George Bancroft, History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent, Vol. 10

[271] Dutch would not concede that the case provided for

Chap. XII.} 1779.

by treaty had arisen, and denied the right of England to disregard one treaty at will and then claim the benefit of others.

While the British were complaining that nine or ten American merchant vessels had entered the port of Amsterdam, a new cause of irritation arose. Near the end of July, Paul Jones, a Scot by birth in the service of the United States, sailed from l'orient as commander of a squadron consisting of the ‘Poor Richard’ of forty guns (many of them unserviceable), the ‘Alliance’ of thirty-six guns, both American ships of war; the ‘Pallas,’ a French frigate of thirty-two; and the ‘Vengeance,’ a French brig of twelve guns. They ranged the western coast of Ireland, turned Scotland, and, cruising off Flamborough Head, descried the British merchant fleet from the Baltic under the convoy of the ‘Serapis’ of forty-four guns, and the ‘Countess of Scarborough’ of twenty guns.

An hour after sunset, on the twenty-third of September, the ‘Serapis,’ having a vast superiority in

Sept. 23.

strength, engaged the ‘Poor Richard.’ With marvellous hardihood Paul Jones, after suffering exceedingly in a contest of an hour and a half within musket shot, bore down upon his adversary, whose anchor he hooked to his own quarter. The muzzles of their guns touched each other's sides. Jones could use only three nine-pounders and muskets from the round-tops, but combustible matters were thrown into every part of the ‘Serapis,’ which was on fire no less than ten or twelve times. There were moments when both ships were on fire together. After