This Day In Naval History - February 2

1848 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War and establishes the boundaries between the two republics.

1862 - Capt. David G. Farragut, commander of his flagship, the screw sloop of war Hartford, departs Hampton Roads for Ship Island, Miss., where Farragut takes command of the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron in preparation for the assault on New Orleans.

1938 - While piloting a PBY-2 aircraft in a tactical exercise off California, Lt. Carlton B. Hutchins collides with another VP-11 PBY-2. Remaining at his badly damaged planes controls, Hutchins courageously allows members of his crew to parachute to safety, but is killed in the planes subsequent crash. For his "extraordinary heroism," he is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

1942 - USS Seadragon (SS 194) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Tamagawa Maru.

1943 - A Japanese destroyer is damaged, and later scuttled, by a mine laid by US Navy light minelayers off Cape Esperance.

1944 - Destroyer USS Walker (DD 517) sinks Japanese submarine RO 39, 10 miles east of Wotje, Marshall Islands.


(Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division)