rcy, convoying a fleet of
merchantmen. Jones at once prepared for action. The combat which
ensued, between the Serapis and the Bon Homme Richard, is one of the
most remarkable in the annals of naval warfare, for the circumstances
under which it was fought, the persistence of the contest, and the
well-matched valor of the commanders. The engagement was by moonlight,
on a tranquil sea, within sight of the shore, which was crowded with
spectators, who thronged the promontory of Flamborough Head and the
piers of Scarborough. After various preliminary manoeuvres on the part
of the English commander to shelter the merchantmen, the engagement
began at half-past seven in the evening, with a series of attempts of
the Bon Homme Richard to come to close quarters with her antagonist.
At the first broadside of Jones's vessel, two of the old
eighteen-pounders mounted in her gun-room burst, with fearful
destruction to the men. This accident compelled the closing of the
lower ports, and produced a still greater inequality between the
combatants than at the start, for the Serapis was not only a
well-constructed, well-furnished man-of-war, thoroughly equipped,
while the Bon Homme Richard had even-disadvantage in these respects:
but the absolute weight of metal was, at the outset, greatly in favor
of the Englishman. The Richard then passed to windward of the Serapis,
receiving her fire, which did much damage to the rotten hull of the
old Indiaman. Jones next attempted a movement to get into position to
rake his antagonist from stem to stern, which resulted in a momentary
collision. There was an effort to board the Serapis, which was
repulsed, when Captain Pearson called out, "Has your ship struck?" and
Jones instantly replied, "I have not yet begun to fight." The ships
then separating, were brought again to a broadside encounter, when
Jones, feeling the superior force of the Serapis, and her better
sailing, was fully prepared to take advantage of the next position as
the ships fell foul of one another, to grapple with his opponent. He
himself assisted in lashing the jib-stay of the Serapis to the
mizzenmast of the Richard.

The ships became now closely entangled for their full length on their
starboard sides; so near were they together, that the guns of one
touched the sides of the other, and in some places where the
port-holes met, the guns were loaded by passing the rammers into the
opposite vessel. Every discharge in this position was