Note BRITISH VALOR DISPLAYED; OR, THE BATTLE OF THE KEGS — Chapter VII
Reading edition
Page 208. British Valor Displayed; or, The Battle of the Kegs. This ballad was occasioned by a real incident. Certain machines in the form of kegs, charged with gunpowder, were sent down the river to annoy the British shipping then at Philadelphia. The danger of these machines being discovered, the British manned the wharfs and shipping and discharged their small-arms and cannons at everything they saw floating in the river during the ebb tide.—Author's note.