was attacking targets in the
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. United States
sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...
s and
marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
in several small boats pursued the pirates to the Boca Teacapan, in Sinaloa, and up the Teacapan Estuary for over several days in 1870 before defeating them at their hideout. The battle ended with the destruction of the pirate ship.


Background

In the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
, piracy continued into the 1870s off the coasts of both
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and North America. In the summer of 1870, the Mexican pirate gunboat ''Forward'', with about 120 to 200 men of several nationalities, was attacking primarily Mexican and American shipping off Sinaloa. Pirates of ''Forward'' had also attacked
Guaymas Guaymas () is a city in Guaymas Municipality, in the southwest part of the state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. The city is south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and from the U.S. border. The municipality is located on the Gulf of Cali ...
in June 1870. They occupied the customs house and then robbed the foreign residents. The pirates then forced the United States consulate in Guaymas to supply the steamer with 200 pounds of coal. These attacks led to the involvement of the
Pacific Squadron The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval s ...
. In May 1870 USS ''Mohican'' was newly assigned to the station and sent to destroy the pirate threat off Mazatlan. On June 15 about seventy-five United States marines and sailors in one launch armed with a howitzer and five boats rigged as cutters were sent on an expedition to find the ''Forward''. American forces under Executive Officer
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
Willard H. Brownson proceeded along the coast from Mazatlan to San Blas and arrived the following day. There the force discovered that the pirates had steamed a day or so earlier into the Teacapan River (Teacapan Estuary) for the village of Boca Teacapan; the Americans sailed further in pursuit. When the Americans reached the river, they stopped their boats at the mouth and prepared for battle.
Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright III was a professional sailor among the party, whose father Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright II and brother Robert Powell Page Wainwright both served the United States military with distinction. Lieutenant Brownson commanded the launch, while Wainwright and four other masters commanded the other boats.


Battle

When the preparations for combat were completed, Lieutenant Brownson ordered his men up the river at around 9:00 AM on June 17. After another forty-two miles, the Americans came within sight of a small boat and the ''Forward'', which had run aground on a shoal at the left bank of the river. The small boat was apparently being used for scouting as it immediately began to flee upon sighting the approaching Americans. Before the boat got far, the United States Navy cutters captured her, with six to eight pirates. With only a few minutes of daylight left, Brownson ordered an attack on the ''Forward''. Master Wainwright's boat and another were ordered to capture the steamer while Brownson in the launch provided covering fire with the howitzer. One other boat was used for the wounded and the two remaining were left as reserves. The armed launch opened fire on the ''Forward'', and the boarding party advanced. It was around 9:00 PM and dark by the time Master Wainwright and his men reached the sides of the steamer. Armed with
cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of S ...
es, rifles and pistols, the Americans boarded the vessel without resistance. Half of the boarding party was on ''Forward''s deck when the pirates fired their first shots. Three volleys from the left side of the river were let loose at a range of fifty yards, then rifle and musket fire from the right bank began. Initially shocked, the Americans aboard the pirate steamer scrambled and then an artillery battery of four field pieces opened up. Cannon shot hit Wainwright's boat first which hurt the master and severely damaged the craft. Wainwright was badly wounded in the chest and the right arm but continued to direct his men to fire on the left bank where sniper fire had originated from. A coxwain of the same boat was lost as well when he was hit in the head with shrapnel, killing him instantly. Three other men of Wainwright's cutter were wounded. The boarding party returned fire and Lieutenant Brownson maneuvered his launch upstream and redirected his shot on the battery 150 yards up the river. Brownson started his bombardment of the battery while the men of the other boats sailed around the river, shooting at the Mexicans on shore. Over the course of the next few minutes, the fire from the pirates gradually reduced until the battery was silenced and the sniping had ceased. It was about 9:00 pm when the fighting stopped so Brownson ordered some men ashore to secure the area while another group attempted to refloat the ''Forward''.


Aftermath

After some thirty-five minutes of combat and several hours of trying to salvage the grounded pirate steamer, the Americans decided it was best to burn her to prevent her from being retaken. Turpentine was used to saturate the vessel, then she was lit and burnt. Three howitzer rounds were also fired into ''Forward''s hull, to help her sink. At 2:00 pm on June 18, Brownson and his men returned to the ''Mohican''. From there they sailed to Panama. Accounts of the Mexican forces involved differ: official reports say about 120 men crewed the ''Forward'' which opposed the Americans along the Teacapan, though some of the United States sailors and marines claimed that over fifty troops under a rebel Mexican general were involved. Mexicans, Spaniards and a few Americans were found to have made up the pirate crew, of which the first and second mate were captured. ''Forward'' had on board a San Salvador flag when taken. Master Wainwright died of his wounds received in battle on June 18, 1870. Eight Americans were wounded in total and three boats damaged. Casualties of the pirates are unknown.
Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV (August 23, 1883 – September 2, 1953) was a career American army officer and the Commander of Allied forces in the Philippines at the time Japan surrendered to the United States, during World War II. Wainwright ...
was named after Master Wainwright and later became a four-star general during World War II. Lieutenant Brownson later became an admiral in the United States Navy and fought in the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...
.


See also

*
Golden Age of Piracy The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Indian Ocean, North America, and West Africa ...
* Battle of Anton Lizardo * Battle of Kuhlan


References

*
Sinaloa
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México * Asociacion de Gestores del Patrimonio Historico y Cultural de Mazatlán. 2009
''The Mesoamerican Ballgame-Ulama''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Boca Teacapan 1870 in Mexico 1870 in the United States Conflicts in 1870 United States Navy in the 19th century United States Marine Corps in the 18th and 19th centuries History of Sinaloa Boca Teacapan Boca Teacapan Boca Teacapan Piracy in the Pacific Ocean June 1870 events