Wreck of the first US ship to defeat the Royal Navy in home waters before she sank in 1779 [tr]

UK Daily Mail ^ | November 1, 2018 | James Wood

[C19fan]

British satellite historians claim to have discovered the true location of an iconic American revolutionary ship which defeated the Royal Navy off the Yorkshire coast.

The famous vessel, the USS Bonhomme Richard, was the first US ship to beat the Royal Navy in British waters before she sank on September 24, 1779.

The location of the wreck has long been a mystery, but now a British satellite historian from Harrogate claims to have found it.

Tim Akers, 60, used pioneering satellite radar techniques alongside British satellite firm Merlin Burrows to track down the buried vessel.

[C19fan]

Of course the USS Bonhomme Richard, a French freighter converted to a warship, was commanded by John Paul Jones, a native Scotsman. The name was in honor of Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac". The ship sunk after Jones defeated the Royal Navy Frigate HMS Serapis off the Yorkshire coast.

[allendale]

Jones took the Serapis after his ship sank and sailed to a friendly port in Europe. Anyone know the fate of the Serapis and did it have any further role in the war?

[laplata]

Wikipedia says it was transferred back to France and wrecked in 1781 off Madagascar.

[Afterguard]

+1

[piasa]

I think I’ll take the Navy’s word for it over Wikipedia:

https://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/lhd6/Pages/history.aspx

[piasa]

….Burning, sinking, and scattered with the dead and wounded, BONHOMME RICHARD lit up the darkness with a constant barrage. Jones struggled to keep his vessel afloat and, in one instance, an overwhelming number of prisoners in hold threatened to rush the deck to save from drowning. Jones defied all odds and continued the fight against Captain Pearson’s SERAPIS.
In the final hour, BONHOMME RICHARD’S mast was hit above the top-sail. Along with her Colors, a large section of the mast came crashing to the deck near Jones’s feet. In response to the downfallen colors, SERAPIS called out, “Have you struck your Colors?” Resoundingly, John Paul Jones exclaimed, “Struck Sir? I have not yet begun to fight!” With newfound will, his crew delivered decisive blows from all sides and aloft. Jones’ sent 40 Marines and Sailors into the rigging with grenades and muskets.
Decimated, SERAPIS could not avoid defeat and at 2230 she struck her Colors. Victorious, John Paul Jones commandeered SERAPIS and sailed her to Holland for repairs. Sadly, on September 24, 1779 at 1100, BONHOMME RICHARD sank never to rise from her watery grave.

[piasa]

it’s a shame no current ship bears the name. Instead we have the USS Harvey Milk. *spit*

[Hemingway's Ghost]

BEAT ARMY

[DiogenesLamp]

Ping Sunken Civ. Not sure if this is old enough to interest you or not. :)

[laplata]

I think I’ll take the Navy’s word for it over Wikipedia:

https://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/lhd6/Pages/history.aspx

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I see nothing about the Serapis fate. Please point it out to me.

[BlueLancer]

I think I’ll take the Navy’s word for it over Wikipedia

I think Laplata was referring to what happened to the Serapis after the battle.

[ro_dreaming]

And the USNS Cesar Chavez.

[laplata]

We were discussing the fate of the Serapis.

[Rebelbase]

“’Every American child is taught the history of John Paul Jones so it could become a site of significant historical pilgrimage.’”

Maybe 40-50 years ago but not today.

[piasa]

You’re right, it’s not at that link.

This one should be better :

http://serapisproject.org/history.html

[piasa]

I know I misread it.

Sometime later, the French navy commissioned Serapis, under Captain Roche, to assist in a campaign to wrest India from British rule. Roche proceeded to the French fort Isle Ste. Marie, located off the northern coast of Madagascar. While Roche was ashore, a lieutenant and a subordinate went below deck to obtain the daily brandy ration for the sailors. While the men were “cutting” the brandy’s full strength with water, their lantern fell into the vat and set the spirit locker on fire. Attempts to extinguish the blaze failed and after two-and-a-half hours, the flames burned through the locker walls and reached the powder magazine. An explosion blew out the stern and the vessel sank.
The vagaries of time and sea had all but erased the whereabouts of the Serapis until it was discovered in November 1999 by American nautical archaeologist, Richard Swete and his associate Michael Tuttle. After years of research and a systematic magnetometer survey of the harbor on Isle Ste. Marie, Swete and a team of archaeologists discovered the remains of Serapis.

[C19fan]

I remember watching a John Paul Jones biographical movie with Robert Stack playing Jones when I was a kid.

[IndispensableDestiny]

Laplata was referring to HMS Serapis. The wreck appears to have been located off the coast of Madagascar in 22 meters.

[BlueLancer]

They need to make their pilgrimage to John Paul Jones' tomb at the US Naval Academy. It's in a grotto beneath the floor of the Chapel Dome at Annapolis. I spent a lot of time there whenever the stress of the Academy got too much for me.

[Ammo Republic 15]

The movie you are referring to is titled “John Paul Jones”.

Released by Warner Brothers in 1959. I have it on dvd.