Western Hemisphere 17
Gaines then sent a small force to Nacogdoches, Texas, but this order was soon coun-
termanded and the force withdrawn. Mexico sent a heated protest.
Coding changes: Outcome changed from Unclear.
MID#1554
Dispute Number: 1554
Date(s): December 1836 to April 16, 1837
Participants: 70 Mexico/2 United States of America
Outcome (and Settlement): Released (Negotiated)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Mexico lost the province of Texas after an insurrection in the territory
and harbored deep animosity toward the United States for their support of the Texans.
This resentment resulted in a few diplomatic incidents involving Mexico and the US
Navy for the next few years. The first of these occurred when the American schooner
Natchez arrived at Veracruz in late October 1836 for the Passed Midshipman, Francis
B. Renshaw, to deliver a letter to the American consul. In the process, the American
sailors became intoxicated rather quickly and began fighting with a nearby Mexican
fisherman. The pier guard on site bayoneted as many of the belligerent sailors as he
could. The Mexicans then imprisoned the crew of the Natchez and the schooner Jeffer
son but they were released shortly after protest from the United States. Tensions seem-
ingly concluded with a string of events in Brazos de Santiago, near Matamoros, which
the Mexicans had tried to blockade. The Natchez, commanded by William Mervine,
boarded the Mexican brig General Urrea. The ship had just seized American vessels
Champion and Louisiana, which carried supplies for the Texas Republic. Mervine jus-
tified the recapture of the Champion and Louisiana by citing the failure of the Mexicans
to uphold the 1831 Commercial Treaty between the two. He eventually captured the
General Urrea as well and escorted the ship to Pensacola. Commodore Alexander J.
Dallas visited Veracruz, hoping to parlay the incident into a Mexican assurance that no
more American ships will be harassed. The final incident involving the General Urrea
caused tensions between Mexico and the United States to heat to a point where war
was discussed. President Van Buren, a pacifist, assured the Mexicans that it would send
Mervine to a court of inquiry about his actions. No action was taken against Mervine,
but the United States eventually returned the General Urrea to Mexico. No further
incidents took place between the two. Resolving the claims that accrued during the
dispute took some time. In April 1838, the United States accepted a proposal to begin
negotiations with an aim for arbitration. An agreement was reached on September 3
for settlement of individual claims. It was signed on September 11. An exchange of
ratifications failed in Mexico. The September 3/11 agreement was replaced by a new
agreement on April 11, 1839. This agreement called for a tribunal of two Mexicans,
two Americans, and a Prussian judge. The tribunal met in late 1840 and concluded its
activities on February 25, 1842. The Mexican commission to the tribunal found ways to
undermine the process, resulting in the tribunal’s resolution to only 30 of the 84 claims
presented. The tribunal was not able to address the dispute-specific claims. Further
attempts to negotiate a solution to the specific issues were left unsatisfied.
Coding changes: End Date changed from Missing.