what is The Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis?

The Bon Homme Richard is a French ship and the Serapis an English one. The two ships engage in a historic battle in 1779 off the coast of England during the American Revolution. John Paul Jones’s courage under fire (“Sir, I have not yet begun to fight!” he reportedly answers when asked if he wishes to surrender) convinces the French that they are right to back the colonies in their fight for independence from England.