Background
On 17 July 1861, Mexican President Benito Juárez suspended interest payments to foreign countries, angering Britain, France and Spain, Mexico’s three major creditors. Emperor Napoleon III of France saw an opportunity here. He wanted access to Latin American markets, but equally importantly he wanted Mexican silver to finance his empire. Under the guise of a broad foreign policy of commitment to free trade Napoleon built a coalition with Spain and Britain for military intervention while the United States was distracted by its civil war. The three European powers signed the Treaty of London on 31 October 1861 to unite their efforts to receive payments from Mexico.
The British, Spanish and French fleets arrived at Veracruz in December 1861 intending to pressure the Mexicans into settling their debts and the Spanish took control of Veracruz on the 17th.
The European forces advanced inland to Cordoba and Tehuacán. The following February the French fleet forced the surrender of the city of Campeche and a French army, commanded by General Lorencez, arrived in March. However, when it became clear that the French were intent on the conquest of Mexico, the British and Spanish quickly withdrew from the coalition, embarking their troops on 24 April.
The Mexican army scored an early victory against the French at the Battle of Puebla in May 1862, but the pursuing Mexican army was contained by the French at Orizaba on 14 June. Additional French troops arrived in September, and General Bazaine arrived with a significant contingent a month later. The French occupied the port of Tampico in October, and unopposed by Mexican forces took control of Xalapa in December. The French bombarded Veracruz on 15 January 1863. Two months later French Army began the siege of Puebla.
Bazaine defeated the Mexican army attempting to relieve the siege of Puebla, at San Lorenzo and Puebla surrendered to the French shortly afterward. On 31 May Juárez fled Mexico City with his cabinet retreating northward to Paso del Norte and later to Chihuahua. Having taken the treasure of the state with them, he set up a government-in-exile there.
Bazaine entered Mexico City on 7 June 1863. General Almonte was appointed the provisional President of Mexico on 16 June, by the Superior Junta. The 35 members of the Superior Junta met on 21 June, and proclaimed a Catholic Empire on 10 July. The crown was offered to and accepted by Maximilian of Austria following pressure from Napoleon.
Bazaine occupied Guadalajara in January 1864, and troops under Douay occupied Zacatecas in February. Further decisive French victories continued with the fall of Acapulco in the southwest in June, occupation of Durango in July, and the defeat of republicans in the states of Sinaloa and Jalisco in November.
Maximilian landed at Veracruz on 28 May 1864. He was enthroned as Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, with his wife Charlotte of Belgium, who had taken the name Carlota. In reality, he was a puppet monarch of the French Second Empire.
Maximilian expressed progressive European political ideas, favouring the establishment of a limited monarchy sharing powers with a democratically elected congress. He proposed to abolish child labour, limit working hours, and abolished a system of land tenancy that virtually amounted to serfdom among the Indians. However, he found few enthusiastic allies within Mexico for his policies were too liberal for Mexico's conservatives, and the liberals refused to accept a monarch.
In November 1864, three French men-of-war (Victoire, D'Assas and Diamante) shelled the West Coast city of Mazatlán, and Imperial Mexican forces under Manuel Lozada entered and captured the city.
The French continued with victories in 1865, with Bazaine capturing Oaxaca in February. The French fleet landed soldiers who captured Guaymas in March. But on 11 April, Republicans defeated Imperial forces at Tacámbaro in Michoacán. In April and May the Republicans had significant forces in the states of Sinaloa and Chihuahua. Most towns along the Rio Grande were also occupied by Republicans. The Belgian volunteers were defeated by the Republicans at the Second Battle of Tacámbaro on 11 July.
United States objections to European involvement had been raised as early as December 1860 and Lincoln expressed his sympathy to Latin American republics against any European attempt to establish a monarchy. But not until after the establishment of the Imperial government in April 1864, did the US declare that while maintaining neutrality it was uncomfortable with establishment of a monarchy in Mexico.
The end of the Civil War changed the strategic situation in Mexico. Almost the moment the last Confederate troops surrendered the United States rushed three Army Corps, some fifty thousand men, under General Philip Sheridan, to Texas. This Army of Observation was considered more than adequate to deal with any French force that was likely to approach within striking distance of the Rio Grande.
The US gave unofficial support to the Juarez government by permitting Mexican agents in the United States to sell bonds that raised $16-$18-million for the purchase of American war material. Sheridan was charged with transferring supplies and weapons to the Liberal army, including some 30,000 rifles directly from the Baton Rouge Arsenal in Louisiana and then “left in the desert” for the Juarez forces to “find”.
As a result of the US stance Bazaine went over to a defensive posture in the autumn of 1865. Although the US was rapidly demobilising its army in the wake of the Civil War, he could not discount the possibility of an open American intervention. He also pulled the French troops back from the Rio Grande so as not to give Sheridan an excuse for an incursion.
As the Mexican conflict dragged on into 1866, tensions between the US and France began to grow and the US Congress placed an embargo on arms being supplied to Maximillian’s army, but deliberately fell short of placing that embargo on supplies to French troops.
The Mexican Expedition was proving to be an expensive operation and extremely unpopular for Napoleon. It was a public relations disaster. Unwilling to risk an all-out war with the US and to try to ease tensions at home Napoleon began to take steps to disengage from Mexico and distance himself from Maximillian.
The Magellan Affair and the Battle of Tampico
In February 1866, as Napoleon was preparing to withdraw his forces a French naval vessel, the Magellan, was en-route to Tampico with supplies for the French garrison there, when it was intercepted by the USS Lancaster and ordered to hove to. When the French ship refused, the Lancaster fired what was intended as a shot across the bow of the Magellan, but the shot struck the French ship and the French fired back.
In the exchange the Lancaster was damaged, but a fluke shot struck the Magellan’s magazine and it exploded.
A total of 130 French sailors were lost and another 50 fished from the water and taken to Texas as prisoners.
News that a French warship had been attacked and sunk in international waters brought a public outrage in France. Britain also protested the American action, but anxious to remain neutral offered to mediate. When it became common knowledge that the US was supplying arms to the Juarez armies, further international concern was raised.
When the French Legislature was convened a week later the conservative elements whipped it into a howling rage. They demanded an immediate apology, the return of the prisoners and reparations. The US returned the prisoners, but was unwilling to back down and relations took another step backward. Napoleon’s unpopular war suddenly gained support from the populace. Ten infantry regiments, 22,000 troops in all, were ordered to Mexico and a further ten infantry regiments, six cavalry regiments and twenty field batteries were put on standby. The navy was ordered to form a flotilla and put to sea.
The French blue water navy at the time counted some 240 fighting ships, mounting 7432 guns. From this force a 42 ship flotilla was formed with eight of the twelve ocean going ironclads (including the three largest vessels Gloire, Magenta and Solferino), three 3-decker steam ships of the line, ten 2-decker steam ships, fifteen frigates and six corvettes. The flotilla set sail on February 27 and arrived off Guadeloupe on March 20, where it re-coaled before sailing for the Gulf of Mexico, basing itself at Tampico and Veracruz.
In the meantime the US bolstered its naval force in the area, sending its only ocean going ironclad, USS Dunderberg (that had been hurriedly inducted into service), the steam frigates Franklin and Wabash, corvettes Hartford and Pensacola and the sloops Kearsage and Wachusett and a force of 10 smaller gun boats to the gulf, based at Galveston under Admiral Porter. The flotilla could mount 178 guns.
Tensions in the Gulf were extreme and the two rival navies sailed within sight of each other daily. When the French troop ships arrived in the Gulf at the end of March, the French navy became particularly active. On 2 April, the French Tampico squadron, including the ironclads Magenta, Solferino and Gloire, encountered the US squadron intent on turning back a significant convoy heading for Tampico. When the French refused to turn back the American ships were called to battle stations. An hour of bluster followed, neither side willing start an action. In an attempt to diffuse the situation the French commander instructed the convoy to make for Veracruz, but Porter insisted that the convoy turn away from the Mexican coast and the French commander warned the Americans to stand down. When USS Franklin suddenly turned in front of the convoy in an attempt to force the issue Gloire, leading the convoy, was unable to turn in time and struck the Franklin mid-ships, her ram biting deep into Franklin's wooden hull. Franklin was seriously damaged and immediately turned away, but was taking on water so badly that her captain ordered the ship be abandoned.
Within a matter of minutes of the last crew member leaving the vessel, she sank.
The other American ships attempted to engage the French, but they were seriously out gunned – the French squadron mounted 480 guns while the Americans mounted only 178 (and 42 of those went down with the Franklin). A furious action erupted and in less than an hour the American squadron was badly mauled. Four of the gunboats were sunk, two disabled and had to be taken under tow while Wabash, Pensacola, Kearsage and Wachusett took heavy damage and lost a significant number of their crew. Only Hartford and Dunderberg escaped serious damage in the initial exchange. The French loss was limited to light damage to three of the wooden ships.
Porter attempted to break off the engagement and make for Brownsville, but Dunderberg was a lumbering vessel, with a top speed of 8 knots and the French ironclads with speeds of 12 and 13 knots hounded her relentlessly. The Dunderberg, with her 16 guns, struggled against the combined 118 guns of the three French vessels, but her armour held until Magenta rammed her, tearing a gaping hole.
Unable to continue the fight Dunderberg struck her colours and evacuated her crew. Shortly afterwards she sank. The rest of the American squadron limped back to Brownsville. It was a humiliating defeat for the American Navy with the loss of six ships, six more badly damaged, 76 crew killed and 193 wounded.
The Second Mexican War
Reaction to the naval defeat was furious. Congress was desperate for a scapegoat and Porter was their first target. Despite his Civil War record he was removed from command a replaced by Admiral David Farragut. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells resigned his post on 6 April.
The Johnson administration found itself in a difficult position. The USA was in no position to go to war. The Civil War had left the treasury bare. There was serious concern about the ability to finance another war. Compounding the issue the President Andrew Johnson was an a perilous position. There was objection to his reconstruction plan, he was in open conflict with his own party and the mid-term elections were looming.
Worse still was the fact that the military was in a weakened state. Most of the Civil War troops had been mustered out (including much of Sheridan’s command that had now dwindled to 35,000 men). The regular army was spread across the whole country and a significant portion was involved in the occupation of the former Confederacy and most of the volunteer regiments remaining had signed up for the duration of the Civil War making the legality of retaining them in service dubious. The suggestion of a call for volunteers was met with resistance in cabinet with many believing that since less than a year had passed since the end of the war and in a country weary of war the response would be poor.
The Administration protested formally, ordered the French ambassador to leave Washington and recalled its ambassador from Paris, but stopped short of declaring war. However, the nation’s press clamoured for revenge and something had to be done. Sheridan was instructed to concentrate along the Rio Grande, while Farragut’s fleet was expanded by another 30 ships.
The escalation of hostilities brought a further expansion to the French commitment with naval and army reinforcements being sent the Gulf. Half the navy, nearly 120 warships, was committed along with a field force of 36 line infantry regiments, 8 battalions of chasseurs, 20 cavalry regiments and 30 batteries. More than 100,000 troops and 180 guns, almost one third of the army, were in Mexico by the second week of May.
The French moved north of Tampico, establishing operational bases at Monterrey, with a corps of 30,000 troops, and at San Fernando, with a force of 50,000 men in two corps. An observation force of one corps, totalling 20,000 men was established along the Rio Grande. The navy patrolled the coast as far north as the Rio Grande estuary. Maximilian's Imperial forces guarded the East and South of the country.
On 22 May the Mexican Republican armies attacked the French near Monterrey. The Mexicans were heavily defeated and largely dispersed. What remained of the Juarez army retreated back into northern Mexico and it would be some time before they would be in a position to be a serious threat. Sheridan quickly realised that his command was quite inadequate to deal with the French threat and he called for reinforcements. As the call went out for volunteers the tensions along the Rio Grande became intense. On 25 May French and American patrols exchanged fire, although no casualties were reported. The increase in tension caused both armies to close up on the border. Sheridan, struggling to supply his units inland, closed up on Brownsville. Bazaine, content that the Republican threat was removed, left a force of 15,000 troops at Monterrey and some 10,000 opposite Brownsville, while the main force of 70,000 troops concentrated east of Reynosa, where good roads meant that they could be more readily supplied.
For the next three days there was calm. Neither side was prepared to start anything. However, some of the more radical elements within the Mexican Republicans feared that this calm could lead to an easing of tensions and sought to mix things up. They reasoned that the US was unlikely to start anything, but believed they could push the French to do so. Operating without the sanction of the Juarez government, a small force of Mexicans crossed to the US side, twenty miles east of Reynosa, and in the early hours of 28 May opened fire on French patrols on the opposite bank, killing three French infantry and wounding six more. The Mexicans quickly dispersed when an American patrol appeared on the scene to investigate the source of the firing. The French, believing that the Americans had fired on them opened on them with infantry and artillery fire, killing six and wounding 43 Americans. Things quickly began to escalate. By mid-day two French divisions, with artillery and cavalry support had closed up on the southern bank and prepared to cross.
With things spiralling out of control, Sheridan arrived on the scene shortly after this incident with a US brigade, perhaps 3,000 men, and made preparations to resist a crossing. He soon realised the folly when he saw that the river was particularly low and easily crossed at a dozen points. He ordered his command to fall back twelve miles and take a position on the only piece of high ground for some distance, sending urgent instructions for another four brigades to come forward.
By 2:30 in the afternoon the entire French force was across the river, on American soil, and deployed facing Sheridan. In total the French could count 16,000 infantry, 2400 cavalry and 36 guns. A similar force stood south of the river
All the American commander could hope to do was to delay the French until his reinforcements arrived. The position he held was barren with few natural obstacles apart from a shallow gully to the west and the short, low ridge on which he had his infantry form. His force consisted of six infantry regiments totaling 2,500 men, a single cavalry regiment of 500 men and a battery of 6 guns. At best he could hope for another 6,000 infantry and 12 guns to arrive before nightfall, and possibly another 6,000 infantry and 12 guns by morning. When it all came together he would have 14,500 infantry, 500 cavalry and 30 guns available the next day.
The French, however did not intend to wait until the next day and prepared to advance. With a brigade of cavalry formed on each flank the French infantry deployed in two divisional columns, the first on the left and the second on the right. The artillery opened at exactly 3:15 and swept the American position with fire for half an hour. The Second Division moved off first but struggled to make headway against the well positioned American line. But when the First Division entered the fray, the situation swung in the French favour. A regiment of Zouaves swept forward at an alarming speed, overwhelming the American right, which fell back in disorder.
The American left held out against superior numbers, but with their flank under threat, began a retreat.
The US cavalry, despite some initial success was quickly overwhelmed and driven from the field.
For a moment it looked as though the US force would be destroyed. Then two American brigades arrived from Brownsville and deployed beyond a gully, allowing the routing American troops of the advanced guard to rally.
The French paused and unable to determine the true strength of the American force assumed that they were outnumbered. The fighting spluttered out and night fell with the Americans falling back another thirteen miles closer to their base.
During the night Sheridan ordered that Brownsville be defended by a mere 1000 men and called the remain 17,500 of the garrison to march to him. After a gruelling forced march he had 32,000 men and 40 guns on the field a little before 5:00 am. The French appeared before the American line a little after 6:00 AM and the troops were formed across a gentle ridge.
The French also been reinforced. Bazaine arrived at around midnight with another 50,000 infantry, 2500 cavalry and 60 guns. This gave him some 65,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry and 96 guns facing the Americans. He determined to drive the American force from its position by turning their left, driving it away from Brownsville. His army was formed in three infantry and one cavalry corps. He assigned one corps, a division of cavalry and half of the artillery the task of feigning against the enemy right, while the remainder of the army was to shift right an overlap the American left.
At 8:00 a grand battery of 60 guns opened on the American line while the infantry formed as though to attack.
Unaware of Bazaine's arrival and working in the belief that he now outnumbered the French, Sheridan was shocked when the French bombardment was unleashed. The sheer weight of fire forced him to pull his batteries out of the line to try to conserve them for the infantry attack that must follow, but not before two of his batteries were badly damaged.
The French feint worked and Sheridan committed half his force to that front so that when Bazaine struck with two corps, with three battalions of Tirailleurs Algériens leading the way, the US left collapsed.
The American force limped back into Brownsville as night fell while the French bivouacked on the field.
The Conflict Escalates
Sheridan fortified Brownsville as best he could, but with a mere 16,000 effective troops he could not hope to hold out for long against nearly 60,000 French.
Bazaine, in the meantime moved closer to Brownsville, where he could be more easily supplied and prepared to undertake a siege, cutting the rail line north of the city. At the same time the French navy moved to blockade the place. Slowly he brought more troops North and by the second week of June he had a force of 80,000 around Brownsville.
Sheridan’s defeat sent the administration into a panic. The call to volunteers went out at once, but the call was only made on those states that had remained loyal during the recent rebellion. The genuine fear was that the volunteers could not be organised in time to resist a French invasion and occupation of Texas. A total of 30,000 troops were pulled from garrison duties around the former Confederate states, but this force would be woefully inadequate and would still take time to gather in Texas. Of even greater concern was an increasing number of unsubstantiated rumours that a number of Confederate generals were recruiting former Confederate soldiers for service in Texas raising the spectre of a second Confederacy.
In the meantime the US Navy was ordered to disrupt the French supply lines through the Caribbean, but the French convoys were found to be too well protected and little could be done. A serious attempt was made by an American squadron against a French convoy off Cuba. Ten American vessels struck swiftly and threatened to take captive twenty French ships, before a powerful French squadron intervened. In the battle that followed the American ships were handled well, outmaneuvering the French on a number of occasions and two French ships were disabled early in the fight. But like the previous naval encounters the French seriously outgunned the Americans and by the time dusk began to settle four American ships were damaged and the fight was broken off.
On 1 July Johnson appointed Sherman to command the Army of Texas with headquarters at Galveston. Sherman arrived at Galveston on 14 July to find that his army consisted of only 15,000 men. The army was slow to gather because the US Navy could not guarantee safe passage by sea against the French navy. The bulk of the force had to travel by rail and road.
In the meantime Bazaine had offered that Sheridan and his troops could have safe passage if they abandoned Brownsville. Naturally Sheridan refused and Bazaine gave the civilian population 24 hours to vacate the place before he bombarded the town. On 10 July ten batteries shelled the city for six hours, setting much of the place on fire, but causing very few military casualties. When his additional calls for surrender went unheeded, Bazaine ordered the place bombarded again by all of his field batteries. Nearly 120 guns blazed away at the city for eight hours and at the end of the day Sheridan realised the futility of his position as asked for terms. Since no formal declaration of War existed, Bazaine was generous and allowed him to simply march out of the city, with all his arms, to Galveston.
With Brownsville in his hands Bazaine had no intention to press further. He occupied the place with a reinforced division and withdrew the rest of his command south of the Rio Grande. He had no desire to invade Texas, just to defend the Mexican border. He then sent envoys north to Galveston to negotiate a cessation of hostilities.
The defeat sent a seismic shock through the United States. For the first time in 50 years an American army had been defeated on their own soil by a foreign power. Grant sailed at once for Galveston along with a further 25,000 troops, taking the total number of troops available to 56,000, far too few to consider taking on the French. To make matters worse supply was becoming a serious issue. The railroads of the area were inadequate to support the operation of an army of this size. The only practical way of supporting active operations was using sea, using the inland waterways along the coast, but the French naval superiority placed this route at risk.
Grant advised Johnson that victory could only be assured if the army was boosted to 100,000 men and supported by a double tracked railroad that would need to be built from Louisiana through to Corpus Christi. He believed that six months would be required before successful operations could be conducted. The prospect of an extended conflict with an economy in tatters and a rabid press was one that Andrew Johnson felt the nation could not bear. Johnson instructed Grant to seek an armistice while a diplomatic solution could be found.
Napoleon III did not want an escalation either. War had erupted in Europe between Austria and Prussia and in early operations the Prussians seemed to hold the upper hand. The balance of power in Europe, more critically the position of France, was at risk. Napoleon needed a way out of Mexico, but he was determined to maintain an influence in the region. He proposed that French troops would withdraw from American soil and in time would withdraw from Mexico, but only if the United States would recognise Maximilian's Empire and withdraw support for the Juarez government.
Johnson was in favour of accepting Napoleon's terms, but knew that public opinion demanded more. However, when evidence emerged that the unsanctioned actions of the group of Mexican Republicans had triggered the whole affair, support for the Republicans diminished and animosity between France and the United States eased. Negotiations took a different turn. As a measure of good faith the French agreed to pay compensation for the damage to Brownsville and the Administration accepted and recognised Maximilian's empire. By the end of August the last French soldier had left US soil and a month later the return to France of the majority of the French Army began. Bazaine returned to France as a hero and a Marchal of France.
Over the next three years Maximilian further provoked the Mexican conservatives by introducing additional liberal reforms and the support for Juarez grew. In the disaster of 1870 the last French troops were pulled out of Mexico to join the defence against the Prussians. The United States took advantage of the situation to cancel the earlier agreement and renewed its support for Juarez. In early 1871 Maximilian's Empire collapsed and its emperor was executed.
So ended a strange and previously unknown period in North American history.
