Serapis Flag or

Franklin and Adams Flag- October 1778

John Paul Jones was a pirate, at least in the minds of the British Admiralty.  He plundered many British merchant ships off the coast of England.  Because he sailed under no national Flag, the British sought to have him arrested for piracy.  The French king offered Jones the Flag of France, but Jones stated he would only sail under the American Flag.

In June of 1777, congress clarified “The Flag of the thirteen United States (will) be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union (will) be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”  Benjamin Franklin, then ambassador to France, mistakenly informed the Sicilian ambassador “The Flag of the United States of America, consists of thirteen Stripes Alternately red, white, and blue. A small Square in the upper Angle next the Flag Staff is a blue Field, with thirteen white Stars, denoting a new Constellation.”

John Paul Jones took command of a combined French and American squadron of ships, in 1779.  His flagship was named the Bonhomme Richard, in honor Benjamin Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanac”.  It would have been fitting for the ship to sail under Franklin’s Flag.

On the night of 23 September 1779, the most famous sea battle of the American Revolution took place between the Bonhomme Richard and the British Serapis.  During the battle, the Bonhomme Richard’s Flag was shot off.  Asked by the British Capitan if he was surrendering, Jones replied, “I have not yet begun to fight.”  His crew did fight and took the Serapis after brutal hand to hand combat.  Jones transferred to the Serapis and sailed to the Dutch port of Texel.  There on 5 October 1779 the Flag having 13 red, white, and blue stripes was painted with the caption “Serapis, Frigate, Paul Jones Commandant.”

Sources:

Adams, John and Franklin, Benjamin. “Letter to Domenico Caracciolo” (October 1778)

Balderston, Marion. “The Flag John Paul Jones Really Fought Under.” Huntington Library Quarterly 33, no. 1 (1969): 77–83. https://doi.org/10.2307/3817016

Fanning, Nathan. “Fanning's narrative; being the memoirs of Nathaniel Fanning, an officer of the revolutionary navy, 1778-1783, ed. and annotated by John S. Barnes” pp. 23-62 (1912) Printed for the Naval history society by the De Vinne Press https://archive.org/details/fanningsnarrative00navyrich/page/n11/mode/2up

Furlong, William and McCandless, Byron “So Proudly We Hail, The History of the United States Flag” pp. 128-130 (1981) Smithsonian Institution Press

Jones, John Paul. "Journal of Paul Jones." (April 1827) Niles' Weekly Register 815 https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/research-guides/z-files/zb-files/zb-files-j/jones-john-paul/jones-jp-niles.html

Preble, George. “Our Flag, Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America” pp. 204-205, (1872) Kessinger’s Legacy Reprint

Unknown Artist. “Flags of the Alliance and the Serapis” (1779) Watercolor. Chicago History Museum https://images.chicagohistory.org/asset/28552/