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148 
gaged with the enemy, did more harm 
to them than to us. 
_ The battle fill continued with uncom- 
mon ardour between us and the enemy, 
whole ——~— or burned, and her main- 
mafi cut away, by degrees, by our bul- 
Jets; while the heavier metal of the Se- 
apis drove in one of the fides of my thip, 
end met with little or no refiftance. In 
short, our helm was rendered ufelefS, and 
the poop was only fupported by an old 
and thattcred piece of timber, which alone 
prevented it from giving way. 
At length, after a fhort engagement, 
the Countefs,ef Scarborough furrendered 
to the Palias; it was then that the Cap- 
tain of the latter afked the Commander of 
the Alliance, “* Whether he would take 
charge of the prize, or fai! and give fuc- 
cour to the Commodore ?”’ On this, the 
Alliance began to fland backwards and 
forwards under her topfails, until, having 
got tothe windward, fhe came down, and 
difcharged a fecond broadfide againit the 
fore-part of the Serapis, and the hind- 
part of the Richard. On this I and fe- 
veral other perfons begged for God’s 
fake, that they would ceafe firing, and 
fend a few men cn board of us:*but he 
dilobeyed, and fired another broadfide as 
he aa along ; after which he kept at a 
molt refpeétful diitance, and took great 
eare not to expofe him(elf during the re- 
mainder of the a€tion, without receiving a 
fingle fhot, or having a man wounded 
during the whole engagement. 
The idea that we were finking had 
taken fuch polieffion of the armourer’s 
mind, that he actually opened the {cuttles, 
and made all the prifoners, to the number 
of a hundred, fally forth, in oppofition to 
my reiterated orders. This event might 
have proved fatal, had I not taken advan- 
tage of their affright to ftation them at 
the pumps, where they difplayed furprif- 
ing zeal, appearing aétually to forget (heir 
€aptivity ; for there was nothing to pre- 
vent their going on board the Serapis; 
or; it was in their power to put an end to 
the engagement in an inftant, by either 
killing me, or throwing me into the fea, 
_As our three quarier-dick guns conti- 
nued to play, without interruption, on the 
é.emy.reked her hinder-parts, and da- 
meged her maf in fuch a manner, that 
it was only fupported from falling by the 
yards cf our fhip, while the tops poured 
in acontinual ai/charge; the fire ‘of the 
Enehifh began to deaden m fuch a man- 
neras to bereave themot all hopeot fuccefs. 
A civcumftance, however, occurred, 
that cantribund not’a litile to the vitiory 
Account of Paul Fones. 
[Sept.t, . 
of the Richard: this was the extraordi- 
nary intrepidity and prefence of mind of 
a Scotch failor, pofted in the main-top: 
this brave fellow, of his own accord, 
feized a lighted match, and a bafket of 
hand-grenades, with which he advanced 
along the main-yard; until he had arrived 
exactly above the enemy’s deck. As the 
flames of their parapets and fhrouds, 
added to the light of the moon, enabied 
him to diftinguifh objeéts ; the momenc 
he perceived two or three perfons aflem- 
bled together, he inttantly difcharged a 
hand-grenade among them; he had even _ 
addrefs enough to drop feveral through 
their {cuttles, and ‘one of them fet fire to 
the cartridge of an eighteen pounder be- 
longing to the lower deck, the difcharge 
of which fcorched feveral of the crew. 
On this, the Captain of the Serapis 
came upon the quarter-deck, lowered his 
flag, and afked for quarter, at the very 
moment his main-maft had fallen into the 
fea. He then came on board with his 
officers, and prefented me with his fword. 
While this was tranfaéting, eight or ten 
men belonging to the Richard feized on 
the Serapis’s fhallop, which had been af 
anchor during the engagement, and made 
off. 
It was more than eleven o’clock when 
the battle ended; it had confequently 
Jafied more than four hours. My thip had 
no more than 322 men, good, bad, and 
indifferent; on board, at the commence- 
ment of the engagement; and the fixty of 
thefe, pofted in the gun-room when the 
gun burft, having been of no further fer- 
vice during the aétion, could not be pro- 
perly confidered as forming part of the 
crew oppofed to the Serapis, which had 
received a fupply of Englifh failors whiie in 
Denmark ; and it appeared indeed by the 
mufter-roll, that there were upwards of 
4.00 on board of her, when the firft gun was 
fired. Her fuperiority was {til more con- 
fiderable in refpekk to guns, without men- 
tioning her greater weight of metal, which 
furpaiied ours beyondall comparifon. Thus, 
fetiing afide the damage done by the 
Countefs of Scarborough, during the fore- 
part of the action, and alfo by the three 
broadfices from the Alliance, it will be 
eafy to form a due judgment ef the com- 
bat betweea the Richard and the Serapis, 
and fet a proper value on a victory obtain- 
ed over a force {> greatiy fuperior, after 
fach a long, bicody, and clofe engage- 
ment. ; 
‘The Vengeance, a corvette, mounting 
twelve three-pounders, and the boat be- 
longing te the pilot, with my fecond lieu- 
; tenant, 
