On April 24, Commander Lewis Clark, of the South Atlantic Squadron, was sailing to Cartagena, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, when the lookouts aboard the Alliance sighted the one-gun Ambrose Light.

It was flying a strange flag featuring a red cross over a white background so the Americans assumed the vessel was a pirate ship.

The Americans were preparing to fire a shot over the vessel's bow when a Colombian ensign was observed and the Ambrose Light came to a halt.

The Colombians revealed their letter of marque from the rebel leader Pedro Lara, giving the men of Ambrose Light permission to blockade Cartagena.

[4] When fighting broke out in Cartagena, American Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard released Ambrose Light and her crew.