In November 1846, a boat party from USS Somers captured a schooner during the blockade of Veracruz. The wind prevented the attackers from taking their prize out to sea, so they burned it. They returned through gunfire with seven prisoners. Only afterward did they discover that the schooner had been serving as an American intelligence vessel. The incident shows how an apparently successful local action could damage its own side when information failed to reach the people conducting it.
Notable Point · 10:32-11:50
A blockade raid destroys an American intelligence vessel
A boat attack off Veracruz ended with the destruction of an American intelligence schooner because the attackers did not know its role.