With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Napoleon III deemed it an opportune moment to establish a Latin-American Catholic satellite as a bulwark against the United States' growing influence over the Americas.

For a brief stretch of time in the mid-to-late 19th century, the Mexican port of Bagdad served as a strategic center of trade and commerce, comprising an invaluable link between Mexico and the Confederate States of America while controlling river access to the twin cities of Matamoros, Tamaulipas and Brownsville, Texas.

The French ordered the disembarkation of a vessel, the Tisiphone, from Bagdad to ease military tension in the face of constant threats from both the United States and Mexico.

In response, French admiral Georges-Charles Cloué reinforced the city with four more navy vessels, the Adonis, Magellan, Tactique, and Tartare, effectively converting Bagdad to a war fortress.

Exploiting the weakened defenses of Bagdad, Escobedo orchestrated a surprise attack on the coastal city, commanding a standard Mexican Republican army while reinforced by black regiments from the United States Navy.

The French, being henceforth unable to sustain the constant attacks of the city, evacuated the 400 men who remained in Baghdad, leaving the Adonis ship bound for the port of Veracruz.