Richard and four small ships met
up with two British ships: the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough.
The Bonhomme Richard started to fire her 18-pound canons. This fire was
returned by the Serapis.
Treading the Waters of Victory
October 3, 1779
Dear Mary,
It is my unfortunate duty to tell you I have been in a battle at sea. My ship, the Bonhomme Richard, was commanded by John Paul Jones. He was born on July 6, 1747 in Kirkbean, Scotland. Jones was interested from a young age in sailing the ocean. He first sailed at 13, on the Friendship, a merchant ship on which he was apprenticed.
Jones received command of the ship, John, when he was 21.
In August of this year, John Paul Jones borrowed a ship from King Louis XVI of France. He renamed the brig Bonhomme Richard after Poor Richard’s Almanac in honor of Benjamin Franklin.
On September 23, 1779, the Bonhomme
Richard and four small ships met
up with two British ships: the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough.
The Bonhomme Richard started to fire her 18-pound canons. This fire was
returned by the Serapis.
During one round of cannon fire, my ship was set a blaze. We were starting to sink and an American loss seemed definite.
Captain Pearson of the Serapis asked Lieutenant Jones if he wished to surrender, "I have not yet begun to fight!" was John Paul Jones’s reply.
This gave the crew members and myself new strength. We fired consistently at the Serapis until her main mast began to shake.
Captain Pearson panicked and surrendered to Lieutenant Jones. Unfortunately, the Bonhomme Richard had been dangerously weakened by the fight. Our crew transferred onto the Serapis just as it sank on September 25th.
I believe naval warfare will help the Americans win the war for independence, and hoping this fight comes to an end soon, I remain.
Yours truly,
Edward Stevens