23rd September
A battle between "Bon Homme Richard" of the Continental Navy of the American Revolution and the British "HMS Serepis", was fought on September 23rd 1779. It was a a bitter engagement of The American Revolutionary War, which cost the lives of nearly half the American and British crews.
The captain of the "Bon Homme Richard" that day, was John Paul Jones (Scottish born, of Welsh descent) and when the Bonhomme Richard began taking on water and fires broke out... on board, British victory seemed inevitable. The British commander asked Jones if he wanted to surrender , to which Jones gave his famous reply, "I have not yet begun to fight!" In the end, it was the British commander who surrendered and Jones is remembered for his indomitable will, his unwillingness to consider surrender when the slightest hope of victory still survived
A battle between "Bon Homme Richard" of the Continental Navy of the American Revolution and the British "HMS Serepis", was fought on September 23rd 1779. It was a a bitter engagement of The American Revolutionary War, which cost the lives of nearly half the American and British crews.
The captain of the "Bon Homme Richard" that day, was John Paul Jones (Scottish born, of Welsh descent) and when the Bonhomme Richard began taking on water and fires broke out... on board, British victory seemed inevitable. The British commander asked Jones if he wanted to surrender , to which Jones gave his famous reply, "I have not yet begun to fight!" In the end, it was the British commander who surrendered and Jones is remembered for his indomitable will, his unwillingness to consider surrender when the slightest hope of victory still survived
John Paul Jones was born in a humble gardener's cottage in Kirkbean, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland and went to sea as a youth . Having taken up residence in Virginia, he volunteered early in the War of Independence to serve in his adopted country's infant navy and raised with his own hands the Continental ensign on board the flagship of the Navy's first fleet and is therefore seen by many as "The father of the US Navy.
He later took the war to Briain, where he was considered a pirate, with daring raids along the British coast. He was active in the waters around Tenby, where one of his officers by the name of Leekie Porridge came from. There is a beach named Jones on Caldey Island and his ghost is said to haunt the island.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones
See MoreHe later took the war to Briain, where he was considered a pirate, with daring raids along the British coast. He was active in the waters around Tenby, where one of his officers by the name of Leekie Porridge came from. There is a beach named Jones on Caldey Island and his ghost is said to haunt the island.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones
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