The Tampico Affair was a minor incident involving U.S. sailors and Mexican land forces loyal to General Victoriano Huerta during the tense period of the Mexican Revolution. The simple misunderstanding occurred on April 9, 1914 but would fully transpire into the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the occupation of the Mexican port city of Veracruz, for over six months.

Background

In midst of the Mexican Revolution, de facto head of state Victoriano Huerta struggled to hold his power and territory intact from the challenges of Emiliano Zapata in the south and the fast advance of the opposition Constitutionalist of Venustiano Carranza in the north. By March 26, 1914, Carranza's forces were ten miles (15 km) from the prosperous oil town of Tampico, Tamaulipas. There was a considerable concentration of U.S. citizens in the area due to the immense investment of American firms in the local oil industry. Several American warships commanded by Rear Admiral Henry T. Mayo settled in the area with the expectation of protecting American citizens and property. As Tampico was laid siege by Constitutionalist forces, relations between US forces and Huerta's federal garrison remained amicable. The American flagship, USS Dolphin, in the area, a modest gunboat due to the operational demands of a shallow entrance to the harbot, presented a 21 gun salute to the Mexican flag three times on April 2, 1914 to pay tribute to the celebrated capture of Puebla in 1867.

The Incident

The U.S. Navy frequently used boats to deliver messages and ferry fleeing civilians, leading to a depletion of fuel supplies. The commander of the Dolphin arranged for a pickup of oil from a warehouse on April 9 near a tense defensive position at Iturbide Bridge. The defenders of the bridge anticipated an attack based on the two consecutive days of skirmishes that had immediately preceded that. Nine sailors on a whaleboat flying the U.S. flag were dispatched to the warehouse along a canal. Based on the sailors' account, seven hands moved the cans of gasoline to the boat while two sailors remained on the vessel. Federal soldiers were alerted to the activity and confronted the sailors. Neither side was able to speak the other's language, which left the sailors immobile in the face of commands from the soldiers. The soldiers raised rifles against the sailors including the sailors still on the boat, and ushered the men a short distance to regimental headquarters.

External links

• Wilson "exasperated by... the latest in a line of Mexican incidents"
• Wilson's address to Congress (20 April 1914)