American Revolution: John Paul Jones, naval commander of the United States, on board the USS Bonhomme Richard, wins the Battle of Flamborough Head.

The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British rule to form the United States of America. The revolutionary era reached its zenith with the American Revolutionary War, which commenced on April 19, 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The leaders of the American Revolution were colonial separatists who, as British subjects, initially sought greater autonomy. However, they came to embrace the cause of full independence and the necessity of prevailing in the Revolutionary War to obtain it. The Second Continental Congress, which represented the colonies and convened in the present-day Independence Hall in Philadelphia, established the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander-in-chief in June 1775. The following year, the Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, which served to inspire, formalize, and escalate the war. Throughout the majority of the eight-year war, the outcome appeared to be uncertain. However, in 1781, a decisive victory by Washington and the Continental Army in the Siege of Yorktown led King George III and the British to negotiate the cessation of colonial rule and the acknowledgment of American independence. This was formalized in the Treaty of Paris in 1783, resulting in the establishment of the United States of America as a sovereign nation.

John Paul Jones was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regarded by several commentators as one of the greatest naval commanders in the military history of the United States. Born in Arbigland, Kirkcudbrightshire, Jones became a sailor at the age of thirteen, and served onboard several different merchantmen, including slave ships. After killing a mutinous subordinate, he fled to the British colony of Virginia to avoid being arrested and in c. 1775 joined the newly established Continental Navy.

USS Bonhomme Richard was a 42-gun frigate of the Continental Navy named for Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. She was originally the East Indiaman Duc de Duras, which was built in France for the French Indies Company in 1765. The ship was purchased by French authorities and placed at the disposal of American Captain John Paul Jones on 4 February 1779 by King Louis XV as a result of a loan to the United States by French shipping magnate Jacques-Donatien Le Ray.