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ARM Guadaloupe

The Mexican Navy paddle frigate Guadalupe was the flagship of the Mexican Navy from 1842 to 1847. She participated in the Naval Battle of Campeche in 1843. She was one of the fi...

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The Mexican Navy paddle frigate Guadalupe was the flagship of the Mexican Navy from 1842 to 1847. She participated in the Naval Battle of Campeche in 1843. She was one of the first iron-hulled (hull that was made of wood lined with an iron sheet) warships ever built and one of the first to see action in a naval battle.

Background of the Mexican Navy

The Mexican Navy has its origins in the creation of the Ministry of War in 1821. From that year until 1939 it existed jointly with the Mexican Army in the organic ministry. Since its declaration of independence from Spain in September 1810, through the mid decades of the 19th century, Mexico found itself in a constant state of war, mostly against Spain which had not recognized its independence. Therefore, its priority was to purchase its first fleet from the U.S. in order to displace the last remaining Spanish forces from its coasts.[1]

Construction of the Guadalupe

The Guadalupe, probably named after the national patron, Our Lady of Guadalupe, was built in the Liverpool shipyard of Jonathan Laird of Birkenhead, England, in 1842. Guadalupe was referred to as a steam paddle frigate and had a full brig rig. Guadalupe was 183 feet in length with a displacement of 878 tons. She was the biggest iron warship in the world when built. Due to diplomatic action by the Republic of Texas she was delivered unarmed as a merchant ship with her guns in her hold.

In May 1842, William Kennedy, the Republic of Texas' consul general in London, and Ashbel Smith, minister to England, protested the building of the vessels for Mexican use against Texas and urged the British government to detain them. Lord Aberdeen of the Foreign Office decided that arms might be placed on the vessels so long as they were not mounted in British ports, and Guadaloupe sailed in June despite Texan protests. Aberdeen insisted that the British would maintain strict neutrality in the struggle between Texas and Mexico and that no British military officer would be allowed to serve in the Mexican military against Texas.[2]

When she arrived in Mexico she was equipped with two 68-pounderPaixhans guns which fired explosive shells, two 32-pounder guns and two 24-pounder long guns.[3] A feature that was unusual for the period was her construction with watertight compartmentation throughout her hull, a feature that impressed famous French naval architect Henri Dupuy de Lôme. She carried a crew that included many British nationals, led by her captain Edward Phillip Charlwood, Commander RN,[4] who started while she was building in 1841 and who remained her captain until 1843.[5][6][7]

HMS Sidon 68-pounder pivot gun 1855 LOC 05685u

Career

The Mexican fleet now possessed the paddle steam frigatesGuadalupe and Montezuma.[8] About 40 of the crew of the Guadalupe were sick with yellow fever. The Texas Navy commander Moore hoped to encounter the Guadalupe separate from her escort Montezuma.[9][10]Austin and Wharton made for the Yucatán coast and encountered the Mexican squadron on 30 April 1843 between Lerma and Campeche. Montezuma and Guadalupe, along with four smaller vessels, comprised the Mexican fleet. The Texans were augmented by two Yucatecan ships and five small gunboats, but were clearly the smaller fleet. The Mexican shooting at first fell short and then went over the Texas ships. During the two-hour running battle the Austin was struck once in the fighting and lost some of her mizzen rigging and the Guadalupe had 7 dead and the Montezuma 13 dead. After a few hours, the Mexican sailing ships departed and only the two steamers remained. The result was that the Mexican blockade of the port of Campeche was lifted and the Texan ships put into the port for repairs.[11] This first attack was a draw and the fleets separated.

The next event on 16 May 1843 was orchestrated by Commodore Moore and his "Texians" who lured the Mexican Forces into a narrow roadstead, and hounded the Mexican ships away from the harbour firing most of Austin's ammunition as Wharton was not able to engage. The battle toll came out as; "Austin" 3 dead, "Wharton" 2 dead, "Montezuma" 40 dead including her captain and "Guadalupe" 47 dead. The Mexican Fleet was effectively incapacitated. This battle would represent the only time that steam-driven warships would be defeated by sail powered ships. [12] There were numerous falsehoods circulated about Moore's battle with Guadalupe. These seem to be largely the confections of the press, egged on by politicians, and are not to be taken seriously. They include claims to have sunk her. [13]

Her captain, Commander Edward P Charlwood, RN, had his own description of the action. He noted that compared to a wooden ship her damage from shot was much less in part to the action being in warm waters. During the 4 to 5 weeks of the Yucatán campaign she was hit a total of 6 times by 18- or 24-pounder solid shot.[14] He described Guadalupe as a good gun platform and felt that they had hit the Texan sloop-of-war Austin about 12 times with 68-pounder shells causing her to withdraw from the action of 16 May 1843.[15]

After Campeche

Guadalupe permaneció en la Armada de México hasta 1847, momento en que el destino de Yucatán ya estaba decidido, cuando ella y Montezuma fueron vendidas para recaudar fondos para las continuas hostilidades terrestres con los Estados Unidos. Sus nuevos propietarios son descritos por la Armada de México como "Los españoles en La Habana". [ 16 ] La entrada de Wikipedia de la Armada Española afirma que "Los primeros buques nuevos a vapor fueron comprados a México en 1846. Estos incluían dos fragatas, la Guadalupe y la Montezuma , adquiridas al Reino Unido en 1842, y un tercer buque entregado en 1843. Fueron vendidos a las autoridades españolas en Cuba por el general Antonio López de Santa Anna , con el fin de recaudar fondos para la defensa de México de la invasión estadounidense de 1846-1848. Los españoles bautizaron los buques Castilla para Montezuma y León para Guadalupe ". [ 17 ] En 1849, el Castilla y León , junto con otros dos buques de vapor españoles, intervino en Italia junto con las fuerzas francesas durante la supresión de la República Romana (1849) . Los buques transportaron 9000 soldados a Italia y les proporcionaron apoyo logístico durante meses. El reconocimiento resultante del Papa , Cerdeña , Prusia y Austria fortaleció al gobierno español frente a su facción rival carlista . [ 18 ]

Referencias

  1. ↑ "Historia de los buques de la Armada Mexicana" . Archivado del original el 10 de enero de 2010. Consultado el 1 de abril de 2017 .
  2. ↑ "CASO MONTEZUMA" . Asociación Histórica Estatal de Texas (TSHA) . Asociación Histórica Estatal de Texas. s.f. Consultado el 14 de junio de 2020. En mayo de 1842, William Kennedy, cónsul general de la República de Texas en Londres, y Ashbel Smith, ministro en Inglaterra, protestaron contra Texas por la construcción de los buques para uso mexicano e instaron al gobierno inglés a retenerlos. Lord Aberdeen, del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores británico, decidió que se podían colocar armas en los buques siempre y cuando no se montaran en puertos ingleses, y el Guadalupe zarpó en junio a pesar de las protestas de Texas.
  3. ↑ Baxter, James Phinney (2001). Introducción al buque de guerra acorazado . Naval Institute Press. pág. 34. ISBN  978-1-55750-218-6.
  4. ↑O'Byrne, William R. (1849). "Charlewood, Edward Philips" . A Naval Biographical Dictionary. London: John Murray. pp. 187–188.
  5. ↑"Mexican paddle steamer 'Guadalupe' (1842)". Three Decks' Forum. Retrieved 11 June 2020. Armament 1842 Broadside Weight = 64 Imperial Pounds ( 29.024 kg) ... 2 British 32-Pounder ... 2 British 68-Pounder Shell Gun Notes on Ship Building and career In 1842, the first iron-clad ships came into American waters in the form of two Mexican ironclad frigates; the "Montezuma" and the "Guadalupe." These ships were built by the British to a French design and sold to the Mexican Navy in retaliation (in probability) for the U.S. vs. British "Oregon" dispute. These ironclads were paddle-driven steamships mounting heavy ordnance.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
    • —— (2015) [1990]. Before the Ironclad: The Development of Ship Design, Propulsion, and Armament in the Royal Navy, 1815-60. Naval Institute Press. pp. 85–87. ISBN 978-1848322585.
  8. ↑"The Texas Navy". Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  9. ↑"Mexican paddle steamer 'Guadalupe' (1842)". Three Decks' Forum. Retrieved 11 June 2020. Armament 1842 Broadside Weight = 64 Imperial Pounds ( 29.024 kg) ... 2 British 32-Pounder ... 2 British 68-Pounder Shell Gun Notes on Ship Building and career In 1842, the first iron-clad ships came into American waters in the form of two Mexican ironclad frigates; the "Montezuma" and the "Guadalupe." These ships were built by the British to a French design and sold to the Mexican Navy in retaliation (in probability) for the U.S. vs. British "Oregon" dispute. These ironclads were paddle-driven steamships mounting heavy ordnance. The "Montezuma" (1,164 tons) carried a 68pdr. pivot gun and six 32pdrs. The "Guadalupe" (775 tons) carried two 68pdrs.
  10. ↑
  11. ↑Jordan, Johnathan W. "Commodore Edwin Ward Moore"(PDF). Texas Navy Association. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑Quinn, Paul (2010). "Notes on the Mexican Steamer Guadalupe from "The Mariner's Mirror"". The Charles E. Hawkins Squadron. The Texas Navy Association. Retrieved 11 June 2010. There were numerous falsehoods circulated about Moore's battle with Guadalupe. These seem to be largely the confections of the press, egged on by politicians, and are not to be taken seriously. They include claims to have sunk her.
  14. ↑Brown, David K. (1979). ""The Paddle Frigate Guadaloupe"". Warship. III (11): 211–212.
  15. ↑
    • —— (2015) [1990]. Before the Ironclad: The Development of Ship Design, Propulsion, and Armament in the Royal Navy, 1815-60. Naval Institute Press. pp. 85–87, 101. ISBN 978-1848322585.
  16. ↑Quinn, Paul (2010). "Notes on the Mexican Steamer Guadalupe from "The Mariner's Mirror"". The Charles E. Hawkins Squadron. The Texas Navy Association. Retrieved 11 June 2010. Guadalupe remained in the Armada de Mexico until 1847, by which time the fate of Yucatan had been decided, when she and Montezuma were sold to raise money for the continuing land hostilities with the United States. her new owners are described by the Armada de Mexico as 'The Spaniards in Havana'. Her subsequent history has not been discovered.
  17. ↑"'Montezuma'". The Historic Shipping Website. Retrieved 14 June 2020. 1846. August. Sold for obscure reasons to Spain (with 'Guadalupe') and delivered at Havana.
  18. ↑Zaforteza, Carlos Alfaro (2006). ""The 'Moderado' Party and the Introduction of Steam Power in the Spanish Navy, 1844–1854."". War in History. 13 (4): 451.

Further reading