#hms serapis

[illustratus]

The Engagement between USS Bonhomme Richard and HMS Serapis off Flamborough Head, 23 September 1779 by Richard Willis

[ltwilliammowett]

I have just begun to Fight, by Mort Künstler (1931-) 1977

[alineuponthewind]

Bonhomme Richard and Serapis - William Gilkerson

[ltwilliammowett]

Two 18th c. Ships in close quarter combat, third obscured by smoke behind, probably the American warship Bonhomme Richard in battle with the British frigate Serapis, September 23, 1779; scrimshawed on a very large whale tooth, 19th century 

[ltwilliammowett]

The ordeal of John Paul Jones Crew of the Bonhomme Richard repelling boarders from the Serapis, 23 September 1779, by Anton Ottto Fischer (1882- 1962)

[ltwilliammowett]

Engagement Between the "Bonhomme Richard" and the "Serapis" off Flamborough Head, 1779, by Richard Willis ( 1924- )

[ltwilliammowett]

Endurance - The Battle of Flamborough Head 1779, by Abraham Hunter

[ltwilliammowett]

USS Bonhomme Richard under Captain John Paul Jones and the Battle of Flamborough Head 1779, by A.A. Orlinski

In 1779, the American War of Independence was at its height and Spain and France had joined forces with the Americans against Britain. Britain had to rely even more heavily on its trade with the Baltic States to maintain vital naval supplies of timber and hemp.

On 23 September 1779, a large Baltic convoy of forty-one ships, escorted by the frigate HMS Serapis and the sloop HMS Countess of Scarborough, was sailing along the Yorkshire coast. They were intercepted off Flamborough Head by an American and French squadron led by John Paul Jones. The squadron had sailed from Lorient on 14 August with the frigates Bonhomme Richard, Alliance, Pallas and two smaller ships. They had cruised along the Irish and Scottish coasts taking several prizes before meeting the convoy off Flamborough Head.

The action began at 7.20pm and was watched by crowds on the shore. HMS Countess of Scarborough was soon captured by Pallas but the major event of the action was the battle between the Bonhomme Richard and HMS Serapis. The engagement lasted over three hours until 10.20pm when Jones finally succeeded in forcing the British ship to surrender, overcoming a more powerful adversary. Unfortunately, Bonhomme Richard sank the next morning as it had been badly damaged by the action. Jones succeeded in getting his prizes back to the Texel and finally to France. The Battle of Flamborough Head was the first major success of the new American navy.