Evening star., 1938-06-12

tween June 70 and September %,
when Jones sighted British fleet of
40 sail of Marlborough Head, con-
voyed by two ships of war Sighting
the American squadron, the merchant
men Put back to shore while the es-
corting ships made ready for q finish
fight. Jones signaled his own fleet,
but Capt. Landais, French commander
Of the Alliance, ignored him. The
American commander was daunted
neither by this initial display Of
treachery nor by the apparent su-
periority of the British frigate which,
at 7 o'clock in the evening, was found
to be H. M. S. Scraps.
THE manuscript division of the
Library Of Congress in Washing
ton holds the priceless original report
OF the battle, written on October 3,
l779, by John Paul Jones to BENJAMIN
Franklin for transmission to the CONT
mental Congress. The calm account
by the chief actor in one of the.Inost
amazing naval feats Of all time, reads
in part as follows:
THE battle, being thus begun, was
continued with unremitting fury. Every
method was practiced on both sides
to gain an advantage. and rake each
other; and must confess that the
enemys ship, being much more
manageable than the Bon Homme
Richard, gained thereby several times
an advantageous situation in spite OF
my best endeavors to prevent it. As
l had to deal with an enemy of greatly
superior force was under the neces-
sity OF closing with him, to prevent the
advantage which he had over me in
point Of maneuver -.
When this position took place, it
was 8 O'Clock, previous to which the
Bon Homme Richard had received
sundry l8-pound shot below the water
| and leaked very much. My battery
OF l2-pounders, on which I placed my
chief dependence, being commanded
by 1t. Dale and Col. Weibert, and
manned principally with American sea-
men and French volunteers, were
entirely silenced and abandoned. As
to the six old 18-pounders that formed
the battery Of the lower deck,
they did no service whatever. Two
out of three of them burst at the
first fire and killed almost all the men
who were stationed to manage them.
Before this time. too, Col de Chamil-
lard. who commanded a party of 20
soldiers on the poop, had abandoned
that station after having lost some OF
his men. These men deserted their
quarters.
6" had now only two pieces of can
non, nine-pounders, on the quar-
ter deck that were not silenced; and
not one Of the heavier cannon was
fired during the rest of the action.
The purser. Mr.. Mease, who COM
manded the guns on the quarter deck,
being dangerously wounded in the
head, I was obliged to fill his place
and with great difficulty rallied 4 few
men and shifted over one of the lee
quarterback guns, 50 that we after
ward placed three pieces of nine
Founders upon the enemy. The tops
alone seconded the fire of this little
battery and held out bravely during
the whole Of the action, especially
the main top, where 1t. Stack COM
manded.
Il directed the fire Of one of the
three cannon against the main mast,
with double-headed shot, while the
other two were exceedingly we'll served
with grape and canister shot to silence
the enemys musketry and clear her
decks, which was at last effected. The
enemy were. as I have since under
stood, on the instant Of calling for
quarter when the cowardice or treach-
cry OF three Of my underoficers in
duced them to call to the enemy. The
English commodore asked me If I
demanded quarter, and, having
answered him in the most determined
negative. they renewed the battle with
double fury. They were unable to
stand the deck, but the fire of their
cannon, especially the lower battery,
which was entirely formed of 49,
Founders, was incessant. Both ships
were set on fire in various places, and
the scene was dreadful beyond the
reach Of language.
TO account for the timidity of
my three under oficers-I mean the
gunner, the carpenter and the mas
ter at arms-I must observe that the
two first were slightly wounded, and,
as the ship had received various shots
under water, and one of the pumps
being shot away, the carpenter ex-
pressed his fear that she would sink.
and the other two concluded that
she was sinking, which occasioned the
gunners to run after on the poop
without my knowledge to strike the
colors. Fortunately for me, a cannon
ball had done that before by carry
ing away the ensign stan. He (the
carpenter) was therefore reduced to
the necessity of sinking, as he sup
posed, or OF calling for quarter; and
he preferred the latter.
"All this time the Bon Homme Rich
ard had sustained the action alone.
and the enemy, though much superior
IN force. would have been very glad
to get clear, as appears by their own
acknowledgements and by their hay-
ing let go an anchor the instant
that I laid them on board, by which
means they would have escaped had
I not made them well fast to the
Bon Homme Richard.
T LAST, at half-past 9 o'clock,
the Alliance appeared, and ]
now thought the battle at an end.
but to my utter astonishment he dis
charged broadside full into the stern
OF the Bon Homme Richard. We
called to him for Gods sake to forbear
firing into the Bon Homme Rich.
ard; yet he passed along the of side
OF the ship and continued firing.
There was no possibility Of his mis-
taking the enemy's ship for the Bon
Homme Richard. there being the most
essential difference in their appear.
ance and construction; besides, it was
then full moonlight and the sides
Of the Bon Homme Richard were all
h1o a1r vr,hila hm I'd