An ignited powder charge set off a chain reaction across Serapis' rear lower gun deck, killing or burning many gunnery crewmen and disabling five guns.

As an ignited charge blew up, it scattered burning gunpowder and set off other charges nearby. The chain reaction covered the entire rear half of Serapis' lower gun deck, killing or severely burning many of the gunnery crewmen, forcing some to leap into the sea to extinguish burning clothes, and putting five guns out of action. Meanwhile Bonhomme Richard was definitively losing the gunnery duel: lethal shot struck her men as often as Pearson's, and metal flew along her gun deck, killing remaining gunners and wrecking several gun-carriages.

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