The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1878-05-24

flagstaff and flag had been shot away,
| BEGAN to below "Quarter for God s
sake. quarter" till Jones stopped his
noise By staving in his skull with the
butt end of his pistol. The master-at>
arms of the Bonhomme Richard, hearing
tn carpenters statement and the guns
ner's outcry, released the prisoners from
the bold. More than hundred OF them
III. he'd on ok; they might and should
have rendered themselves masters OF the
ship, or a least have enabled their friends
of the Scraps to do 80, but they were
bewildered and panic-stricken Jones,
with q presence of mind and an lmpu-
dence that rises to the sublime, set them
to work az the pumps, and at the pumps
they continued One only among them
retained his self-possession, and, escaping
on board the Scraps 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
Alliance decided it. She had not assisted
the Bonhomme Richard as she ought to
have done her fire had caused as much
Damage to friend as to foe, but she served
to discourage the Scraps, and that dis
couragement was sufficient to turn the
scale About half past ten O'Clock the
Scraps struck, and was taken possession
Of The Bonhomme Richard was
with difficulty kept afioat through
the night and sank about ten
o'clock the next forenoon. There is
no trustworthy return Of killed and
wounded the numbers are said TO have
been about 200 on board the Scraps, 100
on board the Bonhomme Richard but
this is little better than a guess and it
is very probable that they were much
larger The accounts are widely differ
ent. rising to nearly 500 for each ship,
and all that can be positively said is that,
as compared with the numbers engaged,
it il the bloodiest battle on modern
record.
Throughout the action Jones' conduct
as captain OF ship OF w9r Is beyond all
praise. His ship was in every way very
inferior 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 A lance. [ think, though contrary
to every American writer, that it was
the mere presence of the Alliance that
4
the Pail8s was also without effect. In
this | think that Parsons report is
agreeable to common sense, untrammeied
by national prejudice, if, indeed, nation
al prejudice has anything to do with the
matter. But, on the other hand, ] think
that it is impossible to over-rate the
ability, the pluck, the determination,
aud the presence of mind with which
Jones fought and won the battle. The
Alliance gave. Pearson an excuse for
striking his flag 1t was Jones, Jones
alone, rather than the BOnhomme
Richard, who first beat him 70 a
standestill.
The Countess of Scarborough was cap~
tured, the Scraps was captured the
convoy, valued at E600. 900, was saved ;
the Bonhomme Richard was sunk, and
Paul Jones' cruise was of necessity ended.
Putting the credit or discredit OF the
affair on one side, the material advantage
was held TO be in favor of England, and
the state-men OF the time, the illustrious
trio of the ballad, did not care to exam
inc too critically into the rest. Neither
did the merchants OF London, whose
merchandise was safe. They presented
Pearson with a sword of honor and the
king knighted him. He was a decent,
honest Tsan, and had done his best 4; but
his best was not what ought to be
rewarded \ government that wishes
its officers to achieve impossibilities
sbold not reward even the best-intended
failures. Jones' remark on hearing of it
is characteristic 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 Bonhomme
Richard, leaving the cong ueror, with his
mongrel crew, aAoat in the dismasted
ship. the interest of Jones career as
affecting English naval history ends.
Jones wished to 90 to Dunkirk, but his
orders were to put into the Texel, and
thither his colleagues insisted on his
going. The ships lay there for some
time, but as Sir Joseph York, the English
minister at the Hague, protested against
their being admitted, asserting that Jones
was 4 rebel and pirate, the prizes few
French colors, and were afterward bought
in, at low figure, by the French gov
eminent Fraser's Magazine.