The whole surrounding country was alarmed, since for two days the squadron had been in sight beating up the Firth of Forth.

A sudden squall, which drove Jones back, probably saved Edinburgh from being plundered.

A few days later Jones was burning ships in the Humber and, on the 23d of September, he met off Flamborough Head and, after a desperate fight, captured two British armed ships: the Serapis, a 40-gun vessel newly commissioned, and the Countess of Scarborough, carrying 20 guns, both of which were convoying a fleet.

The fame of his exploit rang through Europe.

Jones was a regularly commissioned officer in the navy of the United States, but neutral powers, such as Holland, had not yet recognized the republic and to them there was no American navy.