In 1903 Butler was stationed in Puerto Rico on Culebra Island. Hearing rumors of a Honduran revolt, the United States government ordered his unit and a supporting naval detachment to sail to Honduras, to the west, to defend the U.S. Consulate there. Using a converted banana boat renamed the "Panther", Butler and several hundred Marines landed at the port town of Puerto Cortés. In a letter home, he described the action: they were "prepared to land and shoot everybody and everything that was breaking the peace", but instead found a quiet town. The Marines re-boarded the "Panther" and continued up the coast line, looking for rebels at several towns, but found none.