In November 1846, the US Navy moved to capture the Mexican port city of Tampico. This proved easier than might be expected, as Santa Ana had ordered the troops withdrawn. He was assembling his grand army at San Luis Potosi; he wanted to concentrate every soldier and cannon he could gather to use them against General Taylor's weakened force in the north. That battle - Buena Vista - was still three months in the future. Having captured Tampico, Commodore Perry soon discovered that many cannon and other military supplies had been evacuated upriver.
Most US Navy vessels were not suited to riverine use. However, the USS Spitfire had been commissioned by the Mexican government before the war. Only days after the war began, the US seized it and sent it to the theater. As a sidewheel steamer with light draft, it was perfect for use along the gulf coast and traveling upriver. As such, the Spitfire was dispatched to find the missing cannon.
Commander Josiah Tattnall steamed up the Panuco River on November 18, 1846. He was joined by the Schooner Petrel, another Mexican ship that had been captured and now served the US Navy. His crew was reinforced with twenty marines and a dozen sailors. It was approximately 80 miles to Panuco and they had not reached the port by nightfall. The next morning, the Spitfire and Petrel arrived. It was clear they were expected though the city did not put up a fight. The cannons discovered, Tattnall had nine 18-pound cannons destroyed and the ammunition tossed into the river. They sailed off with a 24-pound gun and lots of grape and cannister shot. Tattnall's mission may have diminished the number of cannon that Santa Ana had available.
The Spitfire saw further action in Veracruz, Tuxpan, Alvarado, and Tabasco. However, at the end of the war in 1848, it was sold.
Seeing as Panuco was easily accessible by the US Navy, it is no surprise that Colonel DeRussy chose to reroute there rather than risk his intended path back to Tampico.
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