The Bergen Prizes were three British

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 merchantmen

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

 (Betsy, Union, and Charming Polly) that were captured by Captain Pierre Landais of the USS Alliance

USS Alliance (1778)

The first USS Alliance of the United States Navy was a 36-gun sailing frigate of the American Revolutionary War, notable for having fired the last shot of the war....

 and John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones was a Scottish sailor and the United States' first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolutionary War. Although he made enemies among America's political elites, his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to...

 of the USS Bonhomme Richard

USS Bonhomme Richard (1765)

|-External links:** Clive Cussler recounts his elusive search for the Bonhomme Richard....

 in 1779. Landais, who had had numerous disagreements with Jones over the command of the squadron in European waters, sent the vessels to Bergen, Norway. Once there, they were repaired and handed back to the British consul, depriving their captors of the satisfaction of having hurt the enemy and of any hope of being rewarded for their efforts.. However, the subject of indemnity

Indemnity

An indemnity is a sum paid by A to B by way of compensation for a particular loss suffered by B. The indemnitor may or may not be responsible for the loss suffered by the indemnitee...

 was broached by Jones, who turned up in person at Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

. Ultimately, no payment was made by the Danish government due to the existence of a treaty signed between the English and Danish governments in 1660 that obligated Denmark to England. As a result, no reward was given to the captains or crew of the United States vessels responsible for the capture of the merchantmen until the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 ratified reimbursement to Landais in 1806 and the heirs of Jones in 1848.

Source

• Dictionary of American History by James Truslow Adams
  James Truslow Adams
  James Truslow Adams was an American writer and historian. He was not related to the famous Adams family...
  
  , New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940
• Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
  Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
  The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy...
  
  , United States Navy
  United States Navy
  The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
  
  , 1959