A small infantry patrol, led by Captain Jean Danjou and Lieutenants Clément Maudet and Jean Vilain, numbering just 65 men[1]: 5  was attacked and besieged by a force that may have eventually reached 3,000 Mexican infantry and cavalry, and was forced to make a defensive stand at the nearby Hacienda Camarón, in Camarón de Tejeda, Veracruz, Mexico.

The conduct of the Légionnaires who, overwhelmingly outnumbered, refused to surrender, killing and injuring hundreds of enemy troops before finally succumbing, led to a certain mystique, and the battle of Camarón became synonymous with bravery and a fight-to-the-death attitude.

[1]: 12–13 On 30 April, at 01:00, the 3rd company of 62 Legionnaires and three Legion officers were en route from Chiquihuite for Palo Verde, 6 hours and 22 miles away.

Tomas Algonzanas' Cotaxtla Squadron of 250 rancheros, to the north heading to the southeast, but they continued southward, passing the road a half mile away.

[1]: 41–43  Seeking a more defensible position, Danjou moved his men back west, along the forest north of the road, to the hacienda's ten foot walls.

[1]: 54  Charging in two columns, the Mexicans "were stopped short" by salvos and then withdrew, allowing the 3rd to withdraw to the cactus-filled ditch on the south side of the road and make their way back to the hacienda.

[1]: 61 Milán arrived with the dragoons at about the same time the bullion convoy headed back to La Soledad, after being warned of the 3rd's difficulties.

Danjou "urged his men to take an oath to fight to the death rather than surrender... he made them swear their fealty on his wooden hand.

[1]: 69  Danjou then shared his bottle of wine and encouraged his men with "those noble words that warm one's heart and makes the final sacrifice less difficult to face.

"[1]: 77  Their mules had run off after the first encounter with the Mexican cavalry, and then Col. Milán's Center Brigade infantry, 1200-1400 men, arrived at the hacienda.

Laine offered the legionnaires a second chance to surrender, Sergeant Vincent Morzycki responded in the spirit of Pierre Cambronne, with "Merde.

[1]: 85–86  In the next onslaught, Corporals Everiste Burg, Karl Magnin and Heinrich Pinzinger, plus fusiliers Leon Gorski and Hippolyte Kunnasseg were captured.

"[1]: 92–93 As promised, Lt. Maudet was treated on the battlefield by Dr. Francisco Talavera, also the major commanding the Cordoba unit, before succumbing to his wounds on 8 May.

[1]: 99 In 1892, a monument commemorating the battle was erected on the battlefield containing a plaque with the following inscription in French: Ils furent ici moins de soixante Opposés a toute une armée Sa masse les écrasa La vie plutôt que le courage Abandonna ces soldats Français Le 30 Avril 1863 A leur mémoire la patrie éleva ce monument

[1]: 103  In their memory, the fatherland has erected this monument")The railing from the Legion grave at Camarone can now be found at the village of Puyloubier near Aix-en-Provence.

The memorial has a raised platform, which covers the resting place of the remains of French and Mexican soldiers disinterred in the 1960s.

The memorial and parade ground, known as El Mausoleo (the Mausoleum), is a few blocks away on the edge of the village, near the town cemetery.

"[1]: 7  The 1st Foreign Regiment has the Mexican eagle on its unit badge, and the "Camerone" battle streamer sits on top of their standard.