Historedia
EuropeEvent

Battle of Flamborough Head

When
1779–1780
Where
Groix off L'Orient to the Yorkshire coast; North Sea off Flamborough Head
Episodes
6

On 23 September 1779 a Franco-American squadron under John Paul Jones fought two British escorts off Flamborough Head in the North Sea. Bonhomme Richard grappled HMS Serapis in a close-quarters duel; Serapis surrendered but Bonhomme Richard sank the next morning.

Episodes

  1. 14 August – 22 September 1779 · Groix off L'Orient to the Yorkshire coastSquadron Sails and Approaches the Yorkshire Coast

    Jones's seven-ship squadron left Groix on 14 August 1779; on the evening of 22 September Bonhomme Richard and Vengeance turned north to rendezvous with Alliance and Pallas.

  2. 23 September 1779 · North Sea off Flamborough HeadBonhomme Richard and Serapis Grapple

    Around 7 pm Bonhomme Richard closed with Serapis; their rigging entangled, and Jones's crew lashed the ships together, locked side by side by Serapis' spare anchor.

  3. 23 September 1779 · North Sea off Flamborough HeadExplosion Cripples Serapis' Gun Deck

    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.

  4. 23 September 1779 · North Sea off Flamborough HeadAlliance Fires into the Locked Ships

    Captain Landais ignored Bonhomme Richard's lantern signals and sailed around the locked ships firing broadsides intended for Serapis' bow and stern.

  5. 23–24 September 1779 · North Sea off Flamborough HeadSerapis Surrenders; Bonhomme Richard Sinks

    Pearson surrendered his sword as Serapis' mainmast fell; the next morning all hands abandoned Bonhomme Richard, which sank shortly before 11 am.

  6. 23 September 1779 – 1780 · North Sea off Flamborough HeadConvoy Escapes; Pearson Honoured

    Nearly every merchant ship in the convoy reached safety before the battle began; in 1780 Pearson received three silver-mounted Coconut Cups for protecting it.

Background and detail

Background. On 14 August 1779 a squadron of seven ships departed Groix off L'Orient in France, nominally commanded by Continental Navy Captain John Paul Jones. His flagship Bonhomme Richard was an armed former French East India Company trading vessel he had reluctantly adapted for military use.

Opposing Forces. Bonhomme Richard carried a broadside of just over 200 pounds from 18 guns, augmented by six second-hand 18-pounders adding 108 pounds of shot. Serapis, a purpose-built warship, was more manoeuvrable; by coincidence both crews numbered about 320, after desertions and the need to crew captured vessels had reduced Bonhomme Richard's complement from around 400.

The Battle. Around 7 pm on 23 September Bonhomme Richard closed within pistol-shot of Serapis. When Serapis' jib-boom caught in Bonhomme Richard's mizzen rigging, Jones's men lashed the ships together; Serapis' spare anchor then locked them side by side. An ignited charge on Serapis' lower gun deck killed or burned many gunnery crewmen and put five guns out of action, and Serapis' mainmast eventually fell.

Aftermath. Pearson boarded Bonhomme Richard to surrender his sword as Serapis' mainmast went overboard. All personnel abandoned Bonhomme Richard at 10 am the next morning, and she sank shortly before 11. Pearson reported more than 49 dead and 68 wounded aboard Serapis; his claimed 300 casualties on Bonhomme Richard seems very high. The action became one of the war's most celebrated naval engagements in America.

People involved

Sources

  1. Battle of Flamborough Head Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-21

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.