The two ships continued in a generally northerly direction west of the outer Hebrides and then headed for Cape Wrath towards Scotland. On August 30th, Jones sighted three ships and quickly gave chase. He overtook the brig Union and persuaded her to surrender. Alliance netted with a prize named Betsy and Landais again touted Jones' authority. Within a few days Pallas rejoined the squadron and, on the next day, Vengeance captured an Irish brigantine on its way to England. The squadron passed the Shetlands then turned south to begin the last leg of its cruise around the British Isles. The definant Alliance took two more small ships and Landais again left the squadron unknown to Jones. Jones next wanted to attack Newcastle, England, to interrupt England's coal supply however this task eventually proved impossible. Instead, the Bonhomme Richard drove a ship ashore south of Yorkshire and took a British brigantine sailing from Rotterdam to Britain.
On September 23, 1779, the small fleet sighted the British Baltic Fleet of 41 vessels under the protection of a 44-gun frigate, the HMS Serapis, and the Sloop of War Countess of Scarborough, a 22-gun ship-of-the-line. At around 6:00 PM, the Bonhomme Richard engaged Serapis and Pallas, attacked the Countess of Scarborough in what became the Battle of Flamborough Head. The USS Alliance did not engage the British but fired on the Bonhomme Richard instead. This action resulted in a court martial for Landias upon his return to France. Bonhomme Richard rounded Serapis' port quarter and fired but two of its cannon exploded below deck killing many of the gun crew. In Jones' favor, Midshipman Fanning and his men succeeded in eliminating the British sharpshooters from the top sail of the Bonhomme Richard.
Four hours of intense fighting left the Bonhomme Richard battered. and Captain Pearson of the Serapis saw the enemy ship badly listing from shot and shell. Pearson suggested surrender to Jones with Jones returning to the British captain saying "I have not yet begun to fight." Jones maneuvered his ship close to the Serapis and rammed her. The ensuing, carnage on both sides was horrifying and all this occurring while the American ship was sinking.
The two vessels became locked together via grappling hooks for another two hours. Jones utilized his British prisoners to work the pumps to keep his ship afloat. His actions wore the enemy down to the point of collapse and with the Serapis on fire, the British finally surrendered to Jones by striking their colors. Jones' crew put out the fire and took stock of the Richard. He decided to transfer his crew to the British ship while the Bonhomme Richard was allowed to sink, this occurring on September 25, 1779 despite valiant attempts to save the gallant ship. Jones sailed the Serapis to port in the United Provinces in Holland. The Continental Navy had its first victory over a British ship and this occurring in Britain's home waters of all places. This battle catapulted Jones into hero status and he was heralded as "The Father of the American Navy". His battle cry of "not begun to fight" would go down in American naval history and quotation lore.
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