hmen except fifteen
Lascars; and as such, superior to the motley and partially disaffected
assemblage of the Richard. The superiority of the Serapis, in size and
weight, as well as efficiency of battery, was, moreover, greatly
increased by the strength of her construction. She was a new ship, built
expressly for a man-of-war, and equipped in the most complete manner by
the first of naval powers. The Richard was originally a merchantman,
worn out by long use and rotten from age. She was fitted, in a makeshift
manner, with whatever refuse guns and materials could be hastily
procured, at a small expense, from the limited means appropriated to her
armament.

The overwhelming superiority thus possessed by the Serapis was evident
in the action. Two of the three lower-deck guns of the Richard burst at
the first fire, scattering death on every side, while the guns of the
Serapis remained serviceable during the whole action, and their effect
on the decayed sides of the Richard was literally to tear her to pieces.
On the contrary, the few light guns which continued to be used in the
Richard, under the immediate direction of her commander, produced little
impression on the hull of the Serapis. They were usefully directed to
destroy her masts and clear her upper deck, which, with the aid of the
destructive and well-sustained fire from the tops, was eventually
effected. The achievement of the victory was, however, wholly and solely
due to the immovable courage of Paul Jones. The Richard was beaten more
than once; but the spirit of Jones could not be overcome. Captain
Pearson was a brave man, and well deserved the honor of knighthood which
awaited him on his arrival in England; but Paul Jones had a nature which
never could have yielded. Had Pearson been equally indomitable, the
Richard, if not boarded from below, would, at last, have gone down with
her colors still flying in proud defiance.

The wounded of the Serapis appear, by the surgeon's report accompanying
Captain Pearson's letter to the Admiralty, to have amounted to
seventy-five men, eight of whom died of their wounds. Of the wounded,
thirty-three are stated to have been "miserably scorched," doubtless by
the explosion of the cartridges on the main deck. Captain Pearson states
that there were many more, both killed and wounded, than appeared on the
list, but that he had been unable to ascertain their names. Jones gave
the number of wounded on board the Serapis as more than a