The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-05-30

In6 AeANhNAN
or later, have ended matters In her ia.
vor, had not single accident, or rather
the union of ingenious daring on one
side, and objectionable carelessness on
the other, changed the appearance OF
things about 10 o'clock. A seaman OF
the Bonhomme Richard had laid out on
the main yard, carrying with nm q
bucketful Of hand.grensdes. One OF
these he succeeded in throwing down
the Serapiss main hatchway on to her
lower deck. A number Of cartridges had
been placed there in the rear Of the guns
among these the grenade fell The
explosion ran from the main mast an
disabled many of the guns, and killed,
wounded, or horribly scorched every
man at them. The effect was disastrous,
and for minute it was debated whether
the Serapis should not surrender.
But on board the Bonhomme Richard
things were as bad. The carpenter came
M to Jones and said the ship was sink
ing; the gunner hearing this, ran ait to
haul down the Avg; but finding that the
flag and staff had already been shot away
began to below "Quarterl for Gods SAKE,
quarter" till Jones stopped his noise, oy
stsVing in his skull with the butt end OF
a pistol. The Master-at- at-Arms OF the
Bonhomme Richard, hearing the carpen-
ter's statement, and the gunner s outcry,
released the prisoners from the hold.
More than hundred ofthem rushed on
deck; they might and should have rem
dered themselves masters of the ship; or
at least have enabled their friends of the |
Serapis to do 80, but they were bewlId-
cred and panic.stricken; Jones, with
presence of mind and an impudence that
rises to the sublime, set them to work at
the pumps, and at the pumps they con-
tinued. One only among them retained
his self-pesession, and, escaping on board
the Serapis through port, told Captain
Pearson the state the enemy was in. 1t
was too late to be Of any real use. Both
ships were, in fact, thoroughly beaten,
and it was almost matter OF chance
which should give in. l believe the Al.
lance decided it. She had not assisted
the Bonhomme Richard as she should
have done; her fire had caused as much
damage to friend as to foe, but che serV'
ed to discourage the Scraps, and that
discouragement was sufficient to turn the
scale. About half past ten the Scraps
struck, and was taken possession OF. The
Bonhomme Richard was with difficulty
kept ahoat through the night, and sank
about ten o'clock the next morning.
There is no reliable return of killed and
wounded, the numbers are said to be
about 200 on board the Scraps, l2O on
board the Bonhomme Richard; but this
is little better than guess, and it is very
probable they were much larger; The
accounts are widely different, rising to
nearly 300 for each ship, and all that can
be positively said is that, as compared
with the numbers engaged, it is the
bloodiest battle on modern record,
Throughout the action Jones's conduct
as Captain of a ship of war is beyond all
praise. His ship was in every way infer
ior to the Scraps, and Pearson was a
man of known courage and good repute.
| DO not think, though, every American
writer thinks that Jones took the Sera-
pis, not only single handed, but against
the reasonable assistance of Landais, in
the Alliance. think, though, contrary
to the position of every American writer,
that it was the mere presence Of the AL
lance that decided the result. The
presence of the Pallas was also without
effect. In this think that Pearson's re-
port is agreeable with common sense, ,uL-
trammeed by national prejudice, if, in
deed, national prejudice has anything to
do with the matter. But, on the other
hand, think it is impossible to over.rate
The ability, the pluck, the determination
and the presence of mind with which 9
Jones fough and won the battle, The
Alliance gave Pearson an excuse for
striking his flag. 1t was Jones, he alone
rather than the Bonhomme Richard,
who first beat him to stand still.
The Countess of Scarborough was cap.
tured, the Scraps was captured; the con-
voy, valued at &600000 was saved; the
BonhOmme Richard was sunk, and Paul
Jones's cruise was of necessity ended,
Putting the credit or discredit of the af-
fair on one side, the material advantage
was held to be in favor of England, and
the statesmen of the time, the illustrious
trio of the ballad, did not care to enter
too critically into the rest. Neither did !
the merchants of London, whose mer-
chandise was safe. They presented Pear
son with a sword of honor; and the King
Knighted him. He was a decent, hon
est man, and had done his best; but his {
best was not what ought to be rewarded
A Government that wishes its officers to
achieve impossibilitIes should not re-
ward even the best intended failures.
Jones's remark on hearing Of it is char.
acteristic and pardonable; "Should /
have the good fortune to fall in with him
again, I'll make a Lord of him."
With the sinking of the Bonhomne {
leaving the conquerer, with his !
mongrel crew, afoat in the dismasted
ship, the interest of Jones's career as af-
fecting English naval history ends. Jones I
wished to 60 to Dunkirk; but his orders
we're to put into the Texel, and thither
his colleagues insisted on his going. The
ships lay there for some time, but as Sir
Joseph Yorke, the English Minister at
the Hague, protested against their beirg
asserting that Jones was reb
el and pirate, the prizes flew French
colors, and were afterward bought in, at
a low figure, by the French Govern
n