Battle of Antón Lizardo
| Battle of Antón Lizardo | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Reform War | |||||||
USS Saratoga | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
United States Mexico Liberals |
Spain Mexico Conservatives | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Thomas Turner | Tomás Marín Sabalza | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
1 sloop-of-war 2 steamers 280 crew: U.S. Navy U.S. Army U.S. Marines |
1 sloop-of-war 1 steamer Unknown number of crew: Mexican Navy -Mexican Marines | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1 killed 3 wounded 1 sloop-of-war damaged 1 steamer damaged |
~30 wounded 1 sloop-of-war captured 1 steamer grounded | ||||||
The Battle of Antón Lizardo was a naval engagement of Mexico's Reform War, a civil war between liberals and conservative governments. It took place off the Gulf Coast town of Antón Lizardo, Veracruz, in 1860. A Mexican Navy officer, Rear Admiral Tomás Marín Sabalza, mutinied and escaped to Havana, Cuba. There he formed a squadron of armed vessels to attack merchant ships and blockade Veracruz. The liberal government of Benito Juárez declared Tomás Marín a pirate and permitted foreign navies to attack his ships. Juárez's government was supported by the United States and its navy already had several vessels patrolling in the Gulf of Mexico.