Earl Russell to Sir J. Crampton Foreign Office, April 19, 1862 (Extract) With reference to the withdrawal of the British Marines from Mexico, I have to instruct you to explain to Seņor Calderon Collantes that the Marines sent to Mexico were originally intended to assist in the capture of Vera Cruz; that they properly belong to Her Majesty's naval forces, and have no tents or equipments to enable them to make a campaign by land; that when hostilities appeared imminent, Commodore Dunlop took upon himself to go beyond the orders he had received, but that when the Convention of Soledad removed the apprehensions of a conflict, he obeyed the orders which had on repeated occasions been given to him. Her Majesty's Government entirely agree with the Government of Spain with reference to Mexico, and are quite prepared to accept a Convention, giving reparation for the wrongs complained of by the three allied Powers. If Mexico were spontaneously to proclaim a Monarchy, Her Majesty's Government would recognize a Government which would thus become regular and legitimate. But failing such a demonstration in Mexico, Her Majesty's Government are quite ready to negotiate with the existing authority, which seems to have the assent and the support of the Mexican people. (Signed) RUSSELL Back to Table of Contents: Booklet No. 8, Mexico 1861-67 Back to El Dorado List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by The South and Central Military Historians Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com