Vera Cruz Mexico - April to November 1914

The Vera Cruz (or Veracruz) intervention of 1914 was most likely one of those overreactions that can happen when tensions are high. The western world was boiling into war. Nine sailors, who had wandered into an area they didn't belong, got "dissed." (Admittedly, their commanding officer didn't use that word. But was demanding a 21-gun salute as part of the apology really appropriate? They were arrested and released. Maybe there was more to it than wikipedia is telling me.) Then there was a shipment of weapons that was contravening a US embargo, and a revolutionary leader that President Wilson didn't approve of.

So we sent in the Marines. And the Navy.

This is one of the earliest battles (or skirmishes or wars) where individuals could carry cameras and record events. A "pocket" Kodak took 3.25" x 5.5" images that could produce photo postcards without needing an enlarger.

Here are some that I identified by the Hotel Terminal (which was used as headquarters by the US military) and nearby buildings:

 

 This was just prior to the US entry into World War One.

Horses were still an accepted way to move officers and armament.








The next photo is similar to a photo from the Libary of Congress
where these guys who appear to be wearing horse collars are identified as Marines, freshly arrived.

There's a number, 72, in the lower right corner, suggesting this is part of a large set of photos. It's printed on Velox photo postcard stock.

This photo, of troops and horses moving through town, shows -No. 4. The hand appears to be non-American; the way the abbreviation is written appears spanish ("numero"). Another from this set:

This is the bombed out Naval Academy, -No. 38- 

These two photos were printed on Artura photo postcard stock.

The way the number is written, -#43-, suggests that this photo is from yet another set. It is also printed on Artura card stock.

The pale text on this faded photo postcard reads: "Mexican Cadets. This picture was taken from a negative found in camera in Naval Academy at Vera Cruz, Mexico. After being bombarded by Americans. Apr. 22nd 1914."

The next photo certainly looks to be from the same place and time. It came in an auction lot, along with a handful of the photos above. I just can't point to a specific thing for proof yet. I'm thinking the buildings in the background will help ...

And then there's this photo -

I don't know when it was photographed, and it certainly isn't a US warship. But Walter Hadsell worked in Vera Cruz at the time, and his Kodak shop (1911 - 1915) had front row seating to the activity. He used this signature around this time. [For more information about W. P. Hadsell, look into Witness to War- Trinity University Press (tupress.org) . I get no kickback or affiliate fees from mentioning this!]

Last revised: 11/25/21