The National tribune., 1898-05-12

great stress on what he termed THE eX
treme and unheard-Of desperation of m
adversary, whose stubbornness had so af
fectcd my own people that could no longe
urgo them to resistance above decks.
The Judge-AdvOcate then asked: "Hoy
do you account, Capt. Pearson, Tor this eX
treme and unheard of desperation
Il cannot account for it, sir, replie'
Pearson dryly, unless it was becaus
Capt Jones, knowing that our Govern
ment had declared him pirate felt tina
he was fighting with a rope round hi
neck'' Lieut. Breton's paper in the Mag
azine; also Admiralty Papers.l
This was proper enough for the time ant
place when and where it was uttered AM
it had a favor of grim huTnor there. But l
would have been atrociouSly unof1icerhk
as located by Mackenzie.
| Meantime Dale and Mayrant occupied
themselves on board the Scraps will
silencing her lOwer-deck battery, iron
which at least two or three 18-pOund shot
were fired into, or rather through, tn
Richards gun deck after Capt. Pearson
| and his Lieutenant had reached her uppe
deck as prisonersi
AS soon as all firing was silenced ant
| victory was complete Jones ordered IN:
men to cut the lashngs that held thu
| luke OF the SerapiS'S anchor IN the Rlch
ards mizzen chains, and the ships a
once drfted clear.
The light wind that had prevailed durinl
the battle died out and il fell dead calm
THE CASUALTIES.
Pearson says that the loss of the Sc
rapis was 10 killed and about leo wounded
out of an effective list, present for duty
| at stations when the action began, OF III
| Jones says the loss OF the Scraps was a.
least 100 killed and about 1O4 to 10'
| wounded. Jones gives the loss of the
| Richard as AZ killed and 116 wounded, not
| lsnI Iy iv,ilp
! total of 1868 killed or disabled, the 131
French marines lost 20, or more than hall
| their number, which indicates that they
did their duty bravely and well.
| The number of prisoners taken in the
| Serapis, both wounded and unframed,
| whom Jones accounted for after arriving al
the Texel, was POP. This, taking Pearson s
| statement of the total for duty at the be-
| ginning of the action as accurate-31I-
| would leave rs killed or died of wounds in
| the Scraps. AS Jones landed and turned
| over to the French Ambassador 1O6 wounded
| prisoners at the Texel, the total loss of the
| Scraps would seem to reach the frlghtful
total of 22i killed and wounded out OF 81
The personnel of the Richard at the be-
ginning of the fight appears to have been
one Captain, two Lieutenants and 3lS
other officers and men; the others belong
ing to her original complement, as previ-
OuSly stated being absent in prizes.
The battle was over, but by no means
the trouble ended. The time was nearly
midnight but the full moon overhead in
a cloudlcss sky made it almost as light
as day. Capt. Jones instantly began to
survey his ship as soon as she drifted
clear from the Scraps. He found that she
had seven feet of water in her hold and
was beginning to choke some of the pumps,
though he had them dou manned by
his English prisoners. She had already
sunk so much that many shot-holes were
below the water-line and could not be
plugged.
THE RICHARDS CONDITION.
The condition of the Richard at this
moment can hardly be imagined, much
less described. Nearly so of her crew were
stretched dead about her decks. More
than a hundred and 20 others lay writhing
and gasping with desperate wounds, to
which the good old Surgeon, DIR. Laurens
Brooke, unassisted as he was, could give
but scant attention. About 40 of her sur
viving or uniniured crew had followed
Lieut. Mayra into the Scraps, and were
in charge OF the prize. Not more than 100
unwounded men OF her own crew remained
to manage the Richard and to hold in
check the 200 or more prisoners on board.
Nearly every 12pounder gun in the star
board brOadside was dismounted or dis
abled. The starboard side of the ship, that
had been in the wake OF the Scraps S lower
tier Of IS Founders, was simply driven in;
so that, but for few frames, futtocks and
stanchions that still rem aimed intact, the
whole gun deck would have fallen through.
And even what the shot had spared the
flame were at this moment Gevouring.
Such was the condition of the Richard
when sinking and on fire. she was still the
onqueror and could by signal command
the ship that had destroyed her!
Nothing like this has ever been known
in the annals OF naval warfare.
al of "a rJ' &c IoI
to the Scraps consumed much time nearly
all day, in fact, because the poor fellows
had TO be handled tenderiy and bat three
boats remained available. Fortunately it
had now fallen dead calm and the sea was
without "A ripple. Had there been any
wind or seaway the Richard must have
foundered Immediately and the scene be-
come one of unheard OF horror. However,
the wounded were all transferred during
the day, except two, who died in the boats.
The unwounded prisoners were his next
care. Capt. Cottineau took some OF them
into the Pallas; few were put into the
Countess of ScarbOro, COttineau'S prize.
The rest went over to the Scraps. Jones
now told his crew to get on board the
Scraps, retaining only a few of the Pallass
men in the Richard, and busted himself in
saving the ships papers. For his own
part Jones saved only few souvenirs from
his feminine friends in Paris, his journal,
and bag of linen.
"NO one was now left aboard the Richard"
he says in his journal, "but our dead. To
them | gave the good old ship for their
cot1in. and in her they found a sublime
sepulchre
her gun deck awash to the port-sills; set
tied slowly by the head, and sank peace
fully in about 20 fathomS."
Many victories have been won at sea
Human heroism has often reached its
zenith in battle on the wave. But in all
the annals of naval warfare, from Sa-
lamis to Mobile Bay; from Themisto les to
Farragut, but one commander and one
or have captured and Brought into port
the ship that sank their own, That unique
honor belongs, and in all human proba-
biity will forever belong, to Paul Jones
and the immortal crew of the Bon HOmme
THE OFFICERS.
The officers of the Bon Homme Richard
were as foil VS.:
Commissioned Captain, Paul jones. |
First Lieutenant, Richard |
Dale, Philadelphia; Second Lieutenant,
Cutting Lunt, Boston; II bird Lieutenant,
Henry Lunt, Boston; Fourth l. eutenant. |
Edward Stack, France: Filth Lieutenant, |
Eugene Macarty, France. STACK and |
were volunteers from Wash's |
celebrated regiment of marine artillery, |
which formed Part of the Irish Legion" i'm |
the French service, and in which they |
were Sub L;Cutenants.) Master, Samuel |
Stacey, Portsmouth, N. H.; Surgeon, Lau-
rens Brooke, Virginia; Purser Matthew
Hease, Philadelphia; Captain of Marines,
Paul de Chamillard, France; First Leu
tenant of Marines. Francois de Bernere,