Revolutionary Heroes by Pat Williams

Author:Pat Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Youth Nonfiction;United States—History—Revolution (1775–1783—Influence—Juvenile literature);United States—Politics and government—1775–1783—Juvenile literature;Founding Fathers of the United States—Biography—Juvenile literature;United States—History—Revolution (1775–1783—Women—Biography—Juvenile literature);United States—History—Revolution (1775–1783—Biography—Juvenile literature);JNF007020;JNF025190;JNF053200
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2023-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

“Let Us Do Our Duty”

As the two ships drifted apart, Jones tried to position his ship to fire at the Serapis. But the Bonhomme Richard’s rudder was disabled. The ship wallowed helplessly. Seeing that the American ship was stalled, Captain Pearson turned the Serapis and slammed his ship into the Bonhomme Richard like a battering ram—and the two ships were again locked together.

The collision caused the Bonhomme Richard’s flag to fall. The British sailors mistakenly thought the Americans had lowered their flag as a signal of surrender—and they started cheering. An American sailor rushed to raise another flag. Other American sailors fired muskets and pistols at the British sailors. The British sailors stopped cheering and ran for cover.

John Paul Jones seized the moment.

He called to his sailing master, Samuel Stacey, and together they began tying the two ships tightly together with stiff, heavy rope. Jones wanted to make sure the Serapis could not get away. As the two men struggled with the rope, Stacey began to use bad language.

Jones said, “Mr. Stacey, it is no time for swearing now. You may the next moment be in eternity. Let us do our duty.”

After the sea battle had raged for more than two hours, the Bonhomme Richard had few guns capable of firing. The Serapis had blown so many holes in the American ship’s hull that cannonballs whistled through the ship without hitting anything.

Jones and his crew kept fighting. One American sailor named William Hamilton crawled out on a yardarm with a sack of fire grenades. Leaning out over the enemy ship’s deck, Hamilton tossed grenades at the open hatches in the deck. One grenade dropped through the hatch and exploded next to sacks of gunpowder. The gunpowder blew up and set off other explosives in a chain reaction of blasts.

The Bonhomme Richard was burning and sinking. The American flag had been shot away. From the deck of the Serapis, Captain Pearson called to John Paul Jones, demanding surrender.

Jones shouted back, “I am determined to make you strike.” (By this he meant, “I am determined to make you lower your flag and surrender.”) Jones and his crew fought on.

Captain Pearson realized that, even though the American ship was sinking, Jones was winning the battle. In desperation, he sent a boarding team to take over the American ship—but the Americans met them with guns and swords, driving them back onto the Serapis.

Finally, Captain Pearson admitted defeat and offered his surrender. He would later confess that it was the “extraordinary and unheard-of stubbornness” of John Paul Jones that convinced him to surrender. Jones simply would not give up.

Captain Pearson climbed over to the deck of the Bonhomme Richard and stood face-to-face with Jones. Without saying a word, he handed his sword to Jones, symbolizing his surrender.

Jones accepted Pearson’s sword and said, “Sir, you have defended your ship with credit to yourself and honor to your service.”

Captain Jones and his crew worked hard to save the Bonhomme Richard by pumping seawater out of the ship, but there was too much damage.

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