After the Third Battle of Topolobampo and the first sinking of the Constitutionalist gunboat Tampico, rebel sailors under Captain Hilario Malpica raised their ship, which had been partially submerged behind Shell Point, at the mouth of Topolobampo Bay. Several United States Navy ships were in the area, observing the campaign. Flagship USS California, , and were all present and were under the Pacific Fleet commander Rear Admiral Thomas B. Howard in California. was also in the area. Much of the campaign is remembered by Rear Admiral Howard's and his officer's reports of the battles.
