Wilson’s Veracruz Blunder in 1914

President Woodrow Wilson once invaded Mexico because an Admiral got his feelings hurt over

a missing twenty-one gun salute. It sounds insane, but in 1914, the U.S.

almost started a massive war over a simple misunderstanding. Here is the situation. Nine American sailors

were in Tampico, Mexico, buying gasoline. They accidentally wandered into a

restricted area and got arrested. The Mexican officials realized the mistake, released them,

and apologized. End of story, right? Wrong. The U.S.

Admiral on the scene felt insulted. He demanded the Mexican army perform a twenty-one gun

salute to the American flag to make up for it. The Mexican government obviously refused.