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USS Bonhomme Richard

History of the USS Good Man Richard

The Duc de Duras was a 900-ton merchant ship built in France in 1765 for the French East India Company to transport cargo between the East and France. On February 4, 1779, King Louis XVI commissioned her to join John Paul Jones and the Continental Navy. A loan from France to the United States. Jones was an admirer of Benjamin Franklin because of his founding father, and perhaps because Franklin was the envoy of the French commissioner in Paris.

Jones changed his name to Duc de Duras Bonhomme Richard, which translated into English means Poor Richard - the pseudonym Franklin used when he wrote his Poor Richard Almanac. Franklin used the diary to shape the public's will against the British royal family with witty humor.

The French gave Jones the power to decide where to sail to attack British shipping. Jones now has the ship, but needs officers and crew. The ship also had to be converted from a merchant ship to a warship. It took her months to find and secure the guns and supplies for a combat frigate.

At this point, Jones was given the title of Commodore, as other ships were also placed under his command. The Bonhomme Richard is by no means a new ship, it has made several voyages in the name of cargo. So, before Captain Jones became unwell, she was prone to leaks.

With new paint and a new name, she's finally ready to go to sea.

Jones sailed out of Bonhomme Richard on 19 June 1779 with his fleet of squadrons, which included the fine USS Alliance (a 36-gun frigate), the French battleship Pallas (a captured British 32-gun frigate) , Vengeance (a British 12-gun brig), cutter Le Cerf and some troop carriers. The voyage had no contact with British shipping, but in August the fleet sailed into the North Sea and captured 16 British merchant ships and their cargo.

After returning to port for repairs, the Alliance collided with the Bonhomme Richard in the storm.

The squadron set sail again on the 23rd. As they approached the entrance to Dingle Bay, a lookout saw the Fortune. Jones approached, and the Bristol brig lowered her flag when she was clearly overtaken. Two armed ships descend from Jones' flagship, offering fortune as a prize. Jones sent a small crew aboard to return the Fortune to France.

Also on the same day, Captain Pierre Landes, the commander of the Alliance, a former French naval officer who went to the United States and served as a captain in the Continental Navy, accepted the Alliance because of his maritime experience. Landeis was not content with serving under Jones, he wanted to undermine his orders as much as possible.

The squadron is now close to the Irish coast as the wind has subsided. Jones feared that if his boats chased the boats into shallow water, they might stall and lead to capture. Jones orders Landeis not to follow a certain ship ashore.

To this end, Landeis boarded the Good Man Richard and told Jones in person that he would no longer obey Jones' orders. It was America's first sea mutiny.

The troubles for Jones and his squadron continued, and that night, Richard the Good was drifting dangerously near the shoal, and Jones ordered his barge to be lowered so he could tow the frigate into deeper waters away from Ireland. The boat's helmsman and Irish rowers were delighted to be home and decided to cut off the course and row their boat to shore. Le Cerf was separated from the squadron while searching for ships and had no choice but to return to the home port. The French frigate Pallas broke the tiller and disappeared.

Landeis eloped the Alliance alone without permission, leaving the Vengeance and the Good Man Richard to sail alone.

Both boats headed roughly north west of the Outer Hebrides before heading to Cape Wrath for Scotland. On August 30, Jones saw three ships and quickly pursued them. He overtook the Brig Alliance and convinced her to surrender. The league, settled with a prize named Betsy and Landais, once again touted Jones' authority.

Within days, Pallas rejoined the squadron, and the next day the Revenge captured an Irish brig en route to England. The squadron crossed the Shetland Islands before turning south for its final cruise around the British Isles. The defiant Alliance took two more small boats, and Landis again left the squadron unbeknownst to Jones. Jones next wanted to attack Newcastle, England, to cut off England's coal supply, but this task ultimately proved impossible.

Instead, the Good Man Richard towed a ship to shore south of Yorkshire and sailed from Rotterdam to England in an English brig.

On September 23, 1779, this small fleet, under the protection of a 44-gun frigate HMS Serapis and a 22-gun ship, the sloop of War Countess of Scarborough of The Line, discovered a fleet of 41 Ships of the British Baltic Fleet. At around 18:00, the Good Man attacked Richard Serapis and Pallas and engaged the Countess of Scarborough at the Battle of Flamborough. Instead of attacking the British, the USS Alliance opened fire on Bonhomme Richard.

The action resulted in Landias being court-martialed upon his return to France. Good Richard rounded the Serapis's waterfront and opened fire, but two of her guns exploded below deck, killing many of the gunmen.

With the support of Jones, Midshipman Fanning and his men managed to eliminate the English sharpshooter from the topsail of the good Richard.

Four hours of intense fighting left Bonhomme Richard battered. Captain Pearson of the Serapis saw what the enemy ship looked like from the shells and shells.

Pearson advised Jones to surrender, and Jones returned to Captain England, saying "I haven't started the fight." Jones maneuvered his ship close to Serapis and rammed them. The ensuing carnage on both sides was appalling, all while American ships were sinking.

The two ships were locked together by grappling hooks for another two hours. Jones used his British prisoners to operate the pumps to keep his boat afloat. His actions dragged the enemy to the point of collapse, and as the Serapis burned, the British finally surrendered to Jones by striking their flag.

Jones' crew put out the fire and took stock of the Richard. He decided to transfer his crew to the British ship, and Richard the Good was allowed to sink, which happened on September 25, 1779, despite a valiant attempt to save the gallant ship. Jones sailed the Serapis into a port in the United Netherlands. The first victory of the Continental Navy over British ships took place in home waters across the United Kingdom.

The battle catapulted Jones into a hero, known as the "Father of the U.S. Navy." His slogan, "Don't Start the Fight," has gone down in history in U.S. Navy history and quotes.