He ordered the destroyer USS Preble, under Lieutenant Junior Grade Vance Duncan Chapline, to find Tampico and follow her.

The destroyer Perry, which was off La Paz, was ordered to head for Topolobampo and report to Preble for further instructions with her radio.

Preble's commander, did not know what course or speed Tampico was making, so he slowly proceeded to Topolobampo, hoping to sight the ship at around daylight the next morning.

A few moments later, a lifeboat was dropped and a Mexican officer named Rebatet boarded Preble and presented the compliments of Captain Malpica.

Tampico had steamed only thirty miles when her one remaining boiler had burned out of action, rendering the Constitutionalist sailors stranded with no means of propulsion.

Repairs to the boiler were attempted, but proved fruitless, eventually Captain Malpica requested that the American destroyer tow Tampico into Altata, eighty miles away.

By this time, USS Perry had arrived, so Lieutenant Chapline was forced to deny Malpica's request, as doing so would have violated American neutrality.

At the time, Malpica's leg was covered in bandages; a week or so earlier, he had accidentally fired his revolver into his foot and could barely walk during the final battle.

The captain was happy to learn that a message had been sent to Rear Admiral Howard and invited the Americans to inspect the poor condition Tampico was in.

The rebels expected trouble with the 4-inch guns; upon examination, the Americans discovered that their breech block hinges were loose, the rifling badly eroded, and much movement was lost as a result of the training- and elevating-gears, being covered in filth from being underwater.

About 100 to 200 4-inch armor-piercing, blind and shrapnel shells were available, but most were weathered though due to exposure to the elements or from being submerged in Topolobampo Bay.

Twenty-nine sailors were aboard, with a reinforcement of twenty-five rebel soldiers, to make up for the missing Tampico crew members, for a total of sixty-one men.

The American captain informed Malpica that a radio response from Howard was not likely to happen that day, so the U.S. sailors went back to their ship.

When the American commander asked Malpica what he would do when he encountered Guerrero, he replied, "I'll fight her and sink her if she will only come within range of my guns."

At 8:00 pm that night, Chapline intercepted a radio communique from USS New Orleans, under Commander Noble E. Irwin, to Rear Admiral Howard.

Perry and Prebble's commanders were ordered to simply wait for Guerrero and New Orleans and to report every event of the battle, but assist neither side.

Tampico's Mexican National Ensign was hoisted and life boats lowered on the unengaged starboard side, reportedly the only preparations the rebels made before the action.

Later during the battle, while observing Tampico, the crew of Preble discovered that the Constitutionalist gunners would actually line up for a shot on Guerrero, then lie down and pull the firing lanyard, making no attempt to properly aim the guns.

At 8:02 Guerrero stopped for a moment with her starboard broadside aimed at Tampico and fired; the range was around 6,000 yards (5,500 m); still neither Mexican gunboat inflicted a hit on the other.

Many of Tampico's shells were falling about 3,000 yards (2,700 m) in front of Guerrero, the Americans deemed this as result of water-damaged ammunition or the dirty elevating gears on the 4-inch guns.

As Tampico only had 100 to 200 4-inch rounds at the start of hostilities, they concluded that Captain Malpica may have been preserving his armour piercing shells for when Guerrero came within close range.

This shell did not seem to harm Malpica's gunboat but the metal fragments killed some of the crew members, standing on deck.

Preble came within 50 yards (46 m) of Tampico, there her crew witnessed several Mexicans running around on deck waving white rags as a sign of surrender.

The men climbed all the way down the anchor cable but refused to jump into the water in order to swim to the American destroyer.

A moment after that the fire reached the powder magazine; a large explosion ensued and 4-inch shells were launched in "every direction" according to Lieutenant Chapline.

The last man rescued was Tampico's paymaster, Rebatet, who was found by Guerrero, severely wounded and holding onto a wooden plank of wreckage.

While the rebel sailors were climbing up Guerrero's ladder, Captain Hilario Malpica, stood up within his launch, removed his revolver from his side, placed it calmly to his head and fired.

When the fighting was well over, Lieutenant Chapline learned from Captain Torres that Malpica was a well-respected man, despite his mutiny months earlier.

Captain Torres sent a radio message to Commander Irwin of New Orleans, thanking the United States Navy warships for half-masting their colors for the sake of Malpica.

Captain Torres did not request that New Orleans surrender the six men she picked up; they were later transported to the United States and escaped becoming prisoners of war.