⚔️📍 Flamborough Head, North Sea1779
John Paul Jones — 'I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight!'
American Captain John Paul Jones aboard the Bonhomme Richard fought HMS Serapis for three and a half hours in a moonlit battle, with the American ship so badly damaged that the British captain asked if Jones had struck his colors. Jones replied: 'I have not yet begun to fight!'
Jones's victory made him the father of the American naval tradition and proved that American ships could defeat the Royal Navy in single combat.
Outcome
American victory; Bonhomme Richard sinks after capturing Serapis