Yorkshire Post
Popular Mechanics
Quote:
"You can walk out on to the wreck from the shore. You can literally go to the beach and look in the water and see where it is. And you can go on the cliffs and look down on it and see the shadow's outline. The question for the community is, who owns the land and who will build a visitor centre on it." American explorers have over the years spent an estimated $200m on trying to find what is left of Bonhomme Richard, a one-time merchant vessel given to the new colony by a French shipping magnate. But Mr Blackburn said: "It's not where everyone thought it was going to be. We have made a brand spanking new determination of where the wreck is actually located."
His firm made the discovery two years ago but withheld the information until registration documents had been lodged. The delegates at Filey's White Lodge Hotel were the first to hear of it, along with news of the discovery of wooden figurehead of a lion and shield that adorned the bow, and a carving of a shepherdess from the stern.
Popular Mechanics
Quote:
The Bonhomme Richard, commanded at the time by Captain John Paul Jones, was sunk during a duel with two Royal Navy warships during the Revolutionary War. The ship, from which Jones uttered his famous line, "I have not yet begun to fight," was found literally yards from shore.
As American schoolkids know, the thirteen colonies received substantial, war-winning assistance from France during the American Revolutionary War. French help included sending naval and ground forces to bolster the colonial rebels, and also material supportincluding warships.
One of those warships was the ex-merchant ship Duc De Duras, which had been assigned to the French East India Company. When the company shut down, it was handed over to the French Navy, who donated the ship to the U.S. Continental Navy. American captain John Paul Jones arrived in France to take command. He armed the ship with 40 deck guns, 20 per side, and commissioned the ship Bonhomme Richard, or Good Man Richard. (The "Richard" in this case was the fictional Richard of Poor Richard's Almanac, authored by then-ambassador to France Benjamin Franklin.)
On September 23, 1779, an American/French squadron led by Bonhomme Richard made contact with a convoy led by the British warships Serapis and Countess of Scarborough. During the course of battle the Bonhomme Richard sustained heavy damage, and at one point the captain of the Serapis asked Jones if his ship had "struck its colors," a naval tradition signifying surrender in battle. Jones famously replied, "Struck sir? I have not yet begun to fight!" His sailors and Marines rallied, Jones ended up capturing the Serapiswhich came in handy when Bonhomme Richard sank the next day.