Does this cover smell like coffee to you?

Official caption: “U.S. Navy Landing Party. Photographed on board ship, probably at the time of the Vera Cruz incident, circa April 1914.”

Courtesy of Carter Rila, 1986. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. NH 100832

The bluejackets are wearing Marine Corps flannel shirts and khaki trousers, with Dixie Cups (introduced in 1886) that have been dyed with coffee grounds. Among them are a stack of early M1903 Springfield rifles and at least one man is wearing an ammunition belt while most seem to be wearing leggings for shore service.

The ship may be the new dreadnought South Carolina (Battleship No. 26) as she had landed a nearly battalion-strong force to occupy the Mexican port city’s waterfront.

It was certainly a motley look, especially with the Dixie Cups rolled down: 

Vera Cruz Incident, 1914. A landing party of USS SOUTH CAROLINA (BB-26) at Vera Cruz, Mexico, in April 1914. Courtesy of…