Naval+Battle+the+Bonhomme+Richard+Defeats+the+Serepis

=The Naval Battle: The Bonhomme Richard Defeats the British Ship Serapis=

====The battle between the Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis took place on September 23rd, 1779. Also known as the Battle of [|Flamborough Head], the battle was a big victory for the American ship, the Bonhomme Richard. The Bonhomme Richard was a 42- gun, 152 ft. ship in the Continental Navy under the command of Captain John Paul Jones. The Serapis was a ship in a large convoy of[| Merchant ships]returning from the Baltic sea, commanded by Captain Robert Peterson.====



====The Bonhomme Richard was first launched in the year 1766, and aquired by the US in February of 1779. The Ship was originally intended to be used as a merchant ship for the [|French East India Company]. The ship was placed at the disposal of the Americans, as the result of a loan from the French. When the Bonhomme Richard was a French ship, it was known as the Duc de Duras. John Paul Jones named the ship the Bonhomme Richard to honor [|Benjamin Franklin].The ship sank 36 hours after the battle with the Serapis due to severe damages. The damages the ship took in the battle against the Serapis were too severe, so the ship couldn't continue.====



====The Serapis was the British Ship which sailed under the Royal Navy. Named after the [|greek god Serapis], the ship was built in February of 1778. The ship carried a significant armory of 44 guns in total, and was 140 ft long. The Serapis had three careers in total. She started in England, was captured by the Americans, then given to France from the Americans. The Americans had to give the ship to the french due to political issues. The French decommisioned the Vessall, and used it as a privateer. The ship was wrecked off the coast of [|Madagascar], due to a fire, and was never able to be moved or repaired.====

= = = = = = ====John Paul Jones, the Captain of the[| Bonhomme Richard], was originally a Scotish sailor, who later moved to Virginia, and served in the [|American Revolution.] Jones was born in Scotland in 1747. He sailed from a very young age, and he was ranked [|Captain] later in life, in the[| Continental Navy]. Jones became a Revolutionary War Hero. He was also a [|rear admiral]in the Russian Navy after the revolution. John Paul Jones had made enemies with America's political elites, but after his battle with the Serapis, that bad reputation was virtually forgotton. In John Paul Jones' early carreer as a sailor, he sailed with British Merchant ships which he sailed as a third mate, and as a first mate. Jones gained a good reputation in sailing when the captain of his ship died of yellow fever, and Jones was able to navigate it back to a safe port. The Scotish owners of that ship made him master of the vessal and its crew. On one instance, Jones had gotten into a disagreement with one of his crew members over wages, and killed him. To escape prosecution, he fled to Virginia. Early in the Revolutionary war, Jones sailed on the delaware river on the Continental navy's maiden voyage. Jones was then assigned to sail the[| "ranger"] a new ship in the Continental Navy. Jones attacked England while commanding the Ranger. His first attempt was unsuccessful due to wind while coming ashore, but on the next attempt, they set fires to a British town. After attacking England, he encountered a ship called [|"Drake"] on his return to France. Jones successfully defeated that ship after an hour long battle. The United States had very few Naval battles or victories, but Jones had two of them. After the revoluition ended, Jones went to Russia to serve in the Russian Navy.====

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====Another important person in the battle was [|Richard Pearson], the captain of the British ship the [|Serapis]. Pearson was born in 1731 in England, and died in 1806 in England. He served in the [|British Navy]and the East India Company with merchant ships. Pearson did well in the [|seven years war], but was seriously wounded. He was oficially promoted to Captain in 1773. In 1779 he was given control of the Serapis. Before the encounter with the Bonhomme Richard, the Serapis was escorting a large convoy of merchant ships from the [|Baltic Sea]back to England. Although Pearson had to surrender the Serapis, he distracted the American fleet enough so that the merchant ships could get safely to shore. For that he was concidered a hero. Pearson was always highly regarded in his home land after the war.====



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====The battle took place off of the [|east coast of England]. There were four ships including the Bonhomme Richard in the fleet that sailed out of France under the American Flag. The fleet consisted of three other ships, one of which was sailed by a captain who often had disagreements with Catpain Jones, and was absent from the fleet for signifigant amounts of time. The intention of sailing to England was to divert attention from French operations that were also taking place in the channel. On September 23rd, the day of the battle, lookouts reported seeing a fleet of 40 British merchant ships returning from the Baltic Sea, under the command of the Serapis. Many ofthe [|merchantmen] went to the shore, and anchored, because most of the merchant ships were defenseless. The [|Battle between the Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis] started at seven o'clock that evening. Early into the battle, the Bonhomme Richard was blasted in the side by a cannonball. The explosion caused the ship to lose much of its firepower, and many gunners. Captain Richard Pearson of the Serapis called out to Jones from his ship, asking Jones to surrendor. Jones then replied,[| "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!",]which is a famous quote from the battle. Now that Captain Jones has lost much of his firepower, he fought with light guns on the deck, and sharpshooting marines. Jones' strategy was to lash the two ships together, which would give him the advantage, and the Serapis would no longer be able to maneuver. Jones needed that to happen, because his ship was greatly crippled early in the battle. The Bonhomme Richard was a larger ship with a greater amount of crew members than the Serapis. Now that The ships were lashed together, that the crews tried boarding the opposing ship to take it over, but those efforts failed. The Bonhomme Richard later recieved assistance from another ship, [|"The alliance",]in its squadron. Although the ship that came to assist the Richard caused some [|collateral damage]on the Richard, the battle was won. Captain Pearson surrendured, and the ship was then taken by the Americans. After capturing it, the ship was sailed to the [|United Provinces]for repairs. During the battle, the ship "Pallas" was successful in taking over the British ship, [|"Countess of Scarborough]". After the Bonhomme Richard was deemed unsavable, the crew boarded the Serapis. The Serapis was later given to the French for political reasons.====

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