Battle of Flamborough Head - The British Convoy

The British Convoy

On 23 August 1779, a convoy of over 50 ships which had been trading with ports in the Baltic had set sail from a rendezvous off the Norwegian coast at the mouth of the Skagerrak channel, to cross the North Sea. Various ships left before Britain came in sight, heading for northern ports such as Leith and the River Tyne, but when the Yorkshire coast was sighted early on 23 September just over 40 remained, mostly carrying timber (often in the form of planks and masts for ships) or iron, bound for ports all round the southern half of the British Isles, from Hull round to Bristol, and Waterford in Ireland. Although the Baltic convoy received a warning from Scarborough that an enemy squadron was in the vicinity, some ships ignored the signals (by both flags and guns) from the 44-gun escort ship H.M.S. Serapis to stay close for protection. Early in the afternoon, as they approached Flamborough Head, the lookouts of the foremost ships saw the danger in Bridlington Bay for themselves. Hastily tacking, they attempted to run for the safety of Scarborough. Serapis put on all sail to get between the fleeing merchant vessels and the probable Americans, while the smaller Countess of Scarborough (a hired armed vessel built by private subscription and hired to the Admiralty for escort duty) shepherded the convoy. About 4 pm, with the whole convoy to his north, and the squadron of strangers clearly in sight to the south, Captain Richard Pearson of the Serapis signalled the Countess to join him. As the squadron caught up, the Royal Navy vessels made sure to position themselves so that the presumed enemy could not easily sail round them to reach the slower merchant ships.