48 THE LOG OF THE BON HOMME RICHARD

to this time, Sept. 23, 1779, the steady characteristics of

UPMidshipman Fanning had not been conspicuously disturbed.
The relief from a year's life of abject stagnation in Forton Prison
had been a welcome recompense. Experiences had been accumulated
from his first early influences and the decisions to which he had
pledged allegiance, but the inevitable slope of his destinies seemed
now to have expanded into an imperative and patriotic duty that
must be performed; different varieties and qualities of courage
were to be instantly confronted.
All of youth's energy that he possessed was to be expended in
an effort to defend his country and the Cause which he had sworn
to uphold at the outset. Undaunted he assumed his responsibilities
with deliberate determination. Violence had also suddenly made
claim upon him as a necessaryof self-protection, as it did
process
"
upon every sailorman whose standard of "sink or swim * * * *
had to be recognized and intensified, for there was no intermedi
ary course.
The terror of conflict and the extreme limit of hostility that
was unshackled off Flamborough Head in the moonlight of Sep
tember 23rd, 1779, was almost beyond the power of mental con
ception. The confused and tumultuous mass of men plunged,
overlapped and imbrued in mortal combat must have stained the
minds of those who survived with an everlasting tinge of horror
that left an imprint there, impossible to eradicate.
Fanning was a little over twenty-four years old when this test
and contribution of valor occurred. Emotions and their restraint
must have been simultaneous. He knew the code of seamanship
when on duty. If he had any fear he knew it must be suppressed
and replaced with resolute fortitude.
The rapid succession of events that continued for four hours
during that memorable combat is without doubt most vividly
portrayed by Nathaniel Fanning himself. It has been deemed the
most circumstantial and detailed account in existence.