USRC Forward (1842)

She set sail for the gulf on 23 May 1846 in company with another cutter, USRC Ewing, and arrived at Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River on 19 June 1846. There, General Zachary Taylor ordered the ship to blockade a stretch of the Mexican coast near Soto la Marina and capture any ships engaged in trade with the enemy. The squadron that Forward was assigned to performed scouting, convoy, towing, and blockade duties as well transporting troops and supplies for the Army and occupied her during mid-summer 1846.[2][4]

On 23 August 1846, she received orders to report to Commodore David Conner's naval squadron off Tampico, Mexico. Four days later, she entered the anchorage at Antón Lizardo and began patrolling off Tampico. That assignment lasted until 15 September 1846 when she received orders transferring her to the U.S. Navy under Commodore Conner at which time she moved farther down the coast to join the blockade of Veracruz.[8] In mid-October 1846, she joined a force commanded by Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, U.S. Navy. On 15 October 1846, Perry's squadron attempted to cross the bar at the mouth of the river at Alvarado. The steamer USS Vixen led the way and succeeded in making her crossing, Forward followed, in tow of sister revenue cutter, USRC McLane. McLane grounded on the bar while the three ships she towed fouled each other's towlines. Vixen engaged the Mexican batteries on shore but, when it became apparent that McLane would never succeed in getting across the bar, she and her tows retired. Luckily, McLane came off the bar, and all American ships retired.[8][9] On 16 October Forward set sail for a similar, but far more successful, amphibious operation at the mouth of the Tabasco River. Successfully navigating the bar on 23 October 1846, the force quickly seized the town of Frontera and took several prizes in the process. Forward and the other small steamers attached to Perry's force then continued the foray, sailing 74 mi (119 km) up the river through hostile territory to the town of Tabasco. Forward supplied part of her crew as a landing party along with Marines that were from USS Vixen and they captured the town of Tabasco.[10] The flotilla seized 10 vessels as prizes before returning to the ocean on 26 October 1846.[11] However, Forward along with McLane remained at Frontera until late November 1846, engaged in the destruction of the captured Mexican shipping and maintaining a blockade of the river.[12][Note 1] She departed the area on 21 November 1846 and returned to the base at Anton Lizardo on 21 November 1846.[14] In December 1846, Forward left the Mexican coast to carry dispatches to Belize City in British Honduras and New Orleans, Louisiana.[14] She returned to blockade duty on 7 February 1847 and took station off Veracruz once again on 9 February 1847. She continued routine blockade operations at various points along the eastern coast of Mexico until April 1847. On 15 April 1847, she received orders to set sail for Wilmington voyaging by way of New Orleans, and reached her destination on 23 May 1847.[15] Repairs completed in the summer of 1847 after reaching Wilmington cost about US$2,500.[15][16] Forward received a commendation from Commodore Perry for her participation in the Tabasco River landings, where-in he said in part:

I am gratified to bear witness to the valuable services of the Revenue Schooner Forward, in command of Captain Nones, and to the skill and gallantry of her officers and men.[13][14]