the British man-of-war captured by John Paul Jones in 1779. John Paul Jones (1747 - 1792, often called "Father of the American Navy") took command of the Bonhomme Richard and led a small squadron into the Irish Sea (a part of the Atlantic between Ireland and England). On September 23, 1779 his squadron met a large British convoy. The Bonhomme Richard attacked the leading ship of the force, the Serapis. The Serapis was larger and better armed than Jones' ship so Jones took his vessel alongside the Serapis. The ships were so close that their rigging became entangled and the muzzles of their guns touched each other. The British commander called on Jones to surrender and it was then that Jones said, "I have not yet begun to fight." After three hours of terrible hand-to-hand fighting, the tall mast of the Serapis fell and the British surrendered. The Bonhomme Richard was so badly damaged that it sank the next day. Jones continued on to France in another ship. See also Bonhomme Richard in this glossary.—PDC 2 Approved Glossary