According to Wikipedia, 3948 Americans took part in the battle of Vera Cruz. Question is, does anyone know how many of these were Marines?

I don't know how many Marines where there, without checking some of my books. But I do know one Marine who WAS there, GySgt Dan Daly. According to one story, he personally killed 20 Mexicans during the fierce house to house fighting in the city surrounding the harbor. I'm fairly certain that Smedley Butler and John A. Lejeune were both there commanding units as well.

I believe Smedley Butler earned one of his MOH there...may have been Dan Daley. one of the two

Here are some of the figures I have. When the initial landings on the Vera Cruz waterfronts took place on the 21st, the overall Commander of the operation, Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher, dropped whaleboats over the side of his ships and dispatched a mixed force of roughly 700 Marines and armed Bluejackets. On the second day of fighting, understanding that the entire city would have to be pacified, two units with a combined total of 3,000 U.S. Marine reinforcements were requested and landed in Vera Cruz. The first to arrive was Maj. Smedley D. Butler's Detachment from Panama, and the second was landed later in the day under the command of Col. John A. Legeune. After the initial fighting subsided, an additional 7,000 U.S. Army personnel were landed as an occupation force including young Lt. Douglas MacArthur and under the overall command of General "Fighting Fred" Funston. Over 55 Medals of Honor were awarded for what most involoved agreed was a relatively minor two day scrap, the most ever awarded for a single engagement. Congress even authorized the award for Officers and Smedley Butler, upon recieving his second MOH, tried to return it, stating that he had never seen such "a foul and unutterable perversion of our nation's highest honor," but was ordered to keep it anyway. According to a family story I reviewed in my files last night, Gunnery Sgt. Dan Daly was leading a Company to secure the telegraph office and customs house, an enemy strongpoint which was being held by numerous armed Mexicans. Daly burst through the door at the head of his men, armed with a shotgun and a Colt .45, and gunned down 16 of the defenders. According to family legend, he tipped the local priest so all the men he killed could get a proper funeral.

55? and they all held up? wow

The book Home of the Commandants is usually a good source of such details reagrding the Old Corps, but they simply refer to the Vera Cruz force as a "reinforced brigade."