Bombardment of Greytown

The Bombardment of Greytown or the Bombardment of San Juan del Norte was a naval action initiated by the United States sloop-of-war USS Cyane, commanded by George H. Hollins, against the town of Greytown, Miskito Kingdom, which was completely destroyed. The British schooner HMS Bermuda was moored at the port, but her captain, Lieutenent W. D. Jolley, only essayed a half-hearted protest, to no avail. Jolley justification for his lack of action was that the force under his command was "so totally inadequate against the Cyane, that I can only enter this my protest." Although the town was bombarded, the massive fire was set up by a number of marines who landed at the harbour. Despite the massive destruction, there were no casualties at all. British involvement in the Crimea War prevented any further diplomatic or military reaction from Britain.

The July 13, 1854 attack was in response to attempts by the independent government of Greytown to charge taxes and duties on the ships that were using it as a port to access Commodore Vanderbilt's Nicaragua Route to California. Other reasons were for attacks which damaged American property and in one case, an American consulate. Despite international outrage at the bombardment of the town, the United States refused to apologize for any damage or loss of life incurred, instead opting to avoid discussion of the incident until President Pierce finally gave an official position, six months later:

"After giving a somewhat detailed and biased account of the bombardment, the president concluded that while it would have been more satisfactory if the Cyane's mission could have been consummated without the use of force, 'the arrogant contumacy of the offenders rendered it impossible to avoid the alternative either to break up their establishment or to leave them impressed with the idea that they might persevere with impunity in a career or insolence and plunder.'"