Service afloat, in the Gulf of Mexico, was preparing. His first application for service, in case of war, was made on the 16th of August. Meanwhile, he called the attention of Secretary Bancroft to the defective state of our signals, and forwarded the code of Admiral Rohde, of the Danish navy, as the basis of a new compilation; and, according to orders, engaged in the examination of merchant steamers, with a view to harbor and coast defence, and for use in war. On the 4th of February, 1846, he received information from Mexico which satisfied him that war was inevitable, and that he would soon be in the land of the cactus, the eagle, and the serpent. Further, the frigate _Cumberland_, when in the act of starting for the Mediterranean, was ordered to Vera Cruz. In answer to repeated offers of service, Perry received orders dated August 20, 1846, to command the two new steamers, _Vixen_ and _Spitfire_, which were fitting out at New York. When these were ready, he was to go out to relieve Captain Fitzhugh of the _Mississippi_. The younger officers, graduates of the Sandy Hook School of Gunnery, were eager to serve under their former instructor, especially when they saw that he, himself, gladly accepted an inferior command in order to serve his country well. He arrived at Vera Cruz on the 24th of September. He was subordinate to Commodore Conner, whose date of commission preceded his own; but practically, though not officially, the Gulf or Home squadron was divided. Conner had charge of the sail, and Perry of the steam vessels. Owing to lack of ships of light draught, Conner had been able to accomplish little. The splendid opportunities of the first year were lost, and naval expeditions, even when attempted, proved failures. The most notorious of these was the second unsuccessful demonstration at Alvarado, October 16, which shook the faith of the strongest believers in the abilities and resolution of Commodore Conner.[15] Because of the grounding of the schooner _McLane_, on the bar, the enterprise was given up for the day. On the morrow, when all was ready for a second attempt, and the men eager for the fray—their last will and testament having been left numerously with the chaplain—the flag-ship’s signals were read with amazement and wrath: “Return to the anchorage off Vera Cruz.” Whether the pilots feared a “norther,” or Conner doubted the military qualities of his seamen on land, or believed his craft unsuited to the task, is not certainly known.