The Continental Navy: Jones and Ireland

The battle ceased after raging three hours. Fire was consuming both ships, and all hands turned to fighting the flames. They did so successfully. The vessels were soon disengaged, when the mast of the Serapis, which had been kept erect by the entangled spars and rigging, fell with a tremendous crash, carrying with it the mizzen-topmast. The Richard was damaged past recovery, and now settled rapidly. Every living person was transferred to the Serapis, and sixteen hours afterward the gallant Bon Homme Richard went down into the valleys of the North Sea.

The Countess of Scarborough, Captain Cotineau, surrendered to the Pallas after an hour's fight, notwithstanding the treacherous Landais brought the guns of the Alliance to bear upon the later as he had upon the Richard, pretending to mistake them, in the darkness, for the ships of the enemy. This brilliant victory was achieved on the night of the 23d of September. The Baltic fleet had taken shelter behind Flamborough Head. After tossing about on the Northern Sea ten days, Jones ran into the Texel, Holland, with his little squadron and prizes, only a few hours before eleven English ships-of-war that had been sent after him, appeared in the offing. A demand was made upon Holland to deliver up the prizes, and Jones and his men, to the English authorities. By adroit diplomacy, the States-General refused, without involving themselves in trouble with the British government; and Jones, instead of being conveyed to England as a "corsair," was put in command of the Alliance, and did good service for the Americans afterward. His fame spread through the civilized world. The French monarch gave him an elegant gold-mounted sword, bearing on its blade the words: "Louis XVI, Rewarder of the Valiant Asserter of the Freedom of the Sea." He also created him a knight of the Order of Merit. Catharine of Russia conferred on him the ribbon of St. Anne; and from Denmark, he received marks of distinction and a pension. The United States thanked him cordially, and eight years afterward gave him a gold medal.

The exploits of Jones exasperated and alarmed the British. They made even heavy line-of-battle-ships shy of him; and he was regarded as like

The British government put forth its energies to the utmost to carry on the war against the allies with vigor. The powerful East India Company, whose possessions were menaced by the French, presented to the crown three fine 74-gun ships for the purpose, and offered a bounty for raising six thousand soldiers. When the Parliament assembled on the 25th of November, the king, in his speech, called upon that body to exert their greatest efforts in defence of the country against "one of the most dangerous confederacies ever formed against the crown and people of Great Britain," alluding to France and Spain, the latter being then in an attitude of hostility to the British. He did not mention America in his speech; but he called special attention to Ireland, where the discontents of the people appeared like the prelude to a general revolt. The separation of Ireland from Great Britain was a favorite scheme of Vergennes; but, he said, he would not rely upon the Roman Catholics of that country, as they were naturally in favor of a monarchical government; and he had information that a large body of the most influential Irish Romanists, professing to speak "for all their fellow Roman Catholic subjects," had addressed the English secretary in Ireland, expressing their abhorrence of the "unnatural American rebellion," and their attachment "to the best of kings," at the same time offering him "two millions of faithful and affectionate hearts and hands in defence of his person and government in any part of the world." Vergennes said he would rely upon the numerous Presbyterians who inhabited the North of Ireland, whose fanaticism makes them enemies of all civil or religious authority concentrated in a chief. "They aspire to nothing," he said, "but to give themselves a form of government like that of the United Provinces of America." These Presbyterians were the men which the government suspected of contemplating rebellion, and the king recommended measures; conciliate them. Some of the sentiments of the king's speech were warmly criticised by the Opposition. The blunders of the ministry, in their dealings with the Americans were severely condemned; and it was shown that since the beginning of the war against the colonies, more than three hundred million dollars had been added to the national debt. It was shown that Great Britain then had a military establishment by sea and land of not much less than three hundred thousand men, "a force exceeding the ability of any power in Europe to support for a continuance." But the king and his ministers carried their measures triumphantly through Parliament. That body voted one hundred and twenty thousand men for the united service, and appropriated one hundred million dollars to defray the expenses of the campaign of 1780. Yet these formidable preparations to enslave them did not, at that gloomiest period of the war, make the Americans quail or falter. Then relied for success upon the justice of their cause, the generosity of human nature, and the favor of a righteous God. Thomas Pownall, in the British Parliament, uttered some remarkable prophecies concerning the future of America, saying, after speaking of what the colonies had done: