page_title: Countess of Scarborough (1777 ship)
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Countess of Scarborough (1777 ship) / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: The Action Between the Frigates Bonhomme Richard (Capt John Paul Jones) And HMS Serapis, During The Battle Of Flamborough Head, 1779. The Alliance fires on the combatants. oil on canvas 34 x 46 in. (86.3 x 116.8 cm) Exhibited: Royal Academy, 1780, number 314, titled: ‘The action between the Serapis, capt. Pearson, the Countess of Scarborough, and Paul Jones’s Squadron. R.Paton.'
context_page_description: Countess of Scarborough was launched at Whitby in 1777. The Royal Navy hired her as a hired armed ship in 1777. She participated in the capture of two privateers before she and HMS Serapis succumbed to a small American flotilla off Flamborough Head in 1779. Her subsequent fate is unknown.
context_section_description: On 23 September 1779 Serapis and Countess of Scarborough were escorting the Baltic fleet home when they encountered a small Franco-American squadron under the command John Paul Jones in Bonhomme Richard, and including the frigates Alliance and Pallas. Bonhomme Richard, and sporadically Alliance, engaged Serapis, ultimately capturing her. Countess of Scarborough sailed to engage Pallas, which was armed with 32 guns. The battle with Pallas lasted some two hours. After Countess of Scarborough had sustained much damage and suffered heavy casualties, Piercy observed another frigate coming up on her larboard quarter; Piercy then surrendered. In the battle, Countess of Scarborough lost four men killed and 20 men wounded, three of whom later died. All her braces, the great part of the running rigging, and her main and mizen top-sail sheets were shot away. Also, enemy fire had dismounted seven of her guns. 
  At the onset of the action the merchant vessels separated. Most took shelter near Scarborough. Two went to Hull. By their resistance, Serapis and Countess of Scarborough saved the Baltic fleet from capture.
caption: The action between the Serapis, Capt. Pearson, and Paul Jones’s Squadron. The Countess of Scarborough engaging with the USS Pallas on the far left of this painting by Richard Paton
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