Cinco de Mayo, the U.S.A, and the NRA

Whereas Batalla de Puebla (Cinco De Mayo, 1862) was inconsequential to its eventual fall to the French and to the ultimate fall of Mexico.

And whereas "the Congress of the United States are unwilling, by silence, to leave the nations of the world under the impression that they are indifferent spectators of the deplorable events now transpiring in the Republic of Mexico; and they therefore think fit to declare that it does not accord with the policy of the United States to acknowledge a monarchical government, erected on the ruins of any republican government in America, under the auspices of any European power."

And whereas citizens of the United States invested "$16-million and $18-million dollars for the purchase of American war material" towards the Mexican cause.

And U.S. "General Herman Sturm acted as an agent to deliver guns and ammunition to the Mexican Republic."

was in charge of transferring additional supplies and weapons...including some 30,000 rifles directly from the Baton Rouge Arsenal in Louisiana."

[survivor of a democrat assassination attempt coordinated simultaneously to Lincoln's]

"shifted American policy from thinly veiled sympathy to the republican government of Juárez to open threat of war to induce a French withdrawal" and "invoked the Monroe Doctrine"

And whereas Napoleon III consequently chose to preserve Franco-American relations over his Mexican monarchy ambitions and "announced the withdrawal of French forces."

All citizens of the United States of America are hereby given cause to celebrate Cinco de Mayo as a victory of North America against all foreign invasions of their republics thanks to the strength and resolve of the United States of America and its citizens. Let this day hereby be celebrated by the flying of the American Flag, the purchase of arms and ammunition for personal and national defense, promotion of the 2nd Amendment, and salutes to the values of the National Rifle Association, which were all truly indispensable in liberating Mexico from a despotic foreign monarchy.

U.S. General Philip Henry Sheridan [9th president of the NRA], supporter of the Mexican resistance agains the French:

“[General Grant] looked upon the invasion of Mexico by Maximilian as a part of the rebellion itself, because of the encouragement that invasion had received from the Confederacy, and that our success in putting down secession would never be complete till the French and Austrian invaders were compelled to quit the territory of our sister republic. With regard to this matter, though, he said it would be necessary for me to act with great circumspection, since the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, was much opposed to the use of our troops along the border in any active way that would be likely to involve us in a war with European powers....”

“...one division of the Thirteenth Corps, occupied Galveston, and another division under General Fred Steele had gone to Brazos Santiago, to hold Brownsville and the line of the Rio Grande, the object being to prevent, as far as possible, the escaping Confederates from joining Maximilian. With this purpose in view, and not forgetting Grant’s conviction that the French invasion of Mexico was linked with the rebellion, I asked for an increase of force to send troops into Texas in fact, to concentrate at available points in the State an army strong enough to move against the invaders of Mexico if occasion demanded....”

“The latter part of June I repaired to Brownsville myself to impress the Imperialists, as much as possible, with the idea that we intended hostilities, and took along my chief of scouts—Major Young—and four of his most trusty men, whom I had had sent from Washington. From Brownsville I despatched all these men to important points in northern Mexico, to glean information regarding the movements of the Imperial forces, and also to gather intelligence about the ex-Confederates who had crossed the Rio Grande. On information furnished by these scouts, I caused General Steele to make demonstrations all along the lower Rio Grande, and at the same time demanded the return of certain munitions of war that had been turned over by ex-Confederates to the Imperial General (Mejia) commanding at Matamoras. These demands, backed up as they were by such a formidable show of force created much agitation and demoralization among the Imperial troops, and measures looking to the abandonment of northern Mexico were forthwith adopted by those in authority—a policy that would have resulted in the speedy evacuation of the entire country by Maximilian, had not our Government weakened; contenting itself with a few pieces of the contraband artillery varnished over with the Imperial apologies.”

“These reports and demonstrations [of renewed U.S. military maneuvers near the border] resulted in alarming the Imperialists so much that they withdrew the French and Austrian soldiers from Matamoras, and practically abandoned the whole of northern Mexico as far down as Monterey...”

“...it required the patience of Job to abide the slow and poky methods of our State Department, and, in truth, it was often very difficult to restrain officers and men from crossing the Rio Grande with hostile purpose. Within the knowledge of my troops, there had gone on formerly the transfer of organized bodies of ex-Confederates to Mexico, in aid of the Imperialists, and at this period it was known that there was in preparation an immigration scheme having in view the colonizing, at Cordova and one or two other places, of all the discontented elements of the defunct Confederacy...”

“During the winter and spring of 1866 we continued covertly supplying arms and ammunition to the Liberals—sending as many as 30,000 muskets from Baton Rouge Arsenal alone—and by mid-summer Juarez, having organized a pretty good sized army, was in possession of the whole line of the Rio Grande, and, in fact, of nearly the whole of Mexico down to San Louis Potosi. Then thick and fast came rumors pointing to the tottering condition of Maximilian’s Empire-first, that Orizaba and Vera Cruz were being fortified; then, that the French were to be withdrawn...”

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4362/4362-h/4362-h.htm#linkch9b

U.S. General ‘Sheridan later admitted in his memoirs that he had supplied arms and ammunition to Juárez’s forces: “... which we left at convenient places on our side of the river to fall into their hands”’ WikiPedia

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