At 6:00 P.M. on September 23, 1779 the USS Bonhomme Richard engaged in a pitched naval battle with the British Royal Navy ship HMS Serapis at the Battle of Flamborough Head. The fight between Bonhomme Richard and Serapis lasted for four hours and the two ships hammered each other mercilessly.
The more heavily armed British man 'o war seemed very likely to defeat the larger though more lightly armed U.S. Navy ship -- originally a merchant vessel known as an East Indiaman, she served in the French Navy as the Duc de Duras before the French king, Louis XIV, placed her at the disposal of American John Paul Jones in February of 1779. The Royal Navy was the preeminent naval power in the world at that time and its seamanship and gunnery skills were second to none. That mattered little to Jones, however.
At one point, Serapis had what appeared to be deadly advantage over Bonhomme Richard, and the British captain called on Jones to strike his colors and surrender his ship. Jones' reply would enter U.S. naval history: "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!"
Through superior seamanship -- and a willingness to take an ungodly amount of punishment against his ship and its crew (both captains would lose about half their men by the end of the engagement) -- Jones was able to bring Bonhomme Richard next to Serapis and lash his ship to her side. Doing so negated the British ship's greater maneuverability and gave a momentary advantage to the U.S. vessel, which was larger and boasted a more numerous crew.
As was the practice, Jones' crew attempted to board Serapis, followed by an attempt on the part of the British crew to board Bonhomme Richard. Neither side succeeded, and in the process lost still more crew to grape shot, musket fire from the decks and from snipers aloft in the sails.
It wasn't until another of Jones' ships joined the fray against Serapis raking her with cannon fire and aiming for her main mast, that the British captain struck his colors and surrendered his vessel, at about 10:30 P.M. Bonhomme Richard was much the worse for wear after the battle, however -- shattered, on fire and taking on water heavily, it finally sank about 36 hours later. Jones transferred his flag to the captured British ship and sailed it to the Dutch United Provinces for repair and refit.
Jones' victory over Serapis was also one of the factors that convinced the French crown to back the American colonies in the rebellion against their former British masters. The French navy would commence battle at sea against the Royal Navy and would also provide invaluable military and logistical aid to American forces wherever possible.
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."
The more heavily armed British man 'o war seemed very likely to defeat the larger though more lightly armed U.S. Navy ship -- originally a merchant vessel known as an East Indiaman, she served in the French Navy as the Duc de Duras before the French king, Louis XIV, placed her at the disposal of American John Paul Jones in February of 1779. The Royal Navy was the preeminent naval power in the world at that time and its seamanship and gunnery skills were second to none. That mattered little to Jones, however.
At one point, Serapis had what appeared to be deadly advantage over Bonhomme Richard, and the British captain called on Jones to strike his colors and surrender his ship. Jones' reply would enter U.S. naval history: "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!"
Through superior seamanship -- and a willingness to take an ungodly amount of punishment against his ship and its crew (both captains would lose about half their men by the end of the engagement) -- Jones was able to bring Bonhomme Richard next to Serapis and lash his ship to her side. Doing so negated the British ship's greater maneuverability and gave a momentary advantage to the U.S. vessel, which was larger and boasted a more numerous crew.
As was the practice, Jones' crew attempted to board Serapis, followed by an attempt on the part of the British crew to board Bonhomme Richard. Neither side succeeded, and in the process lost still more crew to grape shot, musket fire from the decks and from snipers aloft in the sails.
It wasn't until another of Jones' ships joined the fray against Serapis raking her with cannon fire and aiming for her main mast, that the British captain struck his colors and surrendered his vessel, at about 10:30 P.M. Bonhomme Richard was much the worse for wear after the battle, however -- shattered, on fire and taking on water heavily, it finally sank about 36 hours later. Jones transferred his flag to the captured British ship and sailed it to the Dutch United Provinces for repair and refit.
Jones' victory over Serapis was also one of the factors that convinced the French crown to back the American colonies in the rebellion against their former British masters. The French navy would commence battle at sea against the Royal Navy and would also provide invaluable military and logistical aid to American forces wherever possible.
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."