The boat had nearly reached the stranded vessel when it was caught in one of the tropical tempests, which sometimes appear with cyclonic suddenness in that part of the world.  It was impossible to board the wreck, and equally impossible to get back to the Princeton.  A powerful current set in toward shore, in which direction the gale was blowing.  The combined efforts of the sturdy rowers could not check the progress of the boat, which perhaps would have been the right course to take but for an alarming discovery.

On the beach a company of Mexican soldiers were drawn up with a field piece, making ready to annihilate the little American company, as they could do without the slightest difficulty before the gallant sailors could land and make a charge.  Here was a dilemma indeed.  Nothing could extricate the boat and its crew from their peril and not a man could raise a finger to help himself.

There was only one person who saw the only possible thing to do.  Lieutenant Boggs ordered the single white shirt in the party to be torn up, tied on the end of a boathook and displayed as a flag of truce.  Then, by his directions, the men rowed with all speed straight for the enemy, who were thus disarmed of their hostile purpose.  Walking up to the leader of the company, the lieutenant explained that he had been sent to destroy the Truxton, but had been driven ashore against his will.  He hastened to explain to the officer that he had no intention of attacking the town, but he should do so if any one tried to prevent his destruction of the stranded vessel.

When the insignificance of the American party is remembered, there was something amusing in this; but the Mexican officer not only gave his promise, but entertained his visitors until the gale was over.  Then the Truxton was fired and Boggs returned to his ship.

He was on the Pacific coast when the Civil War broke out, serving as inspector of lighthouses.  Chafing under idleness, he petitioned the Government to give him active employment afloat.  His wish was granted and he was placed in command of the Varuna, a passenger steamer, purchased by the Government and changed into a gunboat.  Admiral Farragut was making his preparations to attack New Orleans, and the Varuna was added to his fleet.  She was a very swift but frail craft, a fact which led Farragut to grant Boggs’ request to be allowed to run ahead of the position that had been assigned him.

In order to get up all the steam possible, the pork among the ship’s store was flung into the blazing furnace under the boilers.  The craft went through the water at a tremendous speed, and upon coming opposite the forts, Boggs fired his starboard battery and then ordered grape and canister to be used as rapidly as possible.  Work had hardly begun when the Confederate gunboats appeared on every hand.  With the same coolness that he had shown when driven ashore in Mexico, the command was given for the guns to be fired “on both sides.”  Indeed, there were so many targets that it would have been about as difficult to miss as to hit one.