4 FEB--This Day in US Military History

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 09:12:42 -0500

1859 – U.S. signs “Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation” with Paraguay at Asuncion after the revenue cutter Harriet Lane, as part of a US Navy expedition, forces the opening of the Paraguay and Parana Rivers.

During the 1850s, Carlos Antonio Lopez, dictator of the small, landlocked, South American country of Paraguay, was a thorn in the side of the United States government. In 1853, Lopez refused to ratify a commercial and navigational treaty with the United States, and began confiscating the property of American citizens resident in Paraguay. Because of a dispute with Britain, Lopez closed Paraguayan waters to foreign warships. In February 1855, Paraguayan soldiers fired upon an American ship engaged in a scientific survey of the Parana River, killing one American crew member.
Nearly three years after the incident, and with a second scientific expedition in preparation, President James Buchanan decided that a show of force was necessary to bring about a redress of the situation. In his first annual message to Congress of December 1857, Buchanan requested funding for a military expedition to Paraguay. With a Congressional allocation of $10,000, a naval squadron of 19 vessels, 200 guns, and 2500 sailors and marines under the command of Commodore William B. Shubrick embarked for Paraguay in the early winter of 1858. It was the largest military expedition in the peacetime history of the United States to that date.
Harper’s Weekly emphasized the importance of the mission’s demand that American citizens in Paraguay be granted the same rights and protections that Paraguayan citizens in the United States were accorded.
After landing at Montevideo, Uruguay, the American force began the 1000-mile journey up the Parana River to the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion. This was one of the major news stories in Harper’s Weekly during the spring of 1859. The newspaper provided illustrations, portraits, maps, letters from participants, and reports from a special correspondent. The situation was dramatized by the news that the 2500 Americans were preparing to face 15,000 of the best troops in South America. Lopez, the Paraguayan dictator, formally apologized for the shooting incident of 1855, compensated the family and employer of the slain sailor, and signed a treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States.

https://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/february-4/

February 4

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Response by LTC Stephen C. made Feb 4 at 2015 9:36 AM

LTC Stephen C. — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 09:36:29 -0500

Many thanks, 1SG Private RallyPoint Member! Never even heard about the incident before and it sounds like it was a big deal for the time!

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Feb 4 at 2015 2:31 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 14:31:12 -0500

Thanks for posting. I had no idea.

Response by SFC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2015 3:02 PM

SFC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 15:02:59 -0500

Thanks for sharing SFC White. President Washington explained this effect in his first annual message to congress on the State of the Union. "To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace".