SEPTEMBER 23

I have been under the assumption that the American Revolutionary War was fought in and around  America.  Strictly speaking, that's not completely true.  Here's what we did. 

In 1779, the Continental Navy purchased a 3-year-old merchant ship and changed it's name to the "Bonhomme Richard."  This name was in honor of Benjamin Franklin who had recently published a book in France called Poor Richard's Almanac.  Bonhomme, if my French does not fail me, would translate to 'Good Man'. 

Never the less, the Navy installed a man named John Paul Jones as the ship's captain and put him in charge of a squadron and sent them east across the Atlantic.  They made their way around the British Isles capturing English trading ships and driving the British batty.  On this date in 1779, while in the North Sea, they came upon a fleet of British merchant ships with armed escort sailing ships.  What ensued was called the Battle of Flamborough Head.

The all-day sea battle took it's toll on both sides.  At one point, the British asked Jones to surrender and he famously said, "I have not yet begun to fight."  In the end, the British captain surrendered.  The battle and our victory influenced the Dutch and French to back the "revolutionaries" in their struggle with the English.  In that respect, it was a great victory.   Sadly the Bonhomme Richard sank in the North Sea two days later from damage sustained during the battle.

A side note:  The armament on the Bonhomme Richard was 28 - 12 lb, 6 - 18 lb, and 8 - 9 lb cannon.  That makes 42 cannons in all.  That makes 21 cannon on each side of the ship.  Now you know why our military has the tradition of making a 21 gun salute when appropriate.