Revenue Service steam-propelled cutters operated on which rivers during the Mexican-American War?

• A. Alvarado and Tabasco Rivers
• B. Mississippi and Missouri Rivers
• C. Rio Grande
• D. Colorado River

Answer: (A)

River operations by the early Revenue Cutter Service used steam-propelled cutters to move upriver from Gulf ports into inland waterways. In the Mexican-American War, these cutters operated on the Alvarado and Tabasco Rivers because those rivers near Veracruz offered shallow, navigable channels that allowed the cutters to disrupt Mexican supply lines and support coastal campaigns from inland positions. The other rivers listed aren’t tied to this riverine operation in that conflict—Mississippi and Missouri are far from the theater, the Rio Grande was a border area but not a documented venue for these cutter patrols in this war, and the Colorado River lies well to the west. Hence, the Alvarado and Tabasco Rivers are the correct focus.