In her second contract, "King George", under the command of Master's Mate Thomas Mercer, participated in the Battle of the Basque Roads. William Congreve, who had arrived with a transport, fitted "King George", and the other hired armed cutter, "Nimrod", with rockets. On 11 April the three vessels took up a position near the Boyart (see Fort Boyard) Shoal while fireships made a night attack on the French ships. The next day all three, together with a number of other vessels, opened fire upon "Océan", "Régulus", and the frigate "Indienne", as those ships lay aground. The first two eventually escaped, and the last was one of four eventually destroyed, though by her own crew some days later to avoid capture. In 1847 the surviving members of the crews of all the British vessels at the battle qualified for the Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "Basque Roads 1809". Rear-Admiral Robert Stopford sent "King George" back to England with dispatches.