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Admiral Vernon headed the English naval assaults in the War of Jenkins' Ear

Source: The Debatable Land #557

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This was an American war. It was directed almost exclusively at Spain's commerce and her colonies. The main target was the Caribbean area, With Havana at the center and Puerto Bello, Cartagena and San Agustin on the perimeter. Vice-Admiral Vernon—"Old Grog," his seamen called him— was given the center of the naval stage.1 [Note 1 For Vernon's operations early in the war, see Clowes, The Royal Navy, III, 51-52, 58, 67, 265-267. For the participation of the North American troops, see Hart, F. R., Admirals of the Caribbean, 139-140; Temperley, H. W. V, "The Relations of England with Spanish America, 1720-1744," Am. Hist. Assoc. Ann. Rep., 1911, I, 231-237; Stover, "Admiral Vernon Medals," Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc., 1918-1919, vol. 52, pp. 195-196; An Account of the Expedition to Carthagena [1740] with Explanatory Notes and Observations. London, 1743. Printed for Mr. Cooper; Original Papers Relating to the Expedition to Carthagena [1740]. London, 1744. Printed for Mr. Cooper. See also Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, Vol. V (Boston, 1887), and the records of the various colonies. The Vernon-Wager Manuscripts in the Library of Congress are rich in materials for the War of Jenkins' Ear. (Ford, W. C, The Vernon-Wager Manuscripts, pp. 60-99 passim.)] Oglethorpe played the chief role on land. With a small fleet Vernon sailed to Jamaica. Thence he proceeded to the Isthmus and captured Puerto Bello. Hysterical over the victory, England encored. A medal was struck bearing the words: "Brave Vernon made us free; no search upon the seas shall be!"