^^*0/' o z; ^ ** s .A-J-M-^... Author Title Imprint. 16 — 47372-2 OPO ^ uJl^l!,Jl■J..> || ^^ ' ^i^■..■^-^,;.'JU ' - ' ^L^W !™^^g'? ^,■/^-8:.JVJ^.^up gWTW B^" ' ^Ml.^ ^ ^ THE SWORD PRESENTED BY LOUIS XVI To JOHN PAUL JONES A History By CHARLES HENRY HART ''VW. <>s.,>*w>Cv...£A.-^ l,.^>v.,/t-xl/L«« ^ /Vt ,£X-i..v/^^tc.v^. Reprinted from the Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute, Vol. XXXIII, No. 2, Whole No. 122. DRESS SWORD PRESENTED BY LOUIS XVI TO JOHN PAUL JONES. THE SWORD PRESENTED BY LOUIS XVI TO JOHN PAUL JONES A History By Charles Henry Hart Read before the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia April 18. 1907 With a description of the Sword By Cornelius Stevenson, Esq. J Gift L,^.>\^^.^ ^ ft DESCRIPTION OF JOHN PAUL JONES' SWORD. By Cornelius Stevenson, Esq. (Note. — To the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, we acknowledge our indebtedness for the use of the plate of the Paul Jones sword; to Mr. Richard Dale for his permission to publish it and to Mr. Cornelius Stevenson for the right to reprint from the Proceedings of the Society his description of the sword.) This historical rehc is a fine specimen of designing, chasing, and the swordsmith's craft, and the correct proportions and care- ful considerations to every detail which it displays are particularly worthy of attention. The hilt is of gold chased over with figures and floral decora- tions. The blade is four-sided, tapers to a point, and is 33^ inches in length. It is blued for 11 inches from the hilt, and on one side of the recasso is inscribed the words in gold: VINDICATOR maris ludovicus xvi remunerator strenuo victor. '■ Louis XVI, rewarder of the valiant, asserter of the freedom of the sea." On the other side is lightly engraved a motto, which has be- come obliterated by time. Below the recasso, inlaid in gold, is the sun and three fleur de lis surmounted by a crown, and the motto, " Vive le Roy." One side of the grip is adorned with a medallion of Mars, and on the reverse another of Hercules with a club, and festoons and ribbons held in the mouth of a mythological animal. Below is a standard of flags. The pommel is made up of two designs : One, three fleur de lis; the other, a figure of Neptune with his trident. The upper surface of the guard plate is ornamented on both sides ; on one side a medallion of Minerva, on the other that of Mars, and on the lower surface a similar medallion of Minerva and £eur de lis. The pas d'ane and guard are beautifully chased with floral designs and terminate in dolphins' heads. THE SWORD PRESENTED BY LOUIS XVI TO JOHN PAUL JONES/ A TRUE HISTORY. By Charles Henry Hart. Toward the dose of 1779, the whole civiHzed world was startled by, what was then and has since remained, the most marvellous naval battle on record, the fight between the Bon- honune-Richard and the Serapis, when the infant navy of the United States won the circlet she has never ceased to wear. The following- spring the victor, John Paul Jones, visited Paris, where he was acclaimed the hero and honors were showered upon him, the greatest of which were, as he has himself recorded.'' " Honours — by Louis XVI The Order of Military Merit and a gold Sword. June 28, 1780." This sword presented by the King of France to Paul Jones, was exhibited at the meeting of this society, held on the 6th of April, 1905, and in the published proceedings of the society for the years 1904, 1905, and 1906, just issued, there appears at page 41, an illustration of the sword, accompanied by a note, which repeats the glaring errors, regarding the inheritance of the sword, that have been repeated so often, as at last to have be- come, in the minds of many, the true history. The note says : " By request, Mr. Richard Dale exhibited the sword presented by Louis XVI to John Paul Jones which at his death passed by zvill, to his chief officer, Richard Dale, in whose family it has since remained." ^Read before the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, April 18, 1907. " Sands' Life and Correspondence of John Paul Jones. New York, 1830, p. 548. Sword Presented by Louis XVI to John Paul Jones. 713 Then follows an interesting expert description of the handle and blade, concluding with A. C. Buell's adroit invention, to get around Jones's will, when he found that instrument did not con- tain a bequest of the sword to Dale, viz : " Paul Jones while making his will, orally bequeathed this sword to Richard Dale, through the hands of Gouverneur Morris, who delivered it to Dale at the first opportunity. Jones's words of bequest were, ' I give this sword to Richard Dale, my good old Dick — because he did more than any other to help me win it' " ' This entire story, like almost everything in Buell's " History," is a pure fabrication, cut out of the whole cloth, and a more impu- dent literary forgery was never committed than this one, which Buell emphasizes, by repeating three times in volume two, on pages 4, 319, and 332. The truth is Paul Jones died rather suddenly, in Paris, on the i8th of July, 1792, and his will was quickly drawn up by Gouverneur Morris and executed the same day. By it Jones named his trusted friend " the Honorable Robert Morris, Esq., of Philadelphia, my only testamentary executor " ; and to Morris, as executor under the will, the title to the sword would legally pass. Morris evidently did not settle up Jones's estate, excepting as to one item, which is the first in " Schedule of the Property of Admiral John Paul Jones, as stated by him to me this i8th day of July, 1792," and signed by Gouverneur Morris, to wit: "Bank stock in the Bank of North America, at Philadelphia, six thousand dollars with sundry dividends." * Letters testamentary were not taken out by Morris, for some reason, impossible to tell after this lapse of time, but on the 8th of December, 1794, letters of administration on the estate of Paul Jones, were granted to Morris, at Philadelphia, and a certified copy of the will in French, with a translation into English, was filed with it ; and in Robert Morris Ledger. C. fo. 139' in his account with the "Heirs of John Paul Jones," the first entry is " 1794. Dec. 13. Paid for translation of J. P. Jones Will and for taking out letters of Ad- ministration $8.00." ' Paul Jones, Founder of the American Navy — A History. By Augustus C. Buell, New York, 1900, Vol. II, p. 4. ■* Sherburne's Life of Jones. Washington, 1825, p. 351. ° Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 714 Sword Presented by Louis XVI to John Paul Jones. A few months after Paul Jones's death, his sister, Jane Taylor," repaired to Paris, from Scotland, and took possession of all of her brother's papers and personal effects, which she carried with her back to Dumfries ; and the now famous sword, that had been presented by His A^ost Christian Majesty, Louis XVI, King of France, to the Scottish-American sailor, " was sent by Jones's heirs to his valued friend, Robert Morris, to whose favor he had owed his opportunities for distinguishing himself." ' The sword was transmitted to Morris through the hands of Thomas Pinck- ney, the American Minister to Great Britain, to whom Morris wrote, March i8, 1795, in acknowledgment:* "I have in the first place to return you thanks for taking the trouble to forward the sword of the late Admiral Paul Jones, which came safe to hand and I have presented it to Commodore John Barry, the senior officer of the present American navy, who will never disgrace it." Although not mentioned in this letter to Pinckney, the gift was only for Barry's life, in trust to descend in succession to " the senior officer," as Morris designates Barry in the letter to Pinck- ney, of the United States Navy for all time," so that to-day the sword of Jones should be in the possession of Admiral George Dewey. But Barry disregarded this provision and bequeathed the sword, unconditionally, to " my good friend Capt. Richard Dale," '" who, two months before the date of Barry's will, had resigned his commission in the navy and therefore should never have received the sword of Jones which has remained in the Dale family ever since. From this it will be seen that Paul Jones did not bequeath the szvord to Dale, as the publication of this society says he did, fol- lowing the untrustworthy Buell, either by testament or orally, ^ Sometimes called Janet or Jeannette. ' Life of Paul Jones. By Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, U. S. N. Bos- ton, 1841. Vol. II, p. 63, n. (See also letter of Jeannette Taylor to J. Feni- more Cooper, supra p. 683. Ed.) * Private Letter Book of Robert Morris. Library of Congress, Wash- ington, D. C. ' Revolutionary Reminiscences connected with the Life of Robert Mor- ris, Esq. By Redwood Fisher. Graham's Magazine, January, 1854, Vol. XLIV, p. 17. '"Griffin's Life of John Barry. Phila., 1903, p. 412. Sword Presented by Louis XVI to John Paul Jones. 715 any more than he presented it to Barry, as claimed by Barry's l)iographer." Dale received the sword from Barry, who had received it from Robert Morris, to whom it was sent by the heirs of Paul Jones. The detailed and exact story of the disposition of the sword presented by Louis XVI to John Paul Jones, as here given, has, as far as I can find, never before been told and it is too important to be lost, although the general facts have been known to many students of history. " Martin I. J. Griffin in American Catholic Historical Researches, for 1905, pp. 216 and 383. 47 m '^"^ PROCEEDINGS OF THE U. S. NAVAL INSTITUTE Number 122. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 011 699 895 6