North Channel Naval Duel The North Channel naval duel was a single - ship action between the United States Continental Navy sloop of war " Ranger " ( Captain John Paul Jones ) and the British Royal Navy sloop of war " Drake " ( Captain George Burdon ) on the evening of 24 April 1778 . Fought in the North Channel , separating Ireland from Scotland , it was the first American defeat of a Royal Navy ship within British home waters , and also very nearly the only American victory over the Royal Navy in the Revolution achieved without an overwhelming superiority of force . The action was one of a series of actions by Jones that brought the American War of Independence to British waters . In the following account , times are approximate because ships set their own time as they travelled , so different witnesses saw the same events at what to them were different times . Background . Even before the official entry of other nations , the American Revolutionary War was by no means confined to American soil ; naval operations , by both the Continental Navy and privateers , ranged right across the Atlantic . In 1777 , American captains such as Lambert Wickes , Gustavus Conyngham and William Day had been making raids into British waters and capturing merchant ships , which they took into French ports , even though France was officially neutral . Captain Day had even been accorded a gun salute by the French admiral at Brest . Encouraged by such successes , and even more by the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga that autumn , France signed two treaties with America in February 1778 , but stopped just short of declaring war on Britain . The risk of a French attack forced the Royal Navy to concentrate its forces in the English Channel ( La Manche ) , leaving other areas vulnerable . Wickes and Day had shown that , despite the narrowness of St . George ' s Channel and the North Channel , it was possible for single ships or very small squadrons to get into the Irish Sea , and create havoc among the many vessels which traded between Great Britain and Ireland . John Paul Jones , on his first return to British waters as an enemy , had a more ambitious plan : to teach the British people that their government ' s policies in America , such as the burning of ports , could be turned back against them . The " Ranger " mission . With a single small Continental Navy sloop of war , the " Ranger " , Jones sailed from Brest on 10 April 1778 , and headed for the coasts of the Solway Firth , where he had first learned to sail . Following an unsuccessful attempt to raid the port of Whitehaven in Cumberland , on the night of 17 – 18 April , he harassed shipping in the North Channel , then on the night of 20 – 21 April " Ranger " entered Belfast Lough in northern Ireland , with the intention of seizing a Royal Navy ship moored off Carrickfergus , " HMS Drake " . Unsuccessful , he returned to Whitehaven , and achieved the first key target of his mission , landing a large party at the harbour in the night of 22 – 23 April and setting light to a merchant ship . This raid was followed within hours by another , at the Scottish seashore mansion of the Earl of Selkirk , near Kirkcudbright . Even as the news of those deeds was racing to alert Britain ' s defences , " Ranger " was on the way back to Carrickfergus . 24 April 1778 . Preparations for combat . John Paul Jones ' s crew had been recruited by an advertisement promising them the opportunity to " make their Fortunes " , which was a goal that could definitely be achieved by privateering operations against British merchant ships . In practice , because " Ranger " was a Navy vessel and not a privateer , more British ships had been sunk on the mission than captured , to avoid diverting too many crew members to the task of sailing merchant ships to France . To an extent , Jones had even failed as a Navy commander , the crew blaming him for what appeared to be a strategic error which allowed a British customs vessel to escape after being fired on by " Ranger " . Now he was intent on capturing a Royal Navy ship from its moorings . However , it carried no cargo that could be sold for a handsome profit to its crews ' benefit , just trained fighting sailors and guns . The account of events just after dawn on 24 April that Jones published in his highly embellished French autobiography a few years later may not be greatly exaggerated : " I ran a great risk of being killed or thrown in the sea " . Unfortunately for the crew , the state of the wind and tide at that time prevented them from leaving anyway , but then telescopes trained on the " Drake " revealed that they might not have to visit Carrickfergus after all , as the Royal Navy sailors were preparing to leave port . In fact , " Drake " had been preparing for action since the previous visit by " Ranger " , taking on volunteers from the Carrickfergus area to boost the crew from 100 to about 160 - though many of these were landsmen , to be used for close - quarters combat . It was ironic , therefore , that only on the evening of 23 April did the acting gunner ( the ship ' s appointed gunner having been hospitalised on the ship ' s last visit to the Portsmouth naval base ) report that there was not enough cartridge paper to make up ammunition for all these extra fighting men . Also absent from the ship ' s company at this crucial time were the master ' s mate ( sick ) , boatswain ( shot dead while attempting to capture a smuggler ) and lieutenant ( died of fever two days earlier ) . The aging captain , George Burdon , was later reported to have been in poor health himself . However , such problems could not be allowed to stop a Royal Navy vessel from doing its duty . " Drake " got under way about 8am , but with wind and tide still wrong , made little progress . After an hour or so a boat was therefore sent to get a closer look at the intruder , and the result of this may possibly have been a key turning point in history . Jones opted to try a slight variant of the plan which had failed to capture the customs vessel a few days earlier ; hiding most of the crew and the big guns , just acting innocent and dumb . This time it worked ; the crew of the reconnaissance boat ( the gunner ' s mate , a midshipman and six crewmen ) were all captured . The success was tremendously beneficial for the morale of the Americans , and it seems that as a bonus , one of the prisoners mentioned the large number of volunteers who had gone aboard " Drake " . As " Drake " moved sluggishly out across the Lough , there was also a double bonus for the British . About 1pm another small boat came out , carrying another volunteer , Royal Navy Lieutenant William Dobbs , a local man who had just got married ; and according to " Drake " pilot he brought with him a copy of an express letter from Whitehaven , explaining the full details of the mystery ship ( and yet - Jones makes a point in his official report of stating that the news from Whitehaven had arrived the previous evening and was known to his morning captives ) . With the wind and tide more favourable in the afternoon , " Ranger " moved slowly back out of Belfast Lough into the North Channel , making sure never to get too far ahead of " Drake " . Finally , about 6pm , the two enemies were within hailing distance . Jones had the American naval colours flying , and Lieut . Dobbs ' formal inquiry as to the ship ' s identity was answered with absolute truth . The North Channel naval duel was in some respects a reverse , small - scale dress - rehearsal for Jones ' s 1779 battle with " HMS Serapis " . " Drake " had been built as a merchant ship with defensive capability , and bought by the Royal Navy to help fill the gap left when many ships had to be sent to America ; even the 20 four - pound guns were not official Navy issue , just the ones which had originally been bought by the merchants . The hull was the wrong shape for rapid battle manoeuvres , and not designed to resist cannon fire . " Ranger " had been built as a fighting ship , and modified by Jones for maximum efficiency ; for example , although there were ports for 20 guns , he found it safest to install only 18 six - pound guns . That made a total broadside weight of 54 pounds , slightly more than " Drake " 40 pounds total — but those dozens of Irish volunteers meant that if " Drake " could grapple and board " Ranger " the Americans would be in trouble . The fight . The formalities completed , " Ranger " turned sharply and fired a broadside at the following " Drake " . The British were unable to reply immediately ; when they did , they found they had a serious problem . With full charges of powder , the four - pounders were unstable , and tended to tip forward ; in the case of the two pairs of guns at the rear of the ship , most subject to the rise and fall with the waves , this meant that they could skid almost anywhere as they were fired , presenting grave danger to the gun crews . In Navy records , " Drake " armament had been listed as only 16 guns , suggesting that the rearmost guns had been left aboard just for show . The original gunner may well have known of these problems , and perhaps the gunner ' s mate too , but neither was aboard the " Drake " anymore ( the mate having been captured in the reconnaissance mission , and the gunner being ill at Portsmouth ) . After a few more broadsides , further problems emerged . Shrapnel from " Ranger " third broadside hit Lieut . Dobbs in the head , putting him out of action . Conditions on " Drake " gun deck were so unpredictable that the " powder monkeys " — the boys who brought charges of gunpowder up for the great guns , in fire - resistant boxes — eventually became reluctant to do their duty . Twice the ship ' s master had to go below to urge the acting gunner to be more efficient in supplying the powder , when opportunities for broadsides were missed . Another problem was that the " slow matches " which were used to fire the guns kept falling into their fire - safety tubs and going out . The four - pound guns could not penetrate " Ranger " toughened hull anyway , so " Drake " tried copying the technique the Americans had been using from the start : they aimed at the masts , sails and rigging , in order to slow the opponent down . The combatants were very close together , but never close enough for grappling , probably because Captain Jones knew of the extra men hidden below decks on " Drake " . As well as the great guns , both sides were firing small arms at each other , and here too " Drake " failed . Little or no extra cartridge paper had been found since the previous night ' s embarrassing discovery , and soon the musketeers ran out of cartridges . That meant they had to load their guns the slow way , pouring in the right amount of powder , then putting in the shot . Musket balls were passed round in the armourer ' s hat , and two powder horns were shared between all the men on duty . With the other side much better organised , such inefficiency meant the difference between life and death . " Drake " killed just one of Jones ' s crew , Lieutenant Samuel Wallingford , by musket fire ; another two who were firing from positions up the masts died as a by - product of a broadside . Four of " Drake " crew were killed , including , just under an hour into the fight , Captain Burdon himself , struck in the head by a musket ball . With both the captain and lieutenant out of action , command of " Drake " passed to the master , John Walsh . By that time , " Drake " sails and rigging had been reduced to tatters by " Ranger " broadsides , and even the masts and yardarms were seriously damaged ; in the light wind , the sloop was more or less immobilised , not even able to turn to aim a broadside . Unable to load fast enough , the small - arms fighters had retreated to cover , so only about a dozen people were left on " Drake " main deck . A few minutes after the captain died , the two remaining petty officer s on deck went to the master and advised him that they should strike their colours and surrender ; after further consultation , he agreed . The colours had already been shot away , so Mr . Walsh had to shout and wave his hat instead . According to John Paul Jones ' s records , the duel lasted one hour and five minutes . Aftermath . Thirty five men were sent from " Ranger " to " Drake " to take charge and assess the damage , then the next three days were spent making repairs , while moving slowly north - westward between Ireland and Scotland . A cargo brig which came too close was captured , and used as extra accommodation ; on the other hand , six Irish fisherman who had been captured on the first Carrickfergus expedition were allowed , along with three sick Irish sailors , to take a boat and go home , with a present of sails from " Drake " , and some money from Jones . On their return they also reported the concern Jones was showing for Lieut . Dobbs , who remained gravely ill . Meanwhile , the Royal Navy had sent out some proper warships in pursuit . Despite " Drake " lameness , they never caught a glimpse of the slowly escaping Americans . The only real trouble Jones had was with his Lieutenant , Thomas Simpson , who was given command of the precious " Drake " and at one point on the voyage sailed out of sight . The news reached France much faster than Jones did , and the Americans were welcomed as heroes . As for the British , they had learned their lesson well — the Royal Navy could not defend British shipping against American raiders ; it could not defend British coasts against American raiders ; it could not even defend its own fighting vessels against American raiders . Militia regiments were hastily redeployed to coastal areas ; seaports equipped themselves with artillery to defend themselves against further raids ; the gentry banded together in volunteer battalions as a last line of defence . And from then onward , the press paid very close attention to every move John Paul Jones made ; struggling to reconcile the malicious rumours of his murders and piracy with the evidence of his chivalrous and far from bloodthirsty behaviour on the " Ranger " mission ( back in France , he wrote kind and thoughtful letters to the Earl of Selkirk , and to the family of Lieut . Dobbs , who had died within a couple of days ) . John Paul Jones had gone from being an obscure Scottish - American to an international star , and the naval duel in the North Channel was the unequivocally triumphant climax to a remarkable mission , which demonstrated that the world ' s most powerful nation was as vulnerable to attack as any other . The press reports of his preparations for his next mission created a climate of fear and uncertainty which helped turn his return visit in 1779 into his best - remembered achievement .