by John Marshall

“ On the 1st June, 1806, Lieutenant Kerr was sent in the Jason’s barge with two other boats under his command, to destroy a battery, supposed to contain only one gun, near Aguadilla, on the N.W. side of Porto Rico. In attempting to land close to it, the barge grounded on a piece of coral, and the men unexpectedly plunged breast high into a hole between her and the shore, by which their ammunition was rendered totally useless: the Spaniards in the mean time kept up a smart and well-directed fire. ”

“ Lieutenant Kerr was wounded in the leg by a splinter, and had his face very much burnt: of 40 men who landed from the boats, only 18 remained uninjured. On this circumstance being communicated to the committee of the Patriotic Fund, they distributed rewards to the wounded sailors, and voted Lieutenant Kerr 100l., for which a handsome sword was afterwards substituted at his particular request.
On the 27th Jan. 1807, the Jason captured la Favorite French corvette, formerly a British sloop, mounting 29 guns, with a complement of 150 men [2] . ”

“ In the battery, instead of a single gun, were found mounted one long 24-pounder, three brass twelves, an 8-pounder, and a field-piece. The latter was quickly turned against the Spaniards, who had fled into the woods, and were still lurking there ”