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USS Vixen (III)
Screw Gunboat:
Built as a wooden steamer in 1846 for the Mexican Government by Brown & Bell, New York City
Launched, date unknown
Purchased by the United States Navy in May of 1846 at the outset of the Mexican War
Commissioned USS Vixen date and location unknown.
Vixen deployed off the Gulf Coast of Mexico with COMO. David Conner's blockade squadron
She performed numerous patrol and reconnaissance assignments and was helpful in securing the Mexican coast in preparation for combined Army-Navy movements inland
Vixen first saw action, 16 October 1846, when she participated in the unsuccessful attempt to take Alvarado, Mexico
During the engagement, she towed the schooners Bonito and Reefer but, together with the rest of the American fleet, was unable to cross the bar off the port and
soon broke off the attack
After this initial failure, the squadron moved south in an attempt to cut off the Yucatan Peninsula from the rest of Mexico
Success hinged upon the capture of the coastal port of Frontera, at the mouth of the Tobasco River, followed by the surrender of the city of Tobasco, upstream.
USS Vixen and the rest of the squadron maneuvered into position off Frontera, 23 October
COMO. Matthew Calbraith Perry assumed command of the gunboat and, with the schooners Bonito and
USRC Forward in tow, dashed across the bar and captured the Mexican flotilla defending the port
Vixen and Perry ascended the Tobasco River on the 24th and 25th with other vessels of the squadron and finally secured Tobasco on the 26th after a three-shot bombardment of the
city by Vixen
Vixen returned to the blockade immediately after the successful conclusion of the Yucatan campaign and later participated in the capture of Laguna, Mexico, 20 September
She also assisted in the capture of Tampico, Mexico, 14 November and covered troop landings at Vera Cruz, the main military objective of the fleet, 9 March 1847
After Mexican defenders rejected peace overtures, the American squadron attacked the city on the 23d; and, two days later, USS Spitfire and Vixen made a daring
and visually spectacular close range assault upon defensive fortifications ashore
Vera Cruz finally surrendered unconditionally on the 28th
This stunning victory enabled General Winfield Scott to march on Mexico City by the shortest overland route and, as such, was the decisive action of the Mexican War
Vixen conducted clean-up operations with the squadron for the duration of the war
After the ratification of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 30 May 1848, she joined the Home Squadron and underwent repairs at the Washington Navy Yard in 1850
The gunboat was temporarily decommissioned at Pensacola, FL., in 1853 after numerous fatal outbreaks of yellow fever swept her and underwent further repairs at the New York Navy Yard in 1854
Vixen was sold in 1855
Final Disposition, fate unknown
Specifications:
Displacement 240t.
Length 118'
Beam 22'6"
Depth of Hold unknown
Draft 7'
Speed 7kts
Complement 55
Armament
one 8" shell gun
two 32-pdr carronades
Propulsion
steam engine(s)
boiler(s)
screw(s)
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Vixen (III)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
Last Updated 12 August 2022