Vernet used Puerto Soledad/Puerto Luis as a seal hunting base. The United Provinces of the River Plate granted him a monopoly in the islands and he curbed sealing by others. Vernet later seized the American ship "Harriet" for breaking the restrictions on seal hunting. Property on board the ship was seized and the captain was returned to Buenos Aires to stand trial. Vernet also returned for the trial. The American Consul in the United Provinces of the River Plate protested the actions by Vernet, stating that the United States did not recognise its sovereignty in the Falklands. The consul dispatched the warship USS "Lexington" to Puerto Luis to retake the confiscated property, as well as the "Superior" and "Breakwater" which had also been seized. The "Lexington" destroyed the guns and powder of Puerto Luis in 1832, an act later condoned by the American ambassador in Buenos Aires, who declared the Falkland Islands to be "res nullius" ("free from any power"). Forty settlers took the opportunity to leave on board the "Lexington", leaving twenty-four behind.