View source for Panama crisis of 1885

{{short description|US military intervention in a rebellion in Panama}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Panama Crisis of 1885
| partof            =
| image             = Pm-map.png
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = Isthmus of Panama
| date              = 1885
| place             = [[Isthmus of Panama]], [[United States of Colombia|Colombia]]
| result            = Colombian diplomatic victory
| combatant1        = {{flagicon image|Flag of Sovereign State of Panama.svg}} [[Panama State|Panamanian Rebels]]<br/>{{flag|United States|1877}}
| combatant2        = {{flag|Colombia}}<br/>{{flag|Chile}}
| commander1        = {{flagicon|United States|1877}} [[James E. Jouett]]<br>{{flagicon|United States|1877}} [[Bowman H. McCalla]]
| commander2        = {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Rafael Núñez (politician)|Rafael Nuñez]]<br>{{flagicon|Chile}} [[Juan Lopez Lermanda]]
}}
The '''Panama Crisis of 1885''' was an [[Intervention (international law)|intervention]] by the [[United States]] in support of a rebellion in [[Panama]], at the time part of [[Colombia]], and an ensuing show of force by [[Chile]] in support of the Colombian government.
== Background ==
The 1846 [[Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty]], signed by  [[Republic of New Granada]] ([[Colombia]] and [[Panama]]) and the [[United States]], obligated the United States to maintain "neutrality" in the Colombian state of [[Panama]] in exchange for transit rights in the isthmus on behalf of Colombia.<ref name=Wicks>{{cite journal |last=Wicks |first=Daniel H. |title=Dress Rehearsal: United States Intervention on The Isthmus of Panama, 1885 |journal=[[Pacific Historical Review]] |volume=49 |issue=4 |year=1980 |pages=581–605 |jstor=3638968 }}</ref>
Chile's influence in the region followed its victory in the [[War of the Pacific]]. In this war, Chile defeated [[Bolivia]] and [[Peru]] and gained large swathes of territory from both, removing Bolivia's access to the sea. U.S. sympathies lay with Bolivia and Peru, and Chile rejected American attempts to mediate. A Peruvian attempt to cede a naval base to the U.S. in [[Chimbote]] Bay in 1881 was blocked when Chile, learning of the deal, sent marines to occupy Chimbote.<ref name=Tromben>{{cite journal |last=Tromben |first=Captain Carlos |journal=International Journal of Naval History |volume=1 |issue=1 |date=April 2002 |title=Naval Presence: The Cruiser Esmeralda in Panama |url=http://www.ijnhonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pdf_tromben_english.pdf |access-date=2014-07-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727035003/http://www.ijnhonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pdf_tromben_english.pdf |archive-date=2014-07-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Panama Crisis ==
In March 1885 Colombia thinned its military presence in Panama by sending troops who had been stationed there to fight rebels in [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]] as part of the [[Colombian Civil War (1884–1885)]].<ref name=Wicks/><ref name=Tromben>{{cite journal |last=Tromben |first=Captain Carlos |journal=International Journal of Naval History |volume=1 |issue=1 |date=April 2002 |title=Naval Presence: The Cruiser Esmeralda in Panama |url=http://www.ijnhonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pdf_tromben_english.pdf |access-date=2014-07-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727035003/http://www.ijnhonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pdf_tromben_english.pdf |archive-date=2014-07-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> These favourable conditions prompted an insurgency in Panama.<ref name=Wicks/>
The [[United States Navy]] was sent there to keep order, in light of invoking its obligations according to the treaty being signed in 1846.<ref name=Wicks/> The [[North Atlantic Squadron]] of the U.S. Navy, commanded by Rear Admiral [[James E. Jouett]], was ordered to deploy to Panama with the orders to protect American lives and property and to ensure free transit across the isthmus of Panama, while respecting the sovereignty of the Colombian government. A battalion of 234 marines was organized by Major [[Charles Heywood]], and these were eventually joined by another two battalions, under Heywood's overall command as the head of a provisional Marine brigade. It was the first time that the [[United States Marine Corps]] assembled a [[brigade]] level formation. Along with Heywood there was also another future [[Commandant of the United States Marine Corps|Commandant of the Marine Corps]], then-First Lieutenant [[George F. Elliott]], deployed in the marine force. The landing force was under the overall command of Navy Commander [[Bowman H. McCalla]].<ref name="marines">{{cite book |title=U.S. Marines in Battle: Guantanamo Bay |first = Jerry A. |last = Roberts |date=2020 |url=https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/US%20Marines%20in%20Battle%20Guantanamo%20Bay.pdf |publisher = [[Marine Corps University]] Press |pages= 2–4 }}</ref>
On 7 April, the [[screw sloop]] [[USS Shenandoah (1862)|USS ''Shenandoah'']] arrived in [[Panama City]] and three days later, other American ships started arriving in [[Colón, Panama]]. On 27 April a force of marines was landed in Panama City to help suppress rebels who had taken over the city when local troops had moved out to deal with a revolt in Colón. The next day, federal troops from Colombia arrived from [[Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca|Buenaventura]], Colombia's nearest Pacific port. By this time, there was also a small force of the National Army of Colombia supported by a strong contingent of American troops in Colón.<ref name=Tromben/>
In response to the American intervention, [[Chile]] sent the [[protected cruiser]] {{ship|Chilean cruiser|Esmeralda|1883|2}} to [[Panama City]], arriving on April 28.<ref name=Tromben/> The ''Esmeralda''{{'}}s captain was ordered to stop by any means an eventual annexation of Panama by the United States.<ref name=sater>William Sater, ''Chile and the United States: Empires in Conflict'' (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1990), 52. {{ISBN|0-8203-1249-5}}.</ref> According to a U.S. publication in August 1885, right after the Panama events, "[The ''Esmeralda''] could destroy our whole navy, ship by ship and never be touched once."<ref name=Tromben/> By the time the ''Esmeralda'' arrived to Panama, however, the conflict had already been resolved as the United States withdrew from Panama and the Colombian government retook control of the city on April 30th.
==Aftermath==
Commander Bowman McCalla submitted a report to the [[United States Secretary of the Navy]] on the performance of the Marines during the expedition. He criticized the Marines for their lack of training in land warfare, especially in tactics and their handling of machine guns and artillery, and concluded that they spent too much time in barracks when they could be training. McCalla proposed having annual war games with the fleet and the [[United States Army|Army]] that would prepare marines for expeditionary operations. These changes were rejected at the time by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, [[Charles Grymes McCawley]], who held the view that the marines must prioritize the limited duties of providing security aboard ships and at naval bases rather than landing operations. For the rest of the 1880s and 1890s, up until the [[Spanish–American War]], McCawley and his successor Charles Heywood continued to maintain these as the key missions of the Corps, as they believed that if the expeditionary role of the Marine Corps was developed, the branch risked being absorbed into the Army.<ref name="marines" />
==See also==
*[[Burning of Colón]]
*[[Bowman H. McCalla]]
*[[History of Panama (1821–1903)]]
*[[USS Galena (1880)|USS ''Galena'' (1880)]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:1885 in Colombia]]
[[Category:1885 in Panama]]
[[Category:Chile–Colombia relations]]
[[Category:Chile–United States relations]]
[[Category:Colombia–United States relations]]
[[Category:1885 in Chile]]
[[Category:1885 in the United States ]]
[[Category:History of United States expansionism]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps in the 18th and 19th centuries]]