Battle
Hearing word of the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma, California and the arrival of the large British 2,600 ton, 600 man, man-of-war HMS Collingwood, flagship under Sir George S. Seymour, outside Monterey Bay, Sloat was finally stirred to action. On July 7, 1846—seven weeks after war had been declared, Sloat instructed the captains of the ships of the Pacific Squadron in Monterey Bay to occupy Monterey with their Marines and Navy sailors. The Californio soldiers had already left the town's defenses and gone to Los Angeles. They would have had no gunpowder to use in their few cannon even if they some had stayed. About fifty Marines and about 100 bluejacket U.S. Navy sailors landed unopposed and captured Monterey without incident. They raised the flag of the United States without firing a shot. The only shots fired were a 21 gun salute to the new U.S. flag fired by each of the U.S. Navy ships in the harbor. The British ships observed but took no action.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Monterey
Famous quotes containing the word battle:
“It is humiliating to remain with our hands folded while others write history. It matters little who wins. To make a people great it is necessary to send them to battle even if you have to kick them in the pants. That is what I shall do.”
—Benito Mussolini (1883–1945)
“The easiest period in a crisis situation is actually the battle itself. The most difficult is the period of indecision—whether to fight or run away. And the most dangerous period is the aftermath. It is then, with all his resources spent and his guard down, that an individual must watch out for dulled reactions and faulty judgment.”
—Richard M. Nixon (1913–1995)
“That we can come here today and in the presence of thousands and tens of thousands of the survivors of the gallant army of Northern Virginia and their descendants, establish such an enduring monument by their hospitable welcome and acclaim, is conclusive proof of the uniting of the sections, and a universal confession that all that was done was well done, that the battle had to be fought, that the sections had to be tried, but that in the end, the result has inured to the common benefit of all.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)