of Cartagena had two essential objectives. Firstly, to extend the rebellion thus making it possible to distract enemy forces and break their presumed encirclement; and secondly, to provide subsistence to the 9,000-strong forces concentrated in Cartagena, in addition to providing the necessary money to cope with war expenses, because the resources obtained in Cartagena itself were insufficient. The first maritime expedition took place on 20 July, in a simultaneous action by the paddle steamer Fernando el Católico under General Contreras towards Mazarrón and Águilas on the Murcian coast, and the ironclad warship Vitoria under the command of "Antonete" Gálvez towards Alicante. In principle the two missions were successful as Mazarrón and Águilas joined the Murcian Canton and Gálvez proclaimed the Canton of Alicante, establishing a Public Health Board. But three days after the return of the Vitoria to Cartagena, the "centralist" authorities regained control of Alicante and dissolved the canton. Galvez returned in the Vigilante, which was requisitioned in the port of Alicante, and made a stop in Torrevieja where a commission met him to join the Murcian Canton, ceasing to belong to the province of Alicante. But when on 23 July the Vigilante was about to enter Cartagena, he was intercepted by the armored frigate using the decree just approved by the government of Nicolás Salmerón that declared "pirates" of all ships flying the red cantonal flag, so they could be captured by ships of any country within even the Spanish jurisdictional waters. In addition the commodore Reinhold von Werner, commander of the "Friedrich Carl", demanded the delivery of the frigate "Vitoria" because she had also raised the red flag. Finally the Cartagena Board handed over the Vigilante to Werner, but not the Vitoria that was safe at the port. Meanwhile, in Murcia, the first major land expedition was organized for Lorca, a city that did not want to join the Canton of Cartagena, as Totana and Alhama had already done, after they were helped by a column of volunteers. The cantonal force composed of 2,000 men and four pieces of artillery, under the command of "Antonete" Galvez, arrived on 25 July raising the flag in the City Hall and establishing a Public Salvation Board. But the Murcian canton in Lorca only lasted one day because as soon as Galvez's forces returned to Murcia on the 26th, with several thousand pesetas as a war contribution, the local authorities that