Paraguayan Punitive Expedition
17 OCTOBER 1858-FEBRUARY 1859
PARAGUAY PUNITIVE EXPEDITION
At 1325 the six guns of Fort Guardia Cerritos erupted! USS WATER WITCH was struck ten times. Three of her Dahlgren howitzers answered only once as the fort’s barrage chased her sailors from their stations. LT Thomas J. Page’s command suffered hits to her hull, portside paddlewheel, and wheelhouse; Quartermaster Samuel Chaney at the helm was mortally wounded. WATER WITCH drifted downstream where repairs were affected in Corrientes, Argentina. The fiery LT Page characterized the event as, “a most unprovoked, unwarrantable, and dastardly attack,” citing the peaceful mission of WATER WITCH and the treaty then in process. He repeatedly asked his superior, US Navy Brazilian Squadron Commodore William D. Salter, for permission to bombard the offending fort. Salter erred on the side of caution; WATER WITCH completed her survey of other tributaries and returned to the US in 1856.
At the time President Franklin Pierce was beset with the domestic problems that would ultimately lead to the Civil War, and he ignored the WATER WITCH incident. However, his successor in 1857, James Buchanan, had nothing but contempt for Paraguayan “barbarity!” In Buchanan’s first annual message to Congress he decried the action at Itapiru as, “unjustifiable… insulting and arbitrary.” At his request, Congress passed a joint resolution on 2 June 1858 authorizing the use of force to redress the incident. The largest punitive expedition launched by our Navy to date reached the La Plata 17 October 1858.
Commodore William B. Shubrick commanded the expedition comprised of 19 US Navy warships including WATER WITCH and several gunboats who would earn later fame in the Civil War: HARRIET LANE, METACOMET, ST. LAWRENCE and SABINE. LT Page commanded Shubrick’s flagship. The squadron carried 2500 men and mounted 200 guns. Special Commissioner James B. Bowlin was appointed to negotiate with president López to exact an official apology, finalize the long-delayed open navigation treaty, and secure an indemnity for QM Chaney’s family. The ever-entrepreneurial Hopkins’ added to the mission his desire to recoup $935,000 in alleged personal losses.
The show of force had its desired effect. American honor was upheld as López agreed to the principal elements. A treaty nearly identical to that proposed in 1853 was signed allowing free navigation of the Paraguay, Paraná and Pilcomayo Rivers. Paraguay apologized for the firing on WATER WITCH, and a $10,000 indemnity was proffered to the heirs of QM Chaney. Hopkins’ demands were ignored. The squadron returned to Washington in February the following year, and the incident was closed.
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CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Cooney, David M. A Chronology of the U.S. Navy: 1775-1965. New York, NY: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1965, p. 74.
Love, Robert W. History of the US Navy, Vol 1 1775-1941. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1992, pp. 239-43.
McKanna, Clare V. “The Water Witch Incident.” American Neptune, Vol 31 (1), January 1971, pp. 7-18.
Smith, Gene Allen and Larry Bartlett. “‘A Most Unprovoked, Unwarrantable, and Dastardly Attack’: James Buchanan, Paraguay, and the Water Witch Incident of 1855.” The Northern Mariner, Vol 19 (3), July 2009, pp. 269-90.
Williams, John Hoyt. “The Wake of the Water Witch.” Proceedings, (Suppl.) 1985, pp. 14-19.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: In addition to the warships above, the Paraguay punitive expedition included:
USS ARGENTINA
USS ATLANTA
USS BAINBRIDGE
USS M.W. CHAPIN
USS DOLPHIN
USS FALMOUTH
USS FULTON
USS MEMPHIS
USS PERRY
USS RELEASE (stores ship)
USS SOUTHERN STAR
USS SUPPLY (stores ship)
USS WESTERN PORT
SS Caledonia (later USS MOHAWK)
