The naval battle that occurred in 1843 off the coast of Mexico at Campeche was arguably the only battle ever won by sailing ships against steamships. It was also the last battle fought between ships crewed by British and American sailors on opposing sides. The battle, a sequel of sorts to the war of independence waged by the Republic of Texas against Mexico under the reign of Antonio López de Santa Anna, took shape between April 30, 1843—when the first clash occurred—and May 16, 1843—when, after two weeks of watching and refitting, the ships battered each other again.
After the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, Texas became a self-governing republic, but it still feared the Mexican government’s intentions. Farther south, Yucatán was also fighting for independence from Mexican rule. The rebel Yucatecan government requested the Texans’ aid in the struggle, offering payment of a reported $8,000.
Mexico mounted a blockade of the Yucatán coast, using two British-manufactured, British-crewed steamships: the large, iron-hulled, paddle-wheel frigate Guadalupe and the wooden-hulled, ironclad Moctezuma. The small Texan navy was in poor shape, its crews mutinous for lack of pay. The head of the navy, Commodore Edwin Ward Moore, commanded two wooden sailing ships: the sloop-of-war Austin and the brig Wharton. Aided by small vessels of the Yucatán navy, Moore broke through to the port of Campeche, surviving a two-hour running fight on April 30. There he was trapped, with Guadalupe and Moctezuma waiting for him to emerge. Undaunted, Moore spent a fortnight fitting his ships with longer-range guns, which would give him a better chance against the steamships when he attempted a breakout.
The Texans sailed out to engage with the steamships on May 16. In the exchange of fire, both the Austin and the Wharton suffered a good deal of structural damage, but the sailing ships’ broadsides took a heavier toll on the ironclads’ Mexican and British crews. Although the battle was largely a draw, the Texans returned to a heroes’ welcome in Galveston, preempting Texan president Sam Houston’s intention of court-martialing them for selling their services to another country.
Although it was a minor engagement, Samuel Colt commemorated the battle by engraving a scene on the cylinder of his 1851 and 1861 Colt Navy revolvers and 1860 Army revolver.
Losses: Texan-Yucatecan, 7 killed, 24 wounded; Mexican-British, 30 killed, 55 wounded; no ships lost on either side.