 In early 1873, the First Spanish Republic was beset with the Cantonal Revolution. Werner commanded the ironclad Friedrich Carl (his flagship) and a pair of unarmored vessels on a naval intervention mission. The ships joined a British squadron that had been patrolling the southern Spanish coast. Admiral Werner, the senior commander in the group, was given command of the Anglo-German force. A rebel faction of the Spanish Navy had seized four of the country's seven ironclads. Werner's squadron blockaded two rebel ironclads in the port of Cartagena after they had bombarded a coastal town. While steaming off Alicante, Friedrich Carl encountered the rebel armed steamer Vigilante, seized the vessel, and returned it to the Spanish national government.
