I Have Not Yet Begun To Fight!
On 14 August, 1779, American naval Captain John Paul Jones sailed from Brest, France, in charge of a squadron of four vessels. Though all were under American flag, three of the vessels were actually commanded by Frenchmen. Jones' own ship was an old Indiaman which he named the Bon Homme Richard in honor of his friend Benjamin Franklin. To her battery of twelve-pounders he had added six eighteens in ports cut in the gun-room. His officers were Americans without experience in naval duties, and his crew was a motley assemblage.
Captain Jones had been operating in the area since late 1777 looking for opportunities to distress the enemies of the United States by sea or land. In previous engagements in the area Jones had met with consistent successes including the seizure of enemy merchant ships, an amphibious attack at Whitehaven, England , and the capture of the British 20-gun warship Drake. Jones had experienced many disappointments over the previous year in trying to raise a force for further operations. He was finally at sea again!
On 23 September, he sighted a fleet of 40 British merchantmen returning from the Baltic, under convoy of the Serapis, 44 guns, and the Countess of Scarborough, 28 guns. He signaled the attack, but most of the merchantmen ran in shore and anchored under the guns of Scarborough Castle. At seven in the evening the Bon Homme Richard closed with the Serapis and began one of the most desperate conflicts on record. Bon Homme Richard was blasted in the initial broadside the two ships exchanged, losing much of her firepower and many of her gunners. Captain Richard Pearson, commanding Serapis, called out to Jones, asking
if he surrendered. Jones' reply: "I have not yet begun to fight!" Jones continued the fight with a few light guns on the spardeck. Sharpshooting Marines and seamen in Richard's tops raked Serapis with gunfire, clearing the weather decks. Even though their ship was sinking beneath them, Jones and his crew tenaciously fought on with the two ships literally locked in combat. Finally, a hand-grenade was dropped from the main-yard of the Richard down a hatchway in the Serapis causing a terrible explosion on the lower deck. After the Americans drove back a final attempt by a British boarding party, Captain Pearson had the Serapis' flag struck at half-past ten at night, and she was surrendered.
Each ship had nearly half her men killed or wounded. Upon going aboard the Bon Homme Richard Captain Pearson reported that he "found her in the greatest distress, her counters and quarter driven in, all her lower-deck guns dismounted, on fire in two places, and six or seven feet of water in the hold." Bon Homme Richard sank the next day forcing Jones to transfer his command to Serapis. With his victory John Paul Jones had, once again, demonstrated the boldness and nautical skill that have secured his place as an American naval legend.