John Paul Jones was born in Scotland and would become the father of the American Navy during the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends and enemies who accused him of piracy among America's political elites, and his actions in British waters during the Revolutionary War earned him an international reputation that persists to this day.
Early Life
John Paul (he added "Jones" to his name later to hide from law enforcement) was born on the southwest coast of Scotland to his father John Paul Sr. and Jean McDuff.
John Paul Jones started his naval career at 13 years old when he sailed out of Whitehaven in the northern English country of Cumberland as an apprentice aboard Friendship under Captain Benson.
During this time, John Paul Jones' older brother married and settled in the colony of Virginia.
For many years, John Paul Jones sailed on various ships that would, include merchant ships, slave ships, and expeditions. He became disgruntled in his position and returned to Scotland in 1768.
John Paul Jones' career was quickly and unexpectedly advanced during his next voyage aboard the brig John, which sailed from a port in 1768 when both the captain and a ranking mate suddenly died of yellow fever.
He managed to navigate the ship back to a safe port, and in reward for this feat, the vessel's grateful Scottish owners made him master of the ship and its crew, giving him 10 percent of the cargo. He led two voyages to the West Indies before running into difficulty.
During his second voyage in 1770, John Paul Jones had one of his crew flogged after trying to start a mutiny about early payment of wages, leading to accusations that his discipline was "unnecessarily cruel."
These claims were initially dismissed, but his favorable reputation was destroyed when the sailor died a few weeks later.
John Paul Jones was arrested for his involvement in the man's death and was imprisoned in Kirkcudbright Tolbooth but later released on bail. The negative effect of this episode on his reputation is indisputable, although the man's death has been linked to yellow fever.
The local governor encouraged John Paul Jones to leave the area and change his name while on bail. The man who died of his injuries was not a usual sailor but an adventurer from a very influential Scottish family.
Leaving Scotland, John Paul Jones commanded a London-registered vessel named Betsy, a West Indiaman mounting 22 guns, engaging in commercial speculation in Tobago for about 18 months. This came to an end, however, when he killed a mutinous crew member named Blackton with a sword in a dispute over wages.
Years later, in a letter to Benjamin Franklin describing the incident, John Paul Jones claimed that the killing was committed in self-defense but was not willing to be tried in an Admiral's Court, where the family of his first victim had been influential.
He left his wealth behind and fled to Fredericksburg, Virginia. His brother had passed away in Virginia and did not leave his property to his immediate family. This gave John Paul Jones an opportunity to come to America and settle his brother's estate.
It was during this time that John decided to add the surname "Jones." He officially became known as John Paul Jones.
From that period, America became "the country of his fond election," as he afterward expressed himself to Baron Joan van der Capellen to den Pol. It was not long afterward that John Paul "Jones" joined the American Navy to fight against Britain.
The Revolution
There was a transitional period for John Paul Jones where not much is known about him. He appears in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1775 and volunteered for the Continental Navy. The Navy was still being put together, which meant that an experienced captain like John Paul Jones was in demand.
Richard Henry Lee was familiar with Jones's ability and endorsed him as a captain in the Navy. If it had not been for Lee and other influential members of the Continental Congress, there is a good chance that Jones's abilities would have been missed.
He was appointed as a 1st Lieutenant of the newly converted 24-gun frigate Alfred in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775.
Early Naval Career
John Paul Jones sailed from the Delaware River in February 1776 aboard Alfred on the Continental Navy's maiden cruise. During this cruise, he hoisted the first U.S. ensign-the Grand Union Flag-over a naval vessel.
The fleet had been expected to cruise along the coast but was ordered instead by Commodore Esek Hopkins to sail for The Bahamas, where Nassau was raided for military supplies. The fleet had an unsuccessful encounter with a British packet ship on their return voyage. Jones was then assigned command of the sloop USS Providence.
Congress had recently ordered the construction of thirteen frigates for the American Navy, one of which was to be commanded by Jones. In exchange for this prestigious command, Jones accepted his commission aboard the smaller Providence.
Over the summer of 1776, as commander of Providence, Jones performed various services for the Continental Navy and Congress.
These services included the transport of troops, the movement of supplies, and the escort of convoys. During this time, Jones was able to assist a 'brig from Hispaniola' that was being chased by HMS Cerberus and laden with military stores. This ship was then purchased by Congress and put in commission as USS Hampden Captain Hoysted Hacker commanding.
Nova Scotia, Jones captured sixteen prizes and inflicted significant damage in the Raid on Canso.
Jones's next command came as a result of Commodore Hopkins's orders to liberate hundreds of American prisoners forced to labor in coal mines in Nova Scotia and also to raid British shipping.
On November 1, 1776, Jones set sail in command of Alfred to carry out this mission. Winter conditions prevented freeing the prisoners, but the mission did result in the capture of Mellish, a vessel carrying a vital supply of winter clothing intended for General John Burgoyne's troops in Canada
Disputes in the Navy
Despite his successes at sea, Jones's disagreements with those in authority reached a new level upon arrival in Boston on December 16, 1776.
While at the port, he began feuding with Commodore Hopkins, as Jones believed that Hopkins was hindering his advancement by talking down his campaign plans.
As a result of this and other frustrations, Jones was assigned the smaller command of the newly constructed USS Ranger on June 14, 1777, the same day that the new Stars and Stripes flag was adopted.
After making the necessary preparations, Jones sailed for France on November 1, 1777, with orders to assist the American cause however possible. The American commissioners in France were Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee, and they listened to Jones's strategic recommendations.
They promised him the command of Indien, a new vessel being constructed for America in Amsterdam. Britain, however, was able to divert L'Indien away from American hands by exerting pressure to ensure its sale to France instead (which had not yet allied with America).
Jones was again left without a command, an unpleasant reminder of his stagnation in Boston from late 1776 until early 1777. It is thought that during this time, Jones developed a close friendship with Benjamin Franklin, whom he greatly admired.
On February 6, 1778, France signed the Treaty of Alliance with America, formally recognizing the independence of the new American republic.
Eight days later, Captain Jones's Ranger became the first American naval vessel to be formally saluted by the French, with a nine-gun salute fired from Captain Lamotte-Piquet's flagship. Jones wrote of the event: "I accepted his offer all the more for, after all, it was a recognition of our independence and in the nation."
On April 10, 1778, Jones set sail from Brest, France, for the western coasts of Britain.
Attacks on Britain
John Paul Jones decided to take the war to the English mainland. He believed that it could put political pressure and become a nuisance to the British.
He led successful attacks on many British merchant ships, raided different British coastal towns, and was branded a pirate by Great Britain.
In 1779, Captain Jones took command of the 42-gun USS Bonhomme Richard (or, as he preferred it, Bon Homme Richard), a merchant ship rebuilt and given to America by the French shipping magnate Jacques-Donatien Le Ray.
On August 14, as a vast French and Spanish invasion fleet approached England, he provided a diversion by heading for Ireland at the head of a five-ship squadron including the 36-gun USS Alliance, 32-gun USS Pallas, 12-gun USS Vengeance, and Le Cerf, also accompanied by two privateers, Monsieur and Granville.
When the squadron was only a few days out of Groix, Monsieur separated due to a disagreement between her captain and Jones. Several Royal Navy warships were sent towards Ireland in pursuit of Jones, but on this occasion, he continued right around the north of Scotland into the North Sea.
Jones's main problems, as on his previous voyage, resulted from insubordination, particularly by Pierre Landais, captain of Alliance. On September 23, 1779, the squadron met a large merchant convoy off the coast of Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire.
The 50-gun British frigate HMS Serapis and the 22-gun hired ship Countess of Scarborough placed themselves between the convoy and Jones's squadron, allowing the merchants to escape.
Shortly after 7 p.m., the Battle of Flamborough Head began. Serapis engaged Bonhomme Richard, and soon afterward, Alliance fired, from a considerable distance, at Countess.
Quickly recognizing that he could not win a battle of big guns, and with the wind dying, Jones made every effort to lock Richard and Serapis together (his famous, albeit possibly apocryphal, quotation "I have not yet begun to fight!" was uttered in reply to a demand to surrender in this phase of the battle), finally succeeding after about an hour, following which his deck guns and his Marine marksmen in the rigging began clearing the British decks.
Alliance sailed past and fired a broadside, doing at least as much damage to Richard as to Serapis. Meanwhile, Countess of Scarborough had enticed Pallas downwind of the main battle, beginning a separate engagement. When Alliance approached this contest, about an hour after it had begun, the badly damaged Countess surrendered.
With Bonhomme Richard burning and sinking, it seems that her ensign was shot away; when one of the officers, apparently believing his captain to be dead, shouted a surrender, the British commander asked, seriously this time, if they had struck their colors.
Jones later remembered saying something like "I am determined to make you strike," but the words allegedly heard by crew members and reported in newspapers a few days later were more like: "I may sink, but I'll be damned if I strike."
An attempt by the British to board Bonhomme Richard was thwarted, and a grenade caused the explosion of a large quantity of gunpowder on Serapis's lower gun deck. Alliance returned to the main battle, firing two broadsides.
Again, these did at least as much damage to Richard as to Serapis, but the tactic worked to the extent that, unable to move and with Alliance keeping well out of the line of his own great guns, Captain Pearson of Serapis accepted that prolonging the battle could achieve nothing, so he surrendered.
Most of Bonhomme Richard's crew immediately transferred to other vessels, and after a day and a half of frantic repair efforts, it was decided that the ship could not be saved, so it was allowed to sink, and Jones took command of Serapis for the trip to neutral (but American-sympathizing) Holland.
In the following year, the King of France, Louis XVI, honored him with the title "Chevalier". Jones accepted the honor and desired the title to be used thereafter: when the Continental Congress in 1787 resolved that a medal of gold be struck in commemoration of his "valor and brilliant services," it was to be presented to "Chevalier John Paul Jones."
He also received from Louis XVI a decoration of "l'Institution du Mérite Militaire" and a sword. By contrast, in Britain at this time, he was usually denigrated as a pirate.
After the American Revolutionary War, John Paul Jones served the Russian army during the Russian-Turkish War.
Death
Despite his success, John Paul Jones died at a young age. He was found facedown in Paris. His body was buried in France but exhumed in 1906.
He was moved to America, and now a memorial is in place for his contributions during the American Revolution.
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