Following the Battle of Mulege and the christening of the chartered schooner Libertad, Lieutenant Tunis Craven took command and set sail north, up the Gulf of California.

According to reports, the Mexican population of coastal towns grew terrified of the repeated appearances of Libertad in the waters off their settlements.

Craven later reported the initiation of the action: "I heard no sound ashore, but the passing of the sentry's call, till about half-past ten o'clock, when bang!

Craven reported that the Mexicans kept up a steady stream of cannonballs on their target, most of them however flew over the ship or passed just across Libertad's bow.

The fighting lasted about two hours, slowly the batteries reduced their rate of fire before being mostly silenced at about 11:00 pm and by 12:00 midnight, all was quiet again.