Battle off Flamborough Head: A Pivotal Victory for American Independence

摘要

The impact of the battle between Captain John Paul Jones in the Continental ship Bonhomme Richard and Captain Richard Pearson in HMS Serapis on 23 September 1779 has gone largely unrecognized in most histories of the American Revolution. Jones's victory was in fact very important. His success was to the naval component of the Revolution what the Battle of Saratoga in 1772 was to the land war—it changed everything, The contest's unlikely outcome sent a message to the world: the American Navy, which had little success against the Royal Navy at that time, could fight, could win, and could take the war to British shores. That message added to Britain's anxiety that the price for a military victory over the American Colonies, if a clear-cut victory could even be achieved, would be exorbitant.