ships engaged, and at free liberty to rake the Bon homme Richard. 13. After the Bon homme Richard and Serapis were made fast along side of each other, (which was not done till an hour after the engagement began,) Captain Landais, out of musket shot, raked the Bon homme Richard with cross-bar and grape shot, &c., which killed a number of men, dismounted sundry guns, put out the side lights, and silenced all the 12 pounders. 14. The Alliance then ran down towards the Pallas and Scarborough that were at the time engaged at a considerable distance to leeward of the Bon homme Richard and Serapis, and Captain Landais hovered about there out of gun-shot, and without firing, till some time after the Countess of Scarborough had struck; and then bore down under her top-sails, and spoke, first the prize, and then the Pallas, asking a number of questions. 15. At last Captain Landais made sail under his topsails, to work up to windward, but made tacks before he (being within the range of grape-shot, and, at the longest, three quarters of an hour before the Serapis struck,) fired a second broadside into the Bon homme Richard's larboard quarter, the latter part whereof was fired when the Alliance was not more than three points abaft the Bon homme Richard's beam, although many tongues had cried from the Bon homme Richard that Captain Landais was firing into the wrong ship, and prayed him to lay the enemy along side. Three large signal lanthorns, with proper signal wax candles in them, and well lighted, had also, previously to his firing, been hung over the bow, quarter, and waist of the Bon homme Richard in a horizontal line, which was the signal of reconnoisance; and the ships, the one having a high poop, and being all black, the other having a low stern, with yellow sides, were easily distinguishable, it being full moon. 16. The Alliance then passed at a very considerable distance along the larboard or off side of the Bon homme Richard, and having tacked and gained the wind, ran down again to leeward, and, in crossing the Bon homme Richard's bow, Capt. Landais raked her with a third broadside, after being constantly called to from the Bon homme Richard not to fire, but to lay the enemy along side. 17. Sundry men were killed and wounded by the broadsides mentioned in the two last articles. 18. Capt. Landais never passed on the off side of the Serapis, nor could that ship ever bring a gun to bear on the Alliance at any time during the engagement. 19. The leaks of the Bon homme Richard increased much after being fired upon by the Alliance; and as the most dangerous shot which the Bon homme Richard received under the water, were under the larboard bow and quarter, they must have come from the Alliance, for the Serapis was on the other side. 20. Several people on board the Alliance told Capt. Landais, at different times, that he fired upon the wrong ship; others refused to fire. 21. The Alliance only fired three broadsides, while within gun shot, on the Bon homme Richard and Serapis. 22. The morning after the engagement, Capt. Landais acknowledged on board the Serapis, that he raked each time with grape shot, which he knew would scatter. 23. Capt. Landais has acknowledged since the action, that he would have thought it no harm if the Bon homme Richard had struck, for it would have given him an opportunity to retake her, and to take the Serapis. 24. He has frequently declared that he was the only American in the squadron, and that he was not under the orders of Capt. Jones. 25. In coming into the Texel he declared that if Captain Jones should hoist a broad pendant, he would, to vex him, hoist another. I attest the articles number 2. 4. 5. 10. 11. 15. 16. and 22, to be matters of fact, and I believe all the rest. ROBERT CORAM, Midshipman. I attest the articles number 2. 3. 4. 5. 9. 10. 11. 13. 15. 16. 17. 19. 21. and 22, to be matters of fact, and I believe all the rest. J. W. LINTHWAITE, Midshipman. I attest the articles number 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 10. 11. 13. 15. 16. 17. 19. 21. and 22, to be matters of fact, and I believe all the rest. JOHN MAYRANT, Midshipman. I attest the articles number 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 10. 13, 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 22. 23. and 24, to be matters of fact, and I believe all the rest. Lieut. Col. WEIBERT. I attest the articles number 2. 3. and 11, to be matters of fact, and I believe all the rest. イ BENJAMIN STUBBS, Midshipman. I attest the articles number 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 10. 11. 13. 15. 16. and 17, to be matters of fact, and I believe all the rest. THOMAS POTTER, Midshipman. I attest the articles number 2. 3. 4. 5. 10. 11. 13. 15. and 19, to be matters of fact, and I believe all the rest. NATHANIEL FANNING, Midshipman., I attest the articles number 3. 4. 5. 10. 11. 13. 15. 16. 17. 19. and 21, to be matters of fact, and I believe all the rest. THOMAS LUNDY, Midshipman. I attest the articles number 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 10. 11. 13. 15. 16. and 17, to be matters of fact, and I believe all the rest. BEAUMONT GROUBE, Midshipman. I attest the articles number 2. 3. 4. 5. 10. 11. 15. 16. 17. 18. and 23, to be matters of fact. STACK, Lieut. of Walsh's Reg. I attest the articles number 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 10. 11. 13. 15. 19. 23. and 24, to be matters of fact. MACARTHY, Officer of Walsh's Reg. I attest the articles number 2. 3. 4. 5. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. and 21, to be matters of fact. I attest the articles to be matters of fact. RICHARD DALE, First Lieutenant. number 2. 3. 4. 5. 11. 14. and 22, HENRY LUNT, Second Lieutenant. I attest the articles number 2. 3. 4. 5. 10. 11. 13. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. and 21, to be matters of fact. SAMUEL STACEY, Master. We attest the articles number 2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 8. 11. 12. 18.* 20. and 21, to be matters of fact. JAMES DEGGE, Lieutenant, JOHN BUCKLEY, Master, JOHN LARCHER, Master's Mate, Alliance. I attest to the articles number 11. 12. 14. and 24; as to the 4th article, I know that he refused to obey the signals for going on board the Bon homme Richard; and with respect to the 9th article, I recollect that he said, "If it is a ship of more than fifty guns, we have nothing to do but to run away." DE COTTINEAU DE KLOGUENE, Captain of the Pallas. I attest the articles number 2. 5. 11. 12. 20. and 22, to be matters of fact. M. PARK, Captain of Marines of the Alliance. * The Alliance never passed on the off side of the Serapis. I, the subscriber, being sent for by the commodore on the 23d day of September, to repair immediately on board his ship, the Bon homme Richard, there to examine and find out the leaks of his ship, which was within an hour after the engagement with the Serapis, an English ship of war, I accordingly obeyed the commodore's orders, and repaired on board his ship, when, after searching diligently without and within the said ship, I found it was impracticable to stop the leaks, the ship's bottom being so much shattered. Dated on board the ship Serapis, at sea, Sept. 24th. 1779. JAMES BRAGG, Master Carpenter of the Alliance. I, the subscriber, late midshipman on board the late American ship of war the Bon homme Richard, but now acting in that capacity on board the ship of war the Serapis, which ship was taken by the Bon homme Richard, on the night of the 23d of September last, the same night I was stationed in the Bon homme Richard's main-top the whole of the action. About two hours after the engagement commenced, I saw, to my great surprise, the Alliance come under the Bon homme Richard's stern, and fire her whole broadside into the Bon homme Richard; she then came along the off side of the Bon homme Richard and came under her bow, when she discharged another volley of both grape and round shot, which I heard strike the rigging, masts, &c. on board the Bon homme Richard. Though previous to the Alliance firing the second time into the Bon homme Richard, I heard some of our officers and men call to the Alliance, which was then within hail, for God's sake not to fire into the Bon homme Richard, for, said they, you have killed several of our men already. Notwithstanding all this, she fired a number of shot afterward into the Bon homme Richard. But as to the number of men the Alliance killed on board the Bon homme Richard, I cannot ascertain; however, as to what I have written here I can attest to as a fact. Given under my hand this 23d day of October, 1779. NATHANIEL FANNING.* *An intelligent, sensible officer. He had the good fortune and the merit of aiding to overcome the enemy stationed in the main-top of the Serapis. He commanded afterward, and until the close of the war, the privateer Eclipse, belonging to Dunkirk. J. P. JONES. I, late a midshipman on board of the Bon homme Richard, and aid-du-camp to the Honorable John Paul Jones in the action of the 23d of September, off Flamborough Head, do certify, that an hour after the commencement of it, I was on the main deck, where there was a brisk firing kept up until a ship raked us, when I saw two men drop dead, and several running from their quarters, crying out, "The Alliance is manned with Englishmen and firing upon us." I went up immediately, and saw her pass by us. She then, in about two hours time, came under our stern, and while we were hailing her, she fired into our larboard quarter, and went ahead of us; then came before the wind, athwart our bows, when she was hailed by Capt. Jones's orders, to lay the enemy on board, but they returning no answer, were hailed once or twice again, to which they answered, “ay, ay," and immediately fired several guns, but they being at too great a distance to damage the enemy without hurting us, when she might have come half as near again without any danger of running foul of us or damaging us. But, previous to the above mentioned engagement, a signal was hove out from the Bon homme Richard to form a line of battle, to which the Alliance paid no attention, but during the whole cruize the Alliance very seldom attended to any of Captain Jones's signals. It is my sincere opinion on the conduct of the commander of the said ship, together with her manoeuvres during the time of action, on the 23d of last September, that his motive must have been to kill Captain Jones, and distress the Bon homme Richard, so as to cause her to strike to the Serapis, that he might himself be able to take the Serapis, and honor himself with the laurels of that day. In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name, on board the Serapis, lying in the Texel, the 24th of October, 1779. JOHN MAYRANT.* * A young gentleman of fortune, of South-Carolina, whose conduct in the engagement did him great honor. J. P. JONES. I, late midshipman on board of the American ship of war le Bon homme Richard, commanded by the Honorable John Paul Jones, at present on board of the Serapis, prize to the above ship, do certify, that while at my station in the mizentop, after we had engaged about two hours and a half, I saw, |