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Secondary sourceArtifact1778

USS Alliance

1778

A Continental Navy frigate whose captain, Pierre Landais, clashed bitterly with John Paul Jones during the famous 1779 battle against HMS Serapis.

The Alliance's captain Landais clashed with and allegedly fired upon Jones's ship during the battle against HMS Serapis.

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Black-and-white painting of a three-masted sailing ship with full white sails heeling in rough sea, with waves breaking around its hull and an American flag flying from the stern at left.
USS Alliance, Continental Navy frigate, launched 1778.

About this source

What it is

USS Alliance was a 36-gun frigate of the Continental Navy, launched in 1778. Her first commander was Captain Pierre Landais, a former French naval officer.

Why it matters

Alliance sailed in John Paul Jones's squadron during his famous 1779 raid around the British Isles. Landais repeatedly disobeyed Jones's orders, collided with his flagship Bonhomme Richard, and during the Battle of Flamborough Head reportedly fired into the Bonhomme Richard, deepening a bitter dispute between the two captains. The episode shows how command conflicts and rivalries shaped even history's most celebrated naval victories.

Look closer

  • Why might Landais have resented taking orders from Jones?
  • What does this conflict reveal about the challenges of coordinating a multinational squadron?
  • How might this dispute complicate the heroic story usually told about the battle?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of John Paul Jones on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scan of a handwritten two-column manuscript on aged, browned paper. The left column is in English under the heading 'Treaty of Alliance', and the right column is in French under 'Traité d'alliance eventuelle et défensive'. The text opens by naming the Most Christian King and the United States of North America.Document

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Front of a silver-toned round medal showing a left-facing profile bust of a man in a high-collared military coat with epaulette. Inscribed around the rim: IOANNI PAVLO JONES CLASSIS PRAEFECTO, and at the bottom COMITIA AMERICANA.Artifact

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