Battle of Flamborough Head The Battle of Flamborough Head was a naval battle that took place on 23 September 1779 , in the North Sea off the coast of Yorkshire between an American Continental Navy squadron led by John Paul Jones and the two British escort vessels protecting a large merchant convoy . It became one of the most celebrated naval actions of the American War of Independence despite its relatively small size and considerable dispute over what had actually occurred . The American squadron . During September 1779 , the four remaining vessels from a seven - strong squadron which had departed from the anchorage at Groix off L ’ Orient in France on 14 August 1779 , nominally under the command of American Continental Navy captain John Paul Jones , voyaged from a brief stop off Ireland , round the north of Scotland , and down the east coast of Britain , creating havoc wherever possible . Although sailing under the American flag , all vessels were loaned or donated by France , with French captains , except the " Alliance " , which had been built in Amesbury , Massachusetts specifically for the Continental Navy ( but still had a French captain , who was disinclined to recognise Jones ’ s authority ) . The crews included Americans , French volunteers , British sailors previously captured by the Americans and offered the chance to get out of captivity , and many others seeking glory or loot . On the evening of 22 September , Jones in the " Bonhomme Richard " ( an armed East India trading vessel he had reluctantly adapted for military use ) , accompanied by the little brigantine " Vengeance " , had been off Spurn Head , hoping to catch a few prizes emerging from the Humber estuary , but he decided to head northward during the hours of darkness , and rendezvous with his frigate s " Alliance " and " Pallas " , which had parted company from him further up the coast . Shortly after midnight , two vessels were seen , so signal lanterns were set - to which the strangers did not give the response that would identify them as members of his squadron . Jones ’ s crew was called to quarters , but when daylight approached , about 5 . 30 am , and a chequered flag was hoisted on the mizzen mast , the mystery vessels finally identified themselves as the " Alliance " and " Pallas " . Captain Cottineau of the " Pallas " ( in full , Denis Nicolas Cottineau de Kerloguen ) later reported that Captain Pierre Landais of the " Alliance " had advised a rapid retreat if the approaching warship proved to be British - not a reassuring suggestion , given that his frigate , which had been acclaimed as the best warship yet made in America , was by a fair margin the faster and more manoeuvrable of the two . Early in the afternoon , the reunited squadron sighted a brig in Bridlington Bay , so at about 3 . 30 pm a small schooner - captured just the previous day - was sent with a 15 - man boarding party . There is a discrepancy at this point between Jones ’ s official report and " Bonhomme Richard " ’ s log , but the reason for sending the schooner may have been , not because the brig was in very shallow water , but because the main squadron was on its way to investigate a sighting of a ship further north , near Flamborough Head . Shortly after the schooner was dispatched , " Alliance " , which had been somewhat ahead of the others , hoisted a signal and set off at speed . At least two large vessels had been sighted in the distance , so the schooner was immediately recalled by firing a signal gun , and the entire squadron headed towards the potentially rich prizes . The British convoy . On 15 September 1779 , a convoy of over 50 ships which had been trading with ports in the Baltic had set sail from a rendezvous off the Norwegian coast at the mouth of the Skagerrak channel , to cross the North Sea . Various ships left before Britain came in sight , heading for northern ports such as Leith and the River Tyne , but when the Yorkshire coast was sighted early on 23 September just over 40 remained , mostly carrying timber ( often in the form of planks and masts for ships ) or iron , bound for ports all round the southern half of the British Isles , from Hull round to Bristol , and Waterford in Ireland . Although the Baltic convoy received a warning from Scarborough that an enemy squadron was in the vicinity , some ships ignored the signals ( by both flags and guns ) from the 44 - gun escort ship " H . M . S . Serapis " to stay close for protection . Early in the afternoon , as they approached Flamborough Head , the lookouts of the foremost ships saw the danger in Bridlington Bay for themselves . Hastily tacking , they attempted to run for the safety of Scarborough . " Serapis " put on all sail to get between the fleeing merchant vessels and the probable Americans , while the smaller " Countess of Scarborough " ( a hired armed vessel built by private subscription and hired to the Admiralty for escort duty ) shepherded the convoy . About 4 pm , with the whole convoy to his north , and the squadron of strangers clearly in sight to the south , Captain Richard Pearson of the " Serapis " signalled the " Countess " to join him . As the squadron caught up , the Royal Navy vessels made sure to position themselves so that the presumed enemy could not easily sail round them to reach the slower merchant ships . The first shots . As the situation became clear , " Alliance " gradually slowed down , allowing the rest of Jones ’ s squadron to catch up ( except for the little schooner carrying the boarding party , which simply could not sail fast enough ) . About 6 pm , Commodore Jones ordered " Pallas " to ride directly in his wake , to confuse the opposition about the squadron ’ s strength , and half an hour later he hoisted signals ordering all vessels to form a single - file line of battle , to make best use of their broadsides as they passed the two British ships . Captain Landais , who unlike Jones had a great deal of formal training in naval leadership and tactics ( and was aware of the latest French battle plans , used with considerable success against the Royal Navy at this time ) decided to try a different plan . He used " Alliance " ’ s superior handling to sail off to one side , against the wind . In order to prevent him from sailing right past and chasing the convoy , Captain Thomas Piercy of the " Countess of Scarborough " had to do the same , leaving " Serapis " alone against the remaining three American ships . Finally , a little after 7 pm , the " Bonhomme Richard " was within pistol - shot of the battle - ready " Serapis " . In the gathering dark , Pearson then hailed the potentially hostile ship to ask some pertinent questions - its name , its nationality etc . The answer was a few evasive remarks , followed by a shot ( as he recalled it , but possibly a broadside ) which " Serapis " answered with a broadside . A minute or two later , as soon as he was within range , Landais fired his own broadside at the " Countess of Scarborough " ( theoretically just over of shot from 18 guns ) . Piercy soon replied ( his maximum broadside being about 60 lb from 10 guns ) . The first half hour . While Commodore Jones and Captain Landais were fighting their unexpectedly separate battles , Captains Cottineau of the " Pallas " and Ricot of " Vengeance " were left wondering what to do . In a well - organised formation , they might have been able to make a contribution , but to intervene in ship - to - ship duels would be very dangerous . In theory , they could have taken advantage of the confusion to sail off after the stragglers of the convoy , but night had now fallen , and until the moon rose they would not be able to see their prey ; also it quickly became clear that " Bonhomme Richard " would need help . Therefore , they waited until they could be useful . About this time , the little schooner caught up with them , but there was no way to transfer the potentially very useful boarding team to " Bonhomme Richard " or " Alliance " . Commodore Jones , accepting that if he could not use the 18 - pounders he could not win a gun - fight , quickly adopted a policy of trying to grapple and board his opponent . Pearson ’ s crew spotted the change , and adapted rapidly , using the superior maneuverability of " Serapis " to keep out of reach , while continuing to bombard the slower ship . On one occasion though , according to the later recollection of First Lieutenant Richard Dale , the " Bonhomme Richard " ’ s bow ran into " Serapis " ’ stern and , with neither side able to take advantage of the situation , Captain Pearson cheekily asked the punning question , " Has your ship struck ? " . Dale reports Jones ’ s reply as , very simply , " I have not yet begun to fight ! " Meanwhile , after two or three broadsides exchanged with " Alliance " , less than 20 minutes after the first shot , Captain Piercy was astonished to see his opponent ( with just one of the little shots from the " Countess " stuck in its tough timberwork ) move away to rejoin " Pallas " , which was still waiting for an opportunity to be useful ; Landais later claimed that his opponent had sailed away under cover of smoke . Piercy , his ship relatively unharmed , and out of range of any of the four Americans , headed straight for the main battle , to see if he could help " Serapis " , but Jones ’ s close - quarters policy meant that to intervene now would be madness ; quite possibly , shots fired by the " Countess " at the " Richard " would hit " Serapis " , or worse still , massive shots from " Serapis " could accidentally hit the " Countess " . Instead , Piercy simply gave the impression that he was going to intervene , trying to attract the attention of " Alliance " and " Pallas " . Cottineau saw the potential danger ( or responded to a request by Landais ) and quickly steered towards the " Countess " , so Piercy slowly retreated , sailing with the wind . Two gunnery duels . Shortly afterwards , John Paul Jones got the opportunity he had been striving for - not a moment too soon , as his ship had been holed below the waterline , and was becoming increasingly unresponsive . " Serapis " ’ jib - boom caught in the rigging of " Bonhomme Richard " ’ s mizzen mast , and Jones immediately led his crew in attaching the two ships together as strongly as they could . Seeing the danger , Pearson dropped anchor - because both ships were under sail , when " Serapis " came to an abrupt halt , " Richard " would keep going , and with luck tear free . Jones ’ s men had been very efficient , so what actually happened was that the " Richard " ’ s motion was turned into rotation , and the two ships , still firmly attached , ended up side - by - side , facing in opposite directions , their great guns touching each other ’ s hull planks . Better still for Jones , " Serapis " ’ spare anchor caught in the woodwork of the " Richard " ’ s stern , locking the two ships in that extraordinary position . Making a virtue of necessity , Pearson ’ s crew fired broadsides straight into the " Richard " ’ s hull , tearing huge holes in its side , and doing terrible damage to the gun - decks . For Jones ’ s boarding plan to succeed , he needed to drive all the Royal Navy sailors from " Serapis " ’ deck before his ship was destroyed beneath him . He had prepared well for such an eventuality , and his men at stations up the masts were equipped both with small guns and with incendiary grenades . Three 9 - pound guns on the quarter - deck ( the rear part of the upper deck ) were still usable , although one was on the wrong side , and had to be dragged round . Two of these guns were loaded with anti - personnel grapeshot to help drive Pearson ’ s men from the deck , but the third was used with solid bar - shot ( see Naval Artillery page ) aimed at " Serapis " ’ main - mast . By this time , towards 8 . 30 pm , the moon had risen . Moving slowly downwind away from the anchored ships , " Pallas " and " Countess of Scarborough " began a second battle of broadsides ( which for " Pallas " meant 16 guns firing just over of shot together ) . Hovering in the background , still , were " Vengeance " and the schooner , with the boarding party which John Paul Jones really needed . Captain Landais , of the " Alliance " , after observing for a time , formed another plan , and set off after " Pallas " . On the way , " Alliance " passed the two locked ships , still anchored , still firing broadsides at each other . As the direction of shots was now predictable , Captain Landais could safely approach within firing range of " Serapis " , from the right direction - bow or stern rather than flank . This he did , firing a broadside including round - shot , bar - shot and grapeshot at " Serapis " ’ bow . Right next to that bow , still , was " Bonhomme Richard " ’ s stern . As much lethal shot hit Jones ’ s men as Pearson ’ s , and metal also flew along " Richard " ’ s gun - deck , killing some of the remaining gunners and wrecking several gun - carriages . His good deed done , Landais continued on his way . After that , " Bonhomme Richard " started definitively losing the battle against " Serapis " . Still , efforts to make the situation too hot for the British , both figuratively and literally , continued , and just after 9 . 30 pm , one of these attempts succeeded in spectacular fashion . According to Jones ' s published campaign report , grenade - thrower William Hamilton ventured right out along a yard - arm until he could look almost straight down on the deck of " Serapis " ( by this time , almost cleared of men ) , and began trying to drop grenades , not onto the deck but down the hatches . By good fortune , one of these ignited a charge of gunpowder placed in readiness ( contrary to standard fire safety practice , but Captain Pearson had encouraged his men to " fire briskly " ) for loading into one of " Serapis " ’ 18 - pound guns . The problem with this version of the story is that the 18 - pounders were on the lower deck , so it would be a very lucky drop to reach them from high above . Captain Pearson speculated that either a grenade had been thrown through a hole in the hull , from " Richard " ’ s gun deck , or that the charge had been ignited by accident . Whatever the cause , the effect was devastating : as the ignited charge blew up , it scattered burning gunpowder , setting off other charges nearby , and ultimately the chain - reaction covered the entire rear half of " Serapis " ’ lower gun - deck , killing or severely burning many of the gunnery crewmen , forcing some to leap into the sea to extinguish their burning clothes , and putting five guns out of action . In the confusion , some of the crew clambering back on board after jumping into the sea were nearly mistaken for American boarders . Still in action , still moving with the wind away from the main fight , were " Pallas " and the " Countess of Scarborough " . " Alliance " was catching up fast , though , and as the near - undamaged , speedy , well - armed frigate approached , Captain Piercy understood that with seven of his own guns dismounted , four of his crew dead , twenty wounded , his rigging and sails too badly damaged to make a speedy getaway , he could neither win nor escape . With Landais hovering just beyond the range of his guns , he therefore struck his colours . " Alliance " approached him , seeking to take the Captain ’ s formal surrender , but after brief exchanges with both Piercy and Cottineau , Captain Landais accepted that his colleague should take the surrender and attend to casualties , while " Alliance " returned to the main battle . Because the return journey would be against the wind , this would , as Captain Piercy presumably intended , take a while . Jones vs . Pearson ( plus Landais ) . The absence of any other combatants had bought " Serapis " a considerable amount of time . " Bonhomme Richard " ’ s gun decks were now so badly damaged that most of the British shots were passing straight through without touching anything , and the great guns were almost completely silenced . There were almost as many fires to be extinguished as there were aboard " Serapis " , but on the other hand , the hold was filling with water because one of the pumps was in ruins . Commodore Jones was exhausted , and apparently slumped on the chicken - coop for a brief rest . Somehow ( according to his later memoirs ) a rumour went around that he was dead or dying , and his gunner and carpenter , both wounded , hastily consulted with the master - at - arms . Together they decided , a little before 10 pm , to surrender by striking the ship ’ s colours - but the flag had already been shot away , so their only option was to shout . Captain Pearson shouted back , asking whether the Americans had really struck their colours . Possibly his Lieutenant of Marines relayed this message ; certainly , Jones ’ s reply was firmly negative . Jones himself recalled shouting something along the lines of " I have not yet thought of it , but I am determined to make you strike , " at which point , presumably , the surrendering officers realised he was still very much alive and returned to their duties . A much more dramatic version appeared in newspapers within days of the event , allegedly based on the testimony of an ex - crewman who thought he heard something like " I may sink , but I ’ ll be damned if I strike " , and witnessed the Captain using his pistols to shoot the three officers who were attempting to surrender ( but another version of the story also circulated , with the chicken - coop but without the shootings , which fits better with Jones ’ s memory ) . In all the noise , Pearson could not actually hear the reply to his question , so he decided to send a boarding team . At this point , once again , Jones ’ s preparation paid off . The boarders were met by a previously hidden defensive force , which swiftly drove them back to " Serapis " . By this time , the attempts to bring down " Serapis " ’ main mast had also borne some fruit ; ironically , the only reason why it had not fallen down was because it was leaning on the " Richard " ’ s rigging . And then , perhaps about 10 . 15 pm , " Alliance " returned , and Landais delivered another of his helpful broadsides . Jones ’ s men yelled at him to stop , and the Commodore attempted to send orders for " Alliance " to help with a boarding operation . The moon was full , brightly illuminating the distinctive yellow livery of the " Serapis " ; the " Richard " was clearly showing agreed lantern signals , but Landais stuck to his plan , sailing round the " safe " sides of the locked ships to fire broadsides aimed , in his theory , at both bow and stern of " Serapis " . In reality , " Bonhomme Richard " , yet again , was holed below the water - line , and started settling so rapidly that the master - at - arms took it upon himself to release the hundred or so prisoners from previous captures , who had been held on the lower decks . As they had not been put in manacles , they were completely free , and could potentially have helped " Serapis " ’ crew to overrun the American ship . Jones reacted quickly to the new crisis , successfully urging the prisoners to put all their efforts into working the three remaining pumps , to save their own lives . Captain Pearson of " Serapis " had only limited knowledge of the escalating chaos aboard the " Richard " . He too was losing many men from " Alliance " ’ s attacks , and he could not move his ship , so " Alliance " , still effectively undamaged , could keep firing at will . On the other hand , nearly every ship in the convoy he had been sent to protect had reached safety before the battle even began . Following the second of " Alliance " ’ s new round of broadsides , like Piercy before him , he decided that he could achieve nothing more by continuing to fight . Not long after 10 . 30 pm , he called for quarter and struck his colours in person . Thus the Americans finally got the chance to board the " Serapis " , but this did not go quite as well as it should ; three shots were fired by British sailors who had not got the message , and Midshipman John Mayrant , following First Lieutenant Dale aboard , got a pike stuck through his leg . Pearson ’ s First Lieutenant was among those reluctant to believe that his captain had surrendered , and Dale made sure that he stayed with Pearson rather than leaving him to his own devices . A short time later , as Captain Pearson was boarding " Bonhomme Richard " to hand over his ceremonial sword , the main - mast of " Serapis " finally fell overboard , perhaps as a result of work to separate the two ships , dragging the damaged mizzen - top - mast with it . As " Bonhomme Richard " got under way , Dale attempted to follow in " Serapis " , and learned two important facts in quick succession . First , " Serapis " would not move , and second , he had a very large splinter in his leg , which now caused him to fall over . The first problem was rectified by cutting the anchor cable , the second by returning Dale to the " Richard " for treatment . Boats from both " Serapis " and " Alliance " were used to begin the evacuation of " Richard " ’ s crew - one or two of these boats went missing during the night , as ex - captive British crewmen took the opportunity to go home ( hence the eyewitness newspaper stories ) . The combatants , although they probably cared little , had been observed by thousands of onlookers , for on that clear night , with a near - full moon , the action could be seen from a long stretch of the high Yorkshire coastline , Scarborough in the north to Flamborough Head itself in the south . There is no record of final casualty figures aboard the two main combatants . Captain Pearson , in a postscript to his battle report , stated that there were " many more than " 49 dead and 68 wounded aboard " Serapis " , but his figure of 300 casualties aboard " Bonhomme Richard " seems very high , unless it includes a great many of the captives stuck below decks during the battle . British press reports claimed 70 deaths on the " Richard " , which , assuming a similar ratio to the " Serapis " figures would give around 100 wounded . Aftermath . Overnight , pumping continued in the " Bonhomme Richard " , and repairs began ( also , the powder was removed from the magazine , which was threatened by the continued smouldering of the ship ’ s woodwork ) . With the water still getting deeper , the guns from the lower decks were reluctantly heaved overboard - not a very difficult task , as much of the hull was missing . The dead went the same way , though with rather more dignity . At 2 pm the next day , with the carpenter insisting that the ship could not be saved , Commodore Jones took the ex - Captain and Lieutenant of " Serapis " to safety , but returned early in the evening to check on progress . Finding that the water was still rising , he ordered the wounded , who ideally should not have been moved , to be transferred to other vessels ( Richard Pearson was not aware of this nocturnal operation , and wrote in his official report that Jones had left the wounded aboard ) . At 10 pm , those who had been brought in from other ships to man the pumps were ordered to leave , and during the rest of the night the most important items aboard were removed ; these did not include personal possessions , not even most of Jones ’ s . The flotilla was slowly moving east - south - east away from the coast all this time , and was not seen from land again after night fell ( as Flamborough Head is about high , ships ’ sails would be visible on a clear day up to away ) . At 4 am the next day , 25 September , pumping was abandoned , with the water almost up to the lower deck . The wind was getting stronger , so all personnel abandoned ship at 10 am , and just before 11 , as a boat approached from the Commodore ’ s new command ship , " Serapis " , to try to salvage a few more items , " Bonhomme Richard " started to disappear beneath the waves . Several Royal Navy ships were on their way , but once again French obstinacy had a semi - beneficial effect . Jones wished to take his prizes to Dunkirk , but the French captains insisted on following the original orders from their government masters to head for the island of Texel , in the neutral United Provinces ( the Netherlands ) . They arrived safely on 3 October , while the British ships searched for them in all the wrong places , having ignored a correct preliminary estimate by observers in Yorkshire . Jones immediately wrote a report to his own government master , Benjamin Franklin , one notable feature of which was , inevitably , the conduct of Captain Landais . Furious though he was , he wrote " I forbear to take any steps With him until I have the advice and approbation of your Excellency " . Captain Cottineau , on the other hand , placed himself under no such obligation , and called Landais a coward to his face . Landais challenged him to a duel during which Landais ran his sword through Cottineau ’ s chest , just missing the heart . Landais ’ later history is in the " Alliance " article . While the ships were being repaired , Jones had to deal with the consequences of landing in a neutral port with prizes of war . He turned on the charm for diplomatic negotiations at The Hague and networking in Amsterdam , where he was the toast of society , known as " The Terror of the English " . On 8 October , the British Ambassador , Sir Joseph Yorke , wrote to the rulers of the United Provinces , claiming that under international law , Jones , not being accredited by a recognised state , was a rebel and a pirate ; therefore , the two captured ships should be detained for handing back to their rightful owners . Yorke also asked that the wounded from the two ships should be taken ashore and treated at British Government expense . That request was agreed to immediately , but it was over a fortnight later , during which repair work proceeded without any hindrance , when the Dutch replied that their neutrality meant they could not judge the legality of actions between foreigners on the open sea - but that that would also apply to any attempt made by the British to retake their ships once they left port . Furthermore , Jones ’ s squadron was obliged to leave the Texel " as soon as possible " , and could not be supplied with arms or ammunition except " what are absolutely necessary to carry them safe to the first foreign port they can come at " . Yorke replied by quoting treaties , returning to the " pirate " theme , and pointing out that under Dutch law , commanders of foreign naval forces were obliged to present authorisation from their governments when docking in Dutch ports . As the United Provinces did not officially recognise the government of the United States , that was a very tricky legal point , which the Dutch took quite a while to consider . To get round the problem , " Pallas " and " Vengeance " were declared officially French , and Captain Cottineau became Commodore of a French squadron , his flagship the captured " Serapis " . With Landais barred from command until the case against him could be heard , Jones became Captain of the avowedly American " Alliance " , not associated in any way with the newly - French squadron . Several Royal Navy ships were waiting just off the coast for the day he was obliged to leave - the Dutch authorities making a great show of trying to eject him - but as winter storms made it more and more difficult for them to keep station , John Paul Jones ( after recruiting another American commander , Gustavus Conyngham , who had escaped from British captivity ) slipped away among a group of Dutch ships on 27 December , and sailed to France . Back in England , something rather unexpected was happening . On the one hand , the overall effects of Jones ’ s cruise , and the activities of other raiders such as the privateer duo of " Black Prince " and " Black Princess " were reported with a sort of resentful admiration . On the other hand , although Pearson and Piercy had lost the battle , they were the only Royal Navy captains who had actually managed to engage with Jones ’ s squadron at all , and they had sunk his flagship - their official reports appeared in British newspapers in mid - October , forcing the Americans to leak Jones ’ s ( some of which he definitely had not intended for publication ) . Most importantly , they had fully achieved their mission purpose , which was to protect the convoy . When they returned home , about the beginning of November , they were honoured by the towns of Kingston upon Hull and Scarborough , and were rewarded by both the Russia Company , principal owner of vessels in the convoy , and the Royal Exchange Assurance Company . Pearson even gained a knighthood . In 1780 , to honor him for his actions in protecting the convoy , Pearson was presented with three Coconut Cup s mounted in silver by Wakelin & Taylor . In 1782 the Royal Navy took the unusual step of naming a new ship " Serapis " - an acknowledgement rarely given to a vessel which lost a battle . References . Many of the external links used as references need attention .