Battle of Veracruz (1838) 1838
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 27 November 1838 – 5 December 1838 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1838 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Mexico | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Pastry War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | France, Mexico | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 19.2092, -96.1314 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Veracruz, also known as the Battle of San Juan de Ulúa, was a naval engagement that pitted a French frigate squadron under Rear Admiral Charles Baudin against the Mexican citadel of San Juan de Ulúa, which defended the city of Veracruz, from 27 November to 5 December 1838.
Having crossed the Atlantic to settle a dispute between France and Mexico, the squadron anchored off Veracruz and negotiated until all diplomatic means to resolve the dispute appeared exhausted. After announcing that hostilities would begin, Baudin had his squadron bombard the fort. French fire, particularly heavy mortars mounted on bomb vessels and Paixhans guns on frigates, silenced the citadel and forced it to surrender on 28 November, a remarkable feat for the time. Mexican authorities, however, refused to cave in to French demands, forcing Baudin to mount a raid against the city itself on 5 December. Despite its limited ground forces, the French squadron succeeded in capturing General Mariano Arista and in wounding General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
The swift capture of the citadel by a small squadron of relatively light warships stunned military observers who had gathered to watch the scene, and marked the beginning of the era of shell artillery and the modernization of navies around the…
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Veracruz (1838) (revision 1375380893), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of San Juan de Ulúa (1568) 1568 · 0 km
- Siege of Veracruz 1847 · 3 km
- First siege of Veracruz 1859 · 3 km
- Second siege of Veracruz 1860 · 3 km
- Battle of Camarón 1863 · 55 km
- Battle of Tierra Blanca 1913 · 87 km
Browse more: battles in Mexico · North America · 19th century battles