newing his inquiry, have you struck, Sir? was answered, "Yes, I have." The lieutenant replied, "I have nothing more to say," and was about to return below, when I informed him he must accompany Captain Pearson on board the ship along side. He said, "if you will permit me to go below, I will silence the firing of the lower deck guns." This request was refused, and with Captain Pearson, was passed over to the deck of the Bon homme Richard. Orders being sent below to cease firing,—the engagement terminated, after a most obstinate contest of three hours and a half. Upon receiving Captain Pearson on board the Bon homme Richard, Captain Jones gave orders to cut loose the lashings, and directed me to follow him with the Serapis. Perceiving the Bon homme Richard leaving the Serapis, I sent one of the quarter-masters to ascertain whether the wheel-ropes were cut away, supposing something extraordinary must be the matter, as the ship would not pay off, although the head sails were aback, and no after sail; the quarter-master returning, reported that the wheel-ropes were all well, and the helm hard a-port. Excited by this extraordinary circumstance, I jumped off the binnacle, where I had been sitting, and falling upon the deck, found to my astonishment I had the use of only one of my legs :-a splinter of one of the guns had struck, and badly wounded my leg without my perceiving the injury until this moment. I was replaced upon the binnacle, when the sailing-master of the Serapis coming up to me observed, that from my orders he judged I must be ignorant of the ship being at anchor. Noticing the second lieutenant of the Bon homme Richard, I directed him to go below and cutaway the cable, and follow the Bon homme Richard with the Serapis. I was then carried on board the Bon homme Richard to have my wound dressed. ADMIRALTY OFFICE, Oct. 12TH, 1779. A letter from Capt. RICHARD PEARSON, of his Majesty's ship Serapis to Mr. Stephens, of which the following is a copy, was yesterday received at this office. SIR, Pallas, French Frigate, in Congress You will be pleased to inform the Lords' Commissioners of the Admiralty, that on the 23d ult., being close in R with Scarborough, about 4 o'clock, a boat came on board with a letter from the bailiffs of that corporation, giving information of a flying squadron of the enemy's ships being on the coast, and a part of the said squadron having been seen from thence the day before, standing to the southward. As soon as I received this intelligence I made the signal for the convoy to bear down under my lee, and repeated it with two guns; notwithstanding which the van of the convoy kept their wind, with all sail stretching out to the southward from under Flamborough Head, till between twelve and one, when the headmost of them got sight of the enemy's ships, which were then in chase of them; they then tacked, and made the best of their way under the shore for Scarborough, &c. letting fly their top-gallant sheets, and firing guns; upon which I made all the sail I could to windward, to get between the enemy's ships and the convoy, which I soon effected. At 1 o'clock we got sight of the enemy's ships from the mast-head, and about 4 we made them plain from the deck to be three large ships and a brig, upon which I made the Countess of Scarborough a signal to join me, she being in shore with the convoy. At the same time I made the signal for the convoy to make the best of their way, and repeated the signal with two guns: I then brought to, to let the Countess of Scarborough come up, and cleared ship for action. At half past 5 the Countess of Scarborough joined me, the enemy's ships bearing down upon us with a light breeze at S. S. W., at 6 tacked, in order to keep our ground the better between the enemy's ships and the convoy soon after which, we perceived the ships bearing down upon us to be a two-decked ship and two frigates, but from their keeping end on, and bearing upon us, we could not discern what colours they were under; at about 20 minutes past 7 the largest ship of the three brought to on our larboard bow, within musket-shot. I hailed him and asked what ship it was; they answered in English, “The Princess Royal." I then asked where they belonged to, they answered evasively; on which I told them, if they did not answer directly I would fire into them; they then answered with a shot, which was instantly returned with a broadside; and after exchanging two or three broadsides he backed his topsails, and dropt upon our quarter within pistol shot, then filled again, put his helm a-weather and run us on board upon our weather quarter, and at tempted to board us, but being repulsed, he sheered off; upon which I backed our topsails, in order to get square with him again, which, as soon as he observed, he then filled, put his helm a-weather, and laid us athwart hause; his mizen-shrouds took our jib-boom, which hung him for some time, until at last it gave way, and we dropt along side of each other, head and stern, when the fluke of our spare anchor hooking his quarter, we became so close fore and aft that the muzzles of our guns touched each other's sides. In this position we engaged from half past 8 till half past 10, during which time, from the great quantity and variety of combustible matters which they threw in upon our decks, chains, and in short, into every part of the ship, we were on fire no less than ten or twelve times in different parts of the ship, and it was with the greatest difficulty and exertion imaginable at times, that we were able to get it extinguished. At the same time the largest of the two frigates kept sailing round us the whole action, and raking us fore and aft, by which means she killed or wounded almost every man on the quarter and main decks. About half past 9, either from a handgrenade being thrown in at one of our lower-deck ports, or from some other accident, a cartridge of powder was set on fire, the flames of which running from cartridge to cartridge all the way aft, blew up the whole of the people and officers that were quartered abaft the main-mast; from which unfortunate circumstance all those guns were rendered useless for the remainder of the action, and I fear the greatest part of the people will lose their lives. At 10 o'clock they called for quarters from the ship alongside, and said they had struck; hearing this I called upon the captain to know if he had struck, or if he asked for quarters; but no answer being made, after repeating my words two or three times, I called for the boarders, and ordered them to board, which they did, but the moment they were on board her, they discovered a superior number laying under cover with pikes in their hands ready to receive them, on which our people retreated instantly to their guns again till past 10, when the frigate coming across our stern, and pouring her broadside into us again, without our being able to bring a gun to bear on her, I found it in vain, and indeed, impracticable, from the situation we were in, to stand out any longer with the least prospect of success. I therefore struck, (our main-mast at the same time went by the board.) The 1st. lieutenant and myself were immediately escorted into the ship along side, when we found her to be an American ship of war, called the Bon homme Richard of 40 guns and 375 men, commanded by Capt. Paul Jones, the other frigate which engaged us, to be the Alliance of 40 guns and 300 men; and the third frigate which engaged and took the Countess of Scarborough, after two hours action, to be the Pallas, a French frigate of 32 guns and 275 men, the Vengeance an armed brig of 12 guns and 70 men, all in Congress service, and under the command of Paul Jones. They fitted out and sailed from Port L'Orient the latter end of July, and came north about; they have on board 300 English prisoners, which they have taken in different vessels in their way round since they left France, and have ransomed some others. On my going on board the Bon homme Richard, I found her to be in the greatest distress; her counters and quarter on the lower deck entirely drove in, and the whole of her lower deck guns dismounted, she was also on fire in two places, and six or seven feet water in her hold, which kept increasing upon them all night and the next day, till they were obliged to quit her and she sunk, with a great number of her wounded people on board her. She had 306 men killed and wounded in the action, our loss in the Serapis was also very great. My officers, and people in general behaved well, and I should be very remiss in my attention to their merit, were I to omit recommending the remains of them to their Lordships' favor. Herewith I enclose you the most exact list of the killed and wounded I have as yet been able to procure, from my people being dispersed among the different ships, and having been refused permission to muster them; there are, I find many more, both killed and wounded, than appears in the enclosed list, but their names I find as yet impossible to ascertain; as soon as I possibly can, I shall give their Lordships a full account of the whole. I am, Sir, &c. R. PEARSON. A more perfect idea of the dreadful havoc on board the Serapis may be obtained from the official list of the wounded prisoners taken in that ship; and it may gratify the curiosity of those readers who are desirous of learning more particularly the multiplied afflictions to which persons engaged in naval warfare are exposed: List of wounded prisoners on board the Serapis. James Clerk, Richard Angel, John Robertson, Abraham Cornish, John Robertson, Cumberland Ward, Richard Mason, Benjamin Rushton, Mr. Bannatyne, Surgeon, Thomas Rubbish, September 30th, 1779. thigh fractured. wounded hand. wounded hand. wounded leg and scorched. wounded shoulder. wounded shoulder. wounded side. wounded thigh and scorched. arm shot off and much scorched. wounded arm. wounded shoulder and scorched. wounded shoulder. wounded shoulder. wounded arm and side. wounded back. wounded wrist. wounded shoulder. leg wounded. shot in the back. arm and thigh wounded. slightly wounded. arm and thigh wounded. The following miserably scorched. Samuel Davis, Harry Hook, |