Paul Jones next cruised up and down the eastern coast of England, trying
to capture some merchant ships that were bound for London.
About noon, on September 23, 1779, he saw not far from the shore an
English fleet, sailing from the north. It was convoyed by two new war
ships, the _Serapis_ and the _Countess of Scarborough_.
Paul Jones at once signaled to his ships to form in line of battle.
Captain Landais disobeyed.
The sight of the American squadron seemed to cause confusion in the
English fleet. They let fly their top gallant sails and fired many
signals. The _Serapis_ and the _Countess_ drew up in line of battle and
waited for the enemy, while the merchant ships ran into port.
It was a clear, calm afternoon. The sea was like a polished mirror, with
scarcely a ripple on its surface.
The vessels approached each other so slowly that they scarcely seemed to
move. The decks had all been cleared for action, and the captains were
full of impatience.
Word had gone from town to town along the shore, that a great battle was
soon to be fought. The people along the shore gathered on the high
cliffs, eagerly hoping to see the dreaded Paul Jones crushed forever.
The sun had gone down behind the hills before the ships were within
speaking distance of each other. The harvest moon came up, full and
clear, and shed a soft light over the dreadful battle that followed.
Captain Landais, when he disobeyed Paul Jones' order to join in line of
battle, spread the sails of the _Alliance_, and went quickly toward the
enemy as though to make an attack. But when very near to where the
_Serapis_ lay, he changed his course, and sailed away to a place where
the battle could be seen without harm.
About half-past seven in the evening, the _Richard_ rounded to on the
side of the _Serapis_ within pistol-shot.
Captain Pearson of the _Serapis_ hailed, saying: "What ship is that?"
The answer came: "I can't hear what you say."
Captain Pearson repeated: "What ship is that? Answer at once or I shall
fire."
Paul Jones' reply was a shot. This was followed by a broadside from each
vessel.
At this first fire, two of the guns in the lower battery of the
_Richard_ burst. The explosion tore up the decks, and killed many men.
The two vessels now began pouring broadsides into each other. The
_Richard_ was old and rotten, and these shots caused her to leak badly.
Captain Pearson saw this, and hailed, saying, "Has your ship struck?"