John Paul Jones: A True Hero

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Not only were Nathanael Greene and Nathan Hale heroic, John Paul Jones proved that he was a great hero when he won his battle at sea on September 23, 1779. Even though Jones knew that the Bonhomme Richard, his out-dated ship with its inexperienced crew was no match to the British ship, the Serapis he still attacked (Phillips 171). The 50-gun Serapis with an experienced crew thought that they could easily defeat the attacking ship, while protecting their merchant ships in the process (Schulman). The ships battled for what seemed like hours with short range cannon fire and eventually they started boarding each other when the famous quote, “I have not yet begun to fight,” was said by Jones, when the British captain asked him if he would surrender.

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