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{{Short description|Diplomatic and military crisis between Mexico and the US (1914)}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Tampico Affair
| date              = April 9, 1914
| place             = [[Tampico]], [[Tamaulipas]], [[Mexico]]
| result            = * [[Battle of Veracruz (1914)|United States occupies Veracruz]]
| combatant1        = {{flag|United States|1912}}
| combatant2        = {{flagicon|Mexico|1893}} [[Mexico]]
| commander1        = [[Henry T. Mayo]]
| commander2        = [[:es:Ignacio Morelos Zaragoza|Ignacio Morelos Zaragoza]]
| strength1         = 9 [[Sailor|seamen]]
| strength2         = ~10 [[infantry]]
| casualties1       = 
| casualties2       = 
}}
{{Campaignbox Battles of the Mexican Revolution involving the United States}}
{{History of Mexico |1864-1928}}

The '''Tampico Affair''' began as a minor incident involving [[United States Navy]] sailors and the Mexican [[Federal Army]] loyal to Mexican dictator General [[Victoriano Huerta]]. On April 9, 1914, nine sailors had come ashore to secure supplies and were detained by Mexican forces. Commanding Admiral [[Henry T. Mayo|Henry Mayo]] demanded that the US sailors be released, and that Mexico issue an apology, raise and salute the US flag, and perform a 21-[[gun salute]].<ref>Schoultz, Lars, ''Beneath the United States: A History of US Policy Toward Latin America''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press 1998, 245.</ref> Mexico promptly released the sailors, but refused the demand for a salute and colors. US President [[Woodrow Wilson]] backed the demand, and the conflict escalated when the Americans [[Battle of Veracruz (1914)|occupied the port city of Veracruz]] for more than six months. This contributed to the fall of Huerta, who resigned in July 1914. Since the US had not had [[diplomatic relations]] with Mexico since Huerta's seizure of power in 1913, the [[ABC countries|ABC powers]] Argentina, Brazil, and Chile offered to mediate the conflict, in the [[Niagara Falls peace conference]], held in Canada. The American occupation of Veracruz caused widespread [[anti-Americanism|anti-American sentiment]].

==Background==
In the midst of the Mexican Revolution, General Victoriano Huerta became President of Mexico following a coup to oust the democratically-elected president, [[Francisco I. Madero]]. Opposition to Huerta grew from the forces of peasant leader [[Emiliano Zapata]] in the state of Morelos and the rapid advance of the Northern opposition [[Constitutionalists in the Mexican Revolution|Constitutionalists]] under the leadership of [[Governor of Coahuila]] [[Venustiano Carranza]]. By March 26, 1914, Carranza's forces were {{convert|10|mi|km|abbr = on}} from the prosperous coastal oil town of [[Tampico, Tamaulipas]]. There was a large settlement of US citizens there due to the immense investment by US firms in the local oil industry{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}. Several US Navy warships commanded by [[Rear Admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Henry T. Mayo]] were deployed off the coast for the stated purpose of protecting US citizens and property.<ref name="Quirk">{{cite book |last1=Quirk |first1=Robert |title=An Affair of Honor: Woodrow Wilson and the Occupation of Veracruz |date=1962 |publisher=University of Kentucky Press |isbn=9780393003901 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/affairofhonorwoo0000quir/page/3 3–14] |url=https://archive.org/details/affairofhonorwoo0000quir/page/3 }}</ref>

By the spring of 1914, relations between the US and Mexico were strained. [[US President]] [[Woodrow Wilson]] refused to recognize the presidency of Mexican General [[Victoriano Huerta]], who came to power by a coup d'état, with rebel [[Félix Díaz (politician)|General Félix Díaz]], a nephew of ex-President [[Porfirio Díaz]], had signed the Embassy Pact with the approval of US Ambassador [[Henry Lane Wilson]], who had since been removed by the president.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/O-W/Wilsonian-Missionary-Diplomacy-Intervention-in-mexico.html|title=Wilsonian Missionary Diplomacy – Intervention in Mexico|access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref><ref name=Quirk/>{{rp|36–37}}

During his [[State of the Union]] address on 2 Dec. 1913, Wilson stated, "There can be no certain prospect of peace in America until General Huerta has surrendered his usurped authority." In early 1914, Wilson lifted the arms embargo, which allowed the Constitutionalists to buy arms. With these moves, Wilson was moving closer to intervention.<ref name=John>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=John |title=Woodrow Wilson: A Biography |date=2011 |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |isbn=9780307277909 |pages=242–243}}</ref>

Mayo's [[Atlantic Fleet (United States)|Fifth Division of the Atlantic Fleet]] was in [[Tampico]] to protect American lives and interest. Ships at his disposal included the battleships {{USS|Connecticut|BB-18|2}} and {{USS|Minnesota|BB-22|2}} and cruisers {{USS|Chester|CL-1|2}} and {{USS|Des Moines|CL-17|2}}. US interests included the [[Standard Oil]] refinery at Arbol Grande, other petroleum properties at Doña Cecilia, and associated American families and homes nearby. Although Tampico was besieged by Constitutionalist forces, relations between the US forces and Huerta's federal garrison remained amicable. Mayo's [[flagship]], the [[gunboat]] {{USS|Dolphin|PG-24|2}}, honored a request of the Mexican government and fired a [[21-gun salute]] to the Mexican flag three times on 2 April.<ref name="Logbook of USS Dolphin">Logbook of USS ''Dolphin''</ref> This was in commemoration of the capture of [[Puebla, Puebla|Puebla]] from the [[Second French intervention in Mexico|French]] in 1867 by General [[Porfirio Díaz]]. Additionally, sailors from the US gunboat and two cruisers, anchored off Tampico in the [[Pánuco River]], went ashore each day to play baseball.<ref name=Quirk/>

On 6 April, Constitutionalist rebel forces, under the command of Col. Emiliano J. Nafarrete, occupied La Barra, Doña Cecilia, and Arbol Grande. General Ignacio Morelos Zaragoza, Tamaulipas governor and commander of the Federal Army garrison, and nephew of the late Mexican military hero and Secretary of the Army and Navy [[Ignacio Zaragoza]], sent his gunboat ''Veracruz'' to shell the rebel forces behind the oil tanks. Mayo sent a letter to both parties stating he would remain neutral, but to protect American lives and property, he would "take all necessary steps." Mayo then evacuated several Americans, but refused to land troops to protect the American-owned refinery. After additional rebel attacks on 7 and 8 April at the Iturbide Bridge, the foreign population sought refuge on the US Navy ships, the German cruiser {{SMS|Dresden|1907|6}}, and British cruiser {{HMS|Hermione|1893|6}}. Clarence Miller, US [[consul (representative)|consul]] in Tampico, sent an urgent request for help in evacuating the American population within the city. Then, on the evening of 8 April, a marine [[courier]] for the US consulate was detained but soon released.<ref name=Quirk/>{{rp|14–18}} 

Running short on gasoline for an auxiliary engine, ''Dolphin's'' Capt. [[Ralph Earle (American naval officer)|Ralph Earle]] visited the US consulate on 9 April, where he arranged a purchase from a German civilian, Max Tyron. Capt. Earle was to arrange delivery from Tyron's dock. However, the dock was located in close proximity to the Iturbide Bridge.<ref name=Quirk/>{{rp|20}}

[[File:Tampico_Incident.jpg|left|thumb|220x220px|US battleships steaming toward Veracruz following the Tampico Affair. <br> '''Inset:''' Appearing in the photograph (left to right): Rear Admiral Henry T. Mayo, Commander of US forces during the Tampico Affair; Rear Admiral [[Frank Friday Fletcher|Frank F. Fletcher]], who commanded the landing to seize Veracruz; Vice Admiral [[Charles Johnston Badger|Charles J. Badger]], Commander of US Atlantic Fleet in 1914.]]

==Conflict==
Capt. Earle ordered [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] Charles C. Copp to take a [[whaleboat]], and crew, to pick up coal from Tyron's dock. Though flying the US colors fore and aft, the US Navy sailors were unarmed and unable to speak Spanish. While loading the fuel, the sailors were surrounded by an armed squad of Zaragoza's soldiers. Two sailors, [[Coxswain]] G. H. Siefert and [[Seaman (rank)|Seaman]] J. P. Harrington, were still on board the American whaleboat, but they too were taken at gunpoint. All were taken to Col. Ramón H. Hinojosa's headquarters. He released the Americans to continue reloading their gasoline, but they were not allowed to leave until permission was received from Zaragoza.<ref name=Quirk/>{{rp|21–23}}<ref name="Logbook of USS Dolphin"/><ref>{{cite book|last = Lenz|first = Lawrence|title = Power and Policy: America's First Steps to Superpower 1889–1922|date = 2008|publisher = Algora Publishing|location = New York|isbn = 978-0875866635|page = 186}}</ref> 

Max Tyron informed Capt. Earle and Admiral Mayo aboard the ''Dolphin'', and Mayo ordered Earle to seek his men's release under strong protest. Earle, accompanied by Clarence Miller, met with Zaragoza who apologized, explaining his men were "evidently ignorant of the first laws of war." Within an hour of their arrest, the whaleboat had returned to ''Dolphin''. Ensign Copp was faulted by Mayo for allowing his men to be taken from a US vessel. Mayo viewed the incident as an insult to US sovereignty, requiring reparation. Mayo had Commander [[William A. Moffett]] deliver a note to Zaragoza stating, "taking men from a boat flying the American flag is a hostile act, not to be excused." Mayo further demanded a "formal disavowal", that the responsible officer "receive severe punishment," and "that you hoist the American flag in a prominent position on shore and salute it with 21 guns, which salute will be duly returned by this ship."<ref name=Quirk/>{{rp|23–25}} 

Morelos Zaragoza referred the matter to the Mexican Ministry of War in Mexico City. When Wilson heard of the matter from Secretary of State [[William Jennings Bryan]], Wilson responded, "Mayo could not have done otherwise," and further, "...unless the guilty persons are promptly punished consequences of gravest sort might ensue..."<ref name=Quirk/>{{rp|32}}

[[File:Nelson O'Shaughnessy in 1914 - CHARGE D'AFFAIRES TO MEXICO LCCN2016865476 (cropped).tif|thumb|Nelson O'Shaughnessy, the American Chargé d'Affaires ad interim<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Nelson O'Shaughnessy - People - Department History – Office of the Historian|url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/oshaugnessy-nelson|access-date=2020-12-02|website=history.state.gov}}</ref> in 1914]]

[[Edith O'Shaughnessy|Nelson J. O'Shaughnessy]], the US [[Chargé d'affaires ad interim|Chargé d'Affaires ad interim]]<ref name=":0" /> in Mexico City, was informed of the incident by Roberto A. Esteva Ruiz, [[Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (Mexico)|Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Relations]], on 10 April. Ruiz requested that Mayo's demands be withdrawn, since Zaragoza had already made a verbal apology. Both O'Shaughnessy and Ruiz brought the matter to Huerta's attention, who also agreed that Mayo's ultimatum should be withdrawn. O'Shaughnessy then released the Mexican account to the [[Associated Press]] in Mexico, misstating that the arrested Americans involved were Marines, not sailors, and that they had been "paraded" through the streets of Tampico.<ref name=Quirk/>{{rp|38–40}}

On 12 April, Huerta stated, via Ruiz to O'Shaughnessy, that since Zaragoza had apologized and arrested Hinojosa, the US had "ample satisfaction." The Mexican government would not apologize further, nor salute the US flag. Huerta called these "humiliating terms...carrying courtesy to that point would be equivalent to accepting the sovereignty of a foreign state to the derogation of national dignity and decorum, which the president is disposed to have respected in any case." O'Shaughnessy told Ruiz that Wilson might need to "uphold our national dignity, even with armed force, if necessary."<ref name=Quirk/>{{rp|44–45}}

On 13 April, Wilson told reporters, "The salute will be fired." On 14 April, Wilson ordered the Atlantic Fleet, under the command of Vice Admiral [[Charles Johnston Badger]], to Mexican waters. Huerta stated, "Is it a calamity? No. It is the best thing that could happen to us." On 15 April, Wilson stated regarding the Mexico situation, there had been "many cases...of the flouting of the rights of US citizens or the dignity of the government of the United States, and no attempt at either reparation or correction." On 16 April, Washington was notified that Huerta had agreed to a simultaneous salute, signifying "satisfaction with which the two countries see the happy end of a conflict which has at no time been really serious." Yet Wilson decided the US fleet would stay to prevent any ..."manifestations of ill-will and contempt for the United States which Huerta has exhibited in the past," and misunderstood Huerta's meaning of simultaneous. When simultaneous was finally understood, Wilson opposed the idea, and fleet orders remained the same. Huerta maintained he had done "everything he was obliged to do." On 18 April, Wilson stated he would see Congress, "with a view of taking such actions as may be necessary to enforce the respect due to the nation's flag," if Mexico did not fire the salute by the next day.<ref name=Quirk/>{{rp|48–51, 53, 60–62, 65}}

==Aftermath==
[[File:Wilson before Congress, Apr. 20, (1914) LCCN2014696294.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|President Woodrow Wilson addresses a Joint Session of Congress April 20, 1914]]
[[File:U.S. Navy Destroyers at Mazatlan, Mexico, April 26, 1914.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|USS ''Truxtun'' and ''Whipple'' at Mazatlan, April 26, 1914, keeping watch on Mexican gunboat ''Morales'' (two-funnel ship in background)]]

President Wilson sought Congressional approval for the use of armed forces on 20 April. In particular, Wilson advocated "taking Vera Cruz," to get rid of Huerta and his illegitimate authority. Wilson received Congressional approval that evening, and ordered landings at Veracruz, so as to seize the [[Custom house]], and intercept an expected arms shipment for Huerta's forces.<ref name=John/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1914-04-18/ed-1/seq-10/;words=Iris+Cheyenne?date1=1912&rows=20&searchType=basic&state=&date2=1915&proxtext=Cheyenne+Iris&y=9&x=8&dateFilterType=yearRange&index=3|title=The Washington Times, April 18, 1914|page=10 |access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1914-04-23/ed-1/seq-3/%3bwords=tender+Iris?date1=1914&rows=20&searchType=basic&state=&date2=1914&proxtext=tender+iris&y=12&x=14&dateFilterType=yearRange&index=2|title= More Battleships Ordered to Mexico |date= 23 April 1914 |newspaper= The New York Sun|access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref><ref name=Quirk/>{{rp|69–77}}

In the ensuing [[Battle of Veracruz (1914)|occupation of Veracruz]], 19 Americans were killed and 72 wounded. Mexican losses were estimated at 150 to 170 soldiers killed and between 195 and 250 wounded. An unknown number of civilians were killed.<ref>Alan McPherson (2013) [https://books.google.com/books?id=utC5YT7wFgAC&q=%22unknown+number+of+civilians%22 ''Encyclopedia of U.S. Military Interventions in Latin America''], p. 393, ABC-CLIO, U.S.</ref><ref>Susan Vollmer (2007) [https://books.google.com/books?id=UpnYYWaXLaAC&q=%22unknown+number+of+civilians%22 ''Legends, Leaders, Legacies''], p. 79, Biography & Autobiography, U.S.</ref> On the Pacific Coast of Mexico, US Naval units were monitoring the fight between Huerta's forces and the rebels while they protected US citizens and interests. In [[Ensenada, Baja California]], US Consul Claude E. Guyant and 250 of his fellow citizens were forced to seek safety in the US consulate building, as Mexican authorities were powerless to control anti-American demonstrations that had erupted on April 23. Guyant cabled Washington, "Have taken refuge in consulate. Situation critical. Send warship immediately."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1914-04-24/ed-2/seq-4/;words=Guyant?date1=1912&rows=20&searchType=basic&state=&date2=1915&proxtext=Guyant&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&index=0|title= Blind with Anger Huerta Allowed Mobs to Riot in Mexico|first=William G.|last=Shepherd| date= 24 April 1914|work= [[The Day Book]]|location=Chicago|at=Image 4 |access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref> USS ''Cheyenne'' was sent from [[San Diego, California]], to Ensenada with orders to protect US lives at any cost, including capturing the port if necessary. {{USS|Iris|1885|2}}, en route to Mazatlan, diverted course to Ensenada to assist ''Cheyenne''. They were to evacuate Guyant and other Americans.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1914-04-25/ed-1/seq-1/;words=Iris+torpedo?date1=1912&sort=relevance&rows=20&searchType=basic&state=&date2=1915&proxtext=%22IRIS%22+torpedo&y=9&x=13&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2&page=1&index=18|title= New Appeal from Ensenada |date= 25 April 1914 |newspaper=The New York Sun|access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1914-04-25/ed-1/seq-12/;words=Mazatlan+Iris?date1=1912&rows=20&searchType=basic&state=&date2=1915&proxtext=Iris+mazatlan&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&index=4|title=Army and Navy Orders |date= 24 April 1914|newspaper= The Washington Times|access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref> The welfare of approximately 50,000 US citizens living in Mexico was affected by the invasion of Veracruz. Refugee camps were set up in San Diego, Texas, and New Orleans to receive the Americans.<ref name="John Whiteclay">John Whiteclay Chambers & Fred Anderson (1999) [https://books.google.com/books?id=_Rzy_yNMKbcC&q=%22anti-North+American+riots%22 ''The Oxford Companion to American Military History''], p. 432, Oxford University Press, England.</ref><ref name="Michael Small">Michael Small (2009) [https://books.google.com/books?id=KFgNYgx2rpEC&q=%22anti-american+riots%22 ''The Forgotten Peace: Mediation at Niagara Falls, 1914''], p. 35, University of Ottawa, Canada.</ref> Ultimately, the US military transport ship USS {{USAT|Buford||2}} sailed from San Francisco in early May and made stops at numerous ports on the west coast of Mexico to pick up additional American refugees. USS ''Iris'' also picked up numerous American refugees during May, including Clement Edwards, the US consul at [[Acapulco]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024827/1912-04-28/ed-1/seq-1/;words=Guyant?date1=1912&rows=20&searchType=basic&state=&date2=1915&proxtext=Guyant&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&index=8 |title= Rescue Party Off for West Coast Monday |date= 28 April 1914 |publisher= The Bisbee Daily Review (Arizona) |access-date= 27 November 2014 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141210045700/http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024827/1912-04-28/ed-1/seq-1/ |archive-date= 10 December 2014}}</ref> By May 4, a total of 71 US Navy ships were operating in Mexican waters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88084272/1914-05-04/ed-1/seq-2/;words=Iris+Cheyenne?date1=1912&rows=20&searchType=basic&state=&date2=1915&proxtext=Cheyenne+Iris&y=9&x=8&dateFilterType=yearRange&index=1| title=71 US Warships Operating in Mexico |date= 4 May 1914|publisher= El Paso Herald|access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref>

In January 1917, Germany sent the so-called [[Zimmermann Telegram]], which implied that a Mexican alliance with Germany against the US would result in Mexico regaining territory taken from it by the US in prior wars and that Germany's forthcoming [[unrestricted submarine warfare]] campaign would guarantee defeat of the British and French. The British interception of Zimmermann's telegram and the German unrestricted submarine warfare against US merchant ships soon afterward, were effectively both final justifications that President Wilson needed to request a [[American entry into World War I|declaration of war against Germany]], in April 1917.<ref>{{cite book |ref = Andrew|last = Andrew|first = Christopher|title = For The President's Eyes Only|year = 1996|publisher = Harper Collins|isbn = 0-00-638071-9}}</ref>

Anti-American sentiment in Mexico from the Tampico incident was the chief reason that the Mexican government remained [[Mexico in World War I|neutral in World War I]].<ref name="Lee Stacy">Lee Stacy (2002) [https://books.google.com/books?id=84krAQAAMAAJ&q=%22mexican+neutrality%22 ''Mexico and the United States,'' Volume 3], p. 869, Marshall Cavendish, US</ref> Mexico refused to participate with the US military excursion in Europe and granted full guarantees to German companies for keeping their operations open, specifically in Mexico City.<ref name="Jürgen Buchenau">Jürgen Buchenau (2004) [https://books.google.com/books?id=zj47Ky6ciJEC&q=%22mexican+neutrality%22 ''Tools of Progress: A German Merchant Family in Mexico City, 1865–present''], p. 82, UNM Press, US</ref>

President Wilson considered another military invasion of Veracruz and Tampico in 1917–1918,<ref name="Ernest Gruening">Ernest Gruening (1968) [https://books.google.com/books?id=VoBlAAAAMAAJ&q=occupation+president+wilson ''Mexico and Its Heritage''], p. 596, Greenwood Press, US</ref><ref name="Halevy">Drew Philip Halevy (2000) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=WOfKxFigGSwC Threats of Intervention: U.S.–Mexican Relations, 1917–1923]'', p. 41, iUniverse, US</ref> to take control of the [[Isthmus of Tehuantepec]], the shortest overland route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and the Tampico oil fields.<ref name="Halevy" /><ref name="Meyer1">Lorenzo Meyer (1977) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PAy1AAAAIAAJ&q=lansing+tehuantepec Mexico and the United States in the oil controversy, 1917–1942]'', p. 45, University of Texas Press, US</ref> The relatively new Mexican president, [[Venustiano Carranza]], threatened to destroy the oil fields in case the Marines landed there.<ref name="Stephen Haber">Stephen Haber, Noel Maurer, Armando Razo (2003) [https://books.google.com/books?id=znZ8Y8lO7_4C&q=%22burning+of+the+oil+fields%22 ''The Politics of Property Rights: Political Instability, Credible Commitments, and Economic Growth in Mexico, 1876–1929''], p. 201, Cambridge University Press, UK.</ref><ref name="Meyer3">Lorenzo Meyer (1977) [https://books.google.com/books?id=PAy1AAAAIAAJ&q=destroy+fields ''Mexico and the United States in the Oil Controversy, 1917–1942''], p. 44, University of Texas Press, US</ref>

==See also==
* [[Mexico in World War I]]
* [[United States involvement in the Mexican Revolution]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/tampico.htm Wilson "exasperated by... the latest in a line of Mexican incidents"]
* [http://www.multied.com/documents/Tampico.html Wilson's address to Congress] (20 April 1914)

[[Category:History of the foreign relations of the United States]]
[[Category:1914 in Mexico]]
[[Category:Mexican Revolution]]
[[Category:Mexico–United States relations]]
[[Category:Banana Wars]]
[[Category:Political scandals in Mexico]]
[[Category:Combat incidents]]
[[Category:April 1914]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1914]]