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NAVY NEWS
Two Forgotten Accounts of the Battle of
Flamborough Head
Much ink has been expended over the years about John Paul
Jones’ most famous fight—but a pair of long-forgotten firsthand
narratives shed new light on the engagement from the British
perspective.
By Trevor Brigham • February 2024 • Naval History Magazine • Reprinted with permission from the U.S. Naval Institute
www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2024/february/two-forgotten-accounts-battle-flamborough-head
Many accounts have been written over the past two centu- the accounts of Jones (in several slightly different versions
ries of John Paul Jones’ celebrated victory at the Battle of written over the years), Midshipman Nathaniel Fanning,
Flamborough Head, the 23 September 1779 engagement Quarter-Gunner John Kilby, and First Lieutenant Richard
fought between Jones’ American-French squadron—the Dale. From the Alliance come the lengthy defensive decla-
Bonhomme Richard, Alliance, Pallas, and Vengeance—and rations of her controversial French captain, Pierre Landais
a pair of Royal Navy ships—HMS Serapis and Countess of (who had clashed repeatedly with Jones and whose per-
Scarborough—escorting a fleet from the Baltic, principally formance in this battle came under scrutiny); from the
carrying naval stores. Pallas, a short statement from her captain, Denis de
Cottineau. These were augmented by affidavits written by
Historians have had access to a handful of well-known the crews of the Bonhomme Richard and Alliance as well
shipboard reports. From the Bonhomme Richard come as by comments included in the logbook of the former
Above: 23 September 1779: With the battle joined and the Americans having suffered initial setbacks, Captain John Paul Jones of the
Bonhomme Richard, when asked if he was striking his colors, famously and defiantly responds, “I have not yet begun to fight!” He would
proceed to prove those words abundantly accurate. New York Public Library Digital Collections
16 The Mariner • 2023/2024 WINTER Edition • Volume 66 • Issue 3
