- Date:
- April 30, 1863
- Location:
- Mexico
Battle of Camarón
-
What was the Battle of Camarón?
The Battle of Camarón, a legendary event for the French Foreign Legion, occurred on April 30, 1863, during France's intervention in Mexico. Captain Jean Danjou led sixty-two legionnaires against approximately 3,000 Mexican soldiers. Ordered to protect a supply convoy heading to Puebla from Veracruz, Danjou's men, including soldiers from various European countries, were attacked by Mexican cavalry and infantry.
Danjou's forces retreated to a warehouse in Hacienda Camarón, where they fought relentlessly. Danjou and his senior lieutenant were killed, but the remaining legionnaires continued to resist until only a few were left. Refusing to surrender, they charged the Mexican line, and the surviving soldiers were granted an honorable surrender. The French Foreign Legion flag bears the inscription "Camarón 1863" to honor the battle.
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When and where did the Battle of Camarón take place?
The Battle of Camarón, a legendary event for the French Foreign Legion, occurred on April 30, 1863, during France's intervention in Mexico. It took place at the Hacienda Camarón, a warehouse within a high-walled inn, situated in the present-day town of Camarón de Tejeda, in the state of Veracruz. Captain Jean Danjou led sixty-two legionnaires against approximately 3,000 Mexican forces. The French intervention was part of Napoleon III's plan to establish a French stronghold in Mexico, taking advantage of Mexico's economic instability and the American Civil War.
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Who were the main forces fighting in the battle?
The Battle of Camarón on April 30, 1863, involved the French Foreign Legion and the Mexican army. Captain Jean Danjou led sixty-two legionnaires from various countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, and Poland. They were escorting a supply convoy when they were attacked by about 3,000 Mexican soldiers. Colonel Francisco de Paula Milán commanded the Mexican forces. The French Foreign Legion fought with suicidal courage but suffered heavy losses. The battle has become a foundational legend of the French Foreign Legion.
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Why did the French Foreign Legion soldiers fight at Camarón?
The Battle of Camarón, fought on April 30, 1863, is a foundational legend of the French Foreign Legion. Captain Jean Danjou was ordered to protect a valuable supply convoy heading to Puebla from Veracruz.
Danjou, with 62 men, encountered about 3,000 Mexican soldiers. They fell back to a defensive position in a warehouse on the grounds of Hacienda Camarón. Danjou refused to surrender, and his legionnaires swore to fight to the death. Barricaded in the hacienda, they inflicted heavy casualties on the Mexican infantry. Around midday, Danjou was killed, and resistance continued for four more hours until only a few legionnaires remained. Refusing to surrender, they fixed bayonets and charged the Mexican line. Two soldiers survived and were granted an honorable surrender by the Mexicans.
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What made the defense at Camarón special or famous?
The Battle of Camarón is a legendary defense by the French Foreign Legion, fought with extreme courage during France's intervention in Mexico. On April 30, 1863, Captain Jean Danjou led 62 legionnaires against about 3,000 Mexican soldiers.
Danjou's men, holed up in a warehouse at the Hacienda Camarón, fought fiercely, refusing to surrender despite being heavily outnumbered. They swore to fight to the death, holding off wave after wave of Mexican infantry. Even after Danjou and his senior lieutenant were killed, the remaining legionnaires continued to resist until only a handful were left.
Their tenacity and sacrifice led to an honorable surrender granted by the Mexicans. The battle has since become a symbol of the legionnaires' capacity for heroic sacrifice.
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How is the Battle of Camarón remembered today by the French Foreign Legion?
The Battle of Camarón is a foundational legend of the French Foreign Legion. Every year on April 30th, the Legion commemorates the battle, in which a small company of legionnaires fought to the death against a much larger Mexican force.
During the annual celebration, the wooden hand of Captain Jean Danjou, who led the legionnaires, is venerated and paraded down the voie sacrée at the Legion's headquarters in Aubagne. A senior NCO recites a description of the battle, and it is considered a great honor to be selected to carry Danjou's hand. To commemorate the undrunk coffee on the morning of battle, Foreign Legion officers serve coffee to their troops. The French Foreign Legion flag bears the legend "Camarón 1863".
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A defensive action fought on April 30, 1863, with suicidal courage during France’s ill-fated intervention in Mexico, the Battle of Camarón is a foundational legend of the French Foreign Legion. Captain Jean Danjou, who led the legionnaires, enjoys the strange distinction of having his wooden hand revered as a relic of war.
Almost a year after their setback at Puebla in 1862, the French expeditionary force in Mexico resumed its push toward Mexico City. Puebla was placed under siege. Danjou was ordered to protect a valuable supply convoy containing gold coins, cannons, and ammunition that was heading for Puebla from Veracruz. With sixty-two men, representing Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, and Denmark, and two French lieutenants under his command, he encountered some 3,000 Mexican cavalry and infantry.
Danjou was a battle-hardened veteran who had lost a hand fighting rebels in Algeria. Abandoning fires he had ordered to be built in order to make coffee, Danjou held off the Mexican cavalry by forming his men into an infantry square before falling back to a strong defensive position in a warehouse on the grounds of Hacienda Camarón, a high-walled inn in the present-day town of Camarón de Tejeda in the state of Veracruz. The situation was hopeless, but Danjou refused to surrender following a demand delivered by the son of a French citizen, Captain Ramón Lainé, on the part of Mexican commander, Colonel Francisco de Paula Milán. His legionnaires swore to fight to the death. Barricaded in the hacienda, they cut down wave after wave of Mexican infantry with disciplined fire. At around midday Danjou was shot in the chest and killed; his senior lieutenant, Napoleon Vilain, assumed command but was also soon killed by Mexican fire. Resistance continued for another four hours and the number of dead and wounded mounted until only six men were left fighting, Lieutenant Clément Maudet and five legionnaires. Still refusing to surrender, this remnant fixed bayonets and charged the Mexican line. Two soldiers survived to be taken prisoner, and their request for an honorable surrender was granted by the Mexicans. Those survivors were later exchanged for a Mexican colonel captured by French forces.
Every subsequent year, on April 30, the Legion would bring out Danjou’s wooden hand, recovered after the battle from a nearby farmhouse, for veneration on the anniversary of the Battle of Camarón; the hand is still viewable at the Legion Museum of Memory at Aubagne, near Marseilles. To commemorate the undrunk coffee on the morning of battle, Foreign Legion officers serve coffee to their troops. France abandoned its fruitless Mexican adventure in 1866.
At the order of Napoleon III, the French Foreign Legion flag bears the legend “Camarón 1863.” At the Battle of Dien Bien Phu during the war in Indochina (Vietnam), French senior officers debated whether to surrender or, acknowledging the presence of a large Foreign Legion detachment among their forces, to “make a Camarón” and fight on to the death. One officer reportedly remarked that one could sacrifice 100 soldiers, but not 10,000, at which the French commander, General Christian de la Croix de Castries, elected to surrender.
Losses: French, 43 dead, 20 wounded of 65; Mexican, 90 dead and several hundred wounded of 3,000.
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