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 THE LIFE AND LETTERS 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN PAUL JONES
 
 JOHN PAUL JONES. 
 
 From the bust by Houdon in the possession of the Pennsylvania Aoademy 
 of the Fine Arts.
 
 THE LIFE AND LETTERS 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 BY 
 MRS. REGINALD DE KOVEN 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 VOLUME I 
 
 LONDON 
 T. WERNER LAURIE, LTD. 
 
 CLIFFORD'S INK
 
 E 
 
 207 
 
 <J7
 
 CHARLES B. FARWELL 
 
 WHO SERVED 
 HIS COUNTRY IN BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS 
 
 FOR UPWARD OF TWENTY YEARS 
 
 THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 
 
 BY HIS DAUGHTER
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THE fame of Paul Jones has been the sport of romance 
 and the plaything of tradition ever since the early days 
 of his glorious association with America's struggle for 
 independence. Bringing terror to the simple natives 
 of the stricken British coasts by his descents upon their 
 unprotected ports, hero of wellnigh impossible ex- 
 ploits and of battles fought by moonlight under the lee 
 of their headlands, his name passed into the domain of 
 romantic legend and was one to conjure with. Chap- 
 books depicted him in highly colored prints, blood- 
 thirsty and terrible, and mothers frightened their chil- 
 dren with the bare mention of his name. During the 
 years shortly following his death, history and romance 
 alike were busy with his name. But these histories are 
 now out of print, and only to be found in rare collec- 
 tions or on the reference shelves of public libraries, and 
 the romances have ceased to charm. The patriotic 
 services of General Horace Porter in discovering the 
 hero's forgotten remains and bringing them to America 
 amid manifold honors to a permanent and glorious 
 resting-place at Annapolis have revived public interest 
 in his character and deeds. 
 
 No one of the ten biographies of Jones which have 
 been written may properly be called adequate, as none 
 of them was prepared with a complete and comprehen- 
 sive knowledge of the existing material, with exhaustive 
 
 vii
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 research for unpublished documents, or with full at- 
 tention to contemporary memoirs or historical publica- 
 tions. 
 
 Aside from the official documents on file in Wash- 
 ington, Paris, London, and St. Petersburg, which re- 
 late to his services, Paul Jones, like other distinguished 
 men of his day, kept copies of his correspondence, pre- 
 serving many of the letters which he received and auto- 
 graph drafts of his own private and official letters. He 
 left these papers to his family in his will. His eldest 
 sister, Mrs. Taylor, selected from the collection the 
 portion pertaining to his American services, sending it 
 to Robert Hyslop, a solicitor of New York. Although 
 considering them of little or no value, Mr. Hyslop re- 
 tained them until his death, when they passed into the 
 hands of a baker, through the windows of whose shop 
 they were casually seen and thereafter acquired by Mr. 
 George A. Ward, who communicated the news of his 
 extraordinary find to John Henry Sherburne, Regis- 
 trar of the Navy. Mr. Sherburne immediately set about 
 the compilation of his "Life of Paul Jones," which ap- 
 peared in the year 1825, in which he published many of 
 the letters and official documents. 
 
 His book was only a compilation, lacking chrono- 
 logical sequence, and supplying the barest facts in 
 regard to the character and private history of Jones. 
 In the year 1830 a well-written book based on the docu- 
 ments retained by Mrs. Taylor in Scotland was pub- 
 lished by an anonymous author in Edinburgh. It em- 
 bodied the unpublished journal of Jones's Russian 
 campaign, and, although presumably by a British sub-
 
 PREFACE ix 
 
 ject, was unbiassed, even sympathetic, in its analysis of 
 Jones's character. There is no evidence that the book 
 awakened any general interest in Great Britain, or that 
 the long-delayed publication of the true facts about 
 Jones's connection with the Russian navy commanded 
 any attention in Europe. In the same year in which 
 this biography appeared, Miss Janette Taylor, who was 
 filled with a laudable desire to defend her distinguished 
 uncle's reputation, came to America with the intention 
 of arranging for an American publication of all the 
 papers in the possession of her family. She offered the 
 letters to the Historical Society of New York, which was 
 too poor to buy them; she then sought for an editor, 
 and found one in the person of Robert Sands, who made 
 in the greatest haste as ill-composed a volume as that 
 of Sherburne, full of mistakes and of much bombastic 
 comment upon the principles of democracy. The book, 
 however, is the fullest printed repository of the papers 
 which were brought to America by Miss Taylor, and 
 which have unfortunately disappeared. The journal of 
 the Russian campaign, another journal, the rough draft 
 probably of that prepared for Louis XVI, together with 
 many private papers, have never been traced since Miss 
 Taylor gave them to Robert Sands. Jones left a few 
 papers with John Ross in Philadelphia, when he returned 
 to France after the close of the Revolution. These let- 
 ters, with several which were originally consulted by 
 Sherburne, have strayed into the hands of dealers and 
 have been acquired by the various owners of the private 
 collections of Jones's letters. 
 A short biography, written by Cyrus Townsend Brady
 
 x PREFACE 
 
 for the Great Commander series, published in 1900, 
 contains some new facts in regard to Paul Jones's 
 adoption of his name from Willie and Allen Jones of 
 North Carolina. 
 
 These four books contain the authentic printed 
 material regarding Jones. A brief biographical essay 
 written anonymously by Benjamin Disraeli was pub- 
 lished immediately after the appearance of Sherburne's 
 compilation in London by John Murray. In 1841 
 Captain Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, of the United 
 States navy, at the suggestion of Jared Sparks, who had 
 collected material for a proposed biography of Jones, 
 produced an undocumented book, valuable as a pro- 
 fessional estimate of Jones's services but strangely 
 biassed and critical in its attitude toward his character. 
 None of the material collected by Sparks and now pre- 
 served in the Harvard library was utilized in Macken- 
 zie's biography, although it had all been put at his 
 disposition. An exhaustive examination of all the 
 documents in the Government archives of the United 
 States, England, France, and Russia, of all those exist- 
 ing in the University of Pennsylvania, in the Phila- 
 delphia Historical and Philosophical Societies, of the 
 manuscripts in the Harvard, Boston, and New York 
 public libraries, of the private collections of Jones's 
 manuscripts owned by Messrs. Morgan, Barnes, Har- 
 beck, Kane, Bixby, and the late John Boyd Thacher, 
 has brought to light an astonishing amount of new ma- 
 terial. Unknown incidents in Jones's life have been 
 discovered, and several persons mysteriously referred 
 to in his correspondence and importantly connected
 
 PREFACE xi 
 
 with his career have been identified. For the courteous 
 permission to examine and copy the documents in these 
 private collections grateful acknowledgment is made, as 
 well as for the able and invariably prompt attention to 
 requests for facts and information given by Mr. Chas. 
 W. Stewart, Superintendent of the Naval Records in 
 Washington, and his assistant, Mrs. Annie H. Eastman. 
 Particular thanks are due to the Rev. Cyrus Townsend 
 Brady for the use of the original maps and data sup- 
 plied to him by the chief of the topographical section 
 of the imperial Russian general staff; to Commander 
 Fulham, of the Naval Station at Lake Bluff, Illinois, 
 for the information supplied relating to the system of 
 fire control existing at the present day in comparison 
 with that employed during the time of Paul Jones's ser- 
 vice in the American navy; to M. le Vasseur and M. de 
 Magellan for their careful and conscientious researches 
 in the uncatalogued libraries and government archives 
 of Paris, and for a like labor assumed by Madam Olga 
 Stiirck in St. Petersburg. Personal letters from the 
 late Colonel Wharton Green, of Fayetteville, North 
 Carolina, containing the statements made to him by 
 individuals who had actually known Paul Jones, have 
 served in conjunction with other hitherto unpublished 
 material to throw light upon the obscure period of his 
 life before the outbreak of the Revolution. Mr. Charles 
 T. Gallagher, secretary of the Grand Lodge of Massa- 
 chusetts, has supplied a copy of the justificatory papers 
 acquired by his lodge from Madame Gombault, the 
 great-grandniece of Paul Jones, which accompanied the 
 lost copy of his journal of his Russian campaign. These
 
 xii PREFACE 
 
 papers, from which only brief excerpts had been pub- 
 lished in the foot-notes of the Sands compilation, are of 
 the utmost value in proving the veracity of Jones's own 
 statements regarding his services in the Russian navy. 
 The letters which Mrs. Taylor sent to America, and 
 which formed the basis of Sherburne's biography, were 
 eventually acquired by Peter Force and bought by the 
 Congressional Library in the year 1867. This collection, 
 with the additional and still uncatalogued papers of the 
 Continental Congress, containing Jones's letters to the 
 Marine Committee, together with the above-mentioned 
 private and public collections of documents, have fur- 
 nished the largest portion of the new information con- 
 tamed in the following pages. A conscientious effort has 
 been made by the minute examination of all discover- 
 able documents and a careful correlation of the informa- 
 tion thus obtained, in connection with the records of 
 contemporaneous history, to elucidate the hitherto ob- 
 scure and misunderstood periods and aspects of the 
 career of Paul Jones, and thereby to present a final and 
 truthful estimate of his life and character. 
 
 ANNA FARWELL DE KOVEN.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 I. CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 3 
 
 II. PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 22 
 
 III. CHANGE OF NAME 52 
 
 IV. BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY ... 72 
 V. FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 108 
 
 VI. SUPERSEDURE IN RANK 146 
 
 VII. THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 163 
 
 VIII. THE "RANGER" 198 
 
 IX. ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 230 
 
 X. THE CRUISE OF THE "RANGER" 270 
 
 XI. THE SELKIRK RAID 298 
 
 XII. SIMPSON 330 
 
 XIII. WAITING FOR A COMMAND 369 
 
 XIV. THE BATTLE OF THE "BoN HOMME RICHARD" 
 
 AND THE "SERAPIS" 431 
 
 xm
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 JOHN PAUL JONES Frontispiece 
 
 From the bust by Houdon in the possession of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Academy of the Fine Arts. 
 
 FACING 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE BIRTHPLACE OF JOHN PAUL JONES AT ARBIGLAND, 
 SCOTLAND . .... . . 6 
 
 NOTES IN JOHN PHILIP KEMBLE'S HANDWRITING, STATING 
 THAT JONES WAS AN ACTOR IN JAMAICA .... 14 
 
 WILLIE JONES ............. 54 
 
 "THE GROVE," THE RESIDENCE OF WILLIE JONES . . 58 
 
 After an old print. 
 
 THE TOMBSTONE OF WILLIAM PAUL 74 
 
 BUILDING IN FREDERICKSBURG WHERE WILLIAM PAUL'S 
 SHOP WAS LOCATED 74 
 
 COMMODORE EZEK HOPKINS 90 
 
 From a print In the collection of Mr. Charles A. Munn. 
 
 JOSEPH HEWES 124 
 
 THE RESIDENCE OF THE EARL OF SELKIRK AT SAINT 
 MARY'S ISLE, WHICH WAS PULLED DOWN IN 1891 . 302 
 
 DIAGRAM OF THE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE "SERAPIS" . 450 
 
 THE FIGHT OF THE "SERAPIS" AND THE "BON HOMME 
 
 RICHARD " 452 
 
 From a print in the collection of Mr. Charles A. Munn. 
 XV
 
 xvi ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 CAPTAIN PAUL JONES SUBDUING A SAILOR WHO AT- 
 TEMPTED TO STRIKE His COLORS IN THE ENGAGEMENT 
 WITH THE "SERAPIS" 456 
 
 From a print In the collection of Mr. Charles A. Munn. 
 
 MAP 
 
 CRUISE OF THE "BoN HOMME RICHARD" 432 
 
 ERRATA 
 
 Vol. I 
 
 Page 71, note, line 7, for friendliness read friendlessness. 
 
 Page 1 88, note, after October 1 7 insert 1 776. 
 
 Page 205, line 4, for Baron Beaumarchais read Caron de Beaumarchais. 
 
 Page 274, line 1 8, for Firth of Forth read Solway Firth. 
 
 Page 275, line 8, for Glenbue Bay read Luce Bay. 
 
 Page 275, line 18, for Loughryan read Loch Ryan. 
 
 Page 276, line 16, for " attack " read " a tack." 
 
 Page 300, note, last line, for Salkirk read Selkirk. 
 
 Vol. II 
 
 Page 1 76, last line, for Pinkney read Hinckley. 
 
 Page 232, note, for " the letter of October 10 " read " the Sherburne selection. 
 
 Page 265, note, for 1837 read 1826. 
 
 Page 483, line 9, for Cornil read Capitan. 
 
 Page 483, line 1 5, for Capitan read Cornil.
 
 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 VOLUME I
 
 CHAPTER I 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 
 
 ON the southernmost border of Scotland, where the 
 curving shore turns eastward into the Solway Firth, 
 two estates belonging originally to the Earls of Selkirk 
 occupy many acres of hill and forest. The estate of 
 Arbigland, which lay to the south, was sold in the year 
 1722 to the family of Craik by the third Earl of Selkirk. 
 The northern estate, stretching along the banks of the 
 River Dee, remained in the possession of the Selkirk 
 family. Its castle is situated at the mouth of the river, 
 on a lovely wooded promontory called Saint Mary's 
 Isle, overlooking a bay of the Irish Sea. Across the 
 bay toward the north lies the little town of Kirkcud- 
 bright, a seaport of the county of the same name, in 
 which both estates are situated. Arbigland, occupying 
 a verdant plateau among the mountains, which slope 
 upward from the rugged Solway shore, is situated in 
 the parish of Kirkbean at the other end of the county 
 some fifteen miles away. 
 
 Upon inheriting the latter estate, Robert Craik, 
 country squire and member of Parliament, engaged 
 John Paul, a landscape gardener of the town of Leith, 
 to lay out the property. George Paul, his brother, was 
 employed in a similar capacity at Saint Mary's Isle. 
 
 The two brothers belonged to a family long resident in 
 
 3
 
 4 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Fife; but their father had removed to Leith, and had 
 kept what was called a "mail garden" a combination 
 of tavern and market-garden in that town. This 
 business the sons inherited from their father, but, hav- 
 ing become versed in the higher forms of landscape 
 gardening, they abandoned the tavern and soon ob- 
 tained advantageous positions in the practice of their 
 new profession on the two estates. 
 
 Shortly before entering the service of Mr. Craik, 
 John Paul married Jeannie McDuff, a daughter of a 
 family of free landholders long resident in the county. 
 The children of the family were seven: William, the 
 eldest son; Elizabeth, who died unmarried; Jane, who 
 became the wife of Mr. Taylor, a watchmaker in Dum- 
 fries; Mary Ann, first married to Mr. Young and sec- 
 ondly to Mr. Lowden; two other children, who died in 
 infancy; and John Paul, the fifth of the surviving 
 children, who first saw the light, according to the 
 statement of his relatives, on July 6, 1747. This son 
 is known to history as John Paul Jones. 
 
 The profession of landscape gardening was held in 
 high repute in Scotland in those days, and was followed 
 by a superior class of men, who invariably enjoyed the 
 confidence and respect of their employers. That the 
 family of John Paul were admitted to terms of intimacy 
 and friendship with their patron is attested by letters 
 of Paul Jones himself to Mr. Craik, as well as by those 
 of his niece, Jane Taylor, who refers to Miss Helen 
 Craik, a daughter of the house, as her companion and 
 life-long correspondent. 
 
 The mother of the illustrious son, who was destined
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 5 
 
 to attract so much attention to her humble family and 
 estate, received with her children and grandchildren 
 that care for her necessities from her master, both before 
 and after her husband's early death, which was habitu- 
 ally given by Scotch landlords to then* tenants and ser- 
 vants. George Paul's master, the octogenarian, John 
 Raglan, third Earl of Selkirk, was for the most part an 
 absentee, residing at Edinburgh. Paul Jones's earliest 
 recollections, according to his own statement, 1 were not 
 of Arbigland, but of Saint Mary's Isle, where, in the care 
 of his reputed father's brother, he evidently spent his 
 earliest years. There in its gardens, on its wooded 
 shore, and in the neighboring village of Kirkcudbright, 
 he roamed at will, for after the death of the old earl, 
 in 1744, George Paul still remained in charge of the 
 estate, in the absence of the new owner. Some six 
 years later he removed with all his family to Kirkcud- 
 bright, where, until his death in 1753, he kept a nursery. 2 
 The fact that George Paul was employed as gardener 
 to the third Lord Selkirk has never been mentioned 
 by any of the biographers of Paul Jones, but it has 
 great significance in accounting for the many rumors 
 and printed statements in Scotch school-books and 
 biographical dictionaries which have connected him 
 
 1 " Narrative of Thomas Chase," chap. II. 
 
 1 Notes made by W. C. McCleod, of Kirkcudbright, bundle II, no. 31 : 
 "Summons at the instance of William Millar seedman in Abbey of Holy 
 Rood House, against George John Elizabeth and Margaret Paul and 
 Andrew White Boatman husband of the said Margaret Paul for his 
 interest as heirs and executors of the decased George Paul gardiner 
 in Kircudb right for 14 2 5. sterling to be paid to the said William 
 Millar with execution thereof and Bill therein narrated dated Oct 22 
 1750. October 30 1753."
 
 6 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 with Saint Mary's Isle, and for his own later and sin- 
 gular attitude toward the Selkirk family. 
 
 Always within sight of blue water, whether at Saint 
 Mary's Isle or at his mother's cottage at Arbigland, on 
 the shores of the firth, his early taste for a seafaring 
 life was naturally fostered. From the slopes of Arbig- 
 land the child could watch the sailing of the ships 
 and the tide as it heaved up the Solway. To the north 
 his eyes dwelt on the granite walls of Criffel. To the 
 south, across the dividing arm of the sea, he could 
 descry the dim blue shapes of the English mountains, 
 Helvellyn, Skiddaw, and the Saddleback. The region 
 is full of the romantic associations of border warfare, 
 its heights still crowned with the castles of Scotland's 
 bold defenders. The mountains told their tales of 
 prowess to the dreaming boy, and the beckoning sea 
 lured him to adventure. 
 
 While yet a tiny child it was his custom to wan- 
 der off to the Carsethorn at the mouth of the River 
 Nith, where he listened to the stories of the mariners. 
 From them he learned his first skill in managing his 
 little sail-boat and conceived his first interest in Amer- 
 ica. The village legends still alive at Kirkcudbright 
 bear witness to his early talent for seamanship when 
 he was yet more child than boy. Words of command 
 caught from the lips of his sailor-teachers he was wont 
 to repeat to a company of subjugated playfellows as- 
 sembled in their mimic ships, while he assumed a su- 
 perior place upon a rocky eminence on the shore and 
 in a loud voice directed the manoeuvres; and often he 
 would launch his little boat alone upon the waters,
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 7 
 
 calling out to his imaginary crew in words of authority 
 and command the hero in miniature, prophetic and 
 engaging picture! 
 
 As he grew older he attended the parish school of 
 Kirkbean and was proficient in his studies; but a 
 roving spirit was in the air, and the lad soon gave prom- 
 ise of unusual independence and an active imagina- 
 tion. It was the day of England's imperial expansion, 
 and many of her sons were moved to leave their home 
 shores on errands of glory or of gain. William, his 
 eldest brother, early departed for America. A son of 
 George Paul also emigrated to Charleston, South Caro- 
 lina, and settled there as a merchant, where Paul 
 Jones's youngest sister, Mary Ann, was destined to 
 reside as the wife of Mr. Lowden, also a merchant in 
 that city. 
 
 Not only did the sons of the two gardeners depart 
 for the new land across the seas, but a son of Robert 
 Craik as well was caught with the adventuresome 
 contagion, and against his father's will decided to cast 
 in his lot with the already rebellious colonists. This 
 son, illegitimate, but acknowledged and protected by 
 his father until this act of disobedience, became that 
 distinguished Doctor Craik, of Alexandria, Washing- 
 ton's trusted physician as well as friend and legatee. 
 
 At the early age of twelve John Paul was taken from 
 his lessons and apprenticed to Mr. Younger, a merchant 
 in the American trade, residing in the English port of 
 Whitehaven, across the firth. By him he was taken 
 aboard the ship Friendship, bound for the Rappahan- 
 nock, in Virginia. The Friendship anchored a few miles
 
 8 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 only from Fredericksburg, where his brother William 
 had made his home, and with his brother he passed his 
 time while he was in port. His romantic sympathy 
 with America, which he had imbibed while still a child 
 in Scotland, was now still further fostered by his resi- 
 dence in America itself, "the country of his fond predi- 
 lection," as he always called it, "since his earliest boy- 
 hood." In the half -settled colony of Virginia there 
 were undoubtedly many opportunities for adventure 
 of all sorts most tempting to John Paul's active and 
 imaginative mind. But during the years of his ap- 
 prenticeship he spent all of his time while in port, both 
 in Virginia and at home in Scotland, in the assiduous 
 study of his chosen profession. His aggressive, acquis- 
 itive mind was already busily at work searching what- 
 ever work of navigation he could lay hands on. Still 
 hardly more than a child, he realized, with the same 
 precocious wisdom which Hamilton showed at a simi- 
 lar age, that a foundation of wide knowledge was 
 imperative for one who would win his spurs in world 
 adventure. 
 
 During these years he returned for brief periods only 
 to Scotland, where at the termination of one of his 
 voyages he found himself thrown out of employment, 
 owing to the failure of his employer, Mr. Younger. 
 Having been fortunate enough, while still a mere lad, 
 to have engaged the interest of the Duke of Queens- 
 bury, who, while on a visit to his brother-in-law, the 
 third Lord Selkirk, had noticed him in the garden of 
 Saint Mary's Isle, young Paul now applied to him for 
 assistance, with the result that the duke recommended
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 9 
 
 him to a commander in the royal navy, who appointed 
 him to a position as acting midshipman in the ser- 
 vice. He retained this position for several years, gain- 
 ing in valuable experience and that intimacy with 
 "many officers of note in the British Navy" to which 
 he refers in his later letters to Robert Morris 1 in re- 
 gard to the establishment of the navy of America. 
 
 A further reference, which could only pertain to this 
 period in Jones's life, is found in a paper prepared in 
 the year 1783 for Morris, in which he states that he 
 had "sailed before this revolution in armed ships and 
 frigates." These plain statements, coupled with the 
 familiarity he showed with the rules and training of 
 the British naval officers, as most usefully employed 
 in the drilling of the raw colonial seamen on the flag- 
 ship 2 of the first American fleet, have never been ac- 
 counted for by any of his biographers. 
 
 The facts which are now presented for the first time 
 furnish a highly satisfactory as well as interesting ex- 
 planation of Jones's statements, and the evidence is 
 complete. The letters in which he makes these singu- 
 lar and hitherto mysterious references were written 
 in the earliest period of his American service, many 
 years before his glorious experience in Europe had 
 raised him to a position where he could have had any 
 opportunity of intimacy with "British officers of note," 
 and then only after the close of the war in which he 
 had fought on the American side. 
 
 A statement of the facts in regard to Jones's service 
 
 1 Letter to Robert Morris, September 4, 1776. 
 * Letter to Joseph Hewes, May 19, 1776.
 
 10 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 in the British navy is found in a review of Sherburne's 
 "Life of Paul Jones" printed in a number of the 
 United States Literary Gazette of the year 1825. This 
 was a well-known monthly magazine published in New 
 York City, and the review appeared in its columns 
 immediately after the production of Sherburne's work. 
 It contains a contemporary opinion of Jones's life and 
 character, with quotations from statements made to 
 the reviewer by a living and intimate acquaintance of 
 Paul Jones. The reviewer prints a letter written at his 
 request by this friend of Jones's, and assures his readers 
 that the author's veracity is unquestionable. He com- 
 ments upon the paucity of personal information concern- 
 ing Jones in Sherburne's work, saying that the author 
 should have taken pains to gain information from in- 
 dividuals still living who had known Jones personally. 
 The reviewer writes: 
 
 Although Mr. Sherburne states that Lord Selkirk 
 knew nothing of Paul Jones or his father, a gentleman 
 who was a fellow lodger with the Chevalier in Paris, 
 had it from himself that his father was the gardener of 
 Lord Selkirk, and that the old Duke of Queensbury 
 who was an occasional visitor at Lord Selkirk's, had 
 noticed him while taking walks in the garden, and 
 patted him on the head, and that the Duke subse- 
 quently procured him a midshipman's warrant and 
 placed him in the Royal Navy. 1 
 
 The above statement is the only one made by Paul 
 Jones in regard to his parentage. 
 The letter of Jones's fellow-lodger, with its intimate 
 
 1 Appendix A.
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 11 
 
 details and ample information, evidently supplied to 
 him first-hand from the lips of Jones himself, deserves 
 the most careful consideration. 
 
 DEAR SIR: 
 
 I have gone through the life and character of Paul 
 Jones by Mr. Sherburne which you kindly sent me. It 
 appears to be as correctly given as the materials from 
 which it is selected and the time which has elapsed 
 since the circumstances occurred would permit. 
 
 If my memory is faithful, Commodore Jones told 
 me soon after his return from Russia, that his parents 
 were in obscure situations. That by accident he was 
 known to the old late Duke of Queensbury, who intro- 
 duced him in early life to a commander in the British 
 Navy. That he was placed on board a British Man-of- 
 War as acting midshipman, where he continued some 
 time; how long I do not remember, but long enough to 
 perceive that family interest had more influence than 
 personal merit. His juniors were promoted while he 
 remained unnoticed; this determined him to enter the 
 merchant service where he continued until about two 
 years before the Revolution commenced. So that at 
 the time he engaged in our service he stood in the same 
 position in regard to England with every native Amer- 
 ican. A recurrence to the correspondence of Lieu- 
 tenant Jones with the Honorable Mr. Hewes I think 
 will fully prove that he had previously received some 
 education in the profession in which he so eminently 
 distinguished himself during our Revolutionary War. 1 
 
 Following the words of Jones's statement that the 
 Duke of Queensbury met him at Saint Mary's Isle and 
 "subsequently" procured him his appointment in the 
 
 1 For the rest of this letter, see Appendix A.
 
 12 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 British navy, it is safe to assume that the duke's in- 
 terest dated from the time when he came across the 
 promising child in the garden of Lord Selkirk's estate, 
 and that it was not until after young Paul's release 
 from his apprenticeship to Mr. Younger and his ensu- 
 ing application for assistance to the duke that he rec- 
 ommended him for the position in the navy. 
 
 On leaving the navy he engaged as third mate on 
 the slaver King George at Whitehaven, and afterward 
 was employed as chief mate on another slaver, the Two 
 Friends. His prompt advancement to the latter respon- 
 sible position is conclusive evidence of his already accom- 
 plished seamanship and of his firm and reliable character. 
 
 During the years of his voyages he visited not only 
 the West India islands, but also the coasts of Africa 
 and Spain. He had been forced to witness much 
 cruelty during the periods he passed in this employ- 
 ment, and it is not surprising to learn, on the authority 
 of his relatives, that as he grew to manhood he was 
 unable to countenance the enormities of a trade which 
 was the foundation of many of the large fortunes of 
 Liverpool and Glasgow as well as those of the British 
 colonies in America. 
 
 In this attitude he showed a degree of high-minded- 
 ness far in advance of his time, but after two years in 
 this uncongenial service, he abandoned his position in 
 uncontrollable disgust and found himself in Jamaica 
 in the year 1768 alone and without employment. 
 While waiting for a passage back to Scotland he ac- 
 cepted a position as an actor in the company of John 
 Moody, which was then playing in Jamaica. Moody
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 13 
 
 was a well-known Irish actor who had himself spent 
 several years in the English islands playing "Ham- 
 let" and other Shakespearian roles. He returned to 
 England in the year 1759 and there gained great repu- 
 tation through his character parts. A few years later 
 he sent a theatrical company bearing his name to the 
 West Indies. In this company the young John Paul 
 was engaged for a brief period. This fact has been 
 curiously made known in the handwriting of John 
 Philip Kemble, Moody's great contemporary and inti- 
 mate friend. In a note appended to the title of a life 
 of Jones, included in a catalogue of his library, Kemble 
 states that "This celebrated man was an actor in the 
 same company with Mr. Moody in Jamaica, and made 
 his first appearance on the stage in the character of 
 the young Bevil in 'The Conscious Lovers.'" 
 
 This temporary employment did not strongly ap- 
 peal to the young sailor, or wean him from his love of 
 the sea, for he soon engaged passage on board the John, 
 of Kirkcudbright, and started on his voyage back to 
 Scotland. During the passage, both officers, Captain 
 MacCadam and his first mate, died of fever, and there 
 being no one else on board capable of taking com- 
 mand, the young John Paul brought the vessel safely 
 into port. This unexpected opportunity brought him 
 into high favor with the owners of the ship, Currie 
 Beck & Company, a firm of West India merchants 
 resident in Kirkcudbright, and he was forthwith ap- 
 pointed master and supercargo of the John. 
 
 Thus promptly he received reward for his abandon- 
 ment of the lucrative but abominable slave-trade,
 
 14 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 in the shape of an advantageous connection with 
 reputable merchants and his first full command of a 
 ship. The first voyage which he made as master 
 of the John was conducted successfully, but on the 
 second, while he was engaged in loading his vessel 
 at the island of Tobago, he was compelled to flog a 
 disobedient sailor, with results which were destined 
 to involve him in serious complications and difficul- 
 ties. 
 
 This was in the spring of 1770, while John Paul was 
 unloading the cargo he had brought from Scotland. 
 The carpenter of the John was lazy, disrespectful to 
 his commander, and finally openly mutinous. After 
 various ineffectual efforts to control him, Paul finally 
 resorted to the method, then in general use, of flogging 
 the delinquent. The man, whose name was Mungo 
 Maxwell, went before James Simpson, judge of a vice- 
 admiralty court then in session in Tobago, and made 
 a complaint. The judge examined the man's stripes, 
 which he found of no importance, and dismissed the 
 complaint as frivolous. Six weeks later, in perfect 
 health, Maxwell shipped on board a Barcelona packet 
 and left the island. Paul remained in the West Indies 
 for a number of months, engaged in occupations which 
 he set forth in the following letter to his patron, Mr. 
 Craik: 
 
 ST. GEORGE, GRANADA, 
 
 5th of August, 1770. 
 SIR: 
 
 Common report here says that my owners are going 
 to finish their connections in the West Indies as fast 
 as possible. How far this is true, I shall not pretent to
 
 
 
 a" 
 
 z 
 
 i 
 
 g
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 15 
 
 judge, but should that really prove the case, you know 
 the disadvantages I must of course labor under. These, 
 however, would not have been so great had I been ac- 
 quainted with the matter sooner, as in that case I 
 believe I could have made interest with some gentle- 
 men here to have been concerned with me in the large 
 ship out of London, and as these gentlemen have es- 
 tates in this and the adjoining Islands I should have 
 been able to make two voyages every year, and always 
 have a full ship out and home. However, I by no 
 means repine, as it is a maxim with me to do my best, 
 and leave the rest with Providence. 
 
 I shall take no step whatever without your knowl- 
 edge and approbation. I have had several very se- 
 vere fevers lately which have reduced me a good deal, 
 though I am now perfectly recovered. 
 
 I must beg you to supply my mother should she want 
 anything, as I well know your readiness. 
 
 I hope yourself and family enjoy health and happi- 
 ness. Sir, Yours always, 
 
 JOHN PAUL. 
 
 Although far from comprehending his own very un- 
 usual endowments at this early period, his common- 
 sense and practical ability evidently impressed all 
 those with whom he came in contact, and the candor 
 and sincerity of his demeanor invariably made him 
 friends. He was still very youthful, self-educated, 
 humble in birth, and only the hired commander of a 
 small Scotch merchantman, yet he enjoyed close and 
 friendly relations with the leading men and merchants 
 of Tobago. 
 
 This island is the southernmost of the Windward 
 group and lies slightly north of Trinidad. Being moun-
 
 16 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 tainous and salubrious in climate, it had been brought 
 to a high state of cultivation by the successive col- 
 onists of France and England who had occupied it. 
 Its shape, volcanic, like its sister islands, was like the 
 green mound of a melon, with fertile valleys running 
 in deep indentations from its summit to the water's 
 rim. Wide mansion-houses, built of English brick 
 and perched on eminences half-way up the slope, looked 
 out upon the surrounding ocean and down upon the 
 little capital town of Scarborough, on the southwest- 
 ern corner of the island, at the edge of Rockley Bay. 
 Here the business and the government of Tobago were 
 conducted, and in this bay the young John Paul was 
 wont to moor his ship during the long intervals between 
 his outward and home voyages. It was during these 
 leisurely months that he made his friendships with 
 Judge Simpson and Governor Young, with Mr. Ham- 
 ilton, of the Grange, and with Mr. Stewart and his 
 family, of Orange Valley, and with those gentlemen 
 planters in the neighboring island of Granada of whom 
 he spoke to Mr. Craik. 
 
 In the latter part of this year (1770), having brought 
 the John back to Scotland, he was stopping for a time 
 at the port of Kirkcudbright, and applied for admission 
 to the lodge of Freemasons of that town. The letter 
 in which he made his application for admission is pre- 
 served in fac-simile at Douglas Castle, at Saint Mary's 
 Isle. It is an earnest attempt at the formal phrase- 
 ology which he deemed the occasion demanded. He 
 spells "regard," "regaird," with a hint of the Scotch 
 brogue which characterized his speech at this time,
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 17 
 
 and there are other instances of misspelling which do 
 not occur in the elegant letters of his later years. 
 
 He learned soon after his arrival that the rumor of 
 Currie Beck's intention of dissolving partnership was 
 correct, and again found himself without employment. 
 This turn in his affairs was no more than he had an- 
 ticipated, but a very painful announcement awaited 
 him for which he was entirely unprepared. He learned 
 that Mungo Maxwell had died on board the Barcelona 
 ship a short time after he left Tobago and that the 
 responsibility of the sailor's death was laid at his door. 
 Relations of Maxwell residing in a neighboring county 
 persistently spread the rumor that John Paul was re- 
 sponsible for his death, and continually threatened 
 to cause his arrest. Added to this revengeful threat 
 was the jealousy of his neighbors and shipmates, who 
 resented his rapid advancement in his career. The 
 rumor spread persistently, his family was humiliated, 
 and to his intense grief he found that his patron, Mr. 
 Craik, also gave credence to the malicious report. 
 
 He asked and received an honorable discharge from 
 the owners of the John, which proved his good stand- 
 ing with his former employers. This document is dat- 
 ed April 1, 1771. Subsequent to this he occupied 
 himself during the period of about six months in local 
 trading with the Isle of Man. His traducers have 
 stated that this was a smuggling trade, but his own 
 emphatic denial of this accusation is supported by 
 the records preserved in the customs books of the 
 town of Douglas. The very first entry of goods shipped 
 from England to the Isle of Man after it became 
 the property of the crown stands in John Paul's name.
 
 18 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 During the whole of this period he dwelt under a 
 cloud of evil report, and awaited openly a direct 
 attack from his accusers, ready to face the verdict of 
 a British jury and eager to clear his name from sus- 
 picion. Believing at last that no one of his accusers 
 would dare openly to confront him, he nevertheless 
 took ship again for the West Indies for the purpose of 
 gathering proofs to refute definitely these damaging 
 accusations. 
 
 When he arrived in the island of Tobago, he found no 
 difficulty whatever in procuring the necessary evidence. 
 His friends, Judge Simpson and William Young, the 
 governor, were both entirely willing to assist him in 
 his emergency. Judge Simpson furnished him with the 
 needful affidavit. 1 
 
 1 Before the Honorable Lieutenant Governor, William Young, Esquire 
 of the Island: 
 
 Aforesaid personally appeared, James Simpson Esquire, who, being 
 duly sworn upon the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God; 
 
 DEPOSETH and SAITH: 
 
 THAT: Sometime about the beginning of May, in the year of our Lord, 
 1770, a person in the habit of a sailor, came to this deponent, who was 
 at that time Judge Surrogate of the Court of Vice Admiralty for the 
 Island aforesaith, with a complaint against John Paul, commander of a 
 Brigantine then lying in Rockley Bay of said Island, for having beat the 
 then complainant who belonged to the said John Paul's vessel; at the 
 same time showing deponent his shoulders which had there the marks 
 of several stripes, but none that were either mortal or dangerous, to the 
 best of this deponent's opinion and belief. 
 
 And this deponent further saith That he did summon the said John 
 Paul before him, who in his vindication alleged that the said complainant 
 had on all occasions proved very ill qualified for, as well as very negli- 
 gent in his duties, and also that he was very lazy and inactive in the 
 execution of his, the said John Paul's lawful command. At the same 
 time declaring his sorrow for having corrected the complainant; and 
 this deponent further saith: That having dismissed the complaint as 
 frivolous, the complainant as this deponent believes, returned to his 
 duty and this deponent further saith: That he has since understood 
 that the said complainant died afterwards on board of a different vessel 
 on her passage to some of the leaward Islands, and that the said John
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 19 
 
 Armed with this exculpatory document, John Paul 
 again returned to England, and on the day after his 
 arrival wrote his family of the result of his voyage: 
 
 LONDON, 24th September 1772. 
 MY DEAR MOTHER AND SISTERS: 
 
 I only arrived here last night from the Grenadas; 
 I have had but poor health during the voyage, and my 
 success in it not having equalled my first sanguine ex- 
 pectations, has added very much to the asperity of my 
 misfortunes, and I am well assured was the cause of 
 my loss of health. I am now however better, and I 
 trust Providence will soon put me in the way to get 
 bread, and (which is far my greatest happiness) be ser- 
 viceable to my poor but much valued friends. I am 
 able to give you no account of my future proceedings, 
 as they depend upon circumstances which are not fully 
 determined. 
 
 I have enclosed you a copy of an affidavit made 
 before Governor Young by the Judge of the Court of 
 Vice Admiralty at Tobago, by which you will see with 
 how little reason my life has been thirsted after, and 
 which is much dearer to me, my honor, by maliciously 
 loading my fair character with obloquy and vile asper- 
 sions. I believe there are few who are hard hearted 
 enough to think I have not long since given the world 
 every satisfaction in my power, being conscious of my 
 
 Paul as this deponent is informed, has been accused in Great Britain as 
 the immediate author of the said complainant's death, by means of the 
 said stripes hereinbefore mentioned. 
 
 This accusation, this deponent, for the sake of humanity, in the most 
 solemn manner declares and believes to be in his judgment without any 
 just foundation as far as relates to the stripes before mentioned; which 
 this deponent very particularly examined, and 
 Further this deponent saith not. 
 
 JAMES SIMPSON. 
 Sworn before me, 
 
 This 30th day of June, 1772 
 WILLIAM YOUNG.
 
 20 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 innocence before Heaven, who will one day judge even 
 my Judges. I staked my honor, life and fortune for 
 six long months on the verdict of a British Jury, not- 
 withstanding I was sensible of the general prejudices 
 which ran against me; but after all, none of my ac- 
 cusers had the courage to confront me. Yet I am 
 willing to convince the world, if reason and facts will 
 do it, that they have no foundation for their harsh 
 treatment. I mean to send Mr. Craik a copy properly 
 proved, as his nice feelings will not perhaps be other- 
 wise satisfied. In the meantime, if you please, you 
 may show him the enclosed. His ungracious conduct 
 to me before I left Scotland I have not yet been able 
 to get the better of; every person of feeling must think 
 meanly of adding to the load of the afflicted. It is 
 true I bore it with seem unconcern, but Heaven can 
 witness for me that I suffered the more on that very 
 account. But enough of this! 
 
 The dominant qualities of Paul Jones's character, his 
 regard for reputation, keen sensitiveness of feeling, and 
 strong imagination, reacting, as they never failed to do, 
 upon a singularly responsive physical organization, 
 were already evident in this early letter. His care for 
 his "poor but valued friends," to whose support he was 
 already in the habit of contributing, is the best proof 
 of his loyal and affectionate disposition. No further 
 evidence is necessary to prove his innocence of charges 
 which were many times revived against him, or of the 
 intensity of his suffering from the obloquy which was 
 cast most unjustly upon his name. He never again 
 wrote to Mr. Craik, who, his relatives state, was after- 
 ward entirely convinced of his innocence. He never 
 again visited his birthplace in Scotland; he never saw
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 21 
 
 his family again. He busied himself with his affairs in 
 London, and, not content with the evidence of Judge 
 Simpson, he obtained from James Eastment, the cap- 
 tain of the ship on which Mungo Maxwell died, the 
 following affidavit, which testified to the manner and 
 cause of the sailor's death : 
 
 James Eastment mariner and late master of the 
 Barcelona Packet, maketh oath and saith that Mungo 
 Maxwell carpenter formerly on board the John, Cap- 
 tain Paul, Master, came in good health on board his, 
 this deponent's said vessel, then lying in Great Rock- 
 ley Bay, in the island of Tobago, about the middle of 
 the month of June in the year one thousand seven 
 hundred and seventy, in the capacity of a carpenter 
 aforesaid. 
 
 That he acted as such in every respect in perfect 
 health for some time after he came on board this de- 
 ponents said vessel, the Barcelona Packet after which 
 he was taken ill of a fever and lowness of spirits, which 
 continued for four or five days, when he died on board 
 the said vessel during her passage from Tobago to 
 Antigua. 
 
 And this deponent further saith that he never heard 
 the said Mungo Maxwell complain of having received 
 any ill usage from the said Captain John Paul; but 
 that he, this deponent verily believes that said Mungo 
 Maxwell's death was occasioned by a fever and low- 
 ness of spirits as aforesaid, and not by or through any 
 other cause or causes whatsoever. 
 
 This document John Paul deposited with the then 
 Lord Mayor of London, on the 30th of January, 1773.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 
 
 YOUNG PAUL had evidently succeeded in establishing 
 his credit with reliable merchants during the period 
 of his trading with the Isle of Man, for he now was 
 able to secure the necessary advance to enable him 
 to purchase the " large London ship," of which he had 
 written to Mr. Craik, and to start out in business for 
 himself. He purchased the Betsey, a London merchant- 
 man, and, having loaded her at Cork, set sail for the 
 West Indies in the early part of the year 1773. In 
 April he was again in the bay of Tobago. As he had 
 succeeded in procuring his ship by his own unaided 
 exertions, he now easily induced Archibald Stuart, 
 Esq., a planter in the island, to enter into partner- 
 ship with him. He invested the proceeds of the sale 
 of his original cargo in the purchase of West Indian mer- 
 chandise, and paid off his chief officers, but he hoped 
 to be able to defer payment of his seamen until he 
 had realized on his return cargo in England. By such 
 methods he ran the risk of losing his crew, and, as the 
 event proved, he paid dearly for his temerity. The 
 sailors murmured and refused to be placated by the 
 promises of gifts of clothing with which, as he himself 
 admits, he attempted to conciliate them. Under these 
 circumstances he made all haste to finish his loading 
 and put to sea, but on coming aboard one morning he 
 
 found himself confronted by a well-organized plot on 
 
 22
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 23 
 
 the part of his drunken and dissatisfied crew to desert 
 the ship in a body. 
 
 Just freed from the serious difficulties caused by his 
 chastisement of Mungo Maxwell, it may well be be- 
 lieved that he had no desire to become involved in 
 further trouble. But a fatality of the worst and most 
 unexpected kind awaited him. In defending himself 
 from a determined and murderous attack made by the 
 ringleader of the mutiny, he was unfortunate enough 
 to kill the man. This second and separate incident of 
 trouble with his sailors, with its immediately fatal con- 
 sequences, has never been known to any of his biog- 
 raphers. In the year 1906 an account of this occur- 
 rence was discovered in a letter to Benjamin Franklin, 
 in the well-known handwriting of Paul Jones himself. 
 This document was one of a collection of thirteen 
 thousand letters written to Franklin, and bequeathed 
 about the year 1850 to the Philosophical Society of 
 Philadelphia by the son of George Fox, who had re- 
 ceived it from Franklin's grandson. For more than 
 half a century this remarkable letter lay in the vaults 
 of the society unnoticed. Under a recently appointed 
 librarian, the long-delayed task of cataloguing the 
 enormous mass of documents was initiated and the 
 truth about this important event in Paul Jones's life 
 brought to light. This letter illumines the period of 
 his life which has always been obscure to his biog- 
 raphers, gives the reason for his temporary abandon- 
 ment of a sea career, and explains in large measure his 
 change of name. The account written to Franklin re- 
 lates the incident in detail:
 
 24 
 
 L'ORIENT, March 6th, 1779. 
 HONORED AND DEAR SIR: 
 
 The mystery which you so delicately mention in your 
 much esteemed favor of the 24th ult. it has been my 
 intention for more than Twelve months past to com- 
 municate to you; which however I have put off from 
 time to time on reflecting that the Account must give 
 you more pain than pleasure: yet had I not, on my 
 sudden departure from hence for Paris, inadvertently 
 neglected to take with me the Original Paper whereof 
 the inclosed is a Copy. I certainly should then have 
 put it in your hands. The subject at the beginning of 
 the War was communicated to sundry Members of 
 Congress among whom I may mention Mr. Hewes of 
 No. Carolina and Mr. Morris of Philadelphia; and to 
 various other persons in America before and Since. It 
 was the advice of my friend Gov. Young among many 
 others, when that great Misfortune of my Life hap- 
 pened, that I should retire Incog, to the continent of 
 America, and remain there until an Admiralty Com- 
 mission should arrive in the Island, and then return. 
 I had waited that event eighteen months before 
 Swords were drawn and the Ports of the Continent 
 were Shut. 
 
 It had been my intention from the time of my mis- 
 fortune to quit the sea service altogether, and, after 
 standing Trial, as I had the means, to purchase some 
 small tracts of Land on the Continent, which had been 
 my favorite Country from the age of thirteen, when I 
 first saw it. I had settled my future place of retire- 
 ment in "calm contemplation and Poetic ease." 
 
 I could have no views of protection from a new Gov- 
 ernment, and therefore as I adhered to my first resolu- 
 tion of returning to the West Indies, to Stand Trial, 
 and to Settle my affairs there as soon as peace should 
 be restored to the Continent, it was the advice of my
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 25 
 
 friends that I should till that wished event might be 
 brought about, remain Incog. 
 
 It may be said that I have been unfortunate but 
 it cannot be made appear that I have ever, even in the 
 weakest Moment of my Life been capable of a Base or 
 a mean Action. 
 
 I am with grateful and real affection and respect, 
 Honored and Dear Sir 
 Your very obliged 
 Very obedient 
 
 Very humble servant 
 JOHN PAUL JONES. 
 
 The enclosure referred to above is as follows: 
 
 P. S. The Master of a West India ship from London 
 had occasion to ship sundry seamen at the Island 
 where he landed one of whom in particular behaved 
 himself very ill He was a principal in Embezzling 
 the Master's Liquor He got frequently drunk He 
 neglected and even refused his duty with much inso- 
 lence. He stirred up the rest of the crew to act in the 
 Same manner and was their avowed Ringleader. 
 
 As the Master's engagements were of such a nature 
 that his all depended upon dispatch, he gave his Crew 
 very reasonable encouragement, They had plenty of 
 good Provision and were in other respects well used. 
 Notwithstanding of which one forenoon when the Mas- 
 ter came on Board he found that the Crew had formed 
 or were then forming a plot to desert the ship. As the 
 Master was walking aft the Ringleader rushed up from 
 the steerage and stopped him with the grossest abuse 
 that vulgarism could dictate because, as he pretended, 
 the Master had sailed his ship fourteen Months with- 
 out paying wages. The fellow having sometime be-
 
 26 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 fore complained that he wanted cloaths, the Master 
 now gave him Frocks and Trousers telling him to go 
 about his duty and to inform himself better for that 
 what he had said was not so .But mildness had no 
 good effect, for while the Master was distributing 
 Cloathing to some of the rest who were also in want, 
 the first conveyed his things into the Boat and another 
 of the Crew was following his example, till observing 
 that the Master had an eye upon their proceedings, 
 they Sneaked back into the ship They remained quiet 
 for a short space. But the Ringleader soon broke out 
 again with Oaths and insisted on having the boat and 
 quitting the Ship This the Master refused, but offered 
 to give up his agreement if a Man could be found to 
 serve in his room. The disturber Swore with horrid 
 imprications that he would take away the Boat by 
 force! and for that purpose actually rushed over the 
 Gangway, bidding the Master the most contemptuous 
 defiance! Upon the Master's stepping to prevent this 
 the Man (having threw his strength) leapt into the 
 Ship and forced him into the Cabin, using at the time 
 language and attitudes too indecent to be mentioned, 
 and charging him not to shew his Nose upon Deck again 
 till the Boat was gone at his utmost peril. The Master 
 searched the Cabin for a stick, but not finding onej and 
 his Sword, by chance being on the Table, he took it up 
 in hopes that the sight of it would intimidate the Man 
 into submission. The Man had by this time descended 
 the Gangway within a step of the boat, so that it would 
 have been impossible to prevent his Elopement had 
 he persisted But he now re-entered the Ship breath- 
 ing Vengeance, and, totally regardless of the Sword, 
 tho within its reach, turned his back towards the Mas- 
 ter, ran on the Main Deck, Armed himself with a 
 Bludgeon with which he returned to the quarter Deck 
 and attacked the Master. The Master was thunder
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 27 
 
 Struck with surprise, for he had considered the Man's 
 ravings as the natural effect of disappointed Rage which 
 would soon subside of itself. But now his sole expe- 
 dient was to prevent bad consequences by returning 
 again to the Cabin; and this he endeavored to do as 
 fast as possible by retiring backwards in a posture of 
 defence. But alas! what is human foresight. The 
 after Hatchway was uncovered and lay in a direct line 
 between the Master's back and the cabin door, but the 
 momentary duration of the attack did not admit of 
 his recollecting that circumstance before his heel came 
 in contact with the Hatchway, which obliged him to 
 make a Sudden Stop. Unhappily at that instant 
 the assailant's arm being high raised, he threw his Body 
 forward to reach the Master's head with the descend- 
 ing Blow The fatal and unavoidable consequence of 
 which was his rushing upon the Sword's Point. 
 
 After this melancholy accident the Master went 
 Publickly to a Justice of the Peace and offered to Sur- 
 render as his Prisoner. The Justice who called him- 
 self the Masters friend, persuaded him to withdraw and 
 Said it was unnecessary to Surrender before the day of 
 Trial. And the rest of the Masters friends who were 
 present forced him to mount his Horse. Two weeks 
 before this the Chief Mate had been for the first time 
 in his Life advanced to that Station and yet unworthy 
 as his conduct had been in it he now openly arrogated 
 his unblushing pretentions to the Command, and to 
 attain it associated with the Crew. The Testimony 
 of such a combination may easily be imagined, con- 
 scious as they were of having embezzled the Masters 
 property they were not likely to dwell on any circum- 
 stance that manifested their own dastardly and un- 
 dutiful Conduct. And as the second Mate a young 
 Gentleman of worth lay Sick as well as all the inferior 
 Officers and best disposed of the Crew, in all human
 
 28 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 probability the Truth could not escape the grossest 
 perversions. Besides the Nature of the Case Subjected 
 it to the cognizance of a Court Martial And there was 
 no Admiralty Commission then in the Government. 
 For these obvious reasons the Masters friends con- 
 strained him for a time to leave the Country. 
 
 N. B. The foregoing has been written in great haste 
 to Save the Post. 1 
 
 The kind friend and indulgent philosopher to whom 
 this letter was addressed made in his reply no reference 
 to the story it contained, except to say that it was sim- 
 ply a case of self-defence. There is no evidence that 
 the confession, so painful to Paul Jones, ever altered 
 in any way the friendship which existed between them. 
 Legally, Paul Jones was absolutely justified in killing 
 the ringleader of the mutiny, not only by the author- 
 ity of the laws and customs then universally prevalent 
 upon the sea, but also from the fact that the man's 
 assault was evidently with intent to kill. The points 
 of the affair which deserve consideration are Jones's 
 own regret at the circumstance, his enforced flight, 
 and the serious results which it entailed upon his char- 
 acter and career. No blame can properly be attached 
 to the act, except in the fact (clearly indicated in his 
 own narrative) that he unwisely believed that his crew 
 would remain contented without their wages until such 
 time as suited his convenience. It is impossible to 
 read this account without a profound sympathy for 
 the horror and dismay which must have overwhelmed 
 
 1 The letter is dated March 6, 1779, and, belonging to a much later 
 period, is not fully quoted at this point. It is given in its entirety in 
 Appendix B.
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 29 
 
 his mind at this second catastrophe. The consterna- 
 tion of the men who had already proved themselves his 
 friends, when he appeared before them staggering un- 
 der the shock of this fatal and unpremeditated disas- 
 ter, can well be imagined. Judge Simpson had already 
 set his hand to the affidavit which cleared him of the 
 responsibility of Mungo Maxwell's death. Governor 
 Young had testified to the truth of the document, and 
 this evidence had been put into Jones's hands on the 
 occasion of his last visit to the island in the preceding 
 year. 
 
 Although this evidence was strong enough to pre- 
 vent an open attack, his enemies still whispered of his 
 guilt, and hostile rumors were alive which, in the light 
 of this second occurrence, would have strongly mili- 
 tated against him had he determined to face a trial 
 at that time. The man's death was immediate, and 
 Jones had been armed with a sword. The chief mate 
 was jealous, ambitious of assuming command, and was 
 known to be hostile. The evidence of the second mate 
 and the other inferior officers was unobtainable, and 
 the sailors, for the reasons above mentioned, were all 
 against him. Under these seriously unfavorable con- 
 ditions he nevertheless offered to surrender himself 
 immediately, but Judge Simpson, still his friend, ad- 
 vised him that this was unnecessary until the day of 
 trial. No court of admiralty was then in session on 
 the island, and no date for the appointment of such 
 a tribunal had been set. Jones's surrender or arrest 
 might have meant indefinite imprisonment or a more 
 serious sentence from an inferior court. It is not sur-
 
 30 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 prising that a conference of his friends, held in secret, 
 as may be inferred, in the face of such serious danger, 
 should have resulted in the advice that Jones should 
 mount his horse and, making his way to some other 
 port, depart from the island. 
 
 It is difficult for those who have studied the charac- 
 ter of Paul Jones to imagine this strict disciplinarian, 
 this fighter by nature, "retiring backwards in a posture 
 of defence" or seeking refuge from his mad and muti- 
 nous assailant in his cabin. But with the memory of 
 Maxwell in his mind, it is entirely credible that he 
 did attempt to avoid serious trouble by any means in 
 his power. 
 
 Paul Jones never returned to Tobago to stand his 
 trial, and the reasons for this are set forth in the letter. 
 What does not appear in this account is the fact that 
 rumors confounded the circumstances of this occur- 
 rence with the better-known incident of Mungo Max- 
 well, and Jones's acquittal for the one offence was 
 therefore held to apply to the other. 
 
 A very rare old book, entitled "The Biographies of 
 the Principal Military and Naval Heroes of America," 
 written by one Thomas Wilson, of Philadelphia, pub- 
 lished in that city in the year 1817, before the appear- 
 ance of any of the "Lives" of Paul Jones, contains an 
 account of both occurrences merged into one. It is 
 very valuable in the confirmatory evidence it supplies 
 of the defensive nature of his attack on the sailor 
 and in the indication it gives of the manner in which 
 the two incidents were confused in the rumors of the 
 time:
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 31 
 
 CAPTAIN PAUL JONES 
 
 This football of fortune was a native of Scotland. 
 His father had been originally a gardener to the Earl 
 of Selkirk. 
 
 Circumstances at present unknown led him to em- 
 brace a seafaring life at the age of fifteen. After he 
 had served a regular apprenticeship he commanded a 
 merchant vessel which was for many years engaged in 
 the West India trade. 
 
 During a voyage to Tobago the crew of his vessel 
 mutinied. He, in the incipiency of the insurrection 
 resorted to conciliatory measures with a view to re- 
 storing order; but his moderation being supposed to 
 be the effect of fear, the mutineers grew bolder and 
 renewed their threats. On this, Captain Paul armed 
 himself with a small sword, posted himself on the quar- 
 terdeck and informed the mutineers that the most se- 
 rious consequences would result if they should pass the 
 after hatchway, and that an attempt to get on the 
 quarterdeck would induce him and his officers to risk 
 their own lives in endeavoring to effect their destruction. 
 They were somewhat appalled by his decision; but 
 some more desperate than the rest, determined to seize 
 him, and armed with handspikes, crowbars, and axes, 
 moved along the waist to the quarterdeck. The leader, 
 on approaching Captain Paul, raised a handspike to 
 strike him, and made the blow, but it was evaded and 
 he missed his object; but was about to renew it, and 
 when he lifted a second time, Captain Paul pierced the 
 ruffian ; he fell dead on the deck. The rest fled to the 
 forecastle and some below deck; those who remained 
 above were seized and put in irons; and those who had 
 resisted the mutiny, being encouraged by the resolu- 
 tion of the Captain, secured the others below.
 
 32 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 The voyage was prosecuted and they arrived at To- 
 bago, where Captain Paul surrendered himself to the 
 proper authority, with a demand that he should be 
 tried for the death of the mutineer. The transaction 
 excited considerable interest; but at length he obtained 
 a formal trial wherein he was finally acquitted. What 
 became of the mutineers we do not now recollect; but 
 it is upwards of 30 years since we read the narrative. 
 
 Captain Paul had dispatched his ship under another 
 officer to Europe while he awaited the trial, and after 
 his acquittal returned to Europe. He landed in Eng- 
 land where the story had preceded him with great exag- 
 geration, and he was menaced with imprisonment and 
 a new trial. In this dilemma he addressed his friends of 
 the Scots House in Cork; described the prosecution he 
 had experienced and the injustice of bringing him a 
 second time to trial, contrary to the laws of England. 
 In his friends he found advice and protection, and to 
 escape injustice he determined to proceed to the Amer- 
 ican Continent where he added to his paternal name 
 the nomme de guerre Jones. 
 
 It is in no way remarkable that the reports current 
 in those troublous times, when ports were closed and 
 correspondence uncertain and irregular, should have 
 mingled the two incidents. They both occurred at 
 Tobago, and the same authorities, Judge Simpson and 
 Governor Young, were concerned in both. Jones, quite 
 naturally, considered it needless to enlighten the gen- 
 eral public in regard to the matter, but there are various 
 mysterious references to it in intimate letters which 
 none of his biographers have hitherto been able to ex- 
 plain. He always called it "the misfortune of my life," 
 and it is evident that he never could forget it, but was
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 33 
 
 forced to call to his aid all his fortitude and philosophy 
 to enable him to surmount the suffering which it caused 
 him. At a later period, in referring to the distress 
 which he suffered from his supersedure in rank, he 
 says: "Its reality affects me more than all the former 
 misfortunes of my life, some of them were perhaps 
 brought about by my own misconduct this I am sure 
 was not." It is plain that he did not consider himself 
 wholly innocent of the contributing cause of the fatal- 
 ity arising from the fact that he had not paid his crew 
 in full, and was therefore partly responsible for their 
 dissatisfaction. 
 
 He made a voluntary confession of the unfortunate 
 occurrence at the outset of his friendship with Hewes 
 and Morris, and was unwilling to continue his impor- 
 tant relation with Franklin without making a similar 
 confession to him. 
 
 The immediate results of this disaster were exceed- 
 ingly serious. He was compelled to abandon the busi- 
 ness which he had brought with such difficulty to a suc- 
 cessful issue, and nearly penniless and in tragic haste to 
 depart from the island. He left both ship and cargo 
 in the hands of his partner and entered upon a truly 
 melancholy period of homeless and nameless wander- 
 ing. This period, lasting from June, 1773, to the winter 
 of 1775, has been one of almost complete obscurity to 
 all of his previous biographers. He fled from Tobago 
 under an assumed name, and, unable openly to claim 
 his rightful property, he emerged as John Paul Jones, 
 a regularly appointed officer in the American navy. 
 Two brief references exist in the letters of Jones himself
 
 34 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 to throw some light upon this part of his life. One of 
 these, found in a letter already printed in the Edin- 
 burgh and Sands biographies, was written in the spring 
 of the year 1777, when Jones had advanced to a leading 
 position in the American navy: 
 
 BOSTON, 4th May 1777. 
 DEAR SIR. 
 
 After an unprofitable suspense of twenty months, 
 (having subsisted on fifty pounds only during that time.) 
 when my hopes of relief were entirely cut off, and there 
 remained no possibility of my receiving wherewithal to 
 subsist upon from my effects in your island, or in Eng- 
 land, I at last had recourse to strangers for that aid and 
 comfort which was denied me by those friends whom I 
 had entrusted with my all. The good offices which are 
 rendered to persons in their extreme need, ought to 
 make a deep impression on grateful minds; in my case 
 I feel the truth of that sentiment, and am bound by 
 gratitude as well as honour to follow the fortunes of my 
 late benefactors. I have lately seen Mr. Sicaton, (late 
 manager of the estates of Arch. Stuart Esq.) who in- 
 formed me that Mr. Ferguson had quitted Orange Val- 
 ley, on being charged with the unjust application of the 
 property of his employers. I have been and am ex- 
 tremely concerned at this account : I wish to disbelieve 
 it, although it seems too much of a piece with the unfair 
 advantage which, to all appearance he took of me, when 
 he left me in exile, for twenty months, a prey to melan- 
 choly and want, and withheld my property, without 
 writing a word of excuse for his conduct. Thus cir- 
 cumstanced I have taken the liberty of sending you a 
 letter of attorney to Captain Cleaveland, who under 
 takes to deliver it himself, as he goes for Tobago via 
 Martinico. You have enclosed a copy of a list of debts
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 35 
 
 acknowledged, which I received from Mr. Ferguson, 
 when I saw you last at Orange Valley. You have also 
 a list of debts contracted with me together with Fergu- 
 son's receipt. And there remained a considerable prop- 
 erty unsold, besides some best Madeira wine which he 
 had shipped for London. By the state of accounts 
 which I sent to England, on my arrival in this continent 
 there was a balance due to me from the ship Betsey of 
 909. 15s 3d. sterling, and in my account with Robert 
 Young, Esq. 29 January 1773 there appeared a balance 
 in my favor of 281 Is 8d. Sterling. These sums exceed 
 my drafts and just debts together, so that if I am fairly 
 dealt with, I ought to receive a considerable remittance 
 from that quarter. You will please to observe, that 
 there were nine pieces of coarse camblets shipped at 
 Cork, over and above the quantity expressed in the bill 
 of lading. It seems the shippers finding their mistake 
 applied for the goods ; and as I have been informed from 
 Granada Mr. Ferguson laid hold of this opportunity to 
 propagate a report that all the goods which I put into 
 his hands were the property of that house in Cork. If 
 this base suggestion hath gained belief, it accounts for 
 all the neglect which I have experienced. But however 
 my connexions are changed, my principles as an honest 
 man of candour and integrity are the same; therefore 
 should there not be a sufficiency of my property in Eng- 
 land to answer my just debts, I declare that it is my 
 first wish to make up such deficiency from my property 
 in Tobago ; and were even that to fall short, I am ready 
 and willing to make full and ample remittances from 
 hence upon hearing from you the true state of my af- 
 fairs. As I hope my dear mother is still alive, I must 
 inform you that I wish my property in Tobago or in 
 England after paying my just debts to be applied for 
 her support. Your own feelings, my dear sir, make it 
 unnecessary for me to use argument to prevail with you
 
 36 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 on this tender point. Any remittances which you may 
 be enabled to make through the hands of my good friend 
 Captain John Palmer of Cork, will be faithfully put into 
 her hands, she hath several orphan grandchildren to 
 provide for. I have made no apology for giving you 
 this trouble; my situation will I trust obtain your free 
 pardon. I am always with perfect esteem. 
 
 Dear sir. 
 Your very obliged, very obedient, 
 
 And most humble servant. 
 
 J. PAUL JONES. 
 STUART MAWEY Esq. 
 Tobago. 
 
 The reasons for his penniless condition during nearly 
 all of this period of obscurity are here sufficiently ac- 
 counted for in the evident dishonesty of the agent and 
 resident manager of his partner, Archibald Stuart, 
 in whose hands Jones had intrusted his share of the 
 ship and merchandise, but there is no hint as to 
 his whereabouts or occupation up to the time of his 
 forming his new connections with the American Gov- 
 ernment. The other reference is in a letter printed in 
 Force's "Archives"; although brief, it is exceedingly 
 interesting in the indication it furnishes of the nature 
 of his occupation during this time. It is dated the 
 18th November, 1776, when Jones was on board the 
 Providence, off the coast of Nova Scotia, on the sec- 
 ond of his independent and very successful cruises 
 against the British possessions in Canada. He writes 
 to Robert Smith, of Edenton, a partner of Joseph 
 Hewes in the ship-building business and the United 
 States prize agent of the State of North Carolina. He
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 37 
 
 announces that he is sending a prize to him in recog- 
 nition of his gratitude to Joseph Hewes, and says: "I 
 have seen and do esteem yourself, but I knew your 
 brother James well when I was myself a son of fortune." 
 The unquestionable confession of some period of ad- 
 venture expressed in this phrase, and its significant 
 grouping of this brother and himself in a similar occu- 
 pation, of which he dares to speak on account of their 
 mutual knowledge of its character, is exceedingly sug- 
 gestive. What were they doing, these two intimate 
 friends, when both were " sons of fortune " ? An answer 
 to this question exists and is contained in the printed 
 recollections of one Thomas Chase, a Massachusetts 
 sailor and privateersman, and afterward one of Jones's 
 seamen on the Alliance, who dictated them to his grand- 
 son. These recollections, printed privately, were in the 
 possession of the daughter of Thomas Chase the third, 
 who took them down from the mouth of his grand- 
 father. The story that they tell runs thus: 
 
 In September 1773, two years before the breaking 
 out of the American Revolutionary War, the people liv- 
 ing near Holmes's Hole Martha's Vineyard, were aston- 
 ished to see a rather singular craft put into their port. 
 Martha's Vineyard is an island, forming the southeast- 
 ern extreme of the state of Massachusetts, and Holmes's 
 Hole is its principal harbor. The vessel was a sharp, 
 rakish, clipper built craft, painted entirely black, with 
 no name whatever marked upon her. She carried three 
 long nine-pounders, which could be moved to any part 
 of her deck; one "long-torn" on a pivot and apparently 
 a full supply of small arms of every description. She 
 was a very fast sailor.
 
 38 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 The crew seemed to consist of about forty men, 
 mostly Spaniards with a few Portuguese among them. 
 The captain announced himself as Paul Jones, 1 and said 
 that as he was coasting along in the vicinity of Long 
 Island, New York, he had had an encounter with a 
 British craft which came very near taking him. Two 
 or three of his crew and one officer, had been wounded 
 in this encounter, and the officer soon after died. 
 Whether the dying officer had requested to be buried 
 on land, or whether it was merely Jones's wish to show 
 his dead officer this special attention, did not appear; 
 but he inquired whether he could find a man who could 
 make a coffin for the dead sailor, and said he wished to 
 give him a decent burial. He was directed to a stripling 
 of nineteen or twenty years of age, who had the repu- 
 tation of being unusually "handy with tools" and could 
 even accomplish wonders with a common jack knife and 
 a bit of wood. This youth's name was Thomas Chase; 
 he was born on the island, and was a direct descen- 
 dant of Thomas Mayhew, royal patentee and first Gov- 
 ernor of that and the adjacent islands. Young Chase 
 set about making the coffin, and while he was at work 
 on the gruesome task, had numerous long conversations 
 with Jones who appeared to have taken quite a fancy 
 to the youth, and was very sociable and communicative. 
 
 At Captain Jones's request, the people of the Island 
 turned out in good numbers to attend the stranger's 
 funeral. Among the persons who attended that strange 
 funeral was a girl in her teens named Desir6 Luce. She 
 was then the sweetheart, and afterwards became the 
 wife of the youth who made the stranger's coffin. She 
 saw at the funeral and at several other times during his 
 few days stay on the Island, the "Captain Jones" who 
 was so friendly with her sweetheart. Of course in the 
 unusual circumstances, the Captain was thoroughly
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 39 
 
 scrutinized, and every person present had a good chance 
 to form a deliberate opinion as to his personal appear- 
 ance. He stood about five feet six inches high ; he was 
 stoutly built but not corpulent, and had a very broad 
 chest and shoulders, and arms unusually and noticeably 
 long for a man of his height. His weight was about one 
 hundred and seventy five pounds; he was remarkably 
 muscular, and seemed able to use almost all of his great 
 strength in his sword arm. His complexion had been 
 naturally light, but he was much weather-beaten at this 
 time, having been afloat, as he said, about seventeen 
 years, or ever since he was about fourteen years old. 
 He had the kind of hair which country people call 
 " sandy," but which had been probably made lighter by 
 constant exposure to wind and sunshine; his eyes were 
 bluish-gray. The muscles of his face were firm, giv- 
 ing great severity to his expression. Among his pe- 
 culiarities was that of an uncommonly deep, strong, 
 resonant and powerful voice, of that peculiar carrying 
 quality which made it distinctly audible, even in the 
 greatest noise and confusion. 
 
 Captain Jones remained several days on the Island 
 after the burial of his shipmate, and amused himself by 
 looking over the neighboring country and making sev- 
 eral gunning expeditions, in which he included young 
 Chase, who proved a better shot than himself. 
 
 The Captain and his crew made some purchases dur- 
 ing their stay, paying duly for everything and con- 
 ducting themselves in a perfectly civil and inoffensive 
 manner, although Captain Jones told young Chase in 
 private, that they were "a set of Spanish and Portugese 
 desperadoes." They were under excellent control how- 
 ever, and no one had any reason to complain of their 
 behaviour. He seemed never to try to keep a man who 
 wanted to leave him at any port. One of his crew at 
 this time, a Portugese who called himself "Joe Fred-
 
 40 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 erick" as the nearest English approach to his name, de- 
 cided to remain on the Island, and did so, with his 
 captain's full consent. This man married there, and 
 after a long life of adventure, for he later sailed again 
 with Jones died there, and his widow lived to be over 
 ninety years old. 
 
 When Jones was ready to leave the Island, he en- 
 gaged an old pilot to help him over Nantucket Shoals, 
 young Chase accompanying. After two days, they 
 bade adieu to Jones with the best of feeling on both 
 sides, and when they last saw his vessel it was steering 
 north-easterly as if meaning to double Cape Cod. As 
 was afterwards learned, Jones soon returned to the 
 Spanish West Indies, then his headquarters. 
 
 Two years after this occurrence at the breaking out 
 of the American Revolution in 1775, young Chase 
 shipped on board one of the first privateers fitted out 
 by the Colonies. It chanced that within a few days, 
 this ship in a blistering fog almost ran into a strong 
 British man-of-war, was captured, and all her crew 
 taken prisoners and carried to Plymouth, England, 
 where in company with many other American prisoners 
 there were over seven hundred of them in all they 
 were held captive for more than two years. Then, by 
 an exchange of prisoners, they were liberated and taken 
 to L'Orient, in France, whence they hoped to ship for 
 home. Here it happened, Paul Jones and young Chase 
 met again and instantly recognized each other, and 
 Chase shipped with Jones who was then in command 
 of the Bon Homme Richard and wished to fill his ship 
 with the liberated prisoners. Chase was in the fight 
 between the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis, as 
 well as in many other engagements and knew Jones 
 perhaps, as well as did any other man who ever sailed 
 with him, as Jones appeared to have taken a special lik- 
 ing to him, telling him many personal details which he
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 41 
 
 seemed to tell few others, and in two or three instances, 
 taking him on confidential expeditions, the details of 
 which he did not trust to the mass of his crew. 
 
 Although of a generally stern and surly aspect, Jones 
 had his seasons of friendly and confidential converse, 
 when he spoke freely of his earlier life and his later 
 adventures. The story he told of his childhood and 
 youth seemed recited in good faith, and was adhered to 
 with every appearance of veracity in all after allusions. 
 Jones is said to have told an altogether different story 
 to the American Authorities when he was seeking a 
 naval command; but whatever he said afterwards, or 
 whatever was said of him, it was evident that at this 
 time he really believed himself to be an illegitimate son 
 of the Earl of Selkirk, whose mansion was near White- 
 haven, on the west coast of Scotland, near the border 
 of England. He said that his first recollections were 
 of the servants' quarters in the Earl's establishment; 
 that he was called John Paul, and told that his father's 
 name was Paul. He also said that he was ignorant as 
 to the exact date of his birth. 
 
 Regarding his voyages in the slave-ships, Thomas 
 Chase's narrative again supplies some interesting in- 
 formation: 
 
 On his arrival at Corunna, he fell in with an associa- 
 tion of self-styled "merchants" and maritime rovers 
 and desperadoes, who obtained their living and wealth 
 by their lawless depredations on commerce, and whose 
 predecessors had sailed the vague "Spanish main" for 
 scores of years, and who, with their successors, con- 
 tinued to ravage the shipping of all commercial nations 
 until the close of the Napoleonic wars. 
 
 Young as he was, he soon gained ascendency over 
 many of his associates who were older and more ex-
 
 42 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 perienced in voyaging than himself, and before he was 
 twenty years old, he was offered the command of a ves- 
 sel to continue the same business, he of course to have 
 a much larger share of the profits than before. 
 
 These reminiscences of Jones's earlier life, with many 
 tales of stirring and dangerous adventure, were recited 
 by him to young Chase, in the bluff captain's seasons 
 of relaxation and social converse during their cruises 
 together. Some of them were also heard by three 
 other persons, who on one voyage all together, and on 
 others separately, sailed under Jones. These three 
 men were Thomas Field, Joe Frederick, and John Terry ; 
 this last was a boy born in Annapolis, Maryland, who 
 served as a "powder-monkey" to Chase's gun, in the 
 Bon Homme Richard fight. 
 
 The remainder of Chase's narrative, which contains 
 an account of the Ranger's cruise and the descent upon 
 Saint Mary's Isle, possesses no value as historical ma- 
 terial, for the reason that he was during that time still 
 a prisoner hi England, and being no longer an eye- 
 witness, relied for his statements on tradition and hear- 
 say reports from other seamen. The brief account of 
 the engagement with the Serapis, also contained in the 
 narrative, furnishes no new material except as it includes 
 some testimony in regard to Landais. Chase was on 
 board the Alliance in the famous battle, but sailed for a 
 short time under Jones when the latter took command 
 of that vessel. None of the somewhat confused recol- 
 lections of Chase's middle life, dictated when he was 
 about seventy years old, have the value possessed by 
 the early narrative, the details of which were impressed 
 upon the old seaman's memory with indelible vitality
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 43 
 
 and accuracy. He had a warm admiration and feeling 
 of personal friendship for Paul Jones, to which he tes- 
 tified up to the close of his long life. The recollections 
 as orally dictated by Chase to his grandson were pri- 
 vately printed by him for preservation, in the year 
 1859, at Chesterfield, Virginia. 1 
 
 The conclusions in regard to the historical accuracy 
 of this narrative are highly favorable for the following 
 reasons: The name of Thomas Chase is not only found 
 in the roll-book of the Alliance, but the fact of his 
 service in the American vessel is indubitably attested 
 by the official records of the prize-money which was 
 awarded to him by Congress. 
 
 The grandson of Thomas Chase, who took down 
 these recollections from the lips of his grandfather, was 
 a Methodist minister and a member of the Maine 
 Methodist conference. In later life he read law and 
 became a member of the Franklin County (Maine) bar. 
 He was a lover of history, an accurate student, and an 
 absolutely reliable reporter of the facts. 
 
 The great-granddaughter of Thomas Chase was the 
 well-known writer, Elizabeth Akers, 2 lately resident 
 hi Tuckahoe, New York. Aside from the unques- 
 
 1 Copies of this rare pamphlet are preserved in the Harvard Library 
 and in the Newberry Library in Chicago. 
 
 1 Mrs. Akers's verses are to be found in Griswold's and Stoddard's 
 collection of poetry, in Whittier's "Three Centuries," in Bryant's "Po- 
 etry and Song," in Longfellow's "Poems of Places," and in Stedman's 
 "Anthology." She was the widow of Paul Akers, the Maine sculptor, 
 a sketch of whose life is to be found in H. T. Tuckerman's "American 
 Artists." Mrs. Akers supplied the writer with the above information, 
 and stated that the facts as related by Thomas Chase to her father 
 were corroborated by Chase's widow, the Desird Luce of the narrative, 
 with whom she spent a summer in her early youth. Mrs. Akers died in 
 1911.
 
 44 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 tionably reliable character of the individuals who 
 furnished and transmitted this information, another 
 and absolutely undeniable proof that Paul Jones act- 
 ually made this visit to Martha's Vineyard is found 
 in the fact that the Portuguese sailor who called him- 
 self Joe Frederick did not re-embark with Jones, but 
 remained on the island and shortly after married a 
 woman of that place. This woman never left the island, 
 and in her old age received, as his widow, prize-money 
 from the government for her husband's share in capt- 
 ures made during his subsequent services in the Amer- 
 ican squadron under Paul Jones. In addition to this 
 fact, which is unexplainable except by the foregoing 
 narrative, we have Jones's own admission in the letter 
 to Robert Smith, of Edenton, that he, together with 
 James Smith, had been at one time a "son of fortune." 
 There is also evidence of a fairly startling confirma- 
 tory character in another statement of Jones him- 
 self, made to Willie Jones, of North Carolina, when 
 he was a guest in the latter's home, "The Grove," near 
 Halifax, in the year 1775, that "he served his appren- 
 ticeship, in the African slave trade and later but under 
 duress, in a straight out Pirate ship, both of which he 
 threw up, as neither was congenial to his liking." 
 This statement, known to Major Knox, of Mecklen- 
 burg County, Virginia, while he was also a guest 
 at "The Grove," was repeated by Knox in his old 
 age to Colonel Wharton Green, 1 ex-member of Con- 
 gress from North Carolina, and now residing at 
 Fayetteville, in that State. The statement, thus 
 directly transmitted through only one intermediary, 
 
 1 Colonel Green died in 1910.
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 45 
 
 the author in a letter from Colonel Green. Colonel 
 Green had passed the age of eighty when he wrote the 
 letter, and was himself a youth when he heard it from 
 Major Knox in his extreme old age. The combined 
 ages of the two men easily spans the tune from 1775 
 to 1908, when Colonel Green recorded it, and the 
 presumption that it was transmitted correctly in prac- 
 tically Jones's own words is greatly increased by the 
 fact that it contained the expression "under duress." 
 This expression, explanatory of Jones's presence on the 
 "Pirate" ship, referred without question to the fatal- 
 ity at Tobago, when he killed the leader of the mu- 
 tiny on board the Betsey, an incident which was 
 entirely unknown to Colonel Green. Major Knox, a 
 member of a well-known Virginia family, belonged to 
 that class of perennial visitors in the hospitable homes 
 of the South during the colonial period, and was ex- 
 ceedingly popular on account of his genial character 
 and his inexhaustible fund of anecdote. "The Grove " 
 was one of his favorite "homes," and there he was 
 made acquainted with the facts and traditions of the 
 family and its friends. 
 
 The probabilities in regard to this remarkable inci- 
 dent of Jones's descent upon Martha's Vineyard are 
 that when he fled in haste from the port of Rockley Bay, 
 after killing the mutineer, he "mounted his horse" and, 
 riding to the southern shore of the island, made his way 
 in some small boat to the neighboring island of Trini- 
 dad, which lies directly to the south of Tobago, only 
 fifteen miles away. Here, in Spanish territory, he 
 sought for an opportunity to get out of reach of the
 
 46 
 
 dangers which so seriously threatened him, and, taking 
 the first chance which offered, shipped aboard a "mer- 
 chantman" and put to sea. The merchantman was 
 armed and manned with a crew of Spanish and Portu- 
 guese desperadoes, and, according to his own state- 
 ment, was really a pirate ship. Although by successive 
 agreements the " Treaty of America," in 1670, and 
 that of Utrecht, in 1713 strong efforts had been 
 made to wipe out piracy in the West Indies by the 
 various nations of Europe, it broke out again during 
 the maritime war between France and England, in 
 1740, and during the Seven Years' War, in which 
 England and France as well as Spain were embroiled, 
 their vessels attacked each other on the seas, and the 
 rich West Indian merchant-ships became a prey to 
 the commerce-destroying corsairs of all nations. By 
 the treaty of Paris, in 1763, which concluded the Seven 
 Years' War, an interregnum of peace began which 
 lasted until the outbreak of the conflict between 
 England and her American colonies, in which France, 
 Spain, and the Netherlands were all again involved. 
 During the intervening years the world was supposed 
 to be at peace, but it was impossible entirely to con- 
 trol the piratical vessels which had so long been free 
 to roam the West Indian seas, and in those distant 
 waters they still carried on their lawless trade. The 
 long animosity of Spain against England was still ac- 
 tive, and the corsairs of that nation, although no longer 
 bearing the murderous character of their celebrated 
 predecessors who sailed the Spanish main, still attacked 
 British merchantmen whenever they fell in with them.
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 47 
 
 The corsairs of France were also in the habit of taking 
 defenceless American vessels coming from the French 
 ports in the West Indies as late as the year 1797, in 
 spite of the alliance of France with the United States. 
 
 When the general European war broke out again, in 
 consequence of the conflict between England and Amer- 
 ica, piracy became again increasingly active, and con- 
 tinued to be practised by both French and Spanish ves- 
 sels up to the first quarter of the nineteenth century. 
 It was for many years connived at by the inhabitants 
 of the sea-coast towns of the Carolinas, and many re- 
 spectable colonists themselves indulged in the pursuit. 
 In the maritime colonies of the North the same leniency 
 prevailed, the descendants of the buccaneers finding it 
 no difficult matter to strike a bargain with the English 
 Governor Fletcher, of old New York, who also per- 
 mitted the merchants of his own domain to make what 
 profit they could under what passed as the sanction of 
 law. This sanction the ships and captains of the col- 
 ony considered to be in force whenever England hap- 
 pened to be at war with France or Spain. The ship- 
 owners of New York were on such excellent terms with 
 the "Red Sea men," as the rovers of the sea were called 
 in those days, that the pirate captain was a familiar 
 figure in the streets and often an honored guest at the 
 tables of the honest burghers. Many of the fortunes 
 amassed during the latter part of the seventeenth and 
 the beginning of the eighteenth centuries, not only in 
 New York, but in Philadelphia and Boston, had their 
 foundations in this picturesque trade. 
 
 The first American privateers who went to sea in
 
 48 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 their own armed vessels at the beginning of the hostili- 
 ties against the mother country, before the provincial 
 assemblies issued letters of marque, were legally pirates, 
 and ran the risk of the punishment meted out to such 
 non-commissioned rovers of the sea. The American 
 Government did not scruple to accept the services of 
 the celebrated Lafitte in the defence of New Orleans 
 in 1815. Two years later a military force was sent 
 out to take possession of Amelia Island, the rendezvous 
 of the pirates on the coast of Florida. During the 
 years 1821 and 1822 as many as thirty-two Spanish 
 piratical vessels were taken by American ships in the 
 West Indian waters and off the coasts of Cuba, but, 
 on account of a pretended blockade established by 
 the Cuban authorities, American trading-vessels ac- 
 cused of violating it were captured with impunity by 
 the pirates, and the American commanders appealed 
 in vain for assistance to the Governor of Cuba in their 
 attempt to bring them to justice. 
 
 In December, 1822, the secretary of the navy recom- 
 mended to Congress that an important additional force 
 should be sent to bring an end to the outrages which 
 were committed against American commerce with the 
 connivance of the Cuban Government, and in the fol- 
 lowing year Captain David Porter made a desperate 
 attempt to track out and exterminate all piratical ves- 
 sels, not only in the Cuban waters, but in the Gulf of 
 Mexico and among the West Indian islands. He suc- 
 ceeded in obtaining the countenance and support of 
 the Governor of Cuba, who had been unable without 
 outside assistance to exercise the least control over the
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 49 
 
 pirates or the inhabitants of the island who were in 
 league with them. Although compelled to follow the 
 marauders among the reefs and inlets of the island 
 coasts, in open boats and barges, and into the noisome 
 jungles, whither they took refuge, Porter and his effi- 
 cient subordinates finally succeeded in practically ex- 
 terminating them. At the end of a six months' cam- 
 paign, with a force decimated by yellow-fever and in a 
 dangerously reduced condition of health, Porter was 
 able to announce that "no piratical vessel larger than 
 an open boat was left on the coast of Cuba or in the 
 Gulf of Mexico." The ship on which Paul Jones em- 
 barked in the year 1773 was of no inconsiderable size, 
 according to the description in Chase's narrative, and, 
 as its head-quarters were the Spanish West Indies and 
 it was manned with Spaniards, it was in all probability 
 one of the numerous ships belonging to Spanish sub- 
 jects which were still permitted to prey upon British 
 commerce in the distant waters of the western hemi- 
 sphere. No effectual measures were taken by the 
 Spanish court to restrain them at this period or even 
 later, when they attacked American vessels as well with 
 a persistency born of long habit and the known con- 
 nivance of the governors of the Spanish possessions 
 in the New World. It is highly improbable that Jones 
 was in command of the "privateer" or "merchant- 
 man" when he first went to sea. 1 
 Carrying only enough money for his immediate ne- 
 
 1 The several Spanish names for pirates, armed smugglers, and priva- 
 teers (piratas, contrabandistas, and carsarioa) were used in ordinary 
 parlance by the Spaniards as synonymous.
 
 50 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 cessities, and compelled to conceal both his name and 
 history, he was in no position to demand the command 
 of the ship or to ask unnecessary questions as to its 
 character or destination. It is probable, therefore, that 
 he first shipped in a subordinate capacity, perhaps as 
 mate, and that he became captain after the death of 
 the officer, who lost his life in the encounter with the 
 English ship off Long Island. The narrative of Thomas 
 Chase states that he announced himself as a "special 
 privateer," which was probably his way of admitting 
 that the vessel bore no letter of marque from the 
 Spanish Government. It is important to remember 
 the condition of public opinion during this century 
 of almost universal warfare in regard to these private 
 commerce-destroying ships, and to recall that the dis- 
 tinction between pirate ships and privateers in those 
 days was extremely hazy. 
 
 After the close of the Revolutionary War, in 1784, 
 Franklin attempted to secure the adoption of articles, 
 to be signed by England and the United States, for 
 the discontinuance of privateering, which he declared 
 was a remnant of piracy and very bad for the morals 
 of his countrymen. Howsoever lax were the laws 
 against piracy, howsoever leniently and sometimes ad- 
 miringly it was regarded during those transition years 
 when "might was still right" upon the high seas, Paul 
 Jones did not and could not remain in the hated 
 employment he had accepted in his emergency. It 
 was entirely characteristic that he should have made 
 no secret of the incidents of his life to the friends he 
 found hi America, particularly in regard to his tempo-
 
 PERIOD OF ADVENTURE 51 
 
 rary and enforced activity in a contraband trade which 
 had been so long indulgently regarded by the well- 
 known inhabitants of the community, but it was also 
 highly characteristic that he should have immediately 
 abandoned it, as he had his service in the slave-trade, 
 in the revolt of a noble nature fitted for higher ends.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 CHANGE OF NAME 
 
 IT is impossible to approximate the date of Paul Jones's 
 arrival in America after his cruise in the Spanish ship. 
 
 We know from his own statement that the unfortu- 
 nate death of the mutineer was the cause which brought 
 him into the colonies, and we learn from his letter to 
 Franklin that his friends advised him to absent him- 
 self from Tobago until an admiralty court should be 
 appointed in the island. If we believe that his disgust 
 with the character of his employment probably caused 
 him to leave the vessel at the expiration of her first 
 cruise, and if we remember that he was steering his 
 course toward the West Indies when he left Martha's 
 Vineyard, in September, 1773, it seems probable that he 
 arrived at the head-quarters of his ship somewhere about 
 November of this year, as the voyage on a sailing vessel 
 in those days took from a month to six weeks. Jones 
 now found himself again without employment, and, de- 
 ciding to take refuge in North America, he made his way 
 to Edenton, a seaport on the coast of North Carolina, 
 the residence of his friend James Smith, hoping to 
 obtain from him the assistance and advice of which 
 he stood so much in need. 
 
 He did not dare to go to his brother in Fredericks- 
 burg, because he was forced to retain his incognito, 
 and dreaded a possible recognition from those whom he 
 
 52
 
 CHANGE OF NAME 53 
 
 had known there in former years. As there is nothing 
 to indicate that he received any assistance at this 
 tune, we must assume that James Smith was absent 
 from Edenton and that Paul Jones now found him- 
 self in great distress. Nearly penniless and unable to 
 travel any distance from the sea-coast, he was forced 
 to seek an asylum in some retired spot not far from 
 Edenton, where, without news or remittances from his 
 friends, he was left to pine in the deepest loneliness, a 
 prey, as he bitterly expressed it, to "melancholy and 
 want." 
 
 The probability that these are indeed the facts in 
 regard to this obscure period in Jones's life is greatly 
 increased by the first recorded testimony as to the 
 place where he was first seen after his arrival in 
 America as well as by his own references to this time 
 contained in the above-quoted letter to his friend in 
 Tobago. His early biographers were quite unable to 
 discover the identity of those strangers who assisted him 
 in his "extreme need," but a mass of tradition exists 
 which furnishes full and credible information in regard 
 to them. The descendants of these benefactors have 
 fully testified to the manner in which Paul Jones was 
 aided and protected by their distinguished ancestors, 
 who belonged to the well-known Jones family of North 
 Carolina, and resided near Albemarle Sound, on the 
 same contraband coast where Jones landed in search 
 of his comrade James Smith. 1 
 
 On a day in the early part of the year 1775, Willie 
 Jones came into the little town of Halifax, from his 
 
 1 See Appendix C.
 
 54 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 neighboring estate, and found a young man sitting on 
 a bench in front of the tavern, who had every appear- 
 ance of the greatest dejection. " What is your name? " 
 he asked him. " I have none," was the answer. " Where 
 is your home?" he asked. "I have none," was again 
 the reply. He then entered into further conversation 
 with the stranger, and invited him forthwith to share 
 his home, which he declared was "large enough for 
 both of them." 2 This dejected stranger was none 
 other than Paul Jones. Although several modern his- 
 torians of his career have been aware of the tradi- 
 tions which connected him with the well-known Jones 
 family of North Carolina, they have vainly sought for 
 some records in his papers which would confirm these 
 reports. The present writer, more fortunate in the 
 search, discovered, in the year 1906, the desired evi- 
 dence among Jones's MSS. in Washington, in the shape 
 of a letter from Doctor John K. Read, of Goochland 
 County, Virginia, written in the year 1778. It refers 
 to a period when they were both guests at Willie Jones's 
 place, "The Grove." The letter professes an enthusi- 
 astic admiration for Jones, expressed in the character- 
 istic phraseology of the period: "Shall I tell you that 
 I had fears that my friend had forgot me; but those 
 fears were momentary and gave place to other feelings 
 when I reflected on the many sentimental hours which 
 passed between us at 'The Grove. "' This, then, was 
 the refuge which Paul Jones found in the hour of his 
 necessity. The man who so generously aided the home- 
 
 1 His account is taken from the letter from Colonel Wharton Green 
 referred to above, page 45.
 
 WILLIE JONES.
 
 CHANGE OF NAME 55 
 
 less and penniless stranger was a brilliant and power- 
 ful figure in the Revolution, whose services have been 
 strangely lost sight of in the fame of his greater con- 
 temporaries. 
 
 Willie (pronounced Wylie) Jones and his brother 
 Allen were the sons of Robert Jones, the colonial agent 
 of the enormous estates of Lord Granville in North 
 Carolina. Until destroyed by Tarleton's soldiers, to- 
 ward the close of the war, the paternal home of Willie 
 and Allen Jones was the most splendid in the State. 
 It stood in what Robin Jones in his will described as 
 his "Manor Plantation," on the Occaneechey Neck in 
 North Hampton County, near Albemarle Sound, in the 
 centre of a large tract of land by the side of the river 
 Roanoke. A very luxurious existence was established 
 in the beautiful wilderness, with its virgin forests and its 
 views of river and sea. The rich and powerful agent of 
 Lord Granville built a house of wide rooms and marble 
 staircases, filled it with English furniture and English 
 plate, dressed elegantly with diamond buckles at his 
 knees, drove out in a chariot, and at church was 
 followed by an attendant slave to carry his book of 
 prayer. As attorney-general to the province he attained 
 fame by his fluent oratory, and made the speech of his 
 life on the day he was compelled to suffer the amputa- 
 tion of his leg. The sons of this man were educated 
 at Eton, inherited position and ample fortune, and be- 
 came each powerful and distinguished in his own way. 
 Allen Jones inherited the oratorical gifts of his father, 
 and was known also for his military services; but 
 Willie Jones was a practical statesman, and, according
 
 56 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 to Moore, the historian of North Carolina, was to his 
 State what Jefferson was to Virginia. The homes of 
 the two brothers were situated a few miles distant from 
 each other. "The Grove" was near the southern 
 boundary of the little town of Halifax, on the banks of 
 the Roanoke. Allen lived at "Mount Gallant," on the 
 north bank of the river, at the head of the Roanoke 
 Falls. Both Allen and Willie carried on the traditions 
 of their father and entertained on their large estates 
 with lavish generosity. 
 
 Willie Jones was a warm advocate of Jefferson's 
 policy and the leading representative and mouth-piece 
 of the opinions and thoughts of the whole colony. He 
 had been a member of the general assemblies of North 
 Carolina from 1770 until the year 1774. He was later 
 chairman of the provisional council appointed by the 
 Continental Congress, and by this office was virtual 
 Governor of North Carolina. It was his hand and pen 
 which framed the State constitution of North Carolina, 
 and his overpowering influence in favor of the jealously 
 guarded States' rights which held back North Caro- 
 lina's ratification of the Constitution of the United 
 States in 1788. 
 
 A description of Willie Jones, his personality and 
 political methods, written by the biographer of James 
 Iredell, a resident of Edenton, and afterward judge 
 of the Supreme Court, gives a vivid picture of this 
 attractive and powerful figure. 
 
 Willie Jones of Halifax was the most influential poli- 
 tician in the state. Ultra-democratic in theory, he was
 
 CHANGE OF NAME 57 
 
 aristocratic in habits, tastes, pursuits and prejudices. 
 He lived sumptuously and wore fine linen. He raced, 
 hunted and played cards; he was proud of his wealth 
 and social position, and fastidious in the selection of 
 friends for his family. A patriot in the Revolution, 
 he was the acknowledged head of a great party. His 
 knowledge of human nature was consummate, and in 
 the arts of insinuation he was unrivaled. He had the 
 power of forecast and combination in an eminent de- 
 gree. 
 
 Though generally relentless and uncompromising as 
 a partisan, he had a generous heart. His time of ac- 
 tion was chiefly during the hours of adjournment; then 
 it was that he stimulated the passions, aroused the 
 suspicions, and moderated the ardor of his followers. 
 Then it was that, smoking his pipe, and chatting of 
 crops, ploughs, stocks, and dogs, he stole his way into 
 the hearts of the honest farmers. 
 
 This was Willie Jones as his contemporaries knew 
 him; a man of constructive and legal brain and of 
 great personal power and distinction. His adoption 
 of Paul Jones was unreserved and enthusiastic. His 
 "consummate knowledge of human nature," his "pow- 
 ers of forecast" recognized the unusual character of the 
 stranger he had befriended, and with the whole-hearted 
 kindness which characterized him, he rescued him from 
 his misfortunes and opened the way to complete re- 
 habilitation. No more striking proof could possibly 
 be asked of the extraordinary charm of Paul Jones's 
 personality than this experience, for although Willie 
 Jones's tastes were exceedingly aristocratic and ex- 
 clusive, yet he welcomed him to the intimacy of his 
 home and to the carefully chosen circle of his friends.
 
 58 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Although married in the following year to Mary 
 Montfort, the young daughter of his guardian, Willie 
 Jones was at this time keeping bachelor's hall at "The 
 Grove." Iredell's biographer informs us that having 
 refused to sell his racing stable of fifty blooded horses 
 at the demand of Miss Sukey Cornell, he lost this 
 young lady and her large fortune. He was not only 
 leader of his State in all matters political, but the au- 
 thority on racing and all field sports. A one-mile race- 
 track ran through the estate, directly past the dining- 
 room, which occupied the back of the house. This room 
 had a high mantel reaching to the ceiling and wide 
 curved windows of English glass commanding a full 
 view of the course. Panelled drawing-rooms with large 
 fireplaces opened on either side of a central hall. A 
 flight of red sandstone steps led up to the pillared en- 
 trance, which was shaded by the many trees which gave 
 the name to the place, and which the master in his will 
 directed should be carefully preserved. 
 
 The proprietor of this hospitable mansion owned as 
 many as fifteen hundred slaves, who cultivated the gar- 
 dens and worked the looms and made the salt and 
 planted the tobacco and the various crops which grew 
 upon his fertile acres. 
 
 Across the river Allen Jones also kept open house for 
 all visiting friends and strangers, according to the cus- 
 tom of the day. He was already married, and his wife 
 was Rebecca Edwards, sister of the secretary of the 
 celebrated Governor Try on. The historians of North 
 Carolina tell us that this lady's beauty was so dark and 
 striking that she was known as the Indian queen. She
 
 CHANGE OF NAME 59 
 
 was considered the most accomplished woman of the 
 province, and was remarkable for the elegance of her 
 manners and the "taste and beauty of her domestic ar- 
 rangements." Her youth had been passed in associa- 
 tion with the household of the tyrannical but superb old 
 Governor Tryon, at his palace at New Berne, built 
 from the revenues of the colony, and the most imposing 
 vice-regal residence of the New World. There, in the 
 spacious ballroom, she had danced in the minuets and 
 gavottes which the governor and his lady loved to com- 
 mand and to witness from their exalted thrones. Such 
 was the life and such the customs which formed the 
 manners of the lady of "Mount Gallant." 
 
 Her descendants have related that Paul Jones was 
 quite as favored a guest in her home as at "The Grove," 
 and that he was cared for during an attack of typhoid 
 fever at "Mount Gallant." This house is now oc- 
 cupied in its decay by a descendant of Allen Jones's 
 house-keeper, and the room in which its celebrated in- 
 mate was nursed back to health is still pointed out to 
 curious visitors. 
 
 Both "Mount Gallant" and "The Grove" were cen- 
 tres of colonial hospitality, but Willie Jones possessed 
 a far more powerful individuality than his brother, and 
 it was undoubtedly at his home that Paul Jones met 
 and mingled with the distinguished men of the province. 
 A later North Carolina chronicler writes: 
 
 It would be difficult to imagine a more brilliant and 
 attractive home than that of Colonel Willie Jones in 
 historic Halifax. It was like Monticello, the home of 
 his friend Thomas Jefferson, a home which, by the
 
 60 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 magnetism of genius and high breeding, drew to its 
 cherishing hearthstone everything of wit, wisdom, and 
 cultured merit that came within reach, and which gave 
 out of all these as freely and richly as it received. 
 
 In the pages of the State histories of North Carolina 
 are found the names of the men who were Willie Jones's 
 friends and associates. Harvey, the great moderator, 
 who led the revolting colonists to defy the English gov- 
 ernor; Iredell, the distinguished jurist, and Caswell, 
 Hooper, and Hewes, the leading members of the colonial 
 assembly, were frequently entertained at "The Grove," 
 and there discussed the vital questions which were stir- 
 ring them to the highest pitch of excitement. 
 
 Introduced by Willie Jones, the young stranger 
 played his part in all the merrymakings of the province, 
 and met on terms of equality those lovely women whose 
 patriotism and charming qualities were the favorite 
 themes of the State chroniclers. The two daughters 
 of Joseph Montfort, afterward Mrs. Willie Jones and 
 Mrs. Ashe, were particularly prominent among those 
 who sympathized with the Revolution. They were at 
 this time unmarried, and the adornment of Montfort 
 House, which has been described as "a realm of maiden 
 beauty, a home of sparkling wit and innocent mirth," 
 and where, without doubt, Willie Jones and his guests 
 were always welcome. But in spite of the gayeties and 
 distractions of this agreeable colonial society, liberty 
 was the universal theme, and plans for the enfranchise- 
 ment of the colonies were in every mind and on every 
 tongue. 
 
 The people of North Carolina had early enrolled
 
 CHANGE OF NAME 61 
 
 themselves on the side of independence, and Paul Jones 
 found himself in the centre of a very hot-bed of Revo- 
 lutionary activity. As early as October, 1774, seven 
 months before the defiant farmers of Mecklenburg had 
 been aroused to the point of signing their declaration 
 of independence, nearly two years before Jefferson 
 penned the immortal declaration, and soon after the 
 more celebrated Boston tea-party, the women of Eden- 
 ton also had a tea-party, at which they pledged them- 
 selves to refrain from drinking the tea which had been 
 taxed by the mother country. Paul Jones responded 
 to these ideas with all the enthusiasm of his nature, and 
 swore allegiance to the cause of his benefactors. The 
 extraordinary contrast of his present situation with the 
 period of darkness and overwhelming misfortune from 
 which he had just emerged reacted upon his mind in a 
 manner natural to a man of such qualities and endow- 
 ment. 
 
 He was yet unconscious of the fact that he possessed 
 the glorious but perilous attributes of genius. In mis- 
 fortune such as descended upon his soul after the death 
 of the mutineer, and in the long months of penury which 
 followed his abandonment of the hated employment 
 which he had adopted "under duress," he had sunk 
 into a condition of dangerous melancholy. In the asso- 
 ciation with sympathetic minds such as he encountered 
 while under the protection of his generous benefactor, 
 his highly imaginative intellect found new channels of 
 expression in "free thoughts" and plans for splendid 
 achievement. The most sympathetic trait in the 
 character of this remarkable man is the childlike candor
 
 62 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 of his attitude toward all who ever loved or compre- 
 hended him. It has been seen how courageously he 
 bore the obloquy which followed the death of Mungo 
 Maxwell and to what an extent he was physically af- 
 fected by the torment of this experience while yet in his 
 very early youth. Now he was delivered from another 
 period of misfortune, emerging from darkness into light 
 under a new name, to new life and hopes. Still young 
 and full of strength, with his incomparable powers fresh 
 and unimpaired, he realized the opportunities offered 
 him in the New World and adopted the cause of human 
 liberty. Although he had shown skill, application, and 
 ambition in his chosen career during the years of his 
 boyhood and early youth, under the influences which he 
 now encountered his character took its final and definite 
 shape, and a new incentive and impetus was given to the 
 development of his ambition. In the roving sailor's life 
 he had led since his earliest childhood he had never had 
 any associations comparable to those he now enjoyed 
 at "The Grove." Here, indeed, was a society far other 
 than that he had known in his narrow Scottish home, 
 different far from that he found in his brother's little 
 shop in Fredericksburg, heaven itself in comparison to 
 the long months on West Indian trading-ships in turbu- 
 lent companionship with brutal and mutinous sailors. 
 Those who would seek the source of the passion for 
 distinction now born in the mind of Paul Jones will 
 readily find it in his determination to surmount the 
 humble and doubtful conditions of his birth, and the 
 lowering influences of his recent occupations with their 
 sinister consequences, by the exercise of his powers in
 
 CHANGE OF NAME 63 
 
 a new and honorable field. The gratitude which he 
 bore his benefactors, coinciding with his warm sympa- 
 thy for the cause in which they were engaged, were the 
 reasons which he assigned for becoming an American, 
 and these sentiments sprang from the singular ideality 
 and freshness of feeling which marked his character. 
 This ideality, in striking contrast with his virile intel- 
 lect and inflexible strength of will, was highly sympa- 
 thetic with the sentiment of the period. 
 
 It is not surprising that he should have desired to 
 express his recognition of the incalculable benefits he 
 had received in this time of his extreme need in some 
 significant and unusual form. That expression, accord- 
 ing to the traditions of the descendants of his benefac- 
 tors, was found in his adoption of their name. The 
 story current in the North Carolina Jones family nar- 
 rates that when the time came to leave the hospitable 
 doors of "The Grove," Willie Jones offered him a purse, 
 which he refused, asking only for the privilege of adding 
 the name of his benefactors to his own. The reason he 
 is reported to have given was that "he had no name of 
 which he could be proud," and he is again reported to 
 have said that "if he lived he would make them proud 
 of it." 1 
 
 From this time on he used the name of John Paul 
 with the added cognomen of Jones. The letters be- 
 longing to the period immediately succeeding his adop- 
 tion of the name and which pertain to the first years 
 of his service in the American navy are all signed 
 J. P. Jones. His use of only the initials of his original 
 
 1 Statements in Colonel Green's letters to the author. See page 45.
 
 64 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 name in this new signature would seem to indicate his 
 willingness at this time to permit his identity to pass 
 unnoticed. In later years he signed his name in full, 
 and finally, after he had made it famous, he dropped 
 the first name, and used simply Paul Jones upon his 
 visiting cards. 
 
 The time passed in association with these dis- 
 tinguished people of North Carolina may well be con- 
 sidered the critical period in his history. With the 
 same assimilative genius which gathered an education 
 unusual in those times from the very air about him, 
 Paul Jones quickly adopted the manners of the gentle 
 people he was so fortunate to meet at this period of his 
 career. They formed his standards of true gentility 
 and fitted him to shine in the salons of Versailles. 
 From this time on we begin to see the Paul Jones of 
 history the courteous and chivalric gentleman, the 
 heroic champion of human liberty. No longer living 
 for himself except as he might win glory in battle, he 
 was ready to give up every youthful dream and life it- 
 self in the service of America. The son of the Scotch 
 gardener, the captain of West India trading-ships and 
 slavers, in a few weeks experienced this truly remarka- 
 ble metamorphosis. 
 
 The fashioning of this weapon to be used in the es- 
 tablishment of the principle of human liberty, then the 
 universal preoccupation of the world, is a striking ex- 
 ample of the resistless progress of civilization, the in- 
 evitable working out of the mysterious plan of human 
 development. The active agent in this extraordinary 
 development of the potentiality of Paul Jones was again
 
 CHANGE OF NAME 65 
 
 the deus ex machina in the train of events which brought 
 those potentialities into activity, for it was Willie Jones 
 who introduced him to Joseph Hewes, who was one of 
 the three members of the Continental Congress from 
 North Carolina, and of great influence in the councils 
 of the new nation. 
 
 Joseph Hewes was a partner in the ship-building trade 
 of the Robert Smith whose brother James, Paul Jones 
 had hoped to find when he first took refuge in the col- 
 onies of North America; but in the absence of James 
 Smith, Jones was in no position to introduce himself to 
 his influential brother or his partner, and later became 
 known to them both under the auspices of his opulent 
 and beneficent host and patron. During the autumn 
 of 1774 Hewes was absent in Philadelphia attending 
 the first session of the Continental Congress held in that 
 city, but he returned to his home in Edenton in the be- 
 ginning of the winter, and during the agitated months 
 which preceded the open outbreak of hostilities between 
 England and her colonies he was in constant attendance 
 at the meetings of the North Carolina assembly and 
 in daily association with the leading politicians of the 
 State. Already deeply interested in maritime affairs, 
 as the builder and owner of ships, he was destined to be 
 an exceedingly important factor in the organization of 
 the navy of the United States. The friendship and 
 warm admiration which he immediately conceived for 
 Paul Jones was of invaluable service to the man who 
 was now filled with a burning desire to be of service to 
 his adopted country. The relation between the two 
 men immediately became exceedingly close and even
 
 66 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 affectionate. Paul Jones informed Hewes without de- 
 lay of the unfortunate incidents in his history, and was 
 rewarded for his frankness and confidence by a protec- 
 tion no less warm than it was effectual. 
 
 While without the aristocratic background or politi- 
 cal skill of Willie Jones, Hewes had a constructive and 
 powerful mind and the most faithful heart that ever 
 beat for friend or country. Born of a sturdy family of 
 Connecticut Quakers who were driven by Indian mas- 
 sacres into New Jersey, he was educated at the schools 
 of Princeton and early apprenticed to a counting-house 
 in Philadelphia. Released from his indentures, he em- 
 barked in business as a ship-owner, and, having soon 
 acquired a comfortable fortune, removed at the age of 
 thirty to the little town of Edenton, doubtless on ac- 
 count of its advantages as a port for the West Indian 
 trade. 
 
 Edenton, although a small community, was at that 
 time the capital town of the province and the residence 
 of the royal governor, Samuel Johnson. The recollec- 
 tions of its early residents describe it as a blest abode, 
 favored by nature and the delightful character of its 
 society. A fertile clearing by the blue bay-side, sur- 
 rounded by forests, bird-inhabited, rich with hanging 
 grape-vines and fragrant with every Southern bloom, 
 this virgin region was given its name from the colo- 
 nial governor, Eden, and during the pre-Revolutionary 
 period was considered the court end of the province. 
 There was no better society in all the colonies than 
 that which existed in and about this little town. High 
 ability, noble birth, a simple yet elegant mode of life,
 
 CHANGE OF NAME 67 
 
 warm affections, earnest ambitions; all these were 
 found among the distinguished people who met in easy 
 Southern friendliness and the enthusiasm of rising pa- 
 triotism around the hearth fires and on the wide piazzas 
 of happy Edenton. 
 
 Samuel Johnson, its first citizen, and governor of the 
 province, descended from a noble family in Scotland, 
 was a power not only in the colonial but also in the 
 Revolutionary period, and was associated with all the 
 great men of the country. He brought with him all 
 the English fashions and entertained many people of 
 title and importance at his home. This beautiful 
 house, which set the fashion of architecture for the col- 
 ony, was named "Hays," from the home of Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, in England, and still stands on an eminence 
 in the midst of its formal gardens overlooking the bay 
 of Edenton, a crescent of water rivalling in beauty the 
 bay of Naples. In the vicinity lived Sir Nathaniel 
 Dukenfield, the great James Iredell, called by Wash- 
 ington to the Supreme Court of the United States be- 
 fore he was forty, and other men of importance. Into 
 this charmed circle Joseph Hewes was soon admitted. 
 He was said to have a most "unusual amenity of man- 
 ner," and became immediately, in spite of his Quaker 
 birth and bringing-up, a loved and popular member of 
 Edenton society. When Iredell arrived from his home 
 in England to take up his residence in Edenton, he sent 
 back to. his relatives his impression of Hewes: "I must 
 say there is a gentleman in this town who is a particu- 
 lar favorite of mine. His name is Hewes. He is a mer- 
 chant here, and our member for this town, the patron
 
 68 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 and the greatest honor to it. About six or seven years 
 ago he was within a few days of being married to one 
 of Mr. Johnson's sisters, who died rather suddenly, and 
 this unhappy circumstance for the time embittered 
 every satisfaction in life to him. He has continued 
 since unmarried, which I believe he will do. His con- 
 nection with Mr. Johnson's family is just as if he had 
 really been his brother-in-law, a circumstance which 
 mutually does honor to them both." This little account 
 tells a story of faithful attachment and of qualities of 
 character both firm and lovable. 
 
 Joseph Hewes was never an articulate force in the 
 councils of the new nation, but no one of the great 
 men who established American independence did more 
 essential work in organization. At every step in the 
 history of North Carolina his name appears. He was 
 member of the general assemblies of the colony from 
 1766 to 1770, one of the committee which called the 
 Independent Congress of North Carolina at New Berne, 
 a member of the secret committee of correspondence, 
 and delegate to the first Philadelphia Congress. He 
 was not only a signer of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, but it was he who cast the deciding vote of North 
 Carolina which determined the adoption of that im- 
 mortal document. "You know," wrote John Adams 
 to Jefferson, "that the unanimity of the states finally 
 depended on the vote of Joseph Hewes." Elsewhere 
 he wrote: "One day while a member was producing ar- 
 guments to show that the general opinion of all the col- 
 onies was for independence, and among them North 
 Carolina, Hewes, who has hitherto constantly voted
 
 CHANGE OF NAME 69 
 
 against it, stood suddenly upright and lifting both hands 
 to Heaven cried out, 'It is done and I will abide by it.' 
 I would give more for a perfect painting of the terror 
 and horror upon the face of the old majority at that 
 critical moment, than for the best piece of Raphael." 
 
 In the already quoted life and correspondence of 
 James Iredell there are frequent references to "Mr. 
 Hewes playing backgammon at Hornblower's Tavern," 
 "Mr. Hewes making the responses at the Episcopal 
 Church at Eden ton," and on one occasion arguing on 
 religious questions in a manner quite surprising to his 
 interlocutors. His was a nature anchored by heredity 
 to the strictest rules of conduct and responsibility, but 
 by his unusual mental endowment eager to welcome 
 every sign of freedom in religious thought, every hope 
 of liberty for his country, every ardent quality in a 
 friend. 
 
 Paul Jones was exactly the man to have attracted 
 this emancipated Quaker, and there was another very 
 cogent reason for their intimacy in the fact that Hewes 
 was an owner of vessels in the West Indian trade and 
 found Jones's long experience in this service a basis for 
 sympathetic companionship. 
 
 It is no difficult task for the imagination to picture 
 Hewes, as Iredell often described him, strolling down 
 through the wide, tree-shaded main street of Edenton 
 from his house to his wharf in company with Paul Jones, 
 while they discussed matters connected with the West 
 Indian trade or the far more enthralling questions of 
 that remarkable time. Hewes seems to have recog- 
 nized Jones's capacity from the very first moment of
 
 70 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 their acquaintance, and realized what services he might 
 render to the cause of the colonists in the conflict which 
 was now so imminent. 
 
 Paul Jones was probably quite different at this time 
 from the rough Captain who descended in the "Pirate" 
 ship upon the island of Martha's Vineyard. The open- 
 air exercise of the hunting and riding community of 
 North Carolina had probably given him that slight and 
 graceful figure of which all his later biographers have 
 written. The well-known bust by Houdon, made a few 
 years later, was pronounced by both Madison and Jef- 
 ferson to be wonderfully faithful. It is an excellent 
 example of that great sculptor's minute observation and 
 expression of character. It shows the face of the true 
 fighter, and bears the characteristic marks of the sailor, 
 showing both candor and courage. The brow is fine in 
 shape, compact and symmetrical, differing much from 
 the high dome of the all-knowing Franklin. The lips 
 in the bust are very beautiful, symmetrically revealing 
 the innately aristocratic personality, finely cut and very 
 firm. The eyes in the marble do not reveal the blaze 
 which reflected the inner fires. The portrait by Peale 
 reproduces this trait, mingled with a strange look of 
 wildness, a fawn-like glance of inquiry, youthful and 
 naive. It is recorded that his lips could assume the 
 curve of ironical superiority, but that their smile was in- 
 finitely engaging. Various witnesses speak of his grace 
 and ease of gesture. His face was stern and grave, in- 
 delibly marked by the suffering of his early years, and 
 tanned by tropic suns. He could have differed little at 
 this time from the Paul Jones whom John Adams met in
 
 CHANGE OF NAME 71 
 
 Europe four years later, and whom, as an officer ap- 
 pointed from the South, the stanch New England par- 
 tisan regarded with suspicion. "This is the most in- 
 triguing officer in the American navy," wrote Adams. 
 "Eccentricities and irregularities are expected of him, 
 they are in his character, they are visible in his eyes. 
 His voice is soft and still and small. His eye has keen- 
 ness and wildness and softness in it." Although he did 
 not fail to recognize and acknowledge his later im- 
 portance, Adams never understood the character of 
 Paul Jones; but the picture thus presented, with a few 
 strokes of a remarkably observant and vivid pen, fur- 
 nishes a unique impression of Jones's expression and 
 manner, the ringing '"vox ferrea" of the commander 
 tuned to a low gentleness, the keenness and wildness of 
 the eyes of genius, uncontrollable and not to be dis- 
 guised. This was the striking personality which now 
 emerged from nameless obscurity to play an extraordi- 
 nary role in the fortunes of America. 1 
 
 1 Herman Melville, in "Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile," 
 published in New York in 1855, contributes an imaginative picture of 
 Jones, which follows the prevailing traditions of his character and ap- 
 pearance. "He was a rather small, elastic, swarthy man, with an as- 
 pect as of a disinterested Indian Chief. An unvanquishable enthusi- 
 asm, intensified to perfect sobriety, couched in his savage self-possessed 
 eye. A wonderful atmosphere of proud friendliness and scornful isola- 
 tion invested him. A cool solemnity of intrepidity set on his lip. He 
 looked like one who on purpose sought out harm's way. He looked like 
 one who never had been and never would be a subordinate."
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 
 
 ACCORDING to the statements of all of Paul Jones's 
 early biographers, he went, "about the year 1773, to 
 Fredericksburg, to administer upon the estate of his 
 brother William, who had died intestate, and without 
 children." In a note in the "Life" of her uncle which 
 she caused to be compiled by Robert Sands, Miss Tay- 
 lor states that "He had recovered, as I know from the 
 best sources, several thousand pounds from the wreck 
 of his brother's fortune in Virginia." 
 
 These authoritative statements by his family have 
 lately been proved to be entirely incorrect. William 
 Paul did not die intestate, for his will, duly recorded, 
 has been found in the court-house of Spottsylvania 
 County, Virginia, where Fredericksburg is situated. 
 His death did not occur in 1773, as all these biographers 
 agree in stating, but in the following year, as is proved 
 by the inscription on his tombstone, which still exists 
 in a church-yard in Fredericksburg, bearing his name 
 and the year of his death, 1774. As already set forth 
 in a preceding chapter, it is clear that Paul Jones did 
 not seek his brother in Fredericksburg when he first took 
 refuge in the Southern colonies, for fear of being recog- 
 nized, and this assumption is greatly strengthened by 
 the obvious fact that this brother, whose house was his 
 
 home in earlier days, had rendered him no assistance 
 
 72
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 73 
 
 during the whole period of "twenty months" in which 
 he was left to pine in penury and seclusion. This 
 period is easily defined as that which intervened be- 
 tween June, 1773, when he was compelled to fly from 
 Tobago, and January, 1775, when he was so fortunate 
 as to meet Willie Jones. 
 
 In the spring of 1775, when his apprehensions of 
 troublesome consequences from the occurrence in To- 
 bago had been allayed by the closing of the ports be- 
 tween the rebellious colonies and the West Indian 
 possessions of Great Britain, as well as by the protec- 
 tion afforded him through the open and authorized 
 adoption of the name of his benefactors, he determined 
 to seek his brother, and journeyed to Fredericksburg 
 for that purpose. He found that William Paul was 
 dead, and, as the two executors appointed under his 
 will had refused to act, that one John Atkinson had 
 been appointed administrator, having given bond in 
 the sum of five hundred pounds. The present clerk of 
 Spottsylvania County, at the request of a late investi- 
 gator, 1 has stated that no record exists in his office of 
 the distribution of the estate. Miss Taylor's state- 
 ment that her uncle had recovered a certain amount 
 from the "wreck" of William Paul's estate might indi- 
 cate that the administrator appointed by the court 
 made an unwise or improper disposition of the prop- 
 erty, and that comparatively little was left for Paul 
 Jones to recover. 2 
 
 1 The Reverend Cyrus Townsend Brady. 
 
 * A tablet erected in the year 1910 by the Betty Washington Lewis 
 Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution, upon the house in which 
 William Paul resided in Fredericksburg, bears the following inscription:
 
 74 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 In this connection it is singular to note that in the 
 letter to Franklin, which otherwise partakes largely of 
 the nature of a confession 1 and apology for the obscure 
 acts of his life, he should have mentioned the sending to 
 his family of remittances arising possibly from the pro- 
 ceeds of this estate, more especially as further reference 
 in the same letter would seem to indicate that he had 
 done everything possible for them. He states that dur- 
 ing the time when he still felt that he should conceal his 
 whereabouts from his family in Scotland he had en- 
 deavored to watch over the happiness of his poor rela- 
 tions, unseen. "For that purpose," he wrote, "I sent 
 
 "THIS TABLET MARKS THE ONLY HOME IN AMERICA OF JOHN PAUL 
 JONES. HE WAS APPOINTED A LIEUTENANT IN THE CONTINEN- 
 TAL NAVY WHILE STILL A RESIDENT OF VIRGINIA." 
 
 A communication from Fredericksburg to the New York Sun of April 
 11, 1911, contains a letter from Francis Brooke, brother of Doctor Law- 
 rence, who was the surgeon on the Bon Homme Richard : 
 
 ST. JULIEN. June 26, 1838. 
 MY DEAR SIR. 
 
 I have received your letter from Richmorid. All I remember of John 
 Paul Jones I heard from my brother Dr. Brooke, who was the surgeon 
 of the Bon Homme Richard the whole of her celebrated cruize. I think 
 Jsremember to have seen him when very young in 1773. I was at school 
 in Fredericksburg and William Paul was a Scotch tailor who made my 
 clothes. On his death John came to Fredericksburg to administer on 
 his property. I then saw him in the shop when I went for my clothes. 
 On seeing his picture years after I remembered this. It is a mistake 
 that his brother was a merchant. I do not think he remained long in 
 Fredericksburg. The next year, I think, he was employed in the navy. 
 Yours very sincerely. 
 
 FRANCIS T. BROOKE. 
 Gen William Lambert. Richmond. 
 
 Mr. Brooke's recollection of dates is inaccurate. Paul Jones could 
 not have come to Fredericksburg in 1773 to administer upon his 
 brother's estate, because William Paul did not die until the following 
 year. Mr. Brooke probably followed the statements contained in the 
 early biographies of Jones as to the date of his visit to Fredericksburg. 
 
 1 Letter to Franklin, March 6, 1779. Appendix B.
 
 15 o 
 o o 
 
 p 
 PQ
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 75 
 
 them various little remittances (bills) from America, in 
 trust to a very worthy friend, Captain Plaince, of Cork, 
 to be applied to their use without their having the pain 
 of knowing from whence; but to my great sorrow I 
 found that they had all miscarried, the letters that con- 
 tained them having been sunk and the rest taken on the 
 passage." During the period of the war all communica- 
 tion was so slow and precarious that it is not surprising 
 that he was entirely uncertain of being able to com- 
 municate with his family at all, and that he himself re- 
 mained for several years ignorant of their condition or 
 whereabouts. 
 
 It is interesting to observe that for some time after 
 he dared to appear openly under his new name in Amer- 
 ica he feared to furnish information of his whereabouts 
 to any but his trusted agent in Great Britain; receiv- 
 ing no reply from Captain Plaince and no notice that 
 the drafts upon his account had been presented, he 
 waited until the spring of the year 1777 before he again 
 attempted, through another agent, to send money to 
 his family. Even at that time he was still ignorant as 
 to whether his mother was alive, but directed the whole 
 amount of his recovered property at Tobago to be ap- 
 plied to her support and that of her grandchildren, an 
 amount at least equal to any sums that may have been 
 due them from his brother's estate. 
 
 Doctor Read, who was in Jones's confidence during 
 the whole period of his residence in the South, and with 
 whom he was in close communication during the period 
 when he was occupied in settling his brother's estate, 
 has supplied an important indication as to his atti-
 
 76 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 tude in regard to the obscure question of his dispo- 
 sition of this property. As Doctor Read's letters are 
 the sole source of information in regard to this time, 
 and as he was an entirely respectable and credible wit- 
 ness, his statements should be regarded with confidence. 
 Writing in the year 1778, and recalling the time when 
 they were both out of pocket, he complains that he is 
 still "in sour misfortune's books," but congratulates 
 Jones upon the improvement of his financial condition, 
 saying: "You once more, and I want words to con- 
 gratulate you on the subject, taste the pleasure of af- 
 fluence, and taste it with the feelings that do not ac- 
 company the generality of mankind, a nice sentiment 
 of honor and the sure tho' slow reward of merit." 
 
 Various speculations in ship supplies and real estate, 
 for which Jones had evinced marked aptitude, were the 
 sources of this improved condition, references to which 
 we find in letters to Robert Smith which pertain to this 
 period. He had made no use of the proceeds of the 
 property which he had recovered from his investments 
 in Tobago, for, as we have seen, he sent the whole 
 amount of this to his family. A few months after the 
 writing of the letter in which he directed the forward- 
 ing of these sums, at the moment of his departure from 
 America on the Ranger, in the autumn of 1777, he 
 made a will in which he bequeathed to his mother and 
 sisters the proceeds of his later investments, represent- 
 ing the whole amount of his fortune. 
 
 Doctor Read again furnishes very interesting infor- 
 mation as to their occupations during Jones's visit to 
 him in Virginia, which immediately followed his depart-
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 77 
 
 ure from North Carolina. Read lived in Goochland 
 County, which lies just south of the county of Spott- 
 sylvania, where Fredericksburg is situated, with only 
 Hanover County lying between. Thus we have a pict- 
 ure of Paul Jones riding through the valleys of Virginia 
 during the spring of 1775, having presumably finished 
 his business in Fredericksburg, and turning southward 
 to join the friend who was eagerly awaiting him. With 
 a mind quickened by new enthusiasms, and a person- 
 ality which always attracted affection whenever he 
 cared to inspire it, the young Paul Jones was now as- 
 sociated for the first time in his life with women of 
 birth and charm. The world was "at the spring" for 
 him, and in the South, where he had found friends and 
 new ambitions, he planned and talked of spending the 
 remainder of his days. 
 
 It was at this time that he fixed upon "his chosen 
 scheme of life in the country of his fond election," and 
 had visions of that "domestic happiness," which he 
 relinquished, as he often protested, "to restore peace 
 to mankind. ' ' His later frequent and definite references 
 to his "prospect of domestic happiness" 1 indicate that 
 he had fallen seriously in love at this time and that his 
 affections were returned. The truth of this assumption 
 is proved by a statement, made in the biography pub- 
 lished in Edinburgh in the year 1830, based on infor- 
 mation and documents furnished by his family, that 
 about the time "when he entered the Navy, Paul Jones 
 formed an ardent attachment for an American lady. 
 Their affection was mutual, but circumstances forbade 
 
 1 Letter to Lady Selkirk, May 9, 1778.
 
 78 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 their union, and from this time he formed the resolution 
 of never marrying. ' ' In a letter from Doctor Read, who, 
 as has been seen, was Jones's confidant and constant 
 companion during his sojourn in Virginia, the identity 
 of his sweetheart is revealed in Read's significant con- 
 clusion that Jones would never carry out his intention 
 of settling in Virginia in view of the lady's marriage to 
 another. It is somewhat surprising to learn that she was 
 probably the brilliant young beauty, Dorothea Spotts- 
 wood Dandridge, granddaughter of the great Governor 
 Spottswood and own cousin of Martha Washington, who 
 afterward became the bride of Patrick Henry. "You 
 tell me," Read wrote, "you are under some expectation 
 of purchasing a Virginia estate, but some more agreeable 
 idea will I fear call you off and deprive us of you, Miss 
 Dandridge is no more, that is, she a few months ago 
 gave herself into the arms of Patrick Henry." 
 
 This young lady lived in her father's house in Han- 
 over County, near "Mount Brilliant," the home of 
 Patrick Henry's father, and also adjoining "Scotch- 
 town," a large mansion, afterward the childhood home 
 of Dolly Madison, where Henry was at that time living 
 with his first wife, whom he had married at the early 
 age of eighteen. In the year 1778, when this letter of 
 Doctor Read was written, Paul Jones had been for three 
 years away from Virginia, completely absorbed in the 
 thrilling adventures of his career in the Revolutionary 
 War. At the time when he knew Miss Dandridge, in 
 1775, she was a girl of nineteen, and the man who was 
 to be her husband was already married, twice her age, 
 and possessing not only a wife but a family of six chil-
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 79 
 
 dren. Whatever the circumstances may have been 
 which forbade her union with Paul Jones, it is clearly 
 evident from the reasons later assigned by him that 
 the overpowering motive which drew him away from 
 Virginia was the desire for distinction, to which the in- 
 terests of his heart were ever subordinated. He was 
 not in a position to marry at this tune, fame and fort- 
 une were still to win, and it is highly probable that 
 the aristocratic family of his sweetheart looked coldly 
 upon their young daughter's love for the attractive 
 stranger of obscure origin who had appeared in their 
 midst. Thus the prospective hero, listening to war's 
 alarms, relinquished the "softer affections of his heart" 
 and dedicated himself to the cause of his adopted coun- 
 try. He became an enthusiastic participant in the 
 colloquies of excited Virginians who met at Fredericks- 
 burg, bringing the news of the risings and demonstra- 
 tions which spread throughout the surrounding coun- 
 ties. Double relays of couriers brought the news 
 from the other rebellious colonies, and the militia were 
 assembling at town-halls and churches from one end of 
 the country to the other. Hand-bills and memorials 
 were posted at every convenient spot, and in March of 
 this year Patrick Henry made his daring and immortal 
 speech demanding "liberty or death." 
 
 Jones met both Henry and Jefferson at this time, 
 through Read's introduction, and their mutual ac- 
 quaintance with the Dandridges, at whose house in 
 Hanover County both Henry and Jefferson were con- 
 stant visitors. 1 
 
 1 Letters from Read to Jones belonging to this period contain mes- 
 sages to Jefferson.
 
 80 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 In May a new session of Congress was assembled in 
 Philadelphia, and Paul Jones made haste to follow his 
 friend Hewes to the seat of government. He was now 
 at the very door of Congress, awaiting with impatience 
 the formation of the navy, which by the middle of the 
 summer was being considered by the members of that 
 body. It was small wonder that he forgot his dream of 
 happiness and that the memory of his Virginia sweet- 
 heart faded from his mind ; for the Revolution was now 
 fairly under way, and the idea of independence was 
 openly discussed and contemplated. 
 
 Five months had passed since Lexington, but three 
 since Bunker Hill; Falmouth had already been ruth- 
 lessly destroyed by British ships, and indignation was 
 at white-heat. Washington had but lately assumed 
 command of the army, and the time was at hand for 
 the formation of a fleet. Paul Jones, enjoying an in- 
 timate and daily association with his powerful friend 
 Joseph Hewes, had not long to wait for the oppor- 
 tunity for distinction which he so ardently desired. 
 The first naval committee was appointed as the result 
 of the desire of Congress to intercept the transports 
 laden with military stores for the British army. Con- 
 siderable discussion had already taken place in regard to 
 the advisability of providing a force for this purpose 
 at government expense. 
 
 On the receipt of the news that two transports, en- 
 tirely unarmed and richly laden with military supplies, 
 were en route from Quebec, Congress on October 5 pro- 
 ceeded to a serious consideration of the question, and 
 after long and heated discussion a small committee, 
 consisting of Silas Deane, of Connecticut, John Lang-
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 81 
 
 don, of New Hampshire, and Christopher Gadsden, 
 of South Carolina, was appointed to look into the 
 matter without delay. The necessity of haste being 
 obvious, the committee reported on the same day, with 
 the result that Washington was requested to bor- 
 row two of the cruisers belonging to the State of 
 Massachusetts. Two days before the appointment 
 of this committee the delegates from Rhode Island, 
 in accordance with instructions issued in August by 
 the assembly of that Colony, recommended a much 
 broader action: the formation of a fleet for national 
 defence. On the 7th of October the resolution was 
 discussed, and, although it was decided to postpone 
 definite action until the 16th, the question of purchas- 
 ing ships at government expense was now fairly before 
 the members. The debate was conducted by the ven- 
 erable Stephen Hopkins, long governor of Rhode Is- 
 land, Silas Deane, afterward American commissioner 
 to France, John Rutledge, Gadsden, the Reverend 
 Doctor Zobly, of Georgia, and John Adams, of Mas- 
 sachusetts. The whole day was given up to the dis- 
 cussion, and it is evident, from the length of time 
 which it consumed, that it deserved the description of 
 the usual Congressional debates as written by Adams in 
 a letter to his wife: 
 
 There is in Congress a collection of the greatest men 
 upon this continent, in point of abilities, virtue and 
 fortune. Every man in it is a great man, an orator, 
 a critic and a statesman and therefore every man upon 
 every question must show his oratory, his criticism and 
 his political abilities.
 
 82 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 The Rhode Island proposition met with the strongest 
 opposition, some of the members declaring it "the 
 maddest idea in the world" and insisting that the build- 
 ing of a navy would "mortgage the whole continent." 
 But Adams, plying as usual the laboring oar, sustained 
 the action for hours against "time and tide," with the 
 result that the decision of merely borrowing ships from 
 Massachusetts was altered to a resolution of instruc- 
 tions to the committee to look into the matter of the 
 purchase of war-ships for the government. Following 
 the committee's report, Congress, on the 13th, passed 
 a resolution to order the immediate purchase of two 
 swift sailing-vessels, one of ten and the other of fourteen 
 guns, to cruise to the eastward for the purpose of inter- 
 cepting the English forces in Boston. With the pass- 
 ing of this resolution the American navy was founded. 
 The Lexington and Reprisal were immediately pur- 
 chased and the process of their equipment begun. On 
 the 30th of October the original committee of three was 
 increased to seven, including John Adams, Stephen 
 Hopkins, Joseph Hewes, and Richard Henry Lee, and, 
 two large ships of thirty-six and twenty guns having 
 been ordered, the Alfred and the Columbus were added 
 to the infant fleet. On the 13th of December Con- 
 gress ordered thirteen ships of war, and followed this 
 action by increasing the naval committee again, so as 
 to contain a member for each colony. A few days 
 more of this active deliberation culminated in the 
 formal appointment of a commander-in-chief of the new 
 navy, four captains, and a list of first, second, and third 
 lieutenants.
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 83 
 
 Before this formal action on the part of Congress as 
 a body, Washington, by virtue of his authority as 
 commander-in-chief of the army, had issued several 
 commissions to small ships, giving their commanders 
 instructions to cruise about Massachusetts Bay in order 
 to intercept British transports. Captain John Manly, 
 commanding the Lee, was the first to sail under an order 
 of this kind from Washington, and during a period of 
 six weeks, beginning with the end of November, 1775, 
 he succeeded in capturing four of these provision ships 
 and in getting his prizes safely into port. 
 
 The colonial assembly of Massachusetts in Novem- 
 ber of this year considered itself empowered to pass a 
 law granting commissions to armed vessels, with orders 
 for the seizure of British ships. 
 
 A great deal of discussion has taken place in regard 
 to the rival claims of Barry and Manly to the title 
 of "Father of the American Navy." If such a title 
 belongs to a commander by the original choice and 
 authority of Washington, that honor falls to Captain 
 Manly, of the Lee. His appointment was confirmed 
 by Congress, and had an authentic but what might be 
 termed a semi-official character. John Barry, return- 
 ing from British waters with the Black Prince on Octo- 
 ber 13, the very day on which Congress passed its first 
 resolution for the founding of the American navy, was 
 put in command of the Lexington, the first ship bought 
 and equipped under this law. This vessel was not only 
 the first ship which was purchased by full Congressional 
 authority, but it was actually the first which sailed 
 under government orders. Barry's appointment, on
 
 84 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 December 7, was prior to the resolution by which a com- 
 mander-in-chief and other officers of the navy were or- 
 dered by Congress, but it was a bonafide Congressional 
 appointment none the less, and this fact would seem 
 undoubtedly to give to him the honor of being the first 
 commander in the United States navy. 1 The list of 
 commissions, including commander-in-chief, captains, 
 and lieutenants of the American fleet, which was issued 
 by Congress on December the 22d includes none for 
 Captain Barry, who was already at sea under his ap- 
 pointment by the earlier resolution of October 13. It 
 was not until eighteen months later, on September 26, 
 1776, that Hancock gave Barry his regular commis- 
 sion in written form, as captain of his ship, the Lexing- 
 ton, but he actually sailed, in obedience to the orders of 
 October the 13th, in the early part of February, 1776, 
 two weeks before the fleet under Hopkins left the Dela- 
 ware. 
 
 The management of the infant navy was chaotic in 
 the extreme, one committee following another in quick 
 succession. No regular rank was established at this 
 early period. Congress itself had an uncertain title to 
 government authority until after the Declaration of 
 
 1 A characteristic comment of John Adams shows that he denied that 
 the fleet under Hopkins was the first regularly appointed American 
 maritime force. The pretensions of both Jones and Barry were based 
 on this assumption. 
 
 "Vanity is one of the diseases of the mind. You and all the world 
 know to what a scandalous degree I have been infected with it all the 
 days of my life. Jones and Barry were leprous with it when the first 
 said 'My hand first hoisted the American flag,' and the last was not 
 less distempered with it when he said 'the British Naval Flag first 
 struck to me.' Both were true only in the mouth of John Manly, whose 
 prizes were of more importance to this country than all that Jones 
 and Barry both performed." (Adams to Dr. Rush, 1809.)
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 85 
 
 Independence; and the confusion in rank and priority 
 incident upon its rapidly succeeding and changing reso- 
 lutions gave rise to endless troubles and heart-burnings 
 among the newly appointed officers. The lion's share 
 of the appointments in the first list of officers fell to 
 New England. Stephen Hopkins, representing Rhode 
 Island, which had initiated the movement for the con- 
 struction of the fleet, was a man of eminent abilities, 
 and the most influential and respected man in the State. 
 He was a warm friend of John Adams, who so earnest- 
 ly advocated the adoption of the navy resolution. It 
 is Adams again who has left the most illuminating and 
 graphic account of the sessions of the naval committee, 
 which took place in a room reserved in a public-house 
 in Philadelphia, lasting after six in the evening until the 
 close of its business. 
 
 The pleasantest part of the labors of the four years 
 I spent in Congress from 1774 to 1778, was in the Com- 
 mittee on Naval affairs. Mr. Lee and Mr. Gadsden 
 were sensible men and very cheerful, but Governor 
 Hopkins of Rhode Island, above seventy years of age, 
 kept us all alive. Upon business his experience and 
 judgment was very useful; but when the business of 
 the evening was over he kept us in conversation until 
 eleven and sometimes twelve o'clock. His custom was 
 to drink nothing all day until eight o'clock in the even- 
 ing; then his beverage was Jamaica spirits and water. 
 He had read Greek, Roman and British history, and was 
 familiar with English poetry, particularly Pope, Thomp- 
 son, and Milton, and the flow of his soul made all of 
 his readings our own, and seemed to bring in recollec- 
 tion to all of us, all we had ever read. Hopkins never 
 drank to excess; but all he drank was immediately not
 
 86 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 only converted into wit and knowledge, but inspired 
 us all with similar qualities. 1 
 
 The picture of our great forefathers in their hours of 
 ease relaxing into a high enthusiasm inspired by Mil- 
 ton, Thompson, and Jamaica rum may cause a smile; 
 but a glance at the list of officers of the new navy proves 
 that favors and places were procured in much the same 
 manner as obtains to-day: 
 
 Ezek Hopkins, commander-in-chief . 
 
 Dudley Saltonstall, captain of the flag-ship Alfred. 
 
 Abraham Whipple, captain of the Columbus. 
 
 Nicholas Biddle, captain of the Andrea Doria. 
 
 John B. Hopkins, captain of the Cabot. 
 
 First Lieutenants: John Paul Jones, Rhodes Arnold, 
 
 Stansbury, Hoysted Hacker, and u Jonathan Pitcher. 
 Second Lieutenants: Benjamin Seabury, Joseph Olney, 
 
 Elisha Warner, Thos. Weaver, and McDougal. 
 
 It will be seen that Stephen Hopkins's influence ob- 
 tained for his brother Ezek the position of commander- 
 in-chief, as well as the captaincy of the Columbus for his 
 relation, Abraham Whipple, and that of the Cabot for 
 Ezek Hopkins's son. Dudley Saltonstall, a relation of 
 Adams, was appointed captain of the flag-ship Alfred, 
 while the command of the remaining ship was given to 
 the brave and ill-fated Nicholas Biddle, the chosen rep- 
 resentative of the wealth and social influence of Phila- 
 delphia, 
 
 Although Joseph Hewes was not a member of the 
 first naval committee appointed by Congress on the 
 
 'Diary of John Adams.
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 87 
 
 5th of October, his name was added later, upon the en- 
 largement of that committee on the 30th, by reason of 
 his well-known business ability and his experience as a 
 ship-owner, and he was soon invested with the entire 
 charge of the equipment of the fleet ordered by Con- 
 gress. He performed the enormous labors thus im- 
 posed upon him with tireless zeal, working with no stop 
 for food or drink from early morning until late at night. 
 He sometimes found it necessary to advance money out 
 of his private fortune for the needy government, and 
 always labored with unsparing forgetfulness of health 
 and private interest for the cause of his country. 
 
 In spite of the fact that he alone was intrusted with 
 the practical work of organizing the fleet, he could com- 
 mand but one appointment, and this he promptly gave 
 to Paul Jones, who was afterward known during the 
 whole of the Revolution as "the North Carolina Cap- 
 tain." Time was to prove the wisdom of Hewes's 
 choice of a naval officer and to ventilate the unfitness 
 of family appointments. The fact that Jones owed his 
 appointment in the navy to Hewes is proved by various 
 statements in Jones's later letters. In a letter of May 
 the 22d, 1777, at the time when he had just been given 
 the command of the Ranger, he clearly acknowledges 
 his obligations to his friend: "The great individual 
 obligation I owe, makes it more than ever my duty to 
 keep you informed of my movements. I need not assure 
 you that this is a welcome duty, for the reason that I 
 know there is no person living to whom news of my 
 success can bring more satisfaction than to yourself, 
 and you are surely entitled to such a satisfaction because
 
 88 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 you more than any other person have labored to place 
 the instruments of success in my hands." 
 
 A few months later, on November 7, 1777, he wrote: 
 "Of one thing in spite of all you may definitely assure 
 yourself, and that is that I will not accept of any com- 
 mand or enter into any arrangement that can bring 
 in question or put out of sight the regular rank I hold 
 in the United States Navy, for which I now as always 
 acknowledge my debt to you more than to any other 
 person." 
 
 The attitude which Paul Jones maintained toward 
 this singularly sincere and benignant man reveals the 
 most delightful side of his nature. With a gratitude 
 only equalled by his trust and affection he reported to 
 him, as to the author of his destiny, the fullest and most 
 minute account of his actions, and the frankest expres- 
 sion of his thoughts, from the outset of his service in 
 the American navy. His feeling of obligation is some- 
 times fairly overflowing, as when he says: "I unbosom 
 myself to you with the utmost confidence; for you 
 have laid me under the most singular obligations, and 
 you are indeed the angel of my happiness, since to your 
 friendship I owe my present enjoyment as well as my 
 future prospects." Or again, when he earnestly repre- 
 sents the necessity of certain improvements in the new 
 and ill-regulated service in which Hewes had placed 
 him, and gives eloquent expression to his high sense of 
 the importance of his patron's position and personal 
 character, and the warmth of their mutual devotion to 
 the cause of liberty and America : "When I address my 
 sentiments to you with this freedom, I consider you not
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 89 
 
 as a Member of the grand State Council of a rising 
 Empire, but as a private Gentleman of disinterested 
 candour and penetration, a Free citizen of the world, 
 governed by the Noblest of principles, the good of man- 
 kind, and since Liberty hath chosen America as her 
 last asylum, every effort to protect and cherish her is 
 noble, and will be rewarded with the thanks of future 
 ages." 1 
 
 Jones received his appointment on December the 
 7th, and was assigned the place of first lieutenant on 
 the list adopted by Congress on December the 22d. 
 As appears by a letter to his friend Hewes, written after 
 the first cruise of the fleet, he had been offered the 
 command of the sloop Providence, and afterward of the 
 tiny ship Fly, but refused them both. He showed a 
 most commendable modesty at this time in regard to 
 his abilities, preferring a post as lieutenant on the Al- 
 fred, not only on account of the greater opportunities 
 for action which he believed he would be likely to en- 
 counter on board the flag-ship, but also, as he professed, 
 because he had hopes of gaining much useful knowledge 
 from men of more experience than himself. He states 
 elsewhere, with becoming frankness, that he found him- 
 self "imperfect in the duties of a Lieutenant." Very 
 few weeks were to pass, however, before Jones himself 
 realized that he had nothing to learn from his fellow- 
 officers, and that he was head and shoulders above 
 them in seamanship and in every quality which should 
 characterize a commander. 
 
 On December 23, the day following the issue of the 
 
 1 Letter to Hewes, October 31, 1776.
 
 90 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 list of navy appointments, Stephen Hopkins wrote an 
 affectionate letter to his brother Ezek, who was at that 
 time brigadier-general, commanding the American sol- 
 diers at Newport, and informed him of the action of 
 Congress. The new commander-in-chief thereupon re- 
 paired to Philadelphia and found his flag-ship entirely 
 ready to sail. In the absence of Captain Saltonstall, 
 who was still in Boston, the Alfred had been armed 
 and manned by Jones. Commander-in-Chief Hopkins 
 promised to make Jones captain in recognition of 
 these services, but a day or two before the squadron 
 sailed from Philadelphia Saltonstall appeared and took 
 command. 
 
 On a day in January, unnoted in any record, except 
 as to the character of the weather, which was said to 
 have been clear and cold, the commander-in-chief went 
 for the first time on board the Alfred, moored in the 
 Delaware. Shortly before nine o'clock a barge put off 
 from the Alfred and was rowed to the ship at the foot 
 of Walnut Street, when, without any delay, Hopkins 
 stepped on board, and the barge returned, bringing 
 him through the floating ice to the flag-ship. Eight 
 ships of the new fleet lay at anchor side by side. All 
 Philadelphia was awake and aware of the importance 
 of the occasion, and at an early hour of the gray winter 
 day the patriotic inhabitants were assembled in crowds 
 upon the shore and wharves, while the shipping in the 
 river was gayly decorated in honor of the occasion. 
 As Hopkins gained the deck, Captain Saltonstall gave 
 a signal, and John Paul Jones hoisted with his own hand 
 the first flag which ever floated over an American ship
 
 COMMODORE EZEK HOPKINS. 
 From a print in the collection of Mr. Charles A. Munn.
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 91 
 
 of war. With this act the American navy began its 
 existence, and Paul Jones's association with it remained 
 a pride to his glory-loving heart until the latest day 
 of his life. This flag was not the stars and stripes, 
 but was a curious banner made of yellow silk, bearing 
 a lively representation of a rattlesnake and the motto 
 "Don't tread on me." 1 A flag of this description was 
 presented by Gadsden to Congress on February 8, a 
 few weeks after the banner of the colonies was unfurled 
 
 1 1. "On the 3d instant the Continental flag on board the Black Prince 
 (Alfred) opposite Philadelphia was hoisted." ("Am. Archives," ser. IV, 
 vol. IV, pp. 358-360. Letter to the Earl of Dartmouth from " a minister 
 of the King of Kings," "B. P.," dated December 20, 1775.) 
 
 2. January 2, 1776, the "Union Flag" was hoisted on Prospect Hill, 
 Cambridge. ("Am. Archives," ser. IV, vol. IV, p. 570.) 
 
 3. January 14, 1776, Hopkins arrived at Philadelphia and took com- 
 mand of the fleet. "As Hopkins gained the deck (Alfred) Captain 
 Dudley Saltonstall gave the signal and First Lieutenant John Paul Jones 
 hoisted a yellow silk flag bearing a lively representation of a rattlesnake 
 and the motto ' Don't tread on me.' " (Preble, " Origin, etc., Flag U.S."; 
 Field, "Life of Esek Hopkins.") 
 
 4. February 8, 1776, Christopher Gadsden, member of the marine 
 committee, presented to Congress a flag like the one described in No. 3, 
 "an elegant standard such as is to be used by the commander-in-chief 
 in the American Navy." (Preble, "Origin Flag, etc."; Field, "Life of 
 Esek Hopkins.") 
 
 5. February 9, 1776, the "First American fleet that ever swelled their 
 sails on the Western Ocean . . . sailed from Philadelphia (as far as 
 Capes of the Delaware) under the display of a Union Flag with 13 
 stripes in the field, emblematic of the 13 colonies." ("Am. Archives," 
 ser. IV, vol. IV, p. 964.) 
 
 6. February 17, 1776, the fleet got out to sea. 
 
 Inference may be drawn from these statements that the "yellow silk 
 flag," said to have been first hoisted, was the special "standard" of 
 Hopkins as commander-in-chief of the navy. And the fleet sailed on 
 its expedition under the national ensign then used, the Union flag. 
 
 This was the flag which an English writer of the period refers to in 
 the following words: "A strange flag lately appeared in our seas bear- 
 ing a pine tree with the portraiture of a rattle snake coiled up at its root, 
 with the daring words ' Don't tread on me.' We learned that the ves- 
 sels bearing this flag have a sort of commission from a society of people 
 in Philadelphia, calling themselves the 'Continental Congress' I"
 
 92 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 at the mast-head of the flag-ship, in memory of this 
 occasion. It hung for some time over the President's 
 chair. 
 
 Commander-in-Chief Hopkins began his brief and 
 inglorious career by losing so much time in delays that 
 his fleet was caught by the ice in the Delaware and 
 prevented from sailing until February the 17th. Al- 
 though directed by Congress to proceed southward to 
 attack the fleet of Lord Dunmore, which had been de- 
 stroying towns and estates in Virginia, Hopkins, who 
 was also authorized by the last article in his orders 
 to use his own judgment in regard to the direction of 
 his cruises, prudently availed himself of this privilege, 
 and instead of attacking the powerful fleet of Dunmore, 
 steered his course toward the Bahamas. The squadron 
 anchored at Abaco, with two captured sloops from New 
 Providence in tow, from whom Hopkins learned that 
 the forts of the island were very insufficiently guarded, 
 and that they also contained a large store of munitions 
 of war. Hopkins thereupon determined to make an 
 attack for the purpose of securing these stores. This 
 was in itself an object of the greatest importance, for 
 the colonial government was wellnigh destitute of 
 powder; but the inexperience of the commander ren- 
 dered the expedition only partially successful. In- 
 stead of approaching the island by stealth and under 
 cover of night, the whole squadron sailed boldly up 
 in broad day and within full sight of the forts, giving 
 ample time and warning to the British governor, who, 
 immediately recognizing the object of the attack, got 
 the larger portion of the powder on board a couple
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 93 
 
 of ships and sent them out of danger during the 
 night. 
 
 It is most interesting to note the initiative, superior 
 intelligence, and courage shown by Paul Jones in this 
 the earliest moment of his service in the American navy. 
 Instantly recognizing the grave mistake made by the 
 commander-in-chief, he was ready with a plan to re- 
 trieve it. Hopkins proposed to land the marines on 
 the western coast of the island and from thence march 
 directly upon the town. Jones, who was fortunately 
 consulted, pointed out that no road led from this part 
 of the island, and that the necessarily slow progress 
 of the marines would be communicated to the inhabi- 
 tants, who would thus have time to collect and organ- 
 ize a defence. He also pointed out that no harbor 
 existed on this shore in which the ships of the squad- 
 ron could be anchored. Knowing every island in the 
 West Indies, he informed Hopkins that there was a 
 key three leagues to windward where the ships could 
 lie in safety, and advised that the marines should be 
 despatched by the road which covered the short dis- 
 tance between the eastern shore and the town. Two 
 pilots had been taken aboard from the captured sloops, 
 and Jones had completed a plan with them by which 
 the ships could be safely got into the key. Hopkins 
 was afraid, as he never failed to be, on this and every 
 other occasion, and refused to trust the ships to the 
 pilots. Jones thereupon volunteered to take them in 
 himself. Going with the pilot to the mast-head of the 
 Alfred, he succeeded in getting the vessels safe into 
 their anchorage. Here was the first taste of Jones's
 
 94 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 quality; first to see an opportunity, first to avail him- 
 self of it. This picture of him at the mast-head of the 
 ship might serve as a symbol and forecast of his whole 
 career. 
 
 The scheme as he planned it was successful from 
 the moment it was put under his charge. The marines 
 were immediately sent in by the eastern passage in a 
 couple of coal schooners, under the command of Cap- 
 tain Nichols, and, landing without opposition about 
 four miles from Fort Montague, marched upon the 
 town of Nassau and captured both the fort and the 
 town without the loss of a man. Although the British 
 governor had managed to spirit away the powder dur- 
 ing the night, the American squadron, sailing into New 
 Providence harbor in early morning, took possession 
 of one hundred cannon and other valuable stores, and 
 a few days later, on the 17th of March, sailed out of 
 the harbor, carrying as hostages Governor Brown him- 
 self and two other English officers. 
 
 The measure of success which was attained in this 
 first exploit of the new fleet was clearly due to Paul 
 Jones, and this was absolutely everything which was 
 accomplished during this first cruise under Hopkins, 
 the only success ever achieved under his command. 
 On the 5th of April, a fortnight after the fleet left New 
 Providence, it fell in with the British man-of-war Glas- 
 gow, and in spite of the great numerical superiority of 
 the American squadron the single ship of the enemy, 
 ably commanded by Captain Tyringham Howe, in- 
 flicted more damage than she received and got away. 
 This action showed the inefficiency of the war-ships
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 95 
 
 which composed the first American fleet; they were, in 
 fact, only merchant-ships hurriedly transformed and 
 equipped, but it showed more clearly the inadequacy 
 of the commander-in-chief and the inexperience of the 
 officers. It brought about a full crop of courts-martial 
 and a salutary winnowing of the wheat from the chaff 
 in the matter of commanding officers. On this occa- 
 sion Jones commanded the lower battery of the Alfred 
 and performed his duty bravely and efficiently. If he 
 had been on the quarter-deck, the present station of 
 the first lieutenant, there can be little doubt but that 
 the Glasgow would have been captured. 
 
 The character of the commanding officer of the new 
 fleet differed, unfortunately, very widely from the dis- 
 tinguished brother to whom he owed his appointment. 
 Ezek Hopkins had been a commander of trading-ships 
 for thirty years and had had some experience in the 
 French war. He was prominent and respected in the 
 affairs of Rhode Island and in Providence, and was by 
 no means an unpromising appointment for the posi- 
 tion; but he had grown old in the merchant service 
 and was irascible, obstinate, and utterly inexperienced 
 in the kind of warfare in which he was now engaged. 
 The difficulties of the task imposed upon him were 
 overwhelming, and it cannot be denied that he labored 
 earnestly and at times desperately to overcome them. 
 Unusual ability, the resourcefulness of a Washington or 
 a Greene, the genius which would make bricks with- 
 out straw were necessary for the men who were to 
 lead America's chaotic forces in this day of beginnings. 
 Ezek Hopkins was not an unusual man, and he failed.
 
 96 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 His was one of those singular characters which unite 
 obstinacy with weakness, and presented not the only 
 instance in which obstinacy masqueraded as strength 
 and weakness passed for prudence. 
 
 By the llth of April the fleet had returned to North- 
 ern waters and lay moored at New London. General 
 Knox, visiting the commander-in-chief on board the 
 Alfred at this time, wrote his impression of his per- 
 sonality to his wife: "The Admiral is an antiquated 
 figure. He brought to my mind Van Tromp, the fa- 
 mous Dutch Admiral. Although antiquated in figure, 
 he is shrewd and sensible, and I, who you think only a 
 little enthusiastic, should have taken him for an angel, 
 only he swore now and then." 
 
 No man was more honorable in intention than this 
 antiquated captain of trading-ships; but his limita- 
 tions in ability and experience were soon to be merci- 
 lessly exposed and most severely punished. It took 
 Jones some time to judge the character of the man who 
 was his chief, and while in his first letter to Hewes he 
 expressed himself very freely about Captain Salton- 
 stall, his references to Hopkins are loyal, and indi- 
 cate that at this time at least he was respected by his 
 men. 
 
 From the outset of his naval career it was Jones's 
 custom to send a detailed account of his doings to 
 Hewes; this he considered as a duty to the man who 
 had given him his appointment, and they furnish not 
 only a capital account of the operations of the fleet, 
 but also intimate details in regard to the personnel of 
 the raw colonial forces and frank expressions of his
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 97 
 
 views in regard to the necessary qualifications of a 
 commanding officer in the navy. 
 
 The first of these letters is dated the 14th of April, 
 immediately after his arrival at New London, at the 
 end of the first cruise of the squadron. The first part 
 of the letter contains a very brief account of the New 
 Providence expedition, in which he modestly makes 
 no mention at all of his own agency in the plan which 
 brought about its success. 
 
 The account of this engagement is here given as he 
 wrote it in the latter part of his letter to Hewes, and in 
 it it will be seen that he refrains entirely from making 
 any criticism of his most ineffective superior officers, 
 except in one comment, very guarded and possibly 
 even suppressed in the final draft. His feelings, those 
 sensitive feelings of "a man of liberal mind long accus- 
 tomed to command," have evidently been seriously 
 hurt, and he pours them out in confidence to his friend. 
 Alas! the note of injury is rarely lacking in the many 
 letters preserved of Jones, from this early moment 
 until the end. 
 
 Our cruise was now directed back for the Continents, 
 and after meeting with much bad weather, on the 5th. 
 instant off Block Island, we took one of Captain Wal- 
 lace's (the commander of the British Fleet off B. I.) 
 tenders. The Hawk Schooner of six guns. The next 
 morning we fell in with the Glasgow, man of war, and 
 a hot engagement ensued; the particulars of which I 
 cannot communicate better than by extracting the 
 minutes which I entered in the Alfred's log book, as 
 follows :
 
 98 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 At 2 A. M. cleared the ship for action. At half past 
 2 ditto, the Cabot being between us, and the enemy, 
 began to engage, and soon after we did the same, at the 
 third glass the enemy bore away and by crowding sail 
 at length got a considerable ways ahead ; made signals 
 for the ships of the English fleet at Rhode Island to 
 come to her assistance, and steered directly for the 
 harbor. The Commodore then thought it imprudent 
 to risk our prizes by pursuing farther; therefore, to 
 prevent our being decoyed into their hands at half past 
 six made the signal to leave off the chase, and hauled 
 by the wind to join our prizes. The Cabot was dis- 
 abled at the second broadside; the captain dangerously 
 wounded, the master and several men killed. The 
 enemy's whole fire was then directed at us, and an un- 
 lucky shot having carried away our wheel block and 
 ropes, the ship broached to and gave the enemy an op- 
 portunity of raking us with serving broadsides before 
 we were again in a condition to steer the ship and re- 
 turn the fire. In the action, we received several shot 
 under water, which made the ship very leaky. We 
 had besides the main mast shot through, and the 
 upper work and rigging very considerably damaged. 
 Yet it is surprising that we only lost the second Lieu- 
 tenant of marines and four men. 
 
 At this point the significant comment occurs which 
 has been already referred to. It is crossed out but is 
 perfectly legible. 
 
 It is your province to make the natural comments 
 arising from the subject I wish to avoid concerning 
 individuals. The utmost delicacy is necessary and 
 highly becoming in my situation. I therefore content 
 myself with relating facts, and I leave wiser heads the 
 privilege of determining their propriety.
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 99 
 
 The letter continues as follows: 
 
 I have the pleasure of assuring you that the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief is respected thro' the fleet, and I ver- 
 ily believe that the officers and men in general would 
 go any length to execute his orders. It is with pain 
 that I confine this plaudit to an individual. I should 
 be happy in extending it to every captain and officer 
 in the service; praise is certainly due to some, but alas, 
 there are exceptions. It is certainly for the interest 
 of the service that a cordial interchange of civilities 
 should subsist between superior and inferior officers, 
 and therefore it is bad policy in superiors to behave 
 toward their inferiors indiscriminately, and tho' they 
 were of a lower species, such a conduct will damp the 
 spirits of any man. Would to heaven it were other- 
 wise, but in sad truth this is a conduct too much in 
 fashion in our infant fleet; the ill consequences of this 
 are obvious. Men of liberal minds who have been long 
 accustomed to command can ill brook being thus set 
 at naught by others who claim a monopoly of sense. 
 The rude ungentle treatment they experience, creates 
 such heart burnings as are in nowise consonant with 
 that cheerful ardor and spirit which ought ever to be 
 the characteristic of an officer, and therefore when he 
 adopts such a line of conduct in order to prove it (for 
 to be well obeyed it is necessary to be esteemed) who- 
 ever thinks himself heartily in the service is widely 
 mistaken. 
 
 The officer here referred to (Jones's own command- 
 ing officer) was Captain Saltonstall, and, as has been 
 seen, a relation of John Adams. This relationship in 
 itself tells us that he was not only New England by 
 birth, but, as an Adams appointment, strongly New 
 England in sympathy. There was much sectional jeal-
 
 100 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 ousy in the army between the New England and the 
 Southern soldiers, and it is not in any way surprising 
 that this feeling also found its way into the fleet. Cap- 
 tain Saltonstall is described as being sandy-haired, 
 stocky in figure, short-necked, and irascible. With 
 sensibilities and customs formed by the unusual cour- 
 tesy and the generous and gracious standards of his 
 Southern friends, it is not surprising that Jones found 
 the manners of his superior officer "rude and ungentle." 
 By the llth of April the fleet arrived at New London 
 and put up for repairs. Difficulties many and great 
 now surrounded the unlucky Hopkins. A storm of 
 criticism for the escape of the Glasgow broke over his 
 head. Small-pox appeared among the sailors and 
 raged with unabated violence for many weeks. Two 
 hundred men from the different ships were laid up in 
 temporary hospitals, and it became wellnigh impos- 
 sible to man the ships. An astonished and indignant 
 public demanded an explanation as to the so-called 
 disgraceful inefficiency of the newly appointed officers 
 of the fleet. Hopkins was violently assailed, as well 
 as his brother-in-law, Abraham Whipple. The latter 
 put up a spirited defence. This was the same man 
 who destroyed his majesty's ship, the Gaspe, in Narra- 
 gansett harbor in 1772. This incident of that early 
 moment in the budding Revolution has always been 
 celebrated. The correspondence which ensued is char- 
 acteristic enough to be quoted : 
 
 From the British Commander-in-Chief Wallace to 
 Abraham Whipple:
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 101 
 
 SIR: 
 
 You, Abraham Whipple, on the 10th of June, 1772, 
 burned his Majesty's ship the Gasp6, and I will hang 
 you at the yard arm. 
 
 From Abraham Whipple to the British Com- 
 mander: 
 
 SIR JAMES WALLACE: 
 SIR: Always catch a man before you hang him. 
 
 A gentleman of this temper would not be likely to 
 sit down quietly under undeserved criticism, and he 
 appealed to his brother-in-law and commander as 
 follows : 
 
 If I did not do my duty it was not out of cowardice, 
 but for want of judgment, I say all the people of New 
 London look on me with contempt. Therefore, I, hav- 
 ing a family of children to be upbraided with the mark 
 of cowardice, and my own character now scandalized 
 thro' the whole thirteen colonies, it is a thing I cannot 
 bear, and if I am a coward, I have no business in the 
 service of the country. 
 
 The charges against Whipple were duly investi- 
 gated in a court-martial, held on May 9, when he was 
 promptly acquitted and restored to the service, in 
 which he remained for many years. Jones was pres- 
 ent as a witness at his trial, and defended him, a fact 
 which he was unfortunately compelled to recall to his 
 memory at a later time. Captain Hazard, whose trial 
 took place a few days earlier, on the 1st of May, 
 was convicted of cowardice and broke, and the com-
 
 102 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 mand of his ship, the Providence, given to Jones. The 
 Commander-in-chief at this troublous moment decided 
 to remain on shore, sending three of the smallest ships 
 to sea with the few men he could muster, while the 
 flag-ship and the larger portion of the fleet lay idle in 
 the harbor. Washington had lent two hundred men 
 for a short time to supply the places of those laid up 
 with small-pox; but it was a short-time loan, and the 
 plight of the new fleet was truly a sad one. Most of 
 the available seafaring men had shipped on privateers, 
 and a large number had already been enrolled in the 
 army. It was practically impossible to man the ships 
 or to attempt to win back the respect of the govern- 
 ment and the public. Paul Jones, evidently recog- 
 nized by this time as both active and competent, was 
 sent to sea in the Providence with half of Washington's 
 soldiers. 
 
 On the 19th of May Jones wrote to Hewes, from New 
 York, a long description of the conditions then prevail- 
 ing in the fleet, so complete and so interesting that it 
 is here quoted in full. It contains the statement al- 
 luded to in regard to Jones's training of the seamen on 
 the Alfred, with its significant indication of his previous 
 experience in the British navy: 
 
 On board the Sloop Providence, 
 
 NEW YORK 19th May, 1776. 
 SIR: 
 
 I had the honor of writing you the history of our 
 cruise in the Fleet from the Capes of Delaware, till our 
 arrival at New London the 14th ult. enclosing an in- 
 ventory of all stores taken at North Providence, etc.
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 103 
 
 the letter contained a particular account of the action 
 with the Glasgow in an extract from the Alfred's Log 
 Book it also contained some free thoughts on certain 
 characters in the Fleet it was enclosed to Mr. Sproat 
 and by ill luck fell into hands not the most agreeable, 
 on its way to the post-office, for which circumstances 
 I much fear it hath miscarried, for I have just now 
 parted from Captain Lenox and tho he is late from 
 Philadelphia, he hath no account of any letters from 
 me to his uncle, Mr. Sproat. 
 
 I now enclose you the Minutes of two Court Mar- 
 tials held on board the Alfred, the evidences at large 
 excepted these minutes have not yet been seen in 
 print . In consequence of the last trial I was ordered 
 to take the command of this vessel the 10th currt. I 
 arrived here yesterday afternoon in 36 hours from 
 Rhode Island with a return of upwards of 100 men be- 
 sides officers, which Gen. Washington lent to the Fleet 
 at N. London. I left the A. Doria and Cabot at Rhode 
 Island ready to sail together for a four weeks cruise. 
 What will become of the Alfred and Columbus heaven 
 only knows. The seamen have been so very sickly 
 since the Fleet returned to the Continent that it will 
 be impossible to maim them without others can be en- 
 tered. I have landed Gen. Washington's soldiers and 
 shall now apply to shipping men, if any can be obtained, 
 but it appears that the seamen almost to a man had 
 entered into the army before the Fleet was set on foot, 
 and I am well informed that there are four or five thou- 
 sand seamen now in the land service. 
 
 The unfortunate engagement with the Glasgow seems 
 to be a general reflection on the officers of the Fleet, 
 but a little reflection will set the matter in a true light, 
 for no officer who acts under the eye of a superior, and 
 who doth not stand charged by that superior for cow- 
 ardice or misconduct, can be blamed on any occasion
 
 104 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 whatever. For my own part, I wish a general inquiry 
 might be made respecting the abilities of officers in all 
 stations, and then the country would not be cheated. 
 I may be wrong, but in my opinion, a Captain of the 
 Navy ought to be a man of strong and well connected 
 sense, with a tolerable good education, a gentleman, 
 as well as a seaman, both in theory and practice; for 
 want of learning and rude ungentle manner are by no 
 means the characteristick of the officer. I have been 
 led into this subject on feeling myself hurt as an indi- 
 vidual by the censures that have been indiscriminately 
 thrown out for altho my station confined me to the 
 Alfred's lower Gun Deck, where I commanded during 
 the action, and tho the Commodore's letter which hath 
 been published says: "all of the officers in the Alfred 
 behaved well." yet still the public blames me, among 
 others, for not taking the enemy. 
 
 I declined the command of this Sloop at Philadel- 
 phia, nor should I now have accepted it, had it not been 
 for the rude, unhappy temper of my late Commander. 
 I now reflect with pleasure that I had philosophy suf- 
 ficient to avoid quarreling with him and that I even 
 obtained his blessings at parting. May he too soon 
 become of an affable, even disposition, and may he too 
 find pleasure in communicating happiness around him. 
 
 There is little confidence to be placed in reports, 
 otherwise the Lieutenants of the Fleet might have rea- 
 son to be uneasie, when they are told that the several 
 Committees have orders to appoint all the officers for 
 the new Ships, except only the Captains. I cannot 
 think that they will be so far overlooked, who have at 
 first stept forth and shewn at least willingness nor can 
 I suppose that my own conduct will be in the esteem 
 of Congress such as to subject me to be superseded in 
 favor of a younger officer, especially one who is said not 
 to understand navigation I mean the Lieutenant of
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 105 
 
 the Cabot, who was put in as Commr. of the Fly at 
 Reedy Island, after I had declined it. I was then told 
 that no new Commission would be given, and I con- 
 sidered her as a paltry message boat, fit to be com- 
 manded by a midshipman, but on my appointment to 
 the Providence I was indeed astonished to find my 
 seniority questioned. The Commodore told me he 
 must refer to the Congress I have received no new 
 Commission. I wish the matter in dispute may first 
 be cleared up. I will cheerfully abide by whatever you 
 may think is right at the same time, I am ready at 
 any time to have my pretentions inquired into by men 
 who are Judges. 
 
 When I applied for a Lieutenancy, I hoped in that 
 work to gain much useful knowledge from men of more 
 experience than myself. I was, however, mistaken, 
 for instead of gaining information I was obliged to in- 
 form others. I formed an exercise and trained the men 
 so well to the great Guns in the Alfred that they went 
 through the motions of broadsides and rounds as exactly 
 as soldiers generally perform the manual exercise. 
 When I get what men are to be had, I am ordered back 
 to Providence. The Sloop must be hove down and 
 considered generally repaired and refitted before she 
 can proceed properly on any cruise. 
 
 I should esteem myself happy in being sent for to 
 Philadelphia to act under the more immediate direc- 
 tion of Congress, especially in one of the new Ships. I 
 must rely on your interest herein. 
 
 The largest, and I think by far the best of the Frig- 
 ates was launched the day after I left Providence, but 
 from what I can learn, neither of them will equal the 
 Philadelphia Ships. I left the Columbus heaving down, 
 and the Alfred hauling to the wharf. 
 
 I send this by the Commodore's Steward, who hath 
 leave to visit his wife at Phila. and will call on you on
 
 106 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 his return in a day or two. I expect that he will over- 
 take me here, if I succeed in getting men; if not, he will 
 follow me to Rhode Island and Providence. May I 
 hope for the honor of a letter from you by his hand; 
 it will most singularly oblige me, and greatly add to 
 the favour already conferred on, 
 Sir, 
 Your very much obliged 
 
 and very humble servant, 
 
 JOHN P. JONES. 
 
 N. B. If you have not received my last, I will send 
 you a copy if desired. 
 
 The Honorable Joseph Hewes, Esquire, 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 This letter marks a considerable step in Jones's com- 
 prehension of his situation in the new navy. His fear 
 of supersedure was entirely natural, and expressed 
 with no undue violence. His feelings, although aroused, 
 were completely under control, and he professed with 
 characteristic loyalty that he would have due regard 
 for Hewes's opinion and advice. His mind was fully 
 bent on winning success in the cause he had made his 
 own, and he was reaching out for opportunity of larger 
 service, as he realized his own superior powers. 
 
 Writing in 1848, Captain Mackenzie, of the American 
 navy, in his life of Paul Jones, gives the following ade- 
 quate appreciation of his ability and of the services he 
 might have rendered to America if he had been given 
 command at this critical point in her history: 
 
 " Could Jones's character have been penetrated and 
 comprehended at the first, and he placed at the head
 
 BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY 107 
 
 of our Navy, there can be little doubt that it would at 
 once have assumed a tone and order to which it was 
 long a stranger, and while commending itself to the 
 gratitude of the country by the achievement of glo- 
 rious deeds, would have greatly accelerated the events 
 which led to the recognition of our Independence."
 
 CHAPTER V 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 
 
 ALTHOUGH it was not long before the success and su- 
 perior abilities of Paul Jones aroused the jealousy of 
 the commander-m-chief, it was Hopkins himself who 
 actually gave him his first step in the service. On the 
 back of his original lieutenant's commission Hopkins 
 wrote out his new commission as captain of the Prov- 
 idence, on May the 10th, 1776. Paul Jones by this act 
 assumed his first independent command as captain in 
 the American navy. His first duty, as has been seen 
 in his letter to Hewes of May the 19th, was to convoy 
 the troops lent by Washington from Rhode Island back 
 to New York. He there enh'sted as many seamen as 
 he could find for his nearly empty ship, picked up at 
 New London a few more discharged from the small-pox 
 hospital, and returned to Providence. There for a few 
 days he busied himself in getting his small vessel into 
 as good a condition as possible for active service, and 
 on the 13th of June, having received orders from Hop- 
 kins to convoy Lieutenant Hacker in the Fly, carrying 
 some heavy cannon for the defence of New York, he 
 again set sail for that city. He fell in with two Eng- 
 lish frigates off Block Island. One of these, the Cer- 
 berus, mounted thirty-two guns and was a formidable 
 enough antagonist. With her he had two sharp en- 
 
 108
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 109 
 
 gagements and came off with brilliant success, suc- 
 ceeding in defending his own convoy, and again, at a 
 later date, in saving the Hispaniola, heavily laden with 
 much-needed stores for the army, while hotly pursued 
 by the enemy. 
 
 His next orders were to proceed to Boston and from 
 thence to convoy some trading-ships to their destina- 
 tion in the Delaware. In the performance of this ser- 
 vice he was again called upon to show both his good 
 seamanship and his address in avoiding the numerous 
 ships of war under Lord Howe, which were then arriv- 
 ing in Eastern waters from England and from Canada. 
 He was again successful in this difficult and dangerous 
 undertaking, and brought his convoy safely into port, 
 arriving in the Delaware on August 1, 1776. 
 
 Being now at the seat of government, in Philadel- 
 phia, Jones lost no time in getting his captain's com- 
 mission indorsed by full Congressional authority. The 
 colonies had thrown off the yoke of the mother coun- 
 try, and Hancock was then president of the full-fledged 
 Continental Congress. He duly confirmed the appoint- 
 ment given to Jones by Hopkins on May the 10th, 
 by virtue of which he had become commander of the 
 Providence, and made out to Jones a regular captain's 
 commission, dated August 8, 1776, the first one granted 
 to any officer subsequent to the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence. This was, as should be noted and remem- 
 bered, a doubly certified appointment, given first by 
 the commander-in-chief of the navy and afterward 
 confirmed by the president of Congress. On this com- 
 mission Jones always based his claims for priority in
 
 110 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 rank over the thirteen men who were subsequently put 
 above him. 
 
 Jones was now once more in communication with his 
 powerful and devoted friend Hewes. The large brigan- 
 tine Hispaniola, which he had saved from the clutches 
 of the Cerberus, had been purchased by Congress and 
 renamed the Hampden. Hewes influenced the marine 
 committee to offer the command of this large vessel to 
 his successful prote'ge', who had already made so cred- 
 itable a record for usefulness and ability in convoying 
 the precious stores of cannon and government supplies 
 safely into their ports. The recognition of these ser- 
 vices received ample and prompt reward from the ma- 
 rine committee, who decided to give him orders which 
 completely ignored the authority of the timid and 
 dilatory commander-in-chief of the navy. The official 
 record states that "it was proposed to Captain Jones 
 by the marine committee of Congress to go to Connecti- 
 cut to command the brigantine Hampden, but he, choos- 
 ing rather to remain in the sloop Providence, had orders 
 to go out on a cruise against the enemy for six weeks 
 or two or three months." This choice of the smaller 
 ship is extremely significant and interesting, for it 
 shows that Jones had already very clearly developed 
 his ideas of the kind of warfare possible to the colonial 
 navy. With no chance of competing with the great 
 and long-established marine forces of Great Britain in 
 battle drawn, the only hope of success was in brilliant 
 and unexpected attacks upon defenceless coasts; these 
 attacks could only be made in fast sailing-ships. He 
 ardently desired opportunities to carry out his plan of
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 111 
 
 attack, and argued his cause with such ardor and abil- 
 ity with Hewes and the marine committee that they 
 were convinced of his wisdom and conceived a flatter- 
 ing idea of his capacity. The orders which they issued 
 to him were very remarkable, as they not only ignored 
 the commander-in-chief , but gave the young captain un- 
 limited directions to go where he pleased and do as he 
 pleased; but it was a remarkable time and a remark- 
 able man who had thus early pushed himself from ob- 
 scurity. Weaker wills and lesser minds were forced 
 aside by this vital power, now focussed to activity, 
 while his equals, his great-minded contemporaries, then, 
 as always, generously aided and protected him. 
 
 On the 21st of August he set sail for a six weeks' 
 cruise, which amply proved the wisdom of his plan and 
 brought him his first taste of personal triumph. His 
 ship was very small, carrying only twelve long fours, 
 but he had already found her fast enough to get out of 
 the way of the enemy's larger ships, and he selected 
 his own crew of seventy men, who proved themselves 
 exceedingly satisfactory to the young and untried com- 
 mander. 
 
 Sailing from the Delaware on the 21st of August, he 
 cruised a week between latitude 39 and 33, going to 
 the eastward as far as longitude 50 west, and taking 
 three brigs, the Sea Nymph, Favorite, and Britannia ; 
 the first two laden with rum, the last a whaler. These 
 valuable prizes he manned and sent home. On the 
 1st of September, off the island of Bermuda, he sighted 
 a fleet of five sail, the largest of which he took to be a 
 merchantman, and ran down to cut her out. He found
 
 112 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 that she was an English frigate, the Solebay, of twenty- 
 eight guns, and a fast sailer. With a frigate such as 
 the Solebay the little Providence had not the slightest 
 chance of a successful encounter, so Jones hauled his 
 wind and made all haste to escape, for his error in think- 
 ing the Solebay was a merchantman had brought him 
 into imminent danger. Scarcely a week afloat in his 
 own ship, the untried captain of a crew of utterly inex- 
 perienced men, he now gave an exhibition of skill and 
 daring worthy of comparison with the smartest pieces 
 of seamanship on record. The frigate began firing, 
 and Jones, hoisting the Continental colors, returned the 
 fire. The English ship attempted to take the Prov- 
 idence by hoisting an American ensign in token of 
 amity, but Jones was not to be deceived by so trans- 
 parent a ruse. The frigate kept on firing, pursuing 
 the Providence hotly for more than four hours, finally 
 getting within musket-shot of her prey. The situa- 
 tion was now critical in the extreme, but Jones had 
 already matured a plan of escape, and with great cool- 
 ness began edging gradually to leeward, so gradually 
 that he aroused no suspicion of his intention until he 
 had brought the Solebay on his weather quarter, when 
 suddenly the helm of the Providence was put sharply 
 up, and crowding all sails she was off before the wind 
 before the Solebay could get a single one of her guns to 
 bear. 
 
 A very brief account of this exploit, without a men- 
 tion of the name of the frigate, was sent in by Jones to 
 the marine committee on the 4th of September. In a 
 letter of the same date to Hopkins, he comments upon
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 113 
 
 the encounter with natural satisfaction: "Our hair 
 breadth escape and the saucy manner of making it, 
 must have mortified him (the enemy) not a little he 
 might have fired several broadsides while we were 
 within pistol shot, but he was a bad marksman, and 
 did not hit the Providence with one of the many shots 
 which he fired." 
 
 Three days later he wrote again, by the brigantine 
 Favorite, from Liverpool, which he captured on the even- 
 ing of September 6. In this letter he observes that 
 he does not expect much success on account of the late- 
 ness of the season. His fears were not destined to be 
 realized, as appeared by his next report to the marine 
 committee. This letter gives so clear and agreeable 
 an impression of his habitual temper when in action 
 that it is quoted here in full. His humanity to the 
 English fishermen, the warm commendation of his offi- 
 cers and crew, and the admirable enthusiasm and pa- 
 tience under severe hardships, all expressed with the 
 greatest simplicity, reveal the ideal qualifications of a 
 commander: 
 
 Providence, off the Isle of Sable, 
 
 30th Sept., 1776. 
 GENTLEMEN : 
 
 From that time (of despatching the Favorite), I cruised 
 without seeing any vessel. I then spoke the Columbus 1 
 prize, the ship Royal Exchange, bound for Boston. By 
 this time my wood and water began to run short, which 
 induced me to run to the northward, for some port of 
 Nova Scotia or Cape Breton. I had, besides, a pros- 
 pect of destroying the English shipping in these parts. 
 The 16th and 17th, I had a very heavy gale from the
 
 114 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 N. W., which obliged me to dismount all my guns, and 
 stick everything I could into the hold. The 19th, I 
 made the Isle of Sable, and on the 20th, being between 
 it and the main, I met with an English frigate, 1 with a 
 merchant ship under her convoy. I had hove to, to 
 give my people an opportunity of taking fish, when the 
 frigate came in sight directly to windward, and was so 
 good natured as to save me the trouble of chasing him, 
 by bearing down, the instant he discovered us. When 
 he came within cannon shot, I made sail to try his speed. 
 Quartering and finding that I had the advantage, I 
 shortened sail to give him a wild goose chase, and 
 tempt him to throw away powder and shot. Accord- 
 ingly, a curious mock engagement was maintained be- 
 tween us, for eight hours; until night with her sable 
 curtains, put an end to this famous exploit of English 
 knight-errantry. 
 
 He excited my contempt so much, by his continual 
 firing, at more than twice the proper distance, that when 
 he rounded to, to give his broadside, I ordered my ma- 
 rine officer to return the salute with only a single mus- 
 ket. We saw him, next morning, standing to the west- 
 ward; and it is not unlikely, that he hath told his 
 friends at Halifax, what a trimming he gave to a "rebel 
 privateer," which he found infesting the coast. 
 
 That night I was off Canso harbour, and sent my 
 boat in to gain information. On the morning of the 
 22nd, I anchored in the harbour, and, before night, got 
 off a sufficiency of wood and water. Here I recruited 
 several men, and finding three English schooners in the 
 harbour, we that night, burned one, sunk another, and 
 in the morning, carried off the third, which we had 
 loaded with what fish we found in the other two. 
 
 At Canso I received information of nine sail of ships, 
 brigs, and schooners, in the harbour of Narrow Shock 
 
 1 The Mtiford.
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 115 
 
 and Peter de Great, 1 at a small distance from each other, 
 in the Island of Madame, on the east side of the Bay of 
 Canso. These I determined to take or destroy; and, 
 to do it effectually, having brought a shallop for the 
 purpose from Canso, I despatched her with twenty-five 
 armed men to Narrow Shock, while my boat went, well 
 manned and armed, to Peter de Great; and I kept off 
 and on with the sloop, to keep them in awe at both 
 places. The expedition succeeded to my wish. So 
 effectual was this surprise, and so general the panic, 
 that numbers yielded to a handful without opposition, 
 and never was a bloodless victory more complete. As 
 the shipping that were unloaded were all unrigged, I 
 had recourse to an expedient for despatch. I prom- 
 ised to leave the late proprietors vessels sufficient to 
 carry them home to the Island of Jersey, on condition 
 that they immediately fitted out and rigged such of the 
 rest as might be required. This condition was readily 
 complied with ; and they assisted my people with unre- 
 mitting application, till the business was completed. 
 But the evening of the 25th brought with it a violent 
 gale of wind, with rain, which obliged me to anchor in 
 the entrance of Narrow Shock; where I rode it out, 
 with both anchors and whole cables a-head. Two of 
 our prizes, the ship Alexander and Sea Flower, had come 
 out before the gale began. The ship anchored under 
 a point and rode it out; but the schooner, after anchor- 
 ing, drove, and ran ashore. She was a valuable prize; 
 but, as I could not get her off, I next day ordered her 
 to be set on fire. The schooner Ebenezer, taken at 
 Canso, was driven on a reef of sunken rocks, and there 
 totally lost; the people having with difficulty saved 
 themselves on a raft. Towards noon on the 26th, the 
 gale began to abate. The Ship Adventure being un- 
 rigged and almost empty, I ordered her to be burnt. I 
 
 1 The orthography of the manuscript is followed.
 
 116 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 put to sea in the afternoon with the brigantine King- 
 ston Packet, and being joined by the Alexander, went off 
 Peter de Great. I had sent an officer round in a shal- 
 lop to order the vessels in that harbor to meet me in 
 the offing, and he now joined me in the brigantine Ac- 
 cess, and informed me that Mr. Gallagher, (the officer 
 who had commanded the party in that harbor), had 
 left it at the beginning of the gale in the brigantine 
 Defence, and taken with him my boat and all the people. 
 I am unwilling to believe that this was done with an 
 evil intention. I rather think he concluded the boat 
 and people necessary to assist the vessel getting out, 
 the navigation being difficult, and the wind at that 
 time unfavourable; and when the gale began, I know 
 it was impossible for them to return. 
 
 Thus weakened, I could attempt nothing more. 
 With one of our brigs and the sloop, I could have 
 scoured the coast and secured the destruction of a large 
 boat fleet that was loading near Louisbourg, with the 
 Savage and Dawson brig only to protect them. 
 
 The fishery at Canso and Madame is effectually de- 
 stroyed. Out of twelve sail which I took there, I only 
 left two small schooners and one small brig, to convey 
 a number of unfortunate men, not short of three hun- 
 dred, across the Western Ocean. Had I gone further, 
 I should have stood chargeable with inhumanity. 
 
 In my ticklish situation it would have been madness 
 to lose a moment. I therefore hastened to the south- 
 ward, to convey my prize out of harm's way, the 
 Dawson brig having been within fifteen leagues of the 
 scene of action during the whole time. 
 
 On the 27th I saw two sail, which we took for Quebec 
 transports. Unable to resist the temptation, having 
 appointed a three days' rendezvous on the S. W. part 
 of the Isle of Sable, I gave chase, but could not come 
 up before they had got into Louisbourg, a place where
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 117 
 
 I had reason to expect a far superior force; and there- 
 fore, returned, and this day I joined my prizes at the 
 rendezvous. 
 
 If my poor endeavors should meet with your appro- 
 bation, I shall be greatly rewarded in the pleasing re- 
 flection of having endeavored to do my duty. I have 
 had so much stormy weather, and been obliged, on 
 divers occasions, to carry so much sail, that the sloop 
 is in no condition to continue long out of port. I am, 
 besides, very weak handed; and the men I have are 
 scarcely able to stand the deck, for want of clothing, 
 the weather here being very cold. These reasons in- 
 duce me to bend my thoughts towards the continent. 
 I do not expect to meet with much, if any success, on 
 my return. But if fortune should insist upon sending 
 a transport or so in my way, weak as I am, I will en- 
 deavor to pilot him safe. It is but justice to add that 
 my officers and men behaved incomparably well on 
 the occasion. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. &c. 
 
 JOHN P. JONES. 
 
 The Honourable the Marine Committee, 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 The Providence then proceeded to the westward, as 
 he relates in his last report to the marine committee, 
 took another whaler at Saint George's Bank, and on 
 the 7th of October arrived safe at Rhode Island, hav- 
 ing manned and sent in eight prizes, namely, six brigan- 
 tines, one ship, and one sloop, and sunk, burned, and 
 destroyed eight more, namely, six schooners, one ship, 
 and one brigantine, having finished his cruise in six 
 weeks and five days. 
 
 Here was success enough and of brilliant enough
 
 118 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 quality to raise the spirits of any man. It brought 
 immediate reputation to Jones, and served also as a 
 standard of efficiency to the officers of the infant navy. 
 
 The news of these exploits was a vast encouragement 
 to the marine committee, and made a brilliant contrast 
 to the inefficient management of the commander-in- 
 chief . The condition of the fleet was generally exceed- 
 ingly unsatisfactory, and the unfortunate Hopkins had 
 involved himself in innumerable difficulties. 
 
 On the 8th of May, 1776, following the engagement 
 with the Glasgow, as previously related, a Congressional 
 inquiry had been ordered to look into Hopkins's man- 
 agement of the fleet. By a resolution of December 1 
 of the preceding year, eight new ships had been ordered 
 by Congress, two of which were to be built in Provi- 
 dence by a local sub-committee under Hopkins's direc- 
 tion. On his return in the spring from his unsuccess- 
 ful cruise, Hopkins encountered tremendous difficulties 
 in carrying out these orders, for the members of this 
 sub-committee were themselves engaged in privateer- 
 ing and took away his workmen and his supplies. As 
 a result of his complaints, this committee was dissolved 
 by Congress, and the entire business given into the 
 honest hands of his brother, Stephen Hopkins, but even 
 with this assistance he advanced but little the building 
 of the ships. Complaints of all kinds now arose as the 
 result of this delay, and on August 23 Hopkins went 
 to Philadelphia to face, personally, an inquiry as to his 
 disobedience of orders and the generally unsatisfac- 
 tory condition of the fleet. He found in John Adams a 
 stanch friend and defender. The New England states-
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 119 
 
 man was a warm friend of Stephen Hopkins, and nat- 
 urally did his best to protect his brother. He admitted 
 the inexperience of Hopkins, but insisted that there 
 was no one who could lay claim to superior abilities. 
 Joseph Hewes thought differently; but the New Eng- 
 land influence was very strong in Congress, and Paul 
 Jones, away at sea on his cruise, had not yet demon- 
 strated his remarkable qualifications. No better proof 
 could be given of the force and persuasiveness which 
 Adams possessed than his success in saving Hopkins at 
 this time from the results of his incompetency. He 
 was let off with a secret vote of censure and hand- 
 somely given another chance to redeem himself. The 
 captured English brig, the Hawk, was rechristened the 
 Hopkins in his honor, and he received orders on August 
 28 to proceed at once on board of her to Newfoundland. 
 Once more Adams had carried his way against "time 
 and tide." l 
 
 Now, indeed, was the time for Hopkins to bestir 
 himself and to get something done in spite of all ob- 
 structions and difficulties, but he was quite incapable 
 of meeting the emergency. Not one ship was he able 
 to man and get to sea. The ship which had been 
 named for him, and in which he had been ordered to 
 set forth for the British fisheries in Canada, did not 
 sail. 
 
 1 John Jay, writing to Rutledge, expressed his astonishment at this 
 extraordinary leniency: "What is your fleet and noble Admiral doing? 
 What meekness and wisdom and tender-hearted charity. I cannot think 
 of it with patience, nothing but more than ladylike delicacy could have 
 prevailed on your august body to secrete the sentence they passed upon 
 that petty genius. I reprobate such mincing little zigzag ways of doing 
 business."
 
 120 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 He wrote to Congress complaining that there were 
 so many privateers that it was difficult to man the ships. 
 Congress waited until the 10th of October, and then, 
 annoyed but patient still, issued an order for him to 
 go out immediately with the Alfred, Columbus, Cabot, 
 and Hampden, and to sail southward for Cape Fear. 
 Again the ships did not sail. The unlucky Hopkins, 
 now realizing that strong effort was imperative, made 
 a desperate fight in the Rhode Island Assembly to get 
 an embargo passed against the manning of privateers. 
 He appealed to his old friends in the State and worked 
 day and night to get the measure passed. He lost by 
 only two votes. He then wrote in despair to Congress, 
 asking for an order to seize the Continental sailors who 
 had been engaged in privateers, but Congress failed to 
 support him. Hopkins, now thoroughly exasperated, 
 lost his head and expressed himself with blasphemous 
 intensity in regard to Congress, who were ordering him 
 to sail and continually preventing him by their support 
 of the privateers. It is impossible not to sympathize 
 with the helpless victim of Congress, which had raised 
 him, at no request of his own, to a position which he 
 was unfitted to occupy and then, for material and in- 
 terested reasons, refused to interfere with the priva- 
 teers who were stealing all the available seamen. While 
 he was struggling helplessly with these conditions in 
 the August heat in Philadelphia, and under the fire of 
 Congressional examination, Jones was off at sea. Free 
 and untrammelled in his one fast little ship, with unre- 
 stricted orders from Congress, he was sailing on vic- 
 toriously, taking prize after prize, fairly revelling in this
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 121 
 
 first opportunity of using his remarkable talents, and 
 exulting in his success. 
 
 Jones's official reports to the marine committee are 
 naturally concise, but they show that he always obeyed 
 orders with scrupulous care when they were issued to 
 him, and used his judgment with brilliant success when 
 freedom was granted him. 
 
 The 22d of October, after his return to Boston, he 
 was directed by Hopkins to go northward for the prin- 
 cipal purpose of rescuing a hundred American prisoners 
 who were working in the coal-mines at Isle Royale. 
 It was also intended to attack the fisheries in New- 
 foundland. Jones was delighted with the prospect of 
 freeing the prisoners, and declared that it "aroused at 
 once all his feelings of humanity." Hopkins thus del- 
 egated his own orders from Congress, while he re- 
 mained on land to wrestle with the question of the 
 privateers. He put Jones in command of the Alfred, 
 the Providence, and the Hampden; but as it was im- 
 possible to man them all, Jones set sail on the 27th 
 with but two ships, the Alfred and the Hampden, the 
 latter hi command of Captain Hoysted Hacker, who 
 promptly ran his vessel on a ledge of rock just outside 
 the harbor, compelling Jones to put back to his anchor- 
 age. The season was already very late for this north- 
 ern expedition, and delay was naturally most exasper- 
 ating to the man who had just won his first laurels and 
 was eager for further triumphs. Restless as a racer, 
 it was perfectly natural that he should have been irri- 
 tated by this unnecessary accident, but most unfor- 
 tunate as well as unwise that he should have vented his
 
 122 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 irritation upon Admiral Hopkins, who had given him 
 his command and who was in no way responsible for 
 Hacker's stupidity. 
 
 The old sea-captain had witnessed the success of 
 Jones up to this point with no evidence of jealousy or 
 resentment. He had given him his captain's commis- 
 sion, and had just put him in command of the only 
 available ships in the fleet. Jones wrote him a letter 
 of complaint which Hopkins considered an undeserved 
 affront. It was the last straw, and his temper finally 
 gave way. His letter to Jones in reply is significant 
 of his resentment and his sense of injustice: 
 
 PROVIDENCE, Oct. 28, 1776. 
 SIR: 
 
 I received your disagreeable letter, and you are 
 hereby directed to go immediately to Newport with 
 the Alfred, and if you think the Hampden will not do 
 for the cruise, are to take the Providence in her room, 
 and follow the former directions. If I can, I will be 
 in Newport tomorrow. 
 
 I am your friend, 
 
 EZEK HOPKINS. 
 
 This is a brief and simple enough epistle, but its im- 
 portance at this point is great, for it shows the moment 
 of actual collision between Jones and Hopkins, and 
 marks the turning-point in the latter's attitude toward 
 his aspiring subordinate. From this point on, Hop- 
 kins's hand was against Jones, and he lost no oppor- 
 tunity to thwart and torment him. On the 30th of 
 October, Jones, still on land, wrote to Congress to ex- 
 press his annoyance at the delay, asserting that if the
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 123 
 
 ships had sailed earlier something might have been 
 accomplished. 
 
 On his return to Boston at the end of October he wrote 
 another and very interesting letter to his friend Hewes, 
 beguiling his impatience with the relief of expression. 
 
 Jones had contemplated with dismay the results of 
 the mania for privateering which had taken possession 
 of the colonists. Every day the Continental seamen 
 were lured away to these privately owned vessels, and 
 half the fleet lay empty in the harbor. Astonished and 
 disgusted by this revelation of character in the people 
 whose cause he had so enthusiastically embraced, he 
 poured out his feelings to his patron as to a man of 
 disinterested candor, protesting his belief that he, at 
 least, was governed by the noblest motives. 
 
 When I put in here with the Providence, as she has 
 been four months off the ground, my intention was to 
 scrub her bottom, repair her sails and rigging, and 
 proceed to cruise off Sandy Hook, and from thence re- 
 turn to Philadelphia. I was prevented from this by 
 the Commodore's proposing to me to take command of 
 the present expedition against the Coal Fleet off Cape 
 Briton and Fishery of New Foundland with the Alfred, 
 Hampden, and Providence. I was obliged to take all 
 the men out of the Providence and her Prizes which 
 made up my number to about one hundred and forty. 
 I set out with the Alfred and the Hampden, the latter 
 under the command of Captain Hacker, who ran his 
 vessel on a rock at the very entrance of the harbor, 
 compelling me to put back. This misfortune obliged 
 me to shift Captain Hacker and all his men into the 
 Providence and is by a second loss of time a material 
 drawback to my prospect of success.
 
 124 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Our infant Navy is by no means well established, nor 
 under proper regulations, while self interest prevails. 
 Unless the private emolument in individuals in our 
 Navy is made equal, if not superior to that of our 
 enemies in these Iron times, we cannot hope to repel 
 their force. I am informed, and I have reason to be- 
 lieve it to be too true, that even some of the Gentlemen 
 appointed to fit out the new frigates, are concerned in 
 privateers, and not only wink at, but encourage and 
 employ deserters from the Navy. What punishment 
 is equal to such baseness? And yet these men pretend 
 to love their country. In the English fleet, though 
 they impress the seamen the Crown gives up the cap- 
 tors all they take, and even allow them a bounty for 
 several things. And can America expect to raise from 
 nothing a Navy able to repel the powerful enemy, while 
 she holds out scarce a third of the encouragement? 
 The supposition is absurd. Both the Army and Fleet 
 have experienced the evil effects of such sentiments 
 already, and will experience worse consequences if her 
 mode is not altered. Inclosed I send you a copy of a 
 comparative state of wages in our Navy and in English 
 Fifth Rates it was made in New Hampshire and sent 
 here by Captain Olney. It is a matter, however, that 
 doth not in any wise concern me as I have no family 
 or dependants, and probably never will have any I 
 am easily provided for, and not in the least uneasy on 
 my own account. 
 
 On the 2d of November he set sail again in the Alfred, 
 in company with the Providence, for Newfoundland. 
 Jones had found only thirty men on board the flag-ship 
 of the squadron when he was put in command. With 
 much difficulty he managed to double the number, 
 but the ships were not only pitifully short-handed, but
 
 JOSEPH HEWES.
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 125 
 
 ill-supplied with water, food, and clothing. He was 
 immediately deserted by the cowardly and inefficient 
 Captain Hacker, who gave him the slip in the fog, and 
 returned in the Providence to Newport. Jones was now 
 left to sail alone in the face of difficulties that would 
 have discouraged an ordinary man. He had been de- 
 layed by no fault of his own until the hostile coasts he 
 was to visit were bound in ice. The sea was tempest- 
 uous, he was buffeted by almost continual gales, and 
 blanketed with the impenetrable white fogs of the 
 northern latitudes. However, he was once more free 
 and afloat, and, perfectly undaunted, he threw all his 
 incomparable powers into the venture, exulting in its 
 dangers and inspiring his ill-clad and scanty crew with 
 his own burning enthusiasm. To his bitter regret he 
 found the harbor at Isle Royale solidly frozen over upon 
 his arrival, and with his small force did not dare to 
 make a land attack for the purpose of freeing the pris- 
 oners. The first and most cherished purpose of the 
 expedition was thus defeated, first, by the delay in sail- 
 ing, due to Hacker's stupidity, and, secondly, by his 
 cowardly desertion. Jones, nevertheless, brought the 
 cruise to a brilliant conclusion. The manner in which 
 he conducted it was typical of all his successes, which 
 were invariably won by superior skill and daring from 
 overwhelming odds, wrenched, as it were, from the very- 
 jaws of defeat. He was delighted with his crew, who 
 were equally devoted to him, and with truly disinter- 
 ested patriotism he paid their wages out of his own 
 pocket on their return to Providence. The men who 
 sailed with Jones in the Alfred and Providence were as
 
 126 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 notable for their patriotism in those days of privateers 
 as their captain, who, as a matter of fact, found them 
 the very best supporters whom he was ever destined to 
 command in the whole course of his career. 
 
 Jones sent in his account of this cruise in due course 
 to the marine committee, but the best narrative is con- 
 tained in the journal which he drew up at his leisure for 
 Louis XVI, in the year 1786. 
 
 On the 2nd of November I took off the Coast of Ar- 
 cadie a Liverpool ship, and soon after, near Louis- 
 bourg, I also took the Hellish, a large armed vessel 
 having two marine officers and a captain in the land 
 service on board with a company of soldiers. The 
 Mellish was carrying a thousand complete uniforms 
 for the army of Generals Carleton and Burgoyne. The 
 Providence having left the Alfred, without the slightest 
 reason, during the night, I was left alone in the bad 
 season off the enemy's coasts, but altho' I was incom- 
 moded with my prisoners, I was not willing to give up 
 my plans. I made a descent upon the coast of Area- 
 die. I burned a valuable transport which the enemy 
 had run aground. I also burned the warehouse and 
 transports intended for the Cod and Whale business. 
 There was much oil in the warehouses. I then took 
 off the Isle Royale three transports and a fourth laden 
 with cod and furs. I learned through one of these 
 transports that the harbor of Isle Royale was frozen 
 over, which rendered my proposed expedition impos- 
 sible. My prizes were escorted by the Flora (the 
 enemy's) frigate which was invisible in the fog, al- 
 though only a short distance away. The next day I 
 took a Liverpool corsair carrying sixteen guns, and 
 then I set sail to convoy my prizes to the United States. 
 
 Off Boston I again encountered the frigate Milford
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 127 
 
 the Alfred carrying few seamen and many prisoners 
 was very inferior in force, and I would have much 
 preferred avoiding an engagement which promised me 
 no advantage but my prizes, particularly the Mellish, 
 forced me to risk everything. At the approach of night, 
 I took my position between the prizes and the enemy, 
 and put up a signal light, attracting the enemy in this 
 way to a pursuit. This strategy saved the prizes, 
 (which under cover of night succeeded in getting away). 
 The next day I managed to effect my escape after a 
 serious engagement with the Milford, which was inter- 
 rupted and finished at nightfall by a violent storm. I 
 arrived in Boston with only two days' water and pro- 
 visions left. My prizes got in safely with the excep- 
 tion of one of the smallest which fell into the hands of 
 the enemy. 
 
 The news of the uniforms taken on board the Mellish 
 raised the courage of the army under General Wash- 
 ington's command, which was almost destitute of cloth- 
 ing. This timely and unexpected relief contributed 
 not a little to the success of the army at Trenton, which 
 took place immediately after my arrival in Boston. I 
 paid off the crews of the Alfred and Providence from 
 my own funds, and lent the rest of my ready money 
 to Congress. 
 
 It was the middle of December before Jones again ar- 
 rived in Boston, and he returned not to enjoy the fruit of 
 his triumphs, but to battle against the jealousy which 
 they had aroused. Hopkins was hopelessly alienated and 
 lost no opportunity to show his hostility. He became 
 more and more deeply involved in the difficulties of his 
 situation and more and more incapable of dealing with 
 them. The two new vessels which with much difficulty 
 he had succeeded in completing lay empty in the har-
 
 128 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 bor on account of the refusal of Congress to authorize 
 the seizing of the Continental sailors who had deserted 
 to the privateers. Finally, as the crowning and com- 
 plete disaster, the English fleet, with fifty sail, de- 
 scended upon the Rhode Island coasts and blockaded 
 him in Narragansett Bay. In the face of this last and 
 overwhelming misfortune, the old man lost both his 
 temper and his judgment completely and gave a pit- 
 iable example of helpless rage and inefficiency. He 
 gave orders and revoked them. He broke out into 
 blasphemous attacks against Congress, and he vented 
 his displeasure in particular acts of hostility against 
 Jones. Just before the latter's departure on his second 
 northern cruise, Hopkins had directed him to seize 
 some Continental seamen whom he had found on board 
 the Rhode Island privateer called the Eagle. The 
 owners of this ship sued Jones for heavy damages, and 
 upon his return to Boston he found that Hopkins had 
 declined to defend him in the suit, on the grounds that 
 his orders had not been given in writing. It is not sur- 
 prising that Jones was disgusted at this desertion. On 
 the 12th of January he wrote the following unrestrained 
 opinion of the commander-in-chief to his friend Hewes : 
 
 BOSTON, 12th January, 1777. 
 HONORED Sm: 
 
 Enclosed I send a copy of my last to you, before I 
 left Rhode Island with the Alfred and Providence. 
 Since, as I now understand, you were not at that time 
 returned from Carolina to Congress so that the Origi- 
 nal hath not perhaps found its way to your hands. I 
 would not wish the Sentiments in it to escape your pe-
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 129 
 
 rusal for tho' I have express'd myself with a freedom 
 becoming an honest man, yet every word is dictated 
 from a heart that esteems you with perfect gratitude. 
 For the particulars of my late cruise I beg leave to re- 
 fer you to my letters to the Marine Board. I took a 
 prize which by the within letters you will see I intended 
 for No. Carolina but to my no small concern the prize- 
 master hath thought proper to break his orders and to 
 go into Dartmouth in this state altho' he had on board 
 a full sufficiency of everything to have enabled him to 
 pursue his voyage. In like manner the captain of the 
 Providence thought proper to dispense with his orders 
 and give me the slip in the night, which entirely over- 
 set the expedition. If such doings are permitted, the 
 Navy will never rise above contempt. The aforesaid 
 noble captain doth not understand the first case of plain 
 trigonometry, yet it is averred that he hath the honor 
 and that his abilities have enabled him to command 
 a passage boat between Rhode Island and Providence 
 long before the war was begun. There is a fellow who 
 calls himself a commodore, and who keeps us at awful 
 distance by wearing an English broad pendant. He 
 had lately the honor of being a stick officer, vulgarly 
 called boatswains' mate in an English man of war, and 
 was duly qualified for that high station, if Fame says 
 true, as appears by his deigning to read English. Be- 
 sides among many evident proofs of his abilities as Post 
 Captain, that might be enumerated this notable one 
 may perhaps be sufficient for it seems that in his ab- 
 sence he directs his first Lieutenant to take orders from 
 the Boatswain Nay 'tis said that on certain occasions 
 he takes the speaking trumpet out of the Lieutenant's 
 hand on the quarter deck and delivers it on the fore- 
 castle to the Boatswain. To be very serious, that such 
 despicable characters should have obtained commis- 
 sions as Commodores in a Navy is truly astonishing,
 
 130 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 and would pass for romance with me unless I had been 
 convinced by my senses of the sad reality. I could 
 easily enumerate many other characters as truly orig- 
 inal as commission officers, but it gives me extreme pain 
 to be under the necessity of attacking private char- 
 acters. It is however some consolation, indeed a great 
 one, that this depravity is not universal. Among other 
 deserving characters that belong to the fleet, I am 
 happy from personal acquaintance to mention Cap- 
 tain McNeill as a gentleman who will do honor to the 
 service. I have conceived a very good opinion also of 
 Captain Thompson from some accounts which I have 
 heard. I need not therefore name this great man, this 
 COMMODORE; tho' I will if calFd upon? and in the 
 meantime I aver that he is altogether unfit to com- 
 mand a frigate of thirty two guns. 
 
 As I will probably write you again very soon, I will 
 add no more at this time. 
 I am with gratitude and esteem, 
 Hon. Sir, 
 
 Your most oblidged 
 
 Very humble servant 
 
 J. P. J. 
 Endorsed: Copy of a letter to the Honble 
 
 J. HEWES, Esqr. 
 By Express from Council. 
 
 Two days after Jones wrote this letter he received 
 written orders from Hopkins to give up the command 
 of the Alfred, in favor of Captain Hinman, and to go 
 back to the smaller ship the Providence. In justice to 
 Hopkins it is necessary to state that the letter in which 
 he announced his supersedure to Captain Jones con- 
 tained a statement that Hinman had informed him that 
 he had a commission from Congress which placed him
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 131 
 
 ahead of Jones. There is no evidence in Hopkins's 
 letter that he himself had received any such communi- 
 cation from Congress, and without such orders the act 
 of displacing Jones from the Alfred was unjustified and 
 calculated to inflict the deepest pain and injury. A 
 few days subsequent to this Hopkins delivered him- 
 self entirely into the hands of his enemies by a truly 
 absurd example of inefficiency. The Diamond, an Eng- 
 lish frigate, had run aground at Warwick Neck. The 
 English fleet was thirty hours away, and Hopkins had 
 ample time to seize or destroy the ship, but he con- 
 sumed so much time in contradictory orders and un- 
 necessary delay that she made her escape. 
 
 A full account of this affair was written by a Mr. 
 Vesey, a volunteer who had gone aboard the Prov- 
 idence when Hopkins took her out to capture the Dia- 
 mond. This account, most unfavorable to Hopkins, 
 was put into Jones's hands. It is creditable to Jones 
 that at this juncture he was still much too mindful of 
 the interests of the common cause to openly publish 
 it, but he sent it to his friend Robert Morris, leaving 
 it to his discretion as to whether it should be read 
 before the marine committee: 
 
 BOSTON, January 21st, 1777. 
 HONORED SIR: 
 
 In consequence of the changes which have taken 
 place in my situation since my letters to you of 12th, 
 and 18th current were forwarded from hence, I have 
 written the within letter to the Marine Board which 
 I must entreat you to look over and lay before them or 
 not as you may judge most expedient. My grateful 
 dependence has been and is on yourself so that I sub-
 
 132 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 mit my free sentiments to you with the most implicit 
 confidence. If Mr. H. is at present at Congress as 
 there is no man whom I respect more than himself 
 if you please, I should be thankful could he also have 
 an oppy. of looking over the letter. When you look 
 over the enclosed memorandum which I took down 
 from the mouth of my late prize Master (Mr. Vesey) 
 you will, perhaps, think the Account more extraor- 
 dinary than even the noted Affair with the Glasgow. 
 I am not yet sufficiently informed to risque my Opin- 
 ion. I have the honor to be with Perfect Esteem and 
 Respect, 
 
 Sir, your truly Obliged and very humble servant 
 
 J. P. J. 
 The Honble. R. M. 
 
 (Indorsement) 
 No. 9 
 
 BOSTON, January 21, 1777. 
 
 Copy of letter to the Honble. Robert Morris, Esqr. 
 by Mr. Livingston's Express. 
 
 On the same day on which Jones wrote the letter 
 to Morris in regard to Hopkins's disgraceful manage- 
 ment of the Diamond episode, he wrote an open letter 
 to the marine committee in which he laid before them 
 his treatment by Hopkins. This letter contains some 
 of his justly celebrated phrases in regard to the qual- 
 ifications of a naval officer, and is therefore quoted 
 in full. The passage italicised was adopted for use in 
 the curriculum of Annapolis as early as the year 1876. 
 It was set as a motto for a theme in the English de- 
 partment at the Academy and since 1895 has been 
 posted on the first leaf of the note-books used by the 
 midshipmen in that department.
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 133 
 
 BOSTON, 2lst January, 1777. 
 GENTLEMEN: 
 
 Inclosed you have copies of my letters from the 
 time of my departure on the late Expedition from 
 Rhode Island down to the 12th current. I am now to 
 inform you that by a letter from Commodore Hop- 
 kins on board the Warren, January 14th, 1777, which 
 came to my hands a day or two ago, I am superseded 
 in the command of the Alfred in favor of Captain 
 Hinman, and ordered back to the sloop in Providence 
 River, whether this Order doth or doth not supersede 
 also your Orders to me of the 10th ulto. you can best 
 determine; however, as I understand the late Expe- 
 dition at his request from a "Principle of Humanity" 
 I mean not to make a difficulty about trifles especially 
 when the good of the service is to be consulted. As 
 I am unconscious of any neglect of duty or misconduct 
 since my appointment at the first as Eldest Lieutenant 
 of the Navy, I cannot suppose that you have intended 
 to set me aside in favor of any man who did not at 
 that time bear a Captain's commission, unless indeed 
 that man by exerting his Superior abilities, hath ren- 
 dered or can render more important Services to Amer- 
 ica, those who step't forth at the first in Ships alto- 
 gether unfit for War, were generally considered rather 
 as frantic than as Wise men, for it must be remem- 
 bered that almost everything then made against them, 
 and altho' the Success in the affair with the Glasgow 
 was not equal to what it might have been, yet the 
 blame ought not to be general. The Principle, or 
 Principals in command alone are Culpable, and the 
 other Officers while they stand unimpeached have their 
 full Merit. There were it is true, divers Persons from 
 misrepresentation put into commission at the begin- 
 ning, without fit qualification, and perhaps the num- 
 ber may have been increased by later appointments, 
 but it follows not that the gentleman or man of merit
 
 134 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 should be neglected or overlooked on their account; 
 none other than a gentleman, as well as a Seaman both 
 in Theory and Practice, is qualified to support the Char- 
 acter of a commission officer in the Navy, nor is any Man 
 Jit to command a ship of War, who is not also capable of 
 communicating his ideas on paper in Language that be- 
 comes his Rank; if this be admitted, the foregoing As- 
 sertion will be sufficiently Proved, but if farther proof 
 is required, it can be easily produced. 
 
 When I entered into the Service, I was not actuated 
 by Motives of Self Interest. I stept forth as a free 
 citizen of the World in defence of the Violated Rights 
 of Mankind, and not in search of Riches whereof, I 
 thank God, I inherit a sufficiency, but I should prove 
 my degeneracy were I not in the highest degree Te- 
 nacious of my rank and seniority. As a Gentleman 
 I can yield this point up only to a Gentleman of Su- 
 perior Abilities and of superior Merit, and under such 
 a Man it is my highest Ambition to learn. 
 
 As this is the first time of my having Expressed the 
 least Anxiety on my own Account, I must entreat 
 your Patience until I account to you for the Reason 
 which hath drawn from me this Freedom of Senti- 
 ment. It seems that Captain Hinman's Commission 
 is No. 1, and that in consequence he who was at first 
 my Junior Officer by Eight, hath expressed himself 
 as my Senior Officer, in a manner which doth himself 
 no honor, and which doth me signal Injury. There 
 are also in the Navy persons who have not shown me 
 fair Play after the Services which I have rendered 
 them. I have even been blamed for the Civilities 
 which I have shown to my Prisoners, at the request 
 of one of whom I herein inclose an Appeal, which I 
 must beg you to lay before the Congress. Could you 
 see the Appellant's accomplished lady, and the three 
 Innocents, their children, Arguments in their behalf 
 would be unnecessary. As the base-minded only are
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 135 
 
 capable of inconsistences, you will not blame my free 
 Soul which can never stoop where I cannot also Es- 
 teem. Could I, which I never can, bear to be super- 
 seded I should indeed deserve your contempt and total 
 neglect. I am therefore to entreat you to employ me 
 in the most enterprising and Active service, account- 
 able to your honorable Board only for my Conduct, 
 and connected as much as possible with Gentlemen 
 and Men of sense. 
 
 When I was fitting out for my late expedition at 
 Rhode Island, the persons concerned in Privateers 
 inveigled away the Seaman so fast that Commodore 
 Hopkins repeatedly gave me express Orders that when- 
 ever I met with a Privateer, I should cause her to be 
 strictly searched, and if I found a single Man belonging 
 to the Fleet I must take out all who had deserted and 
 as many more as I thought proper, so that I left a num- 
 ber barely sufficient to Navigate the Vessel into Port. 
 
 In consequence of this Order I sent my Boat to 
 examine the Privateer Schooner Eagle in Tarpawling 
 Cove, and finding two Men belonging to the Fleet, and 
 two more belonging to the Rhode Island Brigade, 
 concealed in such remote parts of the Vessel that my 
 Officer was obliged to break open a bulkhead before 
 he could come at them. I took them with Twenty 
 others on board the Alfred and proceeded. To my 
 great surprise I have now received a letter from my 
 Attorney Col. Tillinghast, of Providence informing 
 me that an Action hath been entered against me there, 
 by Samuel Aborn and the persons concerned in the 
 Privateer for Ten Thousand Pounds Lawful Money, 
 altho' the Vessel was then inward bound, but what is 
 truly Astonishing is, that the Commodore (as I am in- 
 formed) should prevaricate in the matter. Because 
 forsooth, the Order was not given in writing. I do not 
 apprehend that he means to justify me in it; however 
 be the consequence what it will, I glory in having been
 
 136 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 the first who hath broke thro' the shameful Abuses 
 which have been too long practiced upon the Navy 
 by Mercenaries whose governing principle hath been 
 that of self interest. 
 
 Colo. Tillinghast hath entered an action against 
 the Owners of a Privateer, in behalf of the Continent 
 for the same sum, and the first Monday of next Month 
 this important Cause is to be determined. 
 
 One of my Prizes with Coal from Cape Breton got 
 into Rhode Island and was retaken after standing 
 the fire of three of the Enemy's Ships; another of the 
 Coal Ships was retaken, and carried to New York by 
 the Frigate that chased the Alfred on the edge of St 
 George's Bank, but it doth not appear that she retook 
 the John. The Active and Hellish are safe at Dart- 
 mouth, the Kitty, is in this Port, so that the John, 
 and one of the Coal Transports, are the only Prizes 
 whereof we have had any Account, the first Frigate 
 that chased me in the Providence was the Solebay, that 
 within the Isle of Sable was the Milford. 
 
 I am now employing myself to settle the Alfred's 
 and Providence's Books and pay off the Men whose 
 term of Entry is expired, when I have the honor of 
 hearing from the Board, I must request that the Let- 
 ters may be forwarded thro' the hands of Messrs. 
 Livingston and Turnbull of this City, meantime I 
 have the Honor to be with great Respect and Esteem, 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your Very Obliged 
 Very Obedient 
 
 and most humble servant. 
 
 J. P. J. 
 The Horable 
 
 The Marine Board. 
 
 (Indorsement) 
 
 The Honble; The Marine Board of Boston, 21 Jan- 
 uary, 1777.
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 137 
 
 Later note added by Jones to copy in his own hand 
 retained by him: 
 
 At this time I was uninformed of the arrangement of 
 naval rank for Captains (adopted) the 10th Oct. 1776. 
 
 No direct reply was ever made by either Morris 
 himself or the marine board to this moderate and dig- 
 nified appeal. A far more serious injustice of the 
 same kind had actually been authorized by the board 
 in the place they had permitted to be assigned to 
 Jones on the new list of naval appointments. Of this 
 new list, as stated in the above indorsement, Jones 
 was at this time completely ignorant. It had been 
 made out and confirmed on October 10, in the autumn 
 of the preceding year, when he was away on his first 
 northern cruise and before the added triumphs of his 
 second had so largely increased his reputation. The 
 marine committee, unable to alter the adopted list 
 of naval appointments, sought for some means of ren- 
 dering justice to the hero of these exploits and of 
 furnishing him opportunity for further deeds of daring. 
 
 On the 5th of February they issued orders for him 
 to take full command of the fleet, and to proceed to 
 the southward to operate against Pensacola, which 
 orders were conveyed to him in the following letter 
 from Robert Morris: 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, Feb'y 1st, 1777. 
 JOHN PAUL JONES, ESQB. 
 Sir: 
 
 I have frequently received your letters advising 
 me the particulars of your several Cruizes, and with 
 pleasure [assure?] you the contents in every instance 
 have been very acceptable, always entertaining and
 
 138 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 in many parts useful. These letters I have from time 
 to time communicated to the Members of the Marine 
 Committee all of whom express their satisfaction with 
 your conduct. You would no doubt expect an answer 
 from them to your proposal for a Cruize this winter 
 on the coast of Africa, and such they intended to give 
 you long since, but the confusion occasioned by their 
 removal from this City, and the multiplicity of busi- 
 ness that has unavoidably crowded on every member 
 of Congress put it out of their power to give that at- 
 tention to your department that they would always 
 wish to carry into every American concern. Thus 
 circumstanced they never doubted that your Active 
 genius would find useful employment for the Ship 
 under your command, as you were so near the Com- 
 modore and could go cloathed with his authority, and 
 they have not been disappointed, for you have in that 
 way made a most useful and successful voyage to Cape 
 Breton and thence to Boston. Major Frazer passing 
 through this City (which I have never left) sent me 
 an Account of that Cruize, which appeared to be in 
 your own handwriting. Pleased with your success I 
 transmitted it to Congress, and wrote that if they 
 pleased I would point out an enterprise or two for you 
 to undertake and leave the choice to yourself. This 
 was agreed to and my present design is to fulfil that 
 promise. When I made it I had in view either to 
 gratify your desire, by undertaking an expedition as 
 you proposed to the Coast of Africa, or to gratify my 
 own by undertaking what I think will prove a more 
 useful one nearer home. 
 
 I have pretty good information that there is sta- 
 tioned at Pensacola only two or three Sloops of war 
 from 10 to 16 Guns and that at that place there is not 
 less than 100 pieces of Artillery which our armies are 
 much in want of. These insignificant Sloops of war 
 lay there in perfect security, and now and then take
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 139 
 
 a Cruize along the Coast of Georgia and Carolina. 
 Should they be met with they will immediately be- 
 come your Prizes. Should they be out of the way Pen- 
 sacola may become the more easy prey. It is true that 
 Govr. Chester has been trying to put that place in a 
 State of defence, but he has no troops and the Inhabi- 
 tants will never defend it; therefore, my plan is that 
 you should take the Alfred, Columbus, Cabot, H amp- 
 den and Sloop Providence proceed just to the Island 
 of St. Christophers where a Sudden and unexpected 
 attack will carry that place being very defenceless. 
 There is a number of Cannon and Stores there, as well 
 as Merchandise of various sorts that we are in want 
 of, and I fancy you will make a considerable booty. 
 This, however, is not what I have so much in view as 
 to alarm not only the Inhabitants but the whole Brit- 
 ish Nation. It will oblige the Ministers to provide for 
 the security and protection of every Island they have, 
 and that means this must divide their forces and leave 
 our coasts less carefully guarded. 
 
 From St. Kitts (where your stay must be short) you 
 can proceed down to Pensacola. I apprehend the best 
 passage might be down the South side of Hispaniola, 
 and then you might give an alarm to the North side 
 of Jamaica by putting into some of the Ports there, 
 cutting out their ships, &c, in all which you must be 
 expeditious or their fleets will be after you. Should 
 you decline medling with Jamaica the best passage 
 will be down the North side of Hispaniola, through the 
 passage of Cape St. Nicholas and Cape Maize and 
 then down the north side of Cuba. When you arrive 
 at Pensacola it may be well to send a Brigantine & 
 Sloop to Cruize to the Mouth of the Mississippi so 
 long as you remain in that quarter, but they should 
 wear English colors and never go so near into the Ba- 
 lize as to be known for anything but English Cruizers. 
 There is at this time not less than 100,000 Sterling
 
 140 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 value in goods up that River. The Remittances for 
 which will come away in the Months of March, April 
 and May, in Indigo, Rice, Tobacco, Skins and Furs, 
 so that this alone is an object worthy of your attention. 
 But as I have said before, destroying their settlements, 
 spreading alarms, showing and keeping up a spirit of 
 enterprise that will oblige them to defend their exten- 
 sive possessions at all points, is of infinitely more con- 
 sequence to the United States of America than all 
 the Plunder that can be taken. If they divide their 
 forces we shall have elbow room and that gamed we 
 shall turn about and play our parts to the best 
 advantage, which we cannot do now, being constantly 
 cramped in one part or another. It has long been 
 clear to me that our Infant fleet cannot protect our 
 own Coasts; and the only effectual relief it can afford 
 us is to attack the enemy's defenceless places and 
 thereby oblige them to station more of their Ships 
 in their own Countries, or to keep them employed in 
 following ours, and either way we are relieved so far 
 as they do it. I do not pretend to give you any ac- 
 count of the Coasts and Harbours, strength of Foreti- 
 fications or mode of attack, for I cannot doubt your 
 being well Acquainted with these things, knowing as 
 I do that you have been a Commander in the West 
 India trade, and at any rate your appearance will be 
 unexpected and the enemy unprepared. They have 
 no Troops and the very sound of a great Gun will 
 frighten them into submission. Governor Chester will 
 no doubt know where the Brass Artillery are deposited 
 and be Glad to surrender them as a Ransom for him- 
 self and his Capital. 
 
 When your business is done at Pensacola you may 
 give them an alarm at St. Augustine but they have 
 some Troops & you must be careful of your men. I 
 think you should carry with you as many Marines 
 as possible, for they will be useful & Necessary in all
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 141 
 
 your Land excursions. The Southern Colonies wish 
 to see part of their Navy, and if you find it convenient 
 and safe you might recruit and refit at Georgia, South 
 or North Carolina, there make a sale of such part of 
 your Prize goods &c as would be useful to them, learn 
 where there was the safest Port to the Northward, 
 and then push along to such place of safety as might 
 be necessary for refitting and remanning the fleet. 
 
 Should you prefer going to the Coast of Africa, you 
 have the consent of the Marine Committee, but in 
 that case I apprehend you only want the two ships 
 and the Sloop Providence. Remember, it is a long 
 voyage. That you cannot destroy any English settle- 
 ments there, and that if you meet any of their men-of- 
 war in those seas they will be much superior to you in 
 strength &c. You may, it is true, do them much mis- 
 chief, but the same may be done by Cruizing to Wind- 
 ward of Barbadoes as all of their Guinea Men fall in 
 there. However, you are left to your choice and I am 
 sure will choose for the best. Should there be a dif- 
 ficulty in getting all the Vessels fully manned with so 
 many Seamen as you may think necessary, take the 
 more Marines and you will get seamen from Prizes 
 in the Course of your Voyage. It is a Standing In- 
 struction from the Marine Committee to the Com- 
 manders in the American Navy to be careful of their 
 ships, their Materials and Stores; to use well their 
 Officers and men, preserving, however, strict discipline. 
 To treat Prisoners with humanity and generosity and 
 to keep them advised of their proceedings as frequently 
 as circumstances will admit. 
 
 Wishing you success, I am Sir, 
 
 Your hble servant, 
 
 ROBERT MORRIS V: P: 
 
 P. S: If you get the brass Pieces send them into 
 the first Port in these states and have them valued.
 
 142 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 The magnitude of these orders came as a complete 
 surprise to Jones, who was not only ignorant of the 
 degree of the impression which his exploits had made 
 upon the marine committee, but also of the desire of 
 Congress to undo an injustice hitherto unsuspected by 
 him. Hopkins, thoroughly inimical, refused to carry 
 out the orders of Congress. No sooner had he received 
 the orders than he sent the Cabot out for a six weeks' 
 cruise, ordering out also the Hampden and the Alfred, 
 under Hinman. Having thus disposed of three of 
 the available ships of the fleet, he announced to Jones 
 that it was impossible for him to carry out the orders 
 of Congress. After waiting until the 28th of Febru- 
 ary, Jones wrote to Hopkins: 
 
 It is unnecessary for me to inform you, as I have 
 already done, that I am appointed by a letter from the 
 Honorable President of the Marine Committee, dated 
 the 5th current, to take command of the Alfred, Co- 
 lumbus, Cabot, Hampden and sloop Providence, and 
 to call on you for every possible assistance within 
 your power, to enable me to proceed forthwith on a 
 private enterprise of the greatest importance to Amer- 
 ica. The letter has the sanction and the full authority 
 of Congress. It is written in their names. There- 
 fore, Sir, I repeat my application, and demand your 
 hearty and complete concurrence with me in the outfit. 
 
 It is in vain for you to affect to disbelieve my appoint- 
 ment. I should have appeared personally at Provi- 
 dence had you not justified my conduct by leaving 
 me as you have done in the lurch. 1 
 
 I could have convinced you of its being your indes- 
 pensible duty to give me every possible assistance. 
 
 1 This refers to the affair with the Eagle.
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 143 
 
 When I placed confidence in you I did not think you 
 capable of prevarication. I then, when you needed 
 friends, gave you most convincing proof of my sin- 
 cerity; this you must remember. 
 
 I asked Captain Saltonstall how he could in the 
 beginning suspect me as you have told me, of being 
 unfriendly to America. He seemed astonished at the 
 question and told me it was yourself who promoted 
 it. However, waiving everything of a private nature; 
 the best way is to co-operate cheerfully together that 
 the public service may be forwarded, and that scorn 
 may yet forbear to point the finger at a Fleet under 
 your command. 
 
 I am in earnest in desiring to do everything with 
 good nature; therefore to remove your doubts if you 
 have any, I send you this by express, to inform you 
 that I will meet you at Pawtucket, or at any other 
 place, on as early a day as you please to appoint, and 
 will then produce credentials to your satisfaction. In 
 the meantime it is your duty to prevent the departure 
 of the Cabot, or any other vessel of the squadron. I 
 am astonished to hear that you have ordered the 
 Hampden out without desiring an explanation; after 
 you received my last letters. 
 
 My appointment was unsolicited, unexpected and 
 it must be owing to the hurry of business that you 
 have received no similar orders. 
 
 I am, Honorable Sir, 
 Your very obliged, 
 
 Most humble servant, 
 
 JOHN PAUL JONES. 
 
 P. S. I have sent by the bearer the coat which you 
 desired, and likewise one for Mr. Brown. If I can 
 render you any service here in procuring other arti- 
 cles, acquaint me with the particulars, and my best 
 endeavors shall not be wanting.
 
 144 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 As one of the earlier biographers of Jones remarks, 
 the mixture of conciliatory overtures with the per- 
 emptory language of this epistle shows that personal 
 pique was tempered with a predominating desire to 
 serve his adopted country at all sacrifice. 
 
 On March the 1st Hopkins replied to Jones, abso- 
 lutely declining to carry out the orders of Congress. 
 He declared that he considered it "Impossible to get 
 those vessels fitted or manned for your proposed ex- 
 pedition," and that he would acquaint the marine 
 board with his reasons. 
 
 A letter preserved among the Continental Congress 
 papers shows that he had actually received the orders 
 of Congress in due time and had disingenuously con- 
 cealed the fact. 
 
 Jones was now finally forced to the conclusion that 
 nothing was to be expected of his enemy, and de- 
 parted in the early days of March for Philadelphia 
 to lay the matter before his friends in Congress. 
 
 Hopkins had once more openly disobeyed the orders 
 of Congress, and was rushing rapidly toward his de- 
 struction. At the very moment when he was pursuing 
 his hostile policy toward his too successful subordi- 
 nate a conspiracy was set on foot which resulted in 
 his dismissal from the command of the fleet. 
 
 The discontent of his officers found ready instru- 
 ments in the hostile representatives of the privateers, 
 who, by virtue of their sponsors' share in the build- 
 ing of the new ships, could command great influence 
 in Congress. Emissaries were sent to Philadelphia 
 who represented to the members of Congress that
 
 FIRST INDEPENDENT COMMAND 145 
 
 the commander of the fleet had described them as a 
 "pack of ignorant clerks who knew nothing at all." 
 This was the final undoing of the unfortunate Ezek 
 Hopkins. 
 
 Congress could be patient with utter inefficiency, 
 and even forgive open disobedience of orders, but 
 could not pardon this insult to its dignity. Hopkins 
 denied that he had made these invidious remarks and 
 sued his detractors; but Congress, now thoroughly 
 partisan, actually paid out of its depleted coffers for 
 the defence of Hopkins's accusers, and a few months 
 later, in January, 1778, the outraged dignitaries for- 
 mally disgraced and removed him from his command. 
 
 His refusal to give the ships to Jones was the last 
 act of his hostility, but as events turned out it was 
 effectual in working harm to his enemy, and proved a 
 serious obstruction to the operations of the navy.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 SUPERSEDURE IN RANK 
 
 ALTHOUGH Jones's removal from the command of the 
 Alfred had been a matter for astonishment and cha- 
 grin, he was so far able to subdue his natural feelings 
 of irritation and injustice as to speak and write of it 
 as a "trifle." His annoyance at Hopkins's refusal 
 to give him possession of the fleet was naturally 
 greater; but he was conscious of the inferior ability 
 and waning power of his jealous adversary, and did 
 not consider that this act of hostility on his part would 
 be of permanent effect. He believed that Congress 
 would carry out its plans for extensive naval opera- 
 tions, of which he should be the director and com- 
 mander, and that the minor matter of his removal 
 from the command of the flag-ship would be com- 
 pensated by his appointment to the command of 
 the whole squadron. His confidence was entirely 
 natural at this time, for although the orders of the 
 marine committee were of a magnitude which aston- 
 ished him, they did not surpass his own opinion of his 
 deserts. 
 
 In the few months which had elapsed since his ap- 
 pointment he had excelled all the other officers in the 
 navy by the number and brilliancy of his accomplish- 
 
 146
 
 SUPERSEDURE IN RANK 147 
 
 ments, and had become without question the most 
 famous and important individual in the service. It 
 cannot be said that any lack of modesty is discernible 
 at this time in his valuation of himself, but that val- 
 uation had become necessarily clearer as he compared 
 himself with others and tested his own powers. His 
 personal ambition grew rapidly with its gratification, 
 but did not go beyond his grave sense of responsi- 
 bility or his genuine devotion to the cause of his 
 adopted country. 
 
 In the great crises of human history leaders are 
 rapidly developed. Paul Jones had conclusively de- 
 monstrated his pre-eminent qualifications for com- 
 mand, and had himself become fully conscious of the 
 fact. The freedom of opportunity offered to him in 
 this, the formative period of a new nation, was now 
 nullified by the irregularity which necessarily charac- 
 terized the experimental and changing regulations of 
 its government. Much dissatisfaction had been ex- 
 pressed at the irregularity of the navy appointments, 
 and as far back as April, 1776, a resolution had been 
 passed by Congress "that the nomination of captains 
 and commanders would not determine rank, which 
 should be settled before commissions were granted." 
 This resolution served to nullify any equitable claims 
 for priority which might be urged by any officer of any 
 rank whatever, and left every question of this kind 
 open for the definite alignment embodied in the navy 
 list of October 10, 1776, which exhibited a truly ex- 
 traordinary irregularity and disregard of merit. This 
 list brought forth repeated protests and aroused mani-
 
 148 
 
 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 fold resentment, but Congress obstinately refused to 
 alter it. 
 The following is the list of naval appointments: 
 
 NO. 
 
 COMMANDERS 
 
 VESSELS 
 
 GUNS 
 
 1 
 
 James Nicholson 
 
 Virginia 
 
 28 
 
 2 
 
 John IVIanly 
 
 Hancock 
 
 32 
 
 3 
 
 Hector McNeill 
 
 Boston 
 
 24 
 
 
 Dudley Saltonstall 
 
 Trumbull 
 
 28 
 
 
 Nicholas Biddle 
 
 Randolph 
 
 32 
 
 
 Thomas Thompson 
 
 Raleigh 
 
 32 
 
 
 John Barry 
 
 Effingham 
 
 28 
 
 
 Thomas Read 
 
 Washington 
 
 32 
 
 
 Thomas Grinnell 
 
 Congress 
 
 28 
 
 
 Charles Alexander 
 
 Delaware 
 
 24 
 
 
 Lambert Wickes 
 
 Reprisal 
 
 16 
 
 
 Abraham Whipple 
 
 Providence. . 
 
 28 
 
 
 John B. Hopkins 
 
 Warren 
 
 32 
 
 
 John Hodge 
 
 Montgomery 
 
 24 
 
 
 William Hallock 
 
 Lexington 
 
 16 
 
 
 Hoysted Hacker 
 
 Hampden 
 
 
 
 Isaiah Robinson 
 
 Andrew Doria 
 
 14 
 
 
 Paul Jones 
 
 Providence 
 
 12 
 
 
 James Josiah 
 
 
 
 
 Elisha Hinman 
 
 Alfred 
 
 28 
 
 
 Joseph Olney i . . 
 
 Cabot 
 
 16 
 
 
 James Robinson 
 
 Sacham 
 
 10 
 
 
 John Young 
 
 Independence 
 
 10 
 
 
 Elisha Warner 
 
 Fly.. 
 
 
 
 Lieut. John Baldwin 
 
 Wasp 
 
 8 
 
 
 Lieut. Thomas Albertson. 
 
 Musquito 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 It will be seen that James Nicholson, of Maryland, 
 was put at the head of this list. It is impossible now 
 to assign the reasons for this appointment, as he had 
 received his captain's commission on June 6, 1776, 
 subsequent to Saltonstall, Whipple, Biddle, and John
 
 SUPERSEDURE IN RANK 149 
 
 B. Hopkins, who had been assigned to that rank by 
 the first Congressional resolution of December 22, 1775. 
 This was an evident injustice to these men, who bit- 
 terly resented the supersedure. It was likewise an 
 injustice to Jones, whose captain's commission had 
 been given him by Hopkins on the 10th of May, 1776, 
 a month previous to that of Nicholson. That the 
 four captains of the original list of 1775 should have 
 preceded Jones was no injustice as far as priority was 
 concerned, nor was it wrong, for the same reason, that 
 Manly, sailing as captain under Washington's commis- 
 sion, or Barry, holding the first Congressional appoint- 
 ment, should precede him. With the disgrace and 
 removal of Hopkins, Nicholson became the ranking 
 officer in the navy, and its nominal head. Jones's 
 claim for the right to hold this important rank was 
 based on the fact that the commission issued to him 
 by Hancock on the 8th of August, 1776, after the 
 Declaration of Independence, was thus the very first 
 to be issued with full governmental authority. 
 
 That he should have hoped for the first place on the 
 list for this reason, and probably expected to obtain 
 it if the orders of Congress to put him at the head of 
 the fleet had been carried out, would not be surprising. 
 As a matter of fact, he did not demand it, but only 
 contended for his proper rank, which, as he stated with 
 perfect truth and justice, should have been fifth in- 
 stead of eighteenth on the list. Even at a later period, 
 when only one captain of senior appointment remained 
 in the service, he merely asked to be restored to his 
 proper place, in spite of all the e*clat of his triumphs
 
 150 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 and all the influence which his friends brought to bear 
 to put him officially, as he was actually, at the head 
 of the navy. 1 
 
 There were several reasons which brought about 
 this situation, the principal one being the absence of 
 Jones's indispensable friend, Joseph Hewes, from his 
 accustomed seat in Congress. Utterly worn out by 
 his prodigious exertions in connection with the equip- 
 ment of the marine, he returned in September, 1776, 
 to North Carolina, and was absent at the time the 
 naval list was adopted. When the general assembly 
 of his State convened in the spring of 1777, he failed in 
 re-election to his seat in Congress, and was therefore 
 still absent from Philadelphia when Jones journeyed 
 there for the purpose of laying his wrongs before that 
 body. Too faultless in his modest but undeniable 
 virtues, Hewes had aroused enmity even in happy 
 Edenton, and the opponents of this Southern Aristides 
 so vigorously urged the technical illegality ignored in 
 other States, of his holding seats in the North Carolina 
 and the Continental Congresses at one and the same 
 time, that he failed for this one term only of election 
 to the latter body. Jones therefore missed his assist- 
 ance in his attempt to rectify his supersedure. Other 
 reasons, afterward explained to Jones by Hewes, for 
 the injustice that had been done him were found in 
 
 1 Although on some occasions displaying notable bravery, Captain 
 Nicholson was far from fortunate in his naval services, having permitted 
 two frigates under his command to be captured by the enemy; and 
 having been guilty of writing a disrespectful letter to the Governor of 
 Maryland, from which State he had been appointed to the navy, he 
 was on May 1, 1777, suspended from his command.
 
 SUPERSEDURE IN RANK 151 
 
 the fact that there was a great multitude of applica- 
 tions for appointments in the navy, and that the de- 
 mands of the towns and communities which had con- 
 tributed funds for ship construction had to be satisfied 
 and their candidates recognized. Besides this, the New 
 England influence was still very strong in Congress, 
 and much jealousy existed between the North and the 
 South even in those early days. The superior ele- 
 gance and social claims of the officers coming from 
 the aristocratic States of Virginia and the Carolinas 
 aroused a natural enmity, which found expression in 
 the remark of Jones's antagonist, John Adams, always 
 a warm supporter of Hopkins, when he ill-naturedly 
 described Jones as "this stranger from the South." 
 Jones was at sea on his first independent cruise, 
 Hewes was away, and Morris had no reason as yet for 
 any belief in his extraordinary merit, for he had re- 
 ceived as yet only one letter from Jones, that of Sep- 
 tember 4, with its brief account of his first exploits. 
 As a matter of fact, neither Morris nor any other 
 member of the marine committee were then aware of 
 Jones's extraordinary capacity, and in the absence of 
 this knowledge and of any particular advocate of his 
 merit, the demands of the other officers were recognized. 
 A few months later, on the 1st of February, when they 
 had been aroused to enthusiasm by the news of his 
 successes, this same marine committee, hi total dis- 
 regard of the naval list they had so hurriedly adopted, 
 wished to put him at the head of the navy. 
 
 The characteristically clear account of the matter 
 contained in a letter from Jones to Morris in the year
 
 152 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 1783, and which he had prepared for presentation to 
 Congress at that time, is here appended: 
 
 I became captain by right of service and succession, 
 and by order and commission of his Excellency Ezek 
 Hopkins, commander-in-chief, the tenth day of May 
 
 1776, at which time the captain of the Providence was 
 broke and dismissed from the Navy by a Court Martial. 
 Having arrived in Philadelphia with a little convoy 
 from Boston soon after the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, President Hancock gave me a captain's com- 
 mission under the United States, dated the 8th day 
 of August 1776. I did not at the time think that this 
 was doing me justice, as it did not correspond with 
 the date of my appointment by the commander-in- 
 chief. It was however, I presume, the first naval com- 
 mission granted under the United States. And as a 
 resolution of Congress had been passed on the 17th day 
 of April 1776 that the nomination of captains should 
 not determine rank which was to be settled before 
 commissions were granted, my commission of the 8th 
 of August 1776 must by that resolution take rank of 
 every commission dated the 10th of October 1776. 
 My duty brought me again to Philadelphia in April 
 
 1777, and President Hancock then told me that new 
 naval commissions were ordered to be distributed to 
 the officers. He requested me to show him the cap- 
 tain's commission he had given me the year before. 
 I did so. He then desired me to leave it with him a 
 day or two, till he could find a leisure moment to fill 
 up a new commission. I made no difficulty when I 
 waited on him the day before my departure, to my 
 great surprise he put into my hands a commission 
 dated the 10th day of October 1776, and number 18 
 on the margin. I told him that this was not what I 
 expected, and requested my former commission. He
 
 SUPERSEDURE IN RANK 153 
 
 turned over various papers on the table, and at last 
 told me he was sorry to have lost or mislaid it. He 
 paid me so many compliments on the service I had 
 performed in vessels of little force, and assured me no 
 officer stood higher in the opinion of Congress than 
 myself, a proof of which he said was my late appoint- 
 ment to the command of secret expeditions, with five 
 sail and men proportioned, against St. Kitts, Pensa- 
 cola, Augustine, and so forth. That the table of Naval 
 rank that had been adopted the 1st of October had 
 been drawn up in a hurry and without well knowing 
 the different merits and qualifications of the officers. 
 That it was the intention of Congress to render im- 
 partial justice, and always to honor, promote and re- 
 ward merit. And to myself that I might depend on 
 receiving a very agreeable appointment soon after my 
 return to Boston, and until I was perfectly satisfied 
 respecting my rank, I should have separate command. 
 
 It is plainly evident from this account that the 
 courteous and elegant Hancock found himself in an 
 awkward predicament. He was naturally in sym- 
 pathy with the members of the New England party 
 in Congress, and was of no caliber to stand out against 
 their claims or to remove their candidates after they 
 had once been appointed. Thus Jones was deprived 
 of his proper rank in the navy rank which, to quote 
 his own noble and characteristic phrase, "opens the 
 door to glory." 
 
 This injustice was destined to bring about very seri- 
 ous results; for although his reputation suffered little, 
 an irremediable bent was given to his mind, which had 
 already shown dangerous tendencies to carry all its 
 processes to the extreme limit, and which finally made
 
 154 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 him into a man with a grievance, a role which nature 
 had never intended he should fill. 
 
 He bore with perfect courage and unusual philos- 
 ophy the results of the Mungo Maxwell affair. With 
 less composure he had been overwhelmed in the sec- 
 ond black period of ill-luck which had followed the 
 killing of the mutineer. Just recovered from this, and 
 but lately emerged into the light of noble effort and 
 successful accomplishment, this unjust supersedure in 
 rank roused a brooding sense of ill-desert to which he 
 too often gave utterance, and which remained to the 
 last the most unsympathetic trait in his character. 
 
 Washington's fury at a like insult in the days of 
 his early colonial campaigns is recorded in his own 
 uncompromising terms. Benedict Arnold's fiery and 
 less-balanced nature was utterly overthrown by the 
 same careless disregard of transcendent merit, the 
 same obstinate refusal to recognize and rectify a wrong. 
 If Congress had been guilty of errors and injustice to 
 the officers of its newly organized navy, it had, on the 
 other hand, great reasons for dissatisfaction with their 
 exploits. Little, indeed, had been done by the regu- 
 lar naval forces, owing to Hopkins's incapacity and 
 the overwhelming predominance of the privateers. 
 It is astonishing to read that these privately com- 
 manded vessels actually captured as many as three 
 hundred British ships during the year 1776. Agri- 
 culture was practically abandoned in many States in 
 favor of this very lucrative form of enterprise, and 
 most of the available men were engaged by the pri- 
 vateers.
 
 SUPERSEDURE IN RANK 155 
 
 The fleet under Hopkins never went out after its 
 first cruise to New Providence. The gallant Nicholas 
 Biddle, who was destined to end his brief career in 
 the following year, made one cruise of a brilliancy 
 almost equalling those of Jones. Barry took a num- 
 ber of ships, and Captain Hardy, of Connecticut, and 
 Captain Waters, in Manly's old ship, the Lee, captured 
 some transports with five hundred British soldiers off 
 Nantasket Roads; but most of the original fleet lay 
 empty and useless in Narragansett Bay. The autumn 
 of 1776 was, in fact, the hour of the blackest discour- 
 agement for the patriot cause, and the times were des- 
 perately critical. When Washington, at the head of 
 his rapidly disintegrating force, reported that many 
 of his men were actually naked and none of them fitly 
 clad for service, the news of the capture of the Mellish, 
 which arrived just before the battle of Trenton, came 
 as heaven-sent succor. The action of Congress was 
 calculated to deprive the country of the most efficient 
 officer in the navy, and yet it was only Jones's public 
 spirit and his noble self-forgetfulness which prevented 
 this calamity. Washington himself, at this very mo- 
 ment, wrote to Congress that "the want of regimental 
 promotion has already driven some of the best officers 
 that were in the Army, out of the service." 
 
 To understand the reasons which made such faulty 
 and vacillating measures possible to the government, 
 it is necessary to recall that the navy list was adopted 
 in the month of October, 1776, only a few weeks before 
 Congress fled in panic from Philadelphia. The noble 
 body of statesmen and orators did not acquit them-
 
 156 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 selves with common-sense or common courage at this 
 most critical moment in the history of America. It 
 was the darkest hour of the Revolution. The enemy 
 was in possession of New York; the disaster of Long 
 Island had been followed by the loss of the Hudson 
 River forts. The army of Washington was rapidly 
 going to pieces, and the traitor Lee was holding back 
 the forces under his command from assisting the com- 
 mander-in-chief . The country was in despair and panic 
 was spreading rapidly among the people, the army, 
 and the members of Congress. Washington informed 
 the president of that body that he believed that Howe 
 intended immediately to take possession of Philadel- 
 phia. The absurd refusal of the people who were wag- 
 ing war against illegal taxation to submit to the obvious 
 necessity of proper taxation to carry on the war kept 
 the treasury empty, and the no less absurd system of 
 short enlistments reduced the army to a miserable and 
 changing handful. Howe's offers of amnesty were 
 being widely accepted, and the ignorant brutality of 
 the Hessian mercenaries, which despoiled both patriot 
 and Tory alike, had not yet driven the hesitating 
 farmers to protect their homes by joining the patriot 
 army. Washington himself, writing privately to his 
 brother, declared that "if every nerve is not strained 
 to recruit the army with all possible expedition, I 
 think the game is up." In November the British ad- 
 vanced to Trenton, and rumors of Hessians and High- 
 landers marching from Burlington toward Cooper's 
 Ferry threw Philadelphia into a turmoil. A wild scene 
 of distress ensued, with every one hurriedly departing
 
 SUPERSEDURE IN RANK 157 
 
 except the Quakers. Congress fled precipitately to 
 Baltimore, leaving accounts unpaid and papers in con- 
 fusion. Robert Morris remained practically alone at 
 the seat of government to cany on its affairs. The 
 marine board held its sessions in Baltimore, where the 
 entire personnel of Congress was accommodated, with 
 the exception of the affluent Hancock, "who hired a 
 whole house to himself," but took this opportunity 
 to abandon his labors as president of the governing 
 body to journey off to Boston to see "his dear Dolly," 
 from whom he declared he could not bear to be sep- 
 arated. 
 
 John Adams, at this juncture, was also an absentee, 
 having rejoined his Portia for the three months' va- 
 cation which Congress had allowed him. Although 
 Washington in his truly desperate state had antici- 
 pated an attack upon Philadelphia, John Cadwalader, 
 the commander of the excellent body of Philadelphia 
 militia called the "Silk Stocking Brigade," was furious 
 at the departure of Congress, and wrote indignantly 
 to Morris of what he considered its premature and 
 cowardly flight. As a matter of fact, Morris himself 
 was almost the only one who did not merit Cadwala- 
 der's reproaches. He sent his library to the country 
 and his wife to his relatives in Baltimore, and set 
 himself to the truly titanic task of directing alone 
 and unaided the affairs of the disorganized govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Bending over this forge where new forces were to 
 be hammered out from the chaotic elements of a dis- 
 rupted and newly forming civilization, he gave every-
 
 158 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 thing which he was and owned to the cause of human 
 liberty. 
 
 A letter, written just four days before the unlooked- 
 for victory of Trenton illumined what had hitherto 
 been unrelieved darkness and discouragement, gives 
 a picture detailed and even humorous of the unique 
 situation in which he found himself: 
 
 The sudden departure of Congress from this place, 
 seems to be a matter of much speculation, and people 
 who judge of events, think they have been too pre- 
 cipitate; be that as it may, many things are thrown 
 into great confusion by it, and I find ample employ- 
 ment in applying remidies when I can. The unfin- 
 ished business of the Maritime and Secret Committees 
 I intend to confine myself to, but I hear so many com- 
 plaints and see so much confusion from other quarters, 
 that I am obliged to advise in things not committed 
 to me. Much money is wanted. The Militia is at 
 last turning out. There was the greatest scene of con- 
 fusion in the management of the Continental horses, 
 wagons and expresses that was ever exhibited. Bad 
 enough before Congress departed, it is ten times worse 
 now, and Jacob Hittzei'mer, a very honest man, will 
 run mad soon if not properly assisted. 
 
 The "much money" was sent on to Washington in 
 packages of hard coin from Morris's own coffers, and 
 in this and in every other imaginable way he labored 
 with indefatigable energy and unruffled optimism over 
 his task. It must have been a dreary enough time for 
 every member of the Patriot party, and Philadelphia 
 sadly changed from the abode of "quiet peace and 
 elegant hospitality" which Adams had found it during
 
 SUPERSEDURE IN RANK 159 
 
 those inspiring early sessions of Congress. The city 
 was half empty, inhabited only by the neutral Quakers 
 in their neutral-tinted garb, its gloomy streets dis- 
 turbed occasionally by the arrival of wagon-loads of 
 wounded Hessians and the pale ranks of those wretched 
 American prisoners discharged at last from Howe's 
 prison ships in New York Bay and sent to the "Bet- 
 tering Houses" for their long convalescence. 
 
 Panic-stricken and disorganized, the fugitive mem- 
 bers of Congress decided to give unlimited control to 
 the few men who had demonstrated their willingness 
 and capacity to assume responsibility in their various 
 departments. They invested Washington with the pow- 
 ers of a dictator, made Morris administrative head 
 of Philadelphia, and intended by the unlimited orders 
 given to Paul Jones to make him the virtual com- 
 mander-in-chief of the navy. So far had this nameless 
 Scotchman advanced in the councils of America. He 
 had well merited the honor. If Morris, out of his full 
 coffers, had subsidized the penniless government and 
 clothed the army of Washington, Jones, from his little 
 fortune, had paid off the crews of his ships and lent 
 the remainder of his available funds to the government. 
 If Washington, realizing the only method of warfare 
 possible to his wretched handful of troops, had by his 
 masterly retreats and delays gained the title of the 
 American Fabius, Paul Jones, with equal wisdom and 
 a like courage in desperate emergencies, had proposed 
 and carried out the only method of naval warfare pos- 
 sible to the marine forces of the colonists. By rapid 
 descents upon the unprotected coasts of the enemy
 
 160 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 with his fast-sailing little ships, he won in his brill- 
 iant cruises the only victories possible over the mari- 
 time forces of England. 
 
 When he came to Philadelphia in the spring of this 
 unhappy year he found himself in the centre of a con- 
 flicting atmosphere of praise and blame friends who 
 wished to put him at the head of the fleet, and foes 
 who had disgraced him by the insult of his glaringly 
 unjust supersedure. The emotions aroused by such 
 extraordinary contrasts in the manner and degree of 
 his recognition might easily have bewildered an older 
 man and a native American. He tried with evident 
 modesty and a controlling fidelity to the common 
 cause to find his way among these warring elements. 
 He waited on Hancock, he visited Morris, he appeared 
 before the marine committee, who were once more re- 
 turned to Philadelphia with the returning members 
 of Congress. The scattered elements of the govern- 
 ment were once more coalescing at its seat, and on 
 the 27th of February were again assembled in Phila- 
 delphia with various absentee members still to be 
 heard from. Hancock had by this time journeyed 
 back from Boston and wrote immediately, on the 10th 
 of March, for his wife, telling her that Mrs. Wash- 
 ington had already arrived. Adams sent also for his 
 Portia, and Mrs. Morris, returning also, opened her 
 house on Front Street, and the little Republican Court 
 was again assembled. 
 
 Hope dawned again as the spring days arrived, and 
 no further overwhelming disaster came to keep the 
 pleasure-loving Philadelphians from their racing, their
 
 SUPERSEDURE IN RANK 161 
 
 card-playing, and their truly magnificent feasts. It 
 is strange to read that when dark days came again to 
 the patriot cause, in the winter of 1778, when the 
 enemy was really in possession of the capital and Wash- 
 ington was grimly standing guard at Valley Forge, 
 that a wild reign of extravagance and even immo- 
 rality ran its strange course in Philadelphia. All 
 distinction and party feelings were submerged in the 
 friendly relations which existed between the British 
 soldiers and the colonial dames of that city. A curious 
 condition of affairs obtained which well might have 
 aroused the indignation of Washington. Hundreds of 
 pounds were spent nightly for suppers and dances where 
 both Tory and Whig ladies mingled gayly with the 
 enemies of their country. It is not to be imagined 
 that Paul Jones, elegant as he afterward became in his 
 dress and manners after he had won his laurels in 
 European waters and his sword at the court of Ver- 
 sailles, was part of the aristocratic circle of Philadelphia 
 during the brief period of his visit there in the spring 
 of 1777. Social ambition became later a part of his life 
 in a way both marked and undeniable, but at this mo- 
 ment he was far more soldier than courtier, and was 
 wholly absorbed in the strenuous business of the hour. 
 His own personal grievances did not at this tune rise 
 to the surface or become the supreme preoccupation of 
 his mind. He placed himself and his services with- 
 out reserve or complaint at the disposition of the 
 marine committee. 
 
 That Congress should have been unable to prevent 
 the ignoble jealousy of the disgraced commander-in-
 
 162 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 chief of the navy, or circumvent its effect in regard to 
 Jones, was a calamity the extent of which is hard to 
 estimate. What his genius and courage might have ac- 
 complished at this critical time, had it been given full 
 opportunity, can never be calculated. The manner in 
 which he carried out his instructions, and the no less 
 astounding results he accomplished with the inadequate 
 means at his command, cause never-ending regret for 
 the great plans which were conceived in his brain and 
 laid unavailingly before a vacillating and impotent 
 government. If Lee's treacherous scheming and the 
 Conway cabal had dethroned Washington from his 
 place at the head of the Revolutionary army, the tale of 
 America's struggle for independence might have been 
 strangely altered. Yet a naval genius of the first order 
 was kept from the command of the maritime forces 
 of the nation, and at the most critical period of its 
 existence.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 
 
 IN the first volume of a work by A. C. Buell, en- 
 titled "Paul Jones, Founder of the American Navy," 
 the author prints a long document, attributed to the 
 pen of Jones, containing an elaborate plan in regard 
 to the establishment and regulation of the navy. 
 This document has gained the widest currency and 
 has been generally accepted as authentic. High au- 
 thorities have declared it to be the "moral and intel- 
 lectual charter of Annapolis," and have stated that 
 Jones's glorious reputation rests upon this endur- 
 ing foundation rather than upon the memory of 
 his immortal battles. With the exception of one 
 brief and garbled passage taken from the letter of 
 Jones to Hewes of April 14, 1776, this document is a 
 fabrication as remarkable for its skill as for its well- 
 nigh universal acceptance. Mr. Buell asserts that 
 it was written at the request of the "first marine 
 committee," which assembled on June the 14th, 
 1775. The account of the formation of the commit- 
 tee which was actually appointed by Congress, as 
 given in the fifth chapter of this volume, is based 
 upon the official records in Washington. These rec- 
 ords absolutely disprove the statements of Buell. 
 Internal evidences are also present in the alleged 
 
 163
 
 164 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 document which discredit its authenticity in every par- 
 ticular. It has, however, been so frequently quoted 
 as the foundation of Jones's right to be called the 
 "Founder of the American Navy" that it is important 
 at this point in his history to assemble his actual 
 writings in regard to the establishment of the marine. 
 
 In the four years of his service in the navy of the 
 Revolution he gave repeated and brilliant examples of 
 his theory of the kind of naval warfare best adapted 
 to the forces of the colonies. Although he entered 
 upon his duties with becoming modesty, he soon dis- 
 covered that he was the only officer in the service 
 who was capable of formulating effective plans for the 
 improvement of the navy. He immediately began to 
 shape his ideas into practical suggestions calculated to 
 bring order out of the utterly chaotic conditions which 
 existed in the government at Philadelphia and which 
 were ludicrously exemplified by the entirely inefficient 
 commander of the fleet. His knowledge of the rules 
 and standards of the British navy was brought to bear 
 with a proper regard for the differing conditions in the 
 colonies. His long experience in the merchant service 
 and as a commander of armed vessels in the slave- 
 trade had given him an extensive and practical knowl- 
 edge of seamanship which also assisted him in his 
 conclusions. These suggestions were distinguished by 
 notable common-sense, and showed a cool and dis- 
 criminating judgment, remarkable foresight, and a 
 grasp, both wide and accurate, of the great subject 
 and of the greater enterprise in which he was engaged. 
 
 Following the legislation which established a naval
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 165 
 
 committee and resolved upon the organization of a na- 
 tional maritime force, Congress, on November the 2d, 
 voted one hundred thousand dollars for the purchase of 
 four ships, and empowered the naval committee to en- 
 gage officers and seamen, fixing their "encouragement" 
 at one-half of all ships of war made prizes by them and 
 one-third of all transport vessels. On the 10th Con- 
 gress ordered the organization of a marine corps, and 
 on the 23d a draft of rules for the organization of the 
 American navy and articles to be signed by the offi- 
 cers and seamen was drawn up by John Adams and 
 laid before Congress, which forthwith adopted them 
 after discussion of the several articles. A penal code 
 and a regulation for the establishment of courts- 
 martial were also adopted, as well as regulations for 
 the rations of seamen and the conduct of religious 
 services. Only two grades of commissioned officers 
 were adopted, a captain and a lieutenant, and five 
 marine officers, the highest of which was a captain. 
 The minor officers were master, master's mate, boat- 
 swain, boatswain's first and second mate, gunner, gun- 
 ner's mate, carpenter, carpenter's mate, cooper, cap- 
 tain's clerk, steward, and chaplain. A pay-table and 
 contract of enlistment were also decreed. These rules 
 were adopted in an abridged form from the British 
 naval statutes in force in 1775. These, in brief, were 
 the regulations of the navy when Jones was given his 
 commission. When he was serving as lieutenant on 
 the Alfred, in the first cruise of the fleet under Hopkins ; 
 and later when he was in command of the Providence, 
 he communicated a record of his acts and his com- 
 ments upon the conduct of affairs by his superior
 
 166 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 officers to Joseph Hewes. In September of that year 
 (1776), after the naval committee had given place to 
 the larger marine committee or marine board, he began 
 a correspondence with Robert Morris, who had be- 
 come a member of that body and was its vice-president 
 and actual head. Morris was also at this time the 
 secretary of the treasury, and by virtue of the large 
 fortune which he put at the disposition of the well- 
 nigh penniless government was not only the secretary 
 of the treasury but the treasury itself. Hewes had 
 informed Jones that Morris had issued, at his sugges- 
 tion and for Jones's particular "honor and advantage," 
 the orders for his first independent cruise on the Prov- 
 idence. Jones soon after addressed Morris in a letter 
 which is the first of a series in which he presented to 
 the head of the marine committee his ideas in regard 
 to the improvement of the regulations in the navy. 
 Although Jones's relation with Morris was begun and 
 largely carried on in letters, and never characterized 
 by the intimacy which he enjoyed with Joseph Hewes, 
 Morris was very quick to recognize the brilliant gifts 
 and accomplishments of his correspondent and ably 
 advocated his advancement at every opportunity. 
 Jones naturally considered a friendship with this all- 
 powerful man to be of the utmost importance, and 
 characteristically made a voluntary reference to the 
 killing of the mutineer in Tobago, desiring that that 
 friendship should be marred by no reserve of confi- 
 dence or failure in frankness. 
 
 The first letter is written from the Providence, at 
 sea, a few weeks after Hopkins had assigned him to 
 that command:
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 167 
 
 Providence, At Sea, September 1th, 1776. 
 To the HONORABLE ROBERT MORRIS. 
 Honored Sir : 
 
 I herewith enclose for your inspection all the let- 
 ters and papers which I found in the brigantine Sea 
 Nymph. For the particulars of the cruise hitherto I 
 must beg leave to refer you to the within open letter 
 to the Marine Board, which please to lay before them. 
 I purpose to stand to the southward in the hopes of 
 falling in with some ships which I understand are now 
 on their passage from Barbadoes. But at this late 
 date my success is very uncertain. I will however 
 ply about in this meridian as long as I think I have 
 any chance, and if I fail at last I can run to the north- 
 ward and try for better success among the fishermen 
 which (I will) may answer no bad purpose by increas- 
 ing the number of our seamen. However my cruise 
 may terminate, I forget not the singular obligation I 
 owe to Mr. Morris who promised it for my honor and 
 advantage. And I esteem the honor done me by his 
 accepting my correspondence as the (most) greatest 
 favor I could have aspired to. I conclude that Mr. 
 Hewes had acquainted you with a very great misfort- 
 une which befell me some years ago, and which brought 
 me into North America. (The best man may soon 
 become equally or far more unfortunate, therefore I 
 will spare you the pain of repeating it here.) I am 
 under no concern whatever that this or any past cir- 
 cumstances of my Ufe will sink me in your opinion. 
 Since (human foresight) human Wisdom cannot se- 
 cure us from accidents, it is the greatest effort of 
 (Human) reason to bear them all. I will from tune 
 to time carefully communicate to you every intelli- 
 gence in my power, and as the regulations of the Navy 
 are of the utmost consequence, you will not think it 
 presumptuous if with the utmost diffidence I venture 
 to communicate to you such hints as in my humble
 
 168 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 opinion will (appear wise) promote its Honor and 
 the good of the Government. I could heartily wish 
 that every Commission Officer were to be previously 
 examined for to my certain knowledge, there are per- 
 sons who have already crept into Commission without 
 abilities or fit qualifications. I am myself far from 
 desiring to be excused through (my) experience in 
 ours, as well as from my former intimacy with many 
 officers of note in the British Navy, I am convinced 
 that the parity of rank between sea and land or ma- 
 rine officers is of more consequence to the harmony 
 of the service than has generally been imagined. In 
 the British Establishment an Admiral ranks with a 
 General, a Vice-Admiral with a Lieutenant-General, a 
 Rear Admiral with a Major-General, a Commodore 
 with a Brigadier General, a Captain with a Colonel, 
 a Master and Commander with a Lieutenant Colonel; 
 a Lieutenant commanding with a Major, and a Lieu- 
 tenant in the Navy ranks with a Captain of Horse 
 Marines. I propose not our Enemies as example for 
 general imitation, yet as their navy is the best regu- 
 lated of any in the world, we must in some degree 
 imitate them and aim at such further improvement 
 as may one day make ours vie with and exceed theirs. 
 Were that regulation to take place in our Navy it 
 would prevent numberless disputes and duellings which 
 otherwise would be unavoidable ; besides Sir, you know 
 very well that Marine officers being utterly unac- 
 quainted with maritime affairs, are in those cases unfit 
 persons to preside at or compose half the number of 
 a court martial. I beg pardon for this liberty. I 
 thought that such hints might escape your memory 
 in the multiplicity of business. I have always under- 
 stood the sentence of a Court Martial when confirmed 
 by a Commander in Chief was definite and admitted 
 of no appeal. To prove this I must again recur to 
 English authority. In the case of Lord George Sack-
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 169 
 
 ville who for disobeying the orders of Prince Ferdi- 
 nand at the battle of Minden was broke by a Court 
 (Martial) Martial held at the horse Guards, and ren- 
 dered incapable of serving afterwards in any military 
 capacity, although his great abilities were then well 
 known and are generally acknowledged at this day. 
 I am led into this subject by hearing with astonish- 
 ment the application and complaint of the late Cap- 
 tain Hazard to the Marine Board after he had been 
 found unworthy of bearing his commission in the Navy 
 by the undivided voice of a court Martial where I had 
 the honor to sit as a member. If he was then unwor- 
 thy of bearing his commission I cannot see what new 
 merit he can have acquired, and even if he had merit 
 it would not be sound policy to reverse the sentence; 
 it would make officers stand less in awe and attend less 
 punctually to their duty, and it is not improbable that 
 it might induce future Court Martials in some cases 
 to inflict personal punishment from whence there is 
 no appeal. There was a mistake made in the date of 
 my commission which unless you stand my friend will 
 make a material difference when the Navy rank is 
 settled. I took command here the 10th of May, as 
 appears on the order and appointment of the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief as the back of my commission as 
 eldest lieutenant of the fleet, and my commission as 
 captain is not dated until the eighth day of August, 
 which you know is not fair, as it would subject me to 
 be superseded by Captain Robinson who was at first 
 my junior officer by six Perhaps it might subject me 
 to be superseded by others. If I have deserved so ill 
 as to be superseded, I am unworthy of bearing my 
 commission (I have been held in some estimation 
 among my fellow mortals) I esteem it a greater dis- 
 grace and severer punishment than (it would) to be 
 fairly broke and dismissed the service. I have or-
 
 170 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 dered Mr. Chapkins the prize master to deliver you 
 a turtle, which please to accept. I have the honor 
 to be, with grateful esteem and much respect, 
 
 Honored Sir, 
 
 Your very obliged and very obedient humble servant, 
 
 J. P. J. 
 
 This letter is printed from the original autograph 
 draft in the collection of Jones's MSS. at Washing- 
 ton, and shows in the number of corrections and inter- 
 lineations the degree of care he expended upon it. 
 In a later letter to Morris, he makes further sugges- 
 tions in regard to the necessity of remodelling the 
 rules of conducting a court-martial after the customs 
 prevailing in the British service. "Seamen should be 
 registered and made subject to three years time, or 
 for as long a time as possible I wish also that our 
 manner of Courts Martial were as I have known them 
 in England No Marine Officers were entitled to as- 
 sist, except where their men were concerned, and that 
 too where they had been on duty as Soldiers on the 
 land, that Senior Captains, where there is no Admiral, 
 should be authorized to summon Courts Martial and 
 that whenever Five or more Captains are present no 
 Lieutenant should be authorized to assist. These are 
 only my private sentiments." l 
 
 Six weeks after the date of this letter, when Jones 
 had successfully completed his first cruise and was 
 again at anchor in Newport harbor, with opportuni- 
 
 1 A fragment of a letter of December 11, 1777, in Jones's handwriting 
 and bearing the address "to the Honbl Robert Morris," also in his hand- 
 writing. The date and the name of Jones as the writer is added under 
 the address in another hand. This fragment, pasted into a copy of 
 Sand's "Life of John Paul Jones," is in the possession of the author.
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 171 
 
 ties to view the conditions prevailing in the fleet, he 
 wrote again to Morris. This letter is in matter as 
 well as manner the most notable of the series. Lucid, 
 earnest, and unaffected, he here reaches his highest 
 point of expression and attains that style of "pure 
 and strenuous eloquence" praised by Disraeli in the 
 life which the great Englishman wrote in defence of 
 our naval hero. Inspired with the noblest enthusiasm 
 for the cause of human liberty, seriously and unself- 
 ishly aware of his own unusual responsibilities in the 
 struggle of his adopted country, he here shows those 
 qualities revealed only by the truly great in the mo- 
 mentous crises of human history: 
 
 Providence Sloop of War at NEWPORT 
 
 RHODE ISLAND, 17th October 1776. 
 HONORED SIR: 
 
 I wrote you at sea the 4th ult. of the brigantine 
 Sea Nymph second price. I have taken sixteen sail, 
 manned and sent in eight prizes, and sunk burnt and 
 destroyed the rest. The list of prizes is as follows: 
 
 1 The Brigantine Britania whaler 
 
 2 " " Sea Nymph, West Indies 
 
 3 " " Favorite 
 
 4. The Ship Alexander, New Foundland manned and 
 
 5 The Brigantine Success sent in 
 
 6 " Kingston Packet, Jamaica 
 
 7 " Defiance, Jersey 
 8 Sloop Portland whaler 
 
 1 The Ship Adventure, Jersey 
 2 The Brigantine Friendship 
 3 The Schooner John, London 
 4. -The Schooner Sea Flower Canso 
 
 Ebenezer, Canso 
 6 The Schooner Hope, Jersey 
 
 Burnt or other- 
 wise destroyed.
 
 172 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 I have written from time to time to the Marine 
 Board and furnished them with a particular account 
 of my proceedings, and I now send copies of my for- 
 mer letters. I arrived here 7th instant. I would not 
 have lost a day without writing you and to the Board 
 had not the Commodore proposed to me to take com- 
 mand of an expedition with the Alfred, Providence and 
 Hampden, to destroy the fisheries of New Foundland, 
 but principally to relieve a hundred of the fellow citi- 
 zens who are detained as prisoners and slaves in the 
 coal pits of Cape Breton. All my humanity was 
 awakened and called up to action by the laudable 
 proposal, and I have been successfully employed in 
 refitting and getting the Providence in readiness, but 
 am under the greatest apprehension that the expedi- 
 tion will fall to nothing as the Alfred is greatly short 
 of men, and we have with much ado enlisted thirty 
 more; but it seems the privateers entice them away as 
 fast as they receive their months pay. It is to the 
 last degree distressing to contemplate the state and 
 establishment of our navy. The common class of men 
 are actuated by no nobler principles than that of self 
 interest; this, and this alone determines all adventures 
 in privateers, the owners as well as those whom they 
 employ. And while this is the case, unless the pri- 
 vate emoluments of individuals in our Navy is made 
 superior to that in Privateers, it never can become 
 respectable. And without a respectable Navy alas! 
 America! In the present critical state of affairs, hu- 
 man wisdom can suggest no more than one infallible 
 expedient; enlist the seamen during pleasure and give 
 them all the prizes. What is the paltry emolument 
 of two-thirds of prizes to the finances of this vast 
 continent! If so poor a resource is essential to its 
 independency, in sober sadness we are involved in a 
 woeful predicament, and our ruin is fast approaching.
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 173 
 
 The situation of America is new in the annals of man- 
 kind; her affairs cry, haste and speed must answer 
 them. Trifles, therefore, ought to be wholly disre- 
 garded, as being in the old vulgar phrase "penny wise 
 and pound foolish." If our enemies with the best es- 
 tablished and most formidable Navy in the universe 
 have found it expedient to assign all prizes to the cap- 
 tors, how much more is such policy essential to our 
 infant fleet; but I need use no arguments to convince 
 you of the necessity of making the emolument of our 
 Navy equal if not superior to theirs. We have had 
 proof that a Navy may be officered almost on any 
 terms, but we are not so sure that these officers are 
 equal to their commissions; nor will the Congress ever 
 obtain such certainty until they, in their wisdom, see 
 proper to appoint a Board of Admiralty, competent 
 to determine impartially the respective merits and 
 abilities of their officers, and to superintend, regulate 
 and point out all the motions and operations of the 
 Navy. Gov. Hopkins tells me that he apprehends I 
 am appointed to the Andrew Dorm; she is a good 
 cruiser and would in my judgment answer much bet- 
 ter were she mounted with twelve six-pounders than 
 as she is at present with fourteen fours. An expedi- 
 tion of importance may be expected this winter on the 
 coast of Africa with part of the original fleet. Either 
 the Alfred or Columbus with the Andrew Doria and 
 Providence would, I am persuaded, carry all before 
 them, and give a blow to the English African trade 
 which would not be soon recovered, by not leaving 
 them a mast standing on that coast. This expedition 
 would be attended with no great expense; besides the 
 ships and vessels mentioned are unfit for service in a 
 winter coast, which is not the case with the new frigates. 
 The small squadron for this service ought to sail early, 
 that the prizes may reach our ports in March or April.
 
 174 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 If I do not succeed in manning the Alfred so as to 
 proceed to the eastward in the course of this week, 
 the season will be lost; the cod fleet will be gone to 
 Halifax, and the fishermen to Europe. I will not, 
 however, remain inactive, but proceed to cruise in 
 the sloop near Sandy Hook. Three of my prizes have 
 arrived here and one or two to the eastward. 
 I am and so forth. 
 
 J. P. J. 
 
 Ten days after writing this letter he set forth on his 
 second northern cruise, but before departing he sent, 
 on October 31, an intimate letter to his friend Hewes, 
 deploring the unorganized condition of the navy and 
 saying that he had "waited long and impatiently for 
 the production of some abler pen, but was now no bet- 
 ter satisfied than at the beginning." He urged again 
 the necessity of establishing an "impartial Board of 
 Admiralty competent to determine the merits and 
 abilities of every officer and to superintend regulate 
 and direct every out fit and operation of the Marine 
 forces which would soon give firmness and stability 
 to our fleet and make it formidable even to Great 
 Britain." He continued his communications to his 
 friend Morris in a series of official reports to the 
 marine committee, which were addressed primarily to 
 Morris as its chairman and thereafter communicated 
 to the other members. After his return to Boston, 
 on the 12th of January, he sent a private letter to 
 Morris, criticising very sharply the blundering regu- 
 lations which were still in force in regard to the dis- 
 tribution of prize-money through the fleet.
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 175 
 
 BOSTON Jan llth. 1777 
 HONORED SIR. 
 
 I am happy in this opportunity of thanking you for 
 the kind and favourable mention which Mr. Living- 
 ston informs me you have made of my former letters. 
 Should Mr. H. be at present absent from Congress, 
 I must beg you to look over the Inclosed letters for 
 him before you forward them. Should the expedition 
 Spoke of in my last to you be put in execution as it 
 may take up eight months or upwards, and as the 
 Season is now so far advanced, it will be most advis- 
 able to Set out early in the Spring so that the Prizes 
 may reach the Continent in the beginning of the en- 
 suing Winter. I need not observe to you that Secrecy 
 is Above all things to be attended to in every expedi- 
 tion. None beside the Principle in Command ought 
 to be made acquainted with the plan or destination. 
 The bounty offered by the Artillery who are enlisted 
 here being from 26 to 36 pounds lawful money for 
 three years' Service induces all the Seamen to Enter. 
 The Seamen have been Very ill used and the Navy 
 hath been much hurted by the Cursed (?) Association 
 for the Joint Share of Prize Money thro' the Fleet 
 whither present at the Capture or Absent. The Gen- 
 try who set that Agreement on Foot and who carried 
 it thro' the Fleet at Rudy Island have take Care to 
 keep out of harm's way themselves ever since our Grand 
 Affair with the Glasgow. Nay, one of those Arch 
 Patriots, when ordered to Philadelphia, told the Com- 
 modore, who repeated it to me, that if the other two 
 were willing himself would agree to be Broke if the 
 Congress would Allow them half pay. The same Gen- 
 tleman kept his Ship Eight months in Providence 
 River and then left her with a Fished Main Mast and 
 only one Common Pump that would work. But we 
 surely can never have a Navy under good discipline
 
 176 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 or well Manned Until Some effectual expedient is 
 Adopted to induce the Seamen to enter of an unlimited 
 time. Perhaps it might answer if the Seamen in Amer- 
 ica were Numbered and formed into a certain Number 
 of Classes Subject to Serve in their turns but the 
 most infallible method is to give them All they Take. 
 I will add Something more as I shall have Another 
 Opportunity in a day or two. 
 
 I have the Honor to be with Grateful Esteem and 
 Respect, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your truely obliged 
 Very Humble Servant, 
 
 J. P. J. 
 The Honble. R. M. 
 
 N. B. If you please to look over the inclosed copy 
 of my letter to the Council here, and of their Answer 
 or rather Order to me, you will see the treatment 
 which I have had from that House. I wish to know 
 whither they Ought or Ought not to Assume Authority 
 over the Navy, 
 Endorsed: Copy of a letter to the 
 
 Honble. R. Morris, Esqr. 
 
 by Express from Council. 
 
 Four days after this letter he wrote again to Morris, 
 enlarging upon the manifest injustice and unfortunate 
 results of the prize-money regulation, and expressing 
 the greatest sympathy for the pitiable condition of 
 the seamen: 
 
 BOSTON, Jany. 16, 1777. 
 HONORED SIR: 
 
 As I am not well assured of your having received 
 my first letter in the Providence I have taken the
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 177 
 
 liberty of inclosing a Copy. I must here asurt that 
 it is both unjust and inimical to the interest of the ser- 
 vice that any person or persons belonging to the Navy 
 should share in prizes when they were themselves 
 absent and out of harms way when the Capture was 
 made. By this Unprecedented association, which was 
 effected by Fellows who have consulted their Personal 
 safety ever since, the Navy hath received more real 
 injury than the sum total of all the benefit which hath 
 accrued from their past, or which is likely to accrue 
 from their future services for prize-money is thereby 
 become so very intricate and perplexed that the great- 
 est part of the seamen desisted immediately after their 
 return from New Providence, and those poor fellows 
 who have faithfully served the term of their Enlist- 
 ment are detered from re-Entering as they have not 
 rec'd., nor is there any prospect of their receiving a 
 Shilling of Prize Money so that it makes my heart 
 Bleed to see them half Naked at this Severe Season. 
 Such an association was never known to be binding 
 for more than a Single cruize, therefore in the present 
 Case it is highly requisite that it should be set aside 
 and some happy expedient fallen upon to induce the 
 Seamen to enter cheerfully into the Service for an 
 Unlimited Time. 
 
 I did not till a few minutes ago hear of this Oppor- 
 tunity by Mr. Cumberland Dougall of Baltimore and 
 as he is to set out immediately I am obliged to curtail 
 my letter otherwise I had considerably more to add. 
 
 I Inclose in this Packet a Copy of my letter lately 
 forwarded to the Marine Board with an Estimate of 
 the Expence of Altering the Alfred But I must repeat 
 my Opinion that She is now much better calculated 
 for the Merchant Service than she can be made for 
 War and as She is calculated for Stowing Tobacco She 
 would make a good remittance to France. My prize
 
 178 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 the Mettish Transport, as she was lately a Bomb in 
 the English Service, would make a better Ship of War 
 than the Alfred. From the bins downward She is one 
 Solid Bed of Timber. She sails as well as the Alfred 
 and is not near So Crank, so that her lee Guns would 
 be servicable when the Alfred's will not. I under- 
 stand that there is a Quantity of Nine Pounders to 
 spare at New London, and the Mellish would Mount 
 18 or 20 on one Deck. The Alfred's Guns are of such 
 a Variety of lengths and Sizes that it is both difficult 
 and dangerous to Fight them, and the Nine Pounders 
 are all too long for Sea Service. Should you resolve 
 to convert the Mellish into a Ship of War I believe she 
 may be fitted better here than at Dartmouth where 
 she now is. I will esteem the honor of hearing from 
 you as soon as may be convenient and it will Always 
 give me pleasure to receive and Obey your Commands. 
 I understand by the report of Captain Falconer 
 that I was Appointed to one of the Ships at Philadel- 
 phia and Mr. Livingston is also of that Opinion. 
 Perhaps they have been mistaken. However I sub- 
 mit my appointment as well as my Rank and destina- 
 tion entirely to you as I am well assured that if I have 
 any Merit or Abilities they will not be Overlooked or 
 Superseded I have the honor to be with Grateful 
 Esteem and Respect, 
 Sir, 
 
 Your truely Obliged 
 Very Obedient 
 
 and most humble servant, 
 
 J. P. J. 
 
 On the 21st of January came the unexpected blow 
 of his dismissal from the command of the Alfred and 
 his orders to return to the Providence. Before Jones's 
 account of this occurrence could have reached Robert
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 179 
 
 Morris he sent the letter already given to Jones, de- 
 tailing the plans which he had prepared for his execu- 
 tion, and which were afterward authorized by Con- 
 gress. That letter, which gave him the command of 
 all the available ships of the fleet, shows to what extent 
 his services had recommended him to the favor of Mor- 
 ris and how largely the marine board shared his opin- 
 ions. Jones had himself proposed and presented to 
 the marine board a plan for an extensive expedition, 
 comprising a descent upon the British ports and ship- 
 ping on the coast of Africa. In his letter to Jones, 
 Morris excuses his neglect in replying to this latest 
 proposition on the ground of the confusion and mul- 
 tiplicity of business incident upon the departure of 
 Congress to Baltimore, and omits any reference to 
 Hewes's absence from Congress or to the new list of 
 navy appointments, with its injurious displacement of 
 Jones. In the light of the extraordinary orders he 
 was issuing to Captain Jones this painful occurrence 
 did not command his attention. 
 
 Before this most flattering proof of the confidence 
 and appreciation of the controlling member of the 
 marine committee had tune to reach Jones in Boston, 
 the latter wrote again to Morris a letter which shows 
 how actively he was engaged in a study of the deplor- 
 able conditions then existing in the navy. It shows 
 also that the suggestions of his brother officers did 
 not command his admiration. His remarks about 
 Hopkins, although severe, expressed a contempt and 
 resentment unfortunately only too natural and de- 
 served. 
 
 1 See page 137.
 
 180 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 BOSTON, Feby. Wth, 1777. 
 HONORED Sm: 
 
 Enclosed I send a Copy of my last letter to the Ma- 
 rine Board Also Copies of my letters to you since my 
 Arrival here in the Alfred. As the good government 
 of the Navy is of the greatest importance, it is a duty 
 incumbent on every Man who is honored with a Com- 
 mission in the Service to contribute all within his 
 power to so Valuable an End. You will not therefore, 
 I am persuaded, charge me with disrespect Altho' my 
 free Sentiments may not Perhaps, always correspond 
 with your own. It would give me much more pleas- 
 ure could I Join with the other Commanders in Point- 
 ing out hints for Useful Rules and Regulations We 
 have had Sundry Meetings here for this purpose with- 
 out being able to Effect any thing And as this is a 
 natural consequence where the understanding is con- 
 tracted I have determined that if I subscribe to Non- 
 sense it shall be Nonsense of my own not that of others! 
 
 There are no Officers more immediately wanted in 
 the marine department than Commissioners of Dock 
 Yards to Superintend the Building and Outfit of all 
 Ships of war With power to Appoint Deputies to 
 provide and have in constant Readiness Sufficient 
 Quantities of Provision Stores, Hops, Etc., So that 
 the Small number of Ships we have May constantly 
 be employed and not Continue Idle as they do at pres- 
 ent Besides all the Advantages that would arise from 
 such Appointments, the saving which would accrue 
 to the Continent is worth attending to ; had such men 
 been appointed at the first the new Ships might have 
 been at Sea long Ago. The difficulty now lays in find- 
 ing Men who are deserving and who are fitly qualified 
 for an Office of such Importance. 
 
 Captain Thomson of the Raleigh Frigate in my 
 Opinion Understands the Business in all its branches 
 he Seems a Merchant, a Man of the world, a Gentle-
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 181 
 
 man and the construction and equipment of the Ra- 
 leigh by his particular Advice does honor to his Me- 
 chanical turn and is Evident proof of his judgment 
 so that everything might be expected from his Sagacity 
 and forethought And from what I have heard him 
 express, I believe he would Undertake to Superintend 
 the Building and Equipment of the Ships lately Or- 
 dered. 
 
 The Navy is in a wretched Condition. It wants a 
 man of Abilities at its head who could bring on a Pur- 
 gation and Distinguish between the Abilities of a Gen- 
 tleman and those of a mere Sailor or Boatswains Mate, 
 for till such distinction is made the Navy will never 
 become Respectable. A man who hath the Meanness 
 of Soul to Deny his word is a Despicable being Indeed! 
 he sinks beneath the Condition of the poorest Reptile 
 that Crawls on the Earth And it is not Uncharitable 
 to Suspect him as being Capable of any Baseness What- 
 ever. As the Action brought against me for taking 
 Men out of the Eagle Privateer where I found deserters 
 from the Navy is a Matter which nearly concerns 
 America as well as myself. I will add a Paragraph 
 from a Letter which I lately received from Colonel 
 Tillinghast of Providence, as follows: 
 
 "The Commodore has just left me of whom I re- 
 quested to know his determination either to disavow 
 his orders to you or to commend your conduct that I 
 might acquaint you thereof Agreeable to your desire, 
 to which he replies: 'You have his Orders in Writing 
 which, if that will Justify your Conduct it's well." 
 now Sir, I have proof that he both Sent and gave me 
 from his own mouth express Orders to take all the Sea- 
 men out of Privateers where I found a Deserter from 
 the Navy. But this is not the first Slip he hath made 
 for I have frequently heard him Affirm that he served 
 America without Pay. if so, why is he so earnest about
 
 182 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 claiming a Twentieth part of all prizes? This leads 
 to an Enquiry whether that Claim be well or ill founded 
 for it would be Absurd to Suppose that the Congress 
 mean to give him Such a Regard for Smoking his 
 pipe at home it being altogether Unprecedented in a 
 Navy Establishment even in Countries where other 
 Sinecures and Abuses are Common. When the Com- 
 mander of a Fleet or Squadron goes to Sea in Person 
 or is on a Foreign Situation the Case is very Different." 
 
 You cannot at such distance imagine the discontent 
 which prevails among the Seamen in these Eastern 
 States on Account of Prize Money They stand aloof 
 and will not re-enter until that Matter is Settled 
 and there is no prospect of its ever being Settled while 
 Individuals lay Claim to Shares, who were not pres- 
 ent at the Captures Lawsuits, Duellings, and endless 
 Animosities will be the consequence and the Publick 
 Service will be Neglected and at a Stand while this dis- 
 pute Subsists As it is a direct Violation of a Resolve 
 of Congress that any person whatever other than the 
 Captors should share in Prizes. An Explanatory Re- 
 solve is the Most Speedy and Effectual Method to put 
 an End to the Controversy and restore harmony to 
 the Service. No man or private Society of men hath 
 a Right to add to the established laws of the land Yet 
 by the Inclosed Invitation we see that Individuals in 
 the Navy have Assumed that Authority. 
 
 I must repeat what I asserted formerly that unless 
 some happy expedient can be fallen upon to induce the 
 Seamen to Enter into the Service for a longer term than 
 Twelve Months it will never be possible to bring them 
 under proper Subordination, and Subordination is as 
 necessary, Nay, far more so in the Fleet than in the 
 Army. Present Advantages tho' small will Operate 
 far more on the minds of Seamen than Future Pros- 
 pects tho' great. they ought at least to enter during
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 183 
 
 the war if not during pleasure And all Deserters 
 ought to be Capitally punished. Instead of this there 
 hath not been a Single Instance of Inflicting punish- 
 ment on a Deserter, but on the contrary they have even 
 been paid for the time of their Absence. And they are 
 Suffered to parade thro' the Country with impunity 
 without being Questioned. Were these matters recti- 
 fied we should hear of no such thing as Desertion. The 
 American Navy would soon become respectable to all 
 the World, Gentlemen of Parts and liberal minds would 
 Join it from all Quarters and Felicity would lend us 
 her Standard. I shall only add at present that the 
 Navy would be far better without a Head than with a 
 Bad One. I have the honor to be with the greatest 
 deference and Esteem 
 
 Sir Your very Obliged 
 very Obedient 
 
 Most humble Servant 
 
 J. P. J. 
 (Indorsement) 
 BOSTON Feb'y 10th, 1777 
 Copy of a letter to the 
 
 Honble. R. M. 
 
 The next document in the series dealing with naval 
 affairs is dated the 7th of April, in Philadelphia, while 
 he was waiting for his new command. In the so-called 
 "Refreshing Memorial" from the Texel, a very lucid 
 and comprehensive narrative of his various services, 
 which was drawn up by Jones in the year 1779 to be 
 presented to Congress, he says: "The President of 
 Congress told me that as the regulation of the Marine 
 was then under consideration, it would be of service if 
 I could give in writing the outlines of my ideas on a
 
 184 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Navy system. This I did with great pleasure, and the 
 adoption of my ideas by the navy board at Boston, to- 
 gether with some other regulations nearly correspond- 
 ing with my essay took place soon after." This doc- 
 ument, drawn up in a condensed form in accordance 
 with Hancock's request for the "outlines" of his ideas, 
 contained the nucleus of a properly organized marine 
 establishment. The suggestions therein contained were 
 very creditable to the discriminating judgment and 
 practical good sense of the young naval officer of little 
 more than a year's standing, and show no little degree 
 of prophetic vision in regard to the growth of the coun- 
 try and the future needs of its navy. 
 
 A PLAN FOR THE REGULATION AND EQUIPMENT OF THE 
 NAVY DRAWN UP AT THE REQUEST OF THE HON- 
 ORABLE THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS 
 
 Let a Dockyard be established at the most conven- 
 ient and defensible Port, within the four Eastern States, 
 let another be established at the proper place within 
 the five middle States, and a third at a proper place 
 within the four Southern States, let the Navy be 
 formed into three divisions one Squadron to Rendez- 
 vous at each dockyard. Let a principal Commissioner, 
 a Surveyor, a Treasurer, and Deputies if necessary, 
 with Clerks, and Storekeepers &c be appointed for each 
 Dockyard. Let it be the duty of the Commissioners 
 to superintend the Building, Repair, alteration, Vict- 
 ualling, payment and outfit of all Ships of War, let 
 it be their duty to Provide and have in constant readi- 
 ness sufficient Quantities of Provision, Anchors, Cables, 
 Masts, Yards, Sails, Rigging, Warlike and Naval Stores, 
 Slops and all manner of Articles which are necessary
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 185 
 
 for the speedy Equipment of Ships of War, let it be 
 their duty to examine Warrant Officers and to recom- 
 mend them to the Board of Admiralty, let it also be 
 their duty to inspect into the State and condition of 
 each Ship as soon as she arrives in Port and to call the 
 Warrant officers to account for the Expenditure of the 
 Stores in their respective departments; these Officers 
 ought to make good all Wastage or Embezzlement. 
 
 Let it be the duty of any Continental Agent to im- 
 port such articles as the Commissioners may direct for 
 the use of their Navy, let it be their duty to supply 
 Ships of War when in Ports at a distance from the 
 dockyards with such Stores and Articles as may be 
 wanted, to enable the Agent to do this with convenience 
 and despatch, let them have in constant readiness at 
 some of the best outports certain Quantities of such 
 Articles as the Commissioners may judge necessary, 
 let it also be the duty of any Agents to muster the 
 Ships company when in Port, and to make return to 
 the Commissioner on Oath. 
 
 Let all Commissioners meet at Philadelphia and 
 hold a general Conference once a year, leaving deputies 
 or clerks, to carry on the Business in their absence, let 
 it be their duty to settle all accounts, with the Board 
 of Admiralty, or such Person or Persons as the Board 
 shall think fit to appoint to whom they are always to 
 be accountable for every part of their Conduct; let 
 it be their duty to lay before the Board, or whom the 
 Board may appoint, the true state and condition of 
 each Ship, of each Dockyard and of all Stores, to point 
 out past errors and future Improvements in the con- 
 struction of Ships, Drydocks, Hulks, &c, to suggest 
 necessary institutions in the Marine department and 
 to furnish hints to form a clear line of duty for each of 
 the Navy warrant Officers. 
 
 The principal commissioner ought to be a steady
 
 186 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Man of Business, a Seaman and complete Mechanic, 
 well skilled in all respects in the construction and equip- 
 ment of Ships of War; it will naturally be his duty to 
 inspect the Conduct of the Surveyor and Treasurer. 
 
 The Surveyor ought to be a Shipwright, a Man of 
 great activity, and of sound Judgment, well acquainted 
 with the Qualities and Properties of Ships of War, as 
 well as (with) all their materials and stores. 
 
 The Treasurer ought to be a man of Business, and a 
 complete Merchant. The purchase of provision and 
 of slops &c. as well as the payment of the men might 
 fall under his direction. The Authority of the Com- 
 missioners must by no means extend to the destination 
 of Ships or their internal Government, it being their 
 Province only to keep the navy in fit order for sea ser- 
 vice and it being the Province of Commanders in the 
 Navy to govern their Ships according to the Rules and 
 Regulations established by the Supreme Power of Con- 
 gress, and to follow the Instructions which they may 
 Receive from the Board of Admiralty, or their deputies, 
 or from Senior or Flag Officers, consequently Com- 
 manders of Squadrons or of Single Ships have a right to 
 call on the Commissioners or Agents for supplies when- 
 ever they are in want of them, being always account- 
 able to Senior Officers in their division for their con- 
 duct, but more especially so to the Board of Admiralty. 
 
 As the extent of the Continent is so great that the 
 most advantageous Enterprise may be lost before Or- 
 ders can arrive within the Eastern and Southern dis- 
 tricts from the Board of Admiralty it will perhaps be 
 expedient to appoint deputies for executing the Office 
 of HIGH ADMIRAL within these extreme districts, to 
 continue in office only during Pleasure and at all times 
 accountable to the Board of Admiralty. Perhaps one 
 deputy to the Eastward and another to the Southward 
 may be found equal to the Business, but the number
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 187 
 
 in each department ought not to exceed three. They 
 ought to be Men of inviolable Secrecy, who inherit much 
 discernment and sagacity, and are endowed with con- 
 sumate knowledge in Marine Affairs. Besides point- 
 ing out the duty of the deputies with the assistance of 
 three or more of the most judicious Commanders of 
 the Fleet who may be named by the Board of Admi- 
 ralty to examine the abilities of men who apply for 
 commissions and make report to the Board; also to 
 examine divers Persons who now bear Commissions 
 in the Service, and whose Abilities and Accomplish- 
 ments are very suspicious and uncertain. The board 
 may do the same within the middle district, and by this 
 means the Navy will, at a Period not far distant be 
 Officered by Gentlemen and Men of Sense, instead of 
 (by) Men of no education, with limited capacities, 
 whom Nature never intended for a Rank superior to 
 that of BOATSWAIN. 
 
 It may also be expedient to establish an Academy 
 at each Dockyard under proper Masters, who'es duty 
 it should be to instruct the officers of the Fleet when in 
 Port in the Principles and application of the mathe- 
 maticks, Drawing, Fencing and other manly Arts and 
 Accomplishments. 
 
 It will be requisite that young Men serve a certain 
 term in Quality of Midshipmen, or Masters mate be- 
 fore they are examined for promotion. 
 
 And the necessity of Establishing an Hospital near 
 each Dockyard, under the care of Skilful Physicians is 
 self evident. 
 
 JNO. P. JONES. 
 PHILADELPHIA 7th April 1777. 
 
 It was long before America had a naval academy or 
 before the higher grades of admiral and rear-admiral 
 which Paul Jones recommended were established, but
 
 188 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 several of his suggestions as to the improvement of cer- 
 tain regulations were soon after adopted, to the great 
 and immediate benefit of the service; parity of rank 
 between the army and the navy was shortly after re- 
 solved upon on the basis proposed by him, and the very 
 necessary regulation hi regard to the award of an in- 
 creased share of prize-money to the captors of ships 
 taken from the enemy was also adopted. The first regu- 
 lation silenced the very bitter feeling engendered by 
 the irregular and changing list of navy appointments. 
 The prize-money regulation was equally important in its 
 effect of counteracting the privateering interests, which 
 offered such superior inducements to seamen that they 
 threatened to choke the infant navy at the very mo- 
 ment of its birth; the increase of emolument to the 
 captors, as finally ordered by Congress at the instant 
 request of Paul Jones, made it finally possible to se- 
 cure seamen for the public service. The appointment 
 of a board of admiralty, the examination of officers be- 
 fore appointment by a regularly constituted committee, 
 the increase in the length of the terms of enlistment, 
 and a properly appointed and regulated court-martial 
 were all adopted according to Jones's suggestions. 1 
 The only pity, as his naval biographer 2 remarks, be- 
 ing that this adoption was so long delayed. 
 
 1 Parity of rank was recommended by Jones in a letter to Morris of 
 September the 4th, 1776. It was adopted by Congress on November 
 the 15th of this same year. 
 
 New prize-money regulations were recommended by Jones on Octo- 
 ber the 17th, 1776, and adopted on the 30th of the same month. 
 
 A board of admiralty was recommended by Jones in a letter to Morris 
 on October the 17th and in later letters to Hewes; it was adopted in 
 October, 1779. 
 
 Captain Alexander Slidell McKenzie, "Life of Paul Jones," 1848.
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 189 
 
 Another and very important communication, writ- 
 ten at a later date (after his European experience and 
 his association with officers of the French fleet had 
 widened his knowledge and enlarged his views), com- 
 pletes the series of letters which he addressed to Mor- 
 ris as head of the American marine. This document 
 was prepared in Philadelphia in the year 1783, after 
 peace had been declared, and was written primarily 
 for the purpose of presenting his grievances in the mat- 
 ter of his supersedence in rank, and to urge his claims 
 for reinstatement in what he now considered was his 
 proper place at the head of the navy. It contains 
 many reflections and suggestions in regard to the regu- 
 lation of the marine, and the portions of it as here 
 quoted were printed by Disraeli in his anonymous life 
 of Jones, with the comment that "they would be found 
 exceedingly interesting, and not merely to our Naval 
 Officers." The advance which they showed in both 
 knowledge and power of expression over the opinions 
 given in the preceding letters is very striking: 
 
 The beginning of our navy, as navies now rank, was 
 so singularly small, that, I am of the opinion, it has 
 no precedent in history. Was it a proof of madness 
 in the first corps of sea officers to have, at so critical a 
 period, launched out on the ocean with only two armed 
 merchant ships, two armed brigantines, and one armed 
 sloop, to make war against such a power as Great 
 Britain? To be diffident is not always a proof of igno- 
 rance. I had sailed before this revolution in armed 
 ships and frigates, yet, when I came to try my skill, I 
 am not ashamed to own I did not find myself perfect 
 in the duties of a first lieutenant. If midnight study
 
 190 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 and the instruction of the greatest and most learned 
 sea officers, can have given me advantages, I am not 
 without them. I confess, however, I have yet to learn ; 
 it is the work of many years' study and experience to 
 acquire the high degree of science necessary for a great 
 sea officer. Cruising after merchant ships, the ser- 
 vice in which our frigates have usually been employed, 
 affords, as I may say, no part of the knowledge neces- 
 sary for conducting fleets and their operations. There 
 is now, perhaps, as much difference between a battle 
 between two ships, and an engagement between two 
 fleets, as there is between a duel and a ranged battle 
 between two armies. The English, who boast so much 
 of their navy, never fought a ranged battle on the 
 ocean before the war that is now ended. The battle 
 off Ushant was, on their part, like their former ones, 
 irregular; and Admiral Keppell could only justify him- 
 self by the example of Hawke in our remembrance, and 
 of Russel in the last century. From that moment the 
 English were forced to study, and to imitate, the 
 French in their evolutions. They never gained any 
 advantage when they had to do with equal force, and 
 the unfortunate defeat of Count de Grasse was owing 
 more to the unfavorable circumstances of the wind 
 coming a-head four points at the beginning of the bat- 
 tle, which put his fleet in the order of echiquier when 
 it was too late to tack, and of calm and currents after- 
 wards, which brought on an entire disorder, than to 
 the admiralship or even the vast superiority of Rod- 
 ney, who had forty sail of the line against thirty, and 
 five three-deckers against one. By the account of some 
 of the French officers, Rodney might as well have been 
 asleep, not having made a second signal during the 
 battle, so that every captain did as he pleased. 
 
 The English are very deficient in signals, as well as 
 in naval tactic. This I know, having in my possession
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 191 
 
 their present fighting and sailing instructions, which 
 comprehend all their signals and evolutions. Lord 
 Howe has, indeed, made some improvements by bor- 
 rowing from the French. But Kempenfelt, who seems 
 to have been a more promising officer, had made a still 
 greater improvement by the same means. 
 
 It was said of Kempenfelt, when he was drowned in 
 the Royal George, England lost her du Pavillion. That 
 great man, the Chevalier du Pavillion, commanded the 
 Triumphant, and was killed in the last battle of Count 
 de Grasse. France lost in him one of her greatest 
 naval tacticians, and a man who had, besides, the 
 honour (in 1773) to invent the new system of naval 
 signals, by which sixteen hundred orders, questions, 
 answers and informations can, without confusion or 
 misconstruction, and with the greatest celerity, be 
 communicated through a great fleet. It was his fixed 
 opinion that a smaller number of signals would be 
 insufficient. A captain of the line at this day must be 
 a tactician. A captain of a cruising frigate may make 
 shift without ever having heard of naval tactics. Until 
 I arrived in France, and became acquainted with that 
 great tactician Count D'Orvilliers, and his judicious 
 assistant the Chevalier du Pavillion, who, each of them 
 honoured me with instructions respecting the science 
 of governing the operations, Etc. of a fleet, I confess I 
 was not sensible how ignorant I had been, before that 
 time, of naval tactics. 
 
 From the observations I have made, and what I have 
 read, it is my opinion, that in a navy there ought to 
 be at least as many grades below a captain of a line, 
 as there are below a colonel of a regiment. Even the 
 navy of France is deficient in subaltern grades, and has 
 paid dearly for that error in its constitution, joined to 
 another of equal magnitude, which authorizes ensigns 
 of the navy to take charge of watch on board ships of
 
 192 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 the line. One instance may be sufficient to show this. 
 The Z6tt in the night between the llth and 12th of 
 April, 1782, ran on board the Ville de Paris, which ac- 
 cident was the principal cause of the unfortunate bat- 
 tle which ensued next day, between Count de Grasse 
 and Admiral Rodney. That accident in all probability 
 would not have happened, had the deck of the Zele 
 been at the time commanded by a steady experienced 
 lieutenant of the line, instead of a young ensign. The 
 charge of the deck of a ship of the line should, in 
 my judgment, never be entrusted to an officer under 
 twenty-five years of age. At that time of life he may 
 be supposed to have served nine or ten years, a term 
 not more than sufficient to have furnished him with 
 the necessary knowledge for so great a charge. It is 
 easy to conceive that the minds of the officers must 
 become uneasy, when they are continued too long in 
 any one grade, which must happen (if regard be paid 
 to the good of the service) when there are no more 
 subaltern grades than midshipman and lieutenant. 
 Would it not be wiser to raise young men by smaller 
 steps and to increase the number? 
 
 I have many things to offer respecting the formation 
 of our navy, but shall here limit myself to one, which I 
 think a preliminary to the formation and establishment 
 of a naval constitution suitable to the local situation, 
 resources and prejudices of this continent. The con- 
 stitution adopted for the navy in the year 1775, and 
 by which it has been governed ever since, and crumbled 
 away, I may say, to nothing, is so very defective, that 
 I am of the opinion it would be difficult to spoil it. 
 Much wisdom and more knowledge then we possess, 
 is, in my humble opinion, necessary to the formation 
 of such a naval constitution as is absolutely wanting. 
 If, when our finances enable us to go on, we should set 
 out wrong, as we did in the year 1775, but much more
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 193 
 
 so after the arrangement or rather derangement of rank 
 in 1776, much money may be thrown away to little or 
 no purpose. We are a young people, and need not be 
 ashamed to ask advice from nations older and more 
 experienced in marine affairs than ourselves. This, I 
 conceive might be done in a manner that would be re- 
 ceived as a compliment by several or perhaps all the 
 marine powers of Europe, and at the same time would 
 enable us to collect such helps as would be of vast use 
 when we come to form a constitution for the creation 
 and government of our marine, the establishment and 
 police of our dock-yards, academies, hospitals, etc., 
 etc., and the general police of our seamen throughout 
 the continent. These considerations induced me, on 
 my return from the fleet of his excellency the Marquis 
 de Vaudreuil, to propose to you to lay my ideas on 
 the subject before Congress, and to propose sending a 
 proper person to Europe in a handsome frigate to dis- 
 play our flag in the ports of the different marine powers, 
 to offer them the free use of our ports and propose to 
 them commercial advantages, etc., and then to ask per- 
 mission to visit their marine arsenals, and to be in- 
 formed how they are furnished both with men, pro- 
 vision, materials and warlike stores, by what police 
 and officers they are governed, how and from what re- 
 sources the officers and men are paid, etc. the line 
 of conduct drawn between the officers of the fleet, 
 etc., also the armament and equipment of the dif- 
 ferent ships of war, with their dimensions, the number 
 and qualities of their officers and men, by what police 
 they are governed in port and at sea, how and from 
 what resources they are fed, clothed, paid, etc., and 
 the general police of their seamen, academies, hospi- 
 tals, etc., etc. If you still object to my project on ac- 
 count of the expense of sending a frigate to Europe and 
 keeping her there until the business can be effected,
 
 194 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 I think it may be done, though, perhaps, not with the 
 same dignity, without a frigate. My plan for forming 
 a proper corps of sea officers is, by teaching them the 
 naval tactics in a fleet of evolution. To lessen the 
 expense as much as possible, I would compose that 
 fleet of frigates instead of ships of the line, on board of 
 each I would have a little academy, where the officers 
 should be taught the principles of mathematics and 
 mechanics, when off duty. When in port, the young 
 officers should be obliged to attend the academies es- 
 tablished at each dock-yard, where they should be 
 taught the principles of every art and science that is 
 necessary to form the character. And every commis- 
 sion officer of the navy should have free access and be 
 entitled to receive instruction gratis at those acade- 
 mies. All this would be attended with no very great 
 expense, and the public advantage resulting from it 
 would be immense. I am sensible it cannot be im- 
 mediately adopted, and that we must first look about 
 for ways and means; but the sooner it is adopted the 
 better. We cannot, like the ancients, build a fleet in 
 a month, and we ought to take example from what 
 has lately befallen Holland. In time of peace it is 
 necessary to prepare, and be always prepared for war 
 at sea. I have had the honour to be presented with 
 copies of the signals, tactics and police, that have been 
 adopted under the different admirals of France and 
 Spain during the war, and I have in my last campaign 
 seen them put in practice. While I was at Brest, 
 as well as while I was inspecting the building of the 
 America, as I had furnished myself with good authors, I 
 applied much of my leisure time to the study of naval 
 architecture, and other matters that related to the es- 
 tablishment and police of dockyards, Etc. I, however, 
 feel myself bound to say again. I have yet much need 
 to be instructed.
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 195 
 
 A letter written to a brother officer just before the 
 close of the war, at a time when the navy had become 
 practically disorganized, gives an intimate and per- 
 sonal statement of his persistent efforts toward the 
 improvement of the navy: 
 
 PORTSMOUTH, May 25th. 1782. 
 To HECTOR MCNEILL, Boston. 
 
 I am honored my dear friend, with your esteemed 
 favor of the 20th. I am altogether in the dark about 
 what has been done or is doing to re-establish the 
 credit of our Marine. In the course of near seven 
 years service I have continually suggested what has 
 occurred to me as most likely to promote its honor and 
 render it servicable to our Cause; but my voice has 
 been like a cry in the Desert: I know no remedy but 
 patience. No man can be more in suspense than I 
 am and my reason as well as my feelings correspond 
 with yours in lamenting the protraction of Justice to 
 men who have merited the smiles of the Sovereign 
 Authority. Whatever I have written or may write 
 to you on so delicate a subject must be in confidence. 
 I fondly hope the times will mend, and that Merit and 
 Abilities will yet find encouragement; but were I used 
 ever so ill I determine to persevere, till my Country 
 is Free. 
 
 When I hear anything farther I shall not fail to write 
 you, meantime present my affectionate respects to 
 your family, and believe me your 
 
 PAUL JONES. 
 
 A short dissertation on the art of war, which forms 
 the conclusion of his journal of his Russian campaign, 
 is the last composition of his pen in regard to the pro- 
 fession of which he was so illustrious an exponent:
 
 196 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 The art of war deserves the exclusive attention of 
 those who are to be engaged in it; and military science 
 is only acquired by dint of study, of reflections and 
 of combinations. This study commenced at an early 
 season, constantly followed up during life, and aided 
 by continued experience, will hardly become familiar 
 in all its parts to him who pursues it. Some occasion 
 will infallibly happen, when pungent regret for hav- 
 ing neglected to obtain instruction will be felt in all 
 their force, by him who charged with an important 
 operation, is obliged to confess to himself his own 
 incapacity to execute it. The time has gone by for 
 beginning to attend to such study when he has unfort- 
 unately been promoted to a command. Birth, patron- 
 age, solicitation, intrigue sometimes win employment 
 and rank; but they do not secure success and credit. 
 As the profession of arms is so honorable, and those 
 who hold commands acquire a reputation at once so 
 brilliant and so solid when they discharge their duties 
 worthily; and as on the other hand nothing is so dis- 
 graceful as a repulse received in war, through our own 
 fault; with what ardour should not officers who have 
 any passion for true glory, seek to provide themselves 
 abundantly with all the variety of knowledge, which 
 may some day put them in the way of becoming dis- 
 tinguished? 
 
 Courage alone, will not lead to renown, as many 
 fondly believe. The road would be too easy. The 
 fate of courage, devoid of the lights which a knowledge 
 of the principles of the art communicates is to be ig- 
 norant of danger to confront it, and to perish to no 
 purpose, often without the satisfaction in perishing of 
 knowing that the manner of its fall was intrepid. 
 
 It would appear that the study of an art of which all 
 the details are so interesting, the knowledge of which 
 is connected with an infinite number of facts naturally
 
 THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVY 197 
 
 exciting quick curiosity the principles of which are scat- 
 tered through the histories of all nations, must have in- 
 spiring attractions for those who desire to rise in their 
 profession as high as they are permitted to hope for 
 and a taste for it which cannot but redound to their 
 advantage by conducting them through the true path 
 to the promotion they covet. Such promotion can- 
 not be flattering to men of sense unless they have the 
 satisfaction of knowing that they deserved it: and 
 that consciousness is in itself sufficient to console those 
 whose success calumniators have made it their busi- 
 ness to prevent.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 THE "RANGER" 
 
 ON the 25th of March, while Jones was on his way 
 from Boston to Philadelphia, the marine committee, 
 prevented by Hopkins from giving him the im- 
 portant command which they had destined for him, 
 had already taken measures to provide him with a 
 ship: 
 
 The Congress by a resolve of the 20th inst, having 
 ordered that the agent in Boston should purchase, 
 arm and fit out for the service of the United States 
 three fast sailing ships that will conveniently mount 
 18 six pounders on one deck, and that Captain Paul 
 Jones shall command one of said ships, until bet- 
 ter provision can be made for him. Therefore Re- 
 solved, that Captain Paul Jones shall have his choice 
 of those three ships, and that he superintend the fit- 
 ting of her out. (Extract from the Minutes of John 
 Brown, in Marine Committee, Philadelphia, March 
 15th.) 
 
 The Agent, Mr. Bradford, has orders from this Com- 
 mittee to purchase and fit out three armed vessels pur- 
 suant on a resolve of Congress which is transmitted to 
 him, one of which you are to command, and the Com- 
 mittee have directed that you should have your choice. 
 Therefore you are desired to make your selection as 
 soon as the purchase shall be made, and to superintend 
 
 198
 
 THE "RANGER" 199 
 
 and hasten the fitting of her out for sea with all expe- 
 dition. 
 
 We are, Sir, 
 
 Your very humble servants, 
 
 JOHN HANCOCK, 
 WILLIAM WHIPPLE, 
 WILLIAM ELLERY, 
 ABRAHAM CLARK, 
 THOMAS BANKS, 
 ROBERT MORRIS. 
 
 After the conclusion of his business in Philadelphia, 
 having left his plan for a navy system in the hands 
 of the marine committee, Jones proceeded to Bos- 
 ton in pursuance of his orders. It is not difficult to 
 imagine the thoughts which must have occupied his 
 mind on his journey back to New England. The 
 affairs of his country were still in the gravest doubt, 
 and his reflections must have taken a serious tone as 
 he made his way through the Jerseys, past farms 
 devastated by the Hessians, and through the half- 
 deserted villages, in that early despondent spring- 
 time of 1777. 
 
 Congress had proved sadly ineffectual and was little 
 respected. The treasury was empty and the army 
 depleted by desertions, while everywhere the British 
 arms were victorious. Howe was threatening to oc- 
 cupy the capital, and Burgoyne was moving down 
 through Canada with an apparently irresistible force 
 to join Clinton in New York. In the face of these sin- 
 ister facts Paul Jones forgot his injured vanity and the 
 injustice of his supersedure, and turned his whole
 
 200 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 attention to a consideration of the means to be em- 
 ployed in the equipment of the one ship which had 
 been granted him by Congress. By the 23d of April 
 he was again in Boston, and no sooner had he arrived 
 than he was summoned to sit on two courts-martial, 
 the first on the Alfred, the second on the Hancock. 
 Proofs of the glaring incapacity of the men whom Con- 
 gress had set over him were not wanting, and he ex- 
 pressed himself privately to his friend Morris, with a 
 very natural bitterness, concerning the illiteracy of a 
 captain, who was a member of both courts-martial 
 and who could not sign his name to a record of the 
 proceedings. 
 
 On May 4 he indited the long and often-quoted let- 
 ter to Stuart Mawey, to inquire about his property 
 in the West Indies. Freed at last from all fear of con- 
 sequences from the disastrous occurrence in Tobago, 
 he felt that he could now safely reveal his situation and 
 send assistance to his family. 
 
 The first weeks of his stay in Boston were occupied 
 by ineffectual efforts to procure a ship from the dilatory 
 marine board of Massachusetts, and he sent various 
 suggestions to Congress as to the fitting out of his prize, 
 the Mellish, in case no American vessel was available. 
 After this discouraging delay his spirits were revived 
 by the receipt of a letter from Congress, on May 9, in 
 which he was ordered to sail for Europe hi the Am- 
 phitrite, and there to take command of the Indien, a 
 splendid new frigate then being built in Amsterdam 
 under the direction of Silas Deane, the American com- 
 missioner at Paris:
 
 THE "RANGER" 201 
 
 In Marine Committee, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, Qth May, 1777. 
 JOHN PAUL JONES, ESQ., 
 Sir: 
 
 Congress have thought proper to authorize the 
 Secret Committee to employ you on a voyage in the 
 Amphitrite from Portsmouth to Carolina and France, 
 where it is expected you will be provided with a fine 
 frigate; and as your present commission is for the com- 
 mand of a particular ship, we now send you a new one 
 whereby you are appointed a Captain in our Navy, 
 and, of course, may command any ship in the service 
 to which you are particularly ordered. You are to 
 obey the orders of the Secret Committee, and we are 
 Sir, &c. 
 
 (Signed) JOHN HANCOCK 
 ROB. MORRIS 
 WM. WHIPPLE. 
 
 He was also directed to give immediate notice by 
 letter to the commissioners in Paris of his arrival, and 
 to request their instructions as to his further destina- 
 tion. He was told to take particular notice whilst on 
 the coast of France or in a French port to keep his guns 
 covered and concealed, so as to make as little warlike 
 appearance as possible. On the same day the marine 
 committee furnished him with the following official 
 recommendation to the commissioners: 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, 9th May, 1777. 
 HONORABLE GENTLEMEN: 
 
 This letter is intended to be delivered to you by John 
 Paul Jones, Esq., an active and brave commander in 
 our Navy, who has already performed signal services
 
 202 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 in vessels of little force; and in reward for his zeal, we 
 have directed him to go on board the Amphitrite, a 
 French ship of twenty guns, that brought in a valuable 
 cargo of stores from Mons. Hortalez & Company, and 
 with her to repair to France. He takes with him his 
 commission, some officers and men, so that we hope 
 he will, under that sanction, make some good prizes 
 with the Amphitrite; but our design of sending him 
 is (with the approbation of Congress), that you may 
 purchase one of those fine frigates that Mr. Deane 
 writes us you can get, and invest him with the com- 
 mand thereof as soon as possible. We hope you may 
 not delay this business one moment, but purchase, in 
 such port or place in Europe as it can be done with 
 most convenience and despatch, a fine, fast sailing 
 frigate or larger ship. Direct Captain Jones where 
 he must repair to, and he will take with him his offi- 
 cers and men towards manning her. You will assign 
 him some good house or agents to supply him with 
 everything necessary to get the ship speedily and well 
 equipped and manned somebody that will bestir 
 themselves vigorously in the business, and never quit 
 it until it is accomplished. 
 
 If you have any plan of service to be performed in 
 Europe by such a ship, that you think will be more 
 for the interest and honour of the States than send- 
 ing her out directly, Captain Jones is instructed to 
 obey your orders; and, to save repetition, let him 
 lay before you the instructions we have given him, 
 and furnish you with a copy thereof. You can then 
 judge what it will be necessary to direct him in, and 
 whatever you do will be approved, as it will un- 
 doubtedly tend to promote the public service of this 
 country. 
 
 You will see by this step how much dependence Con- 
 gress places in your advices; and you must make it a
 
 THE "RANGER" 203 
 
 point not to disappoint Captain Jones* wishes and ex- 
 pectations on this occasion. 
 We are, &c. 
 
 (Signed) ROBERT MORRIS, 
 The Honourable Benjamin RICHARD HENRY LEE, 
 Franklin, Silas Deane and WM. WHIPPLE, 
 Arthur Lee, Esquires, Com- PHIL. LIVINGSTON. 
 missioners, &c. 
 
 The marine committee, under the direction of Rob- 
 ert Morris, had long intended to compensate Jones for 
 his deprivation of the command of the colonial fleet, 
 and now carried out then* design in this honorable 
 appointment. Jones's feelings of satisfaction were ex- 
 pressed with the enthusiasm which always burst from 
 his truly grateful heart at any marks of honor which 
 were bestowed upon him. "This was generous in- 
 deed," he wrote to his friend Hewes, "and I shall feel 
 the force of the obligation to the last moment of my 
 life." 
 
 On the 26th of May Mr. Hewes wrote to him from 
 Philadelphia, whither he had journeyed after the ad- 
 journment of the North Carolina assembly at Halifax, 
 where he had lost his election to the Continental Con- 
 gress. He had been forced to leave Philadelphia in 
 the autumn on account of his seriously impaired health, 
 and he was still further afflicted with rheumatism during 
 the winter and unable to leave the South; but as a 
 member of the firm of Hewes & Smith, ship-owners 
 and Continental agents of Congress for the purchase 
 and equipment of vessels ordered for the navy, he was 
 far from idle. He was also a member of the secret com-
 
 204 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 mittee of Congress, appointed for the purchase of these 
 ships, and in these double and curiously consonant 
 occupations he employed what energy he possessed 
 with his usual conscientious zeal. He did not arrive 
 in Philadelphia until some six weeks after Jones had 
 departed for Boston, and was naturally much con- 
 cerned to hear that his prote*ge* had been superseded 
 in the naval list of October 10. In words of sincere 
 friendship and sympathy he wrote: 
 
 "My utmost endeavors shall be used to service you, 
 from a conviction that you ought to command some 
 who were placed higher than yourself." He added 
 also, by way of explaining the difficulty of obtaining 
 appointments: "You will be surprised to hear how vast 
 a number of applications are continually making for 
 officers of the new frigates, especially for the com- 
 mand." This letter, calculated to allay the burning 
 sense of injustice which Jones felt at his supersedure 
 was unfortunately long delayed in reaching him, and 
 he was left to brood over his grievances for many 
 months. 
 
 Immediately upon the receipt of his orders from the 
 marine committee, Jones set about the business of en- 
 gaging the force he was directed to take with him on 
 the Amphitrite, but here, again, he encountered the 
 hostile influence of Hopkins. The seamen he engaged 
 through the Continental agent at Rhode Island were 
 part of his old crew of the Providence, and were most 
 eager to again sail under his command, but they were 
 immediately impressed by Hopkins's son, on the War- 
 ren, and prevented from joining him.
 
 THE "RANGER" 205 
 
 It is interesting to recall that the Amphitrite was 
 the vessel sent over to America laden with ammuni- 
 tion and stores, for the assistance of the colonists, by 
 Baron Beaumarchais. The extraordinary author of 
 "The Marriage of Figaro" was, in fact, the very first 
 Frenchman to propose practical support for the Amer- 
 ican insurgents. By the exercise of his unequalled 
 tenacity and enthusiasm, he prevailed upon the French 
 court to authorize the sending of this ship with sup- 
 plies, which were, indeed, desperately needed by the 
 indigent government at this critical moment of the 
 Revolution. The house of Hortalez & Company, re- 
 ferred to in Jones's orders from Congress, was Beau- 
 marchais himself, designated under this fictitious name. 
 Beaumarchais believed in the success of America's 
 struggles for independence while yet there were few to 
 agree with him, 1 and not the least of the crimes of in- 
 gratitude which lie at the door of the Continental Con- 
 gress was the disgraceful attempt to repudiate the 
 country's debt to this ardent and invaluable friend. 
 
 In the last week of May Jones proceeded to Ports- 
 mouth to see and consult the captain of the Amphi- 
 trite, but on the 26th he wrote to the marine committee 
 from that port to inform them that the French cap- 
 tain had refused to permit him to embark on board 
 his ship, except as a passenger, conceiving that it 
 would be "a dishonor to the French Flag to suffer an 
 American commission to supersede his." The instruc- 
 tions of the marine committee had been, in fact, de- 
 
 1 As early as September 21, 1775, Beaumarchais wrote in a memorial 
 to Louis XVI: "America shall escape the English in spite of their 
 efforts."
 
 206 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 cidedly vague as to who should command on board 
 the Amphitrite, and the refusal of her captain was in 
 no way surprising. The committee made no further 
 attempts to cany out this plan of transporting Jones 
 and his force to Europe, and was very willing to accept 
 Colonel Langdon's suggestion that Jones should take 
 command of the Continental ship of war Ranger, then 
 being built under his direction at Portsmouth and very 
 near completion. On the 3d of June Jones wrote for 
 the first time to the three commissioners in Paris 
 Franklin, Deane, and Arthur Lee informing them 
 that he was of the opinion that Langdon's suggestion 
 would probably be adopted by Congress. "I ardently 
 wish," he writes, in conclusion, to these gentlemen, "to 
 be again in active service, and in the meantime the 
 prospect I have of being shortly under your direction 
 affords me a very singular pleasure, for although I am 
 personally unknown to you, I altogether esteem your 
 characters." Refused a command on the Amphitrite, 
 Jones now returned to Boston to await further orders 
 from Philadelphia. After a few more days of delibera- 
 tion the marine committee decided to accept Lang- 
 don's proposition, and gave Jones command of the 
 Ranger. On the 14th of June Congress passed two 
 notable resolutions: the first, adopted the stars and 
 stripes as the national banner of the United States; 
 the second appointed Paul Jones to the command of 
 the Ranger. 
 
 Resolved : That the flag of the thirteen United States 
 be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, that the
 
 THE "RANGER" 207 
 
 Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, repre- 
 senting a new constellation. 
 
 Resolved: That Captain Paul Jones be appointed 
 to command the ship Ranger. 
 
 These resolutions were not simultaneous, and were 
 passed among some sixteen others during the proceed- 
 ings of the day; but, following the conclusions of 
 Jones's first biographer, the impression became very 
 prevalent that Congress intended to honor Paul Jones 
 in their juxtaposition, and to link his name in glorious 
 union with the first mention of the stars and stripes. 
 Several of his later biographers have repeated the mis- 
 statement and still further promulgated the error. No 
 claim to the honor was ever made by Jones himself, 
 and there is no evidence to indicate that there was 
 any intentional significance in the action of Congress. 
 
 On the 18th of June the marine committee, deter- 
 mined to aid their favorite officer in every way in their 
 power, wrote him a most flattering letter, giving him 
 unlimited orders and authorizing him, with Colonel 
 Langdon and Captain Whipple, to engage and com- 
 mission his officers. With the near prospect of action, 
 Jones's feelings now became hopeful and even opti- 
 mistic. He proceeded with eager alacrity to the busi- 
 ness of manning his vessel. The Ranger was a new 
 full-rigged ship of war, small but fast-sailing, and he 
 was delighted with her. She was originally provided 
 with twenty-six guns, but Jones decided that she was 
 incapable of carrying more than eighteen six-pounders. 
 
 On the 2d of July he wrote to his friend Captain 
 Parke, of Providence, asking his aid in enlisting his
 
 208 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 crew, saying that he considered the Ranger "the best 
 cruiser in America/' and to Louis Charrier, of New 
 Bedford, whose assistance he also requested, that "since 
 the establishment of our Navy, no person in it has had 
 so good, so fair a prospect of success." About this 
 time he met with his brother officers in Boston to de- 
 cide upon the uniform for the American navy. It is 
 evident from his correspondence that although he was 
 displeased with the manners and abilities of some of 
 them, he was on friendly terms with many who un- 
 doubtedly better deserved his approbation. His rela- 
 tions with Captain McNeill, of North Carolina, based 
 on the pleasant associations which always attached 
 him to the home of his benefactors, were very intimate 
 and prolonged for many years. During this time he 
 formed a friendship with Major Frazer, another South- 
 ern officer of good birth and education, with some ex- 
 perience in the Continental army. In various letters, 
 preserved in the collection of Jones's correspondence 
 in Washington, there are glimpses of their mutual as- 
 sociations during his stay in Boston. Abraham Liv- 
 ingston and William Turnbull, merchants and Conti- 
 nental agents in that city, are referred to by Frazer as 
 part of "our Boston family," which would indicate that 
 they had all been stopping together at some boarding- 
 house in Boston, one of those centres of hospitality 
 described in the memoirs of the time, where Conti- 
 nental officers and sympathizers with the patriot cause 
 were wont to meet in friendly and often convivial 
 companionship. These men were evidently warmly 
 attached to Jones and were on the most friendly and
 
 THE "RANGER" 209 
 
 serviceable terms with him. He furnished his enthu- 
 siastic friend Frazer with ample funds, and recom- 
 mended him for the position of senior captain of the 
 marine corps, which was to sail on the Ranger, an 
 appointment which the major avowed he desired for 
 "amusement" and the opportunity afforded for the 
 free passage to Europe. Hearing of the previous ap- 
 pointment of Captain Roach to the Ranger, and of 
 certain charges which led to his suspension, Jones, 
 with great delicacy, prolonged his stay in Boston for 
 a number of days before proceeding to Portsmouth 
 to take command of the ship. His letter, despatched 
 to Captain Roach on the 12th of July, furnishes the 
 best possible proof of the real kindness of his attitude 
 to his brother officers: 
 
 PORTSMOUTH, July 12th, 1777. 
 SIR: 
 
 I am come here on a disagreeable errand, to super- 
 sede you, against whom I have no cause of complaint. 
 Delicacy would not permit my more early appearance. 
 I wish to give you time to consider whether your sus- 
 pension can be in any respect owing to me. You must 
 be convinced that it was not, when you recollect that 
 I was appointed to command a far better ship than the 
 Ranger. Besides, I think you believe me incapable of 
 baseness. You will have an opportunity of disprov- 
 ing whatever may have been said to your disadvan- 
 tage, and the charges against you, whatever they are, 
 must be supported by incontestible facts. Otherwise, 
 they will gain no credit with men of candor and inge- 
 nuity. Your present calamity may yet terminate in 
 your future happiness, when it appears that you have 
 been wrongfully charged. You will be entitled to a
 
 210 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 greater share of public good will and approbation than 
 you could otherwise have claimed. 
 I wish you well, and am, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient, 
 
 Very humble Servant, 
 
 JNO. P. JONES. 
 
 By his considerate delay in Boston, Jones missed 
 the opportunity of joining in the Fourth of July cele- 
 bration which took place in Portsmouth on the first 
 anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. A 
 contemporaneous account relates the manner in which 
 the day was observed. 
 
 From the Freeman's Journal, Saturday, July 12, 
 1777: 
 
 Friday, the Fourth of July, being the anniversary of 
 American Independency, the day was celebrated with 
 joy and festivity. The forts and batteries fired a num- 
 ber of cannon. Captain Thomson gave a general in- 
 vitation to all true friends to America and Indepen- 
 dency to repair on board the Continental Frigate at 
 twelve o'clock, where a cold collation was provided to 
 refresh the visitors. At one o'clock the following toasts 
 (toast) was drank throughout the ship, prosperity, 
 freedom and independency to the thirteen United States 
 of America, which was proclaimed by firing thirteen 
 guns on board the frigate, secondly the guns from the 
 French ship and the Portsmouth private ship of war, 
 which was succeeded with three cheers from the Raleigh 
 and answered by the other ships, and a large con- 
 course of people which were assembled on the wharfs, 
 testified their joy and approbation on this ever mem- 
 orable day, which ought never to be forgot by all the 
 lovers of liberty.
 
 THE "RANGER" 211 
 
 On this occasion it would have been highly appro- 
 priate to unfurl for the first time the new national ban- 
 ner. Although it was not hoisted in battle and on land 
 until August 6, over Fort Stanwix, Boston and Ports- 
 mouth were in a much more direct line of travel from 
 Philadelphia than that far-distant post, and might 
 easily have received the announcement of its adoption 
 a month earlier. As Paul Jones had by this time re- 
 ceived the news of his appointment to the Ranger, which 
 was made on the same day as the adoption of the new 
 flag, it is probable that the latter resolution had been 
 promulgated in Portsmouth, and that flags of the new 
 design were prepared and hoisted from the ships and 
 forts on the Fourth of July. But the honor of first un- 
 furling the stars and stripes from a ship of war, which 
 has also been claimed for Paul Jones, is not supported 
 by historical evidence. If he had been lucky enough 
 to have had the opportunity of first unfurling the new 
 national banner from the Ranger, it is not to be be- 
 lieved that he would have omitted to mention the fact. 
 
 As soon as he arrived in Portsmouth, Jones imme- 
 diately set about the business of equipping and man- 
 ning his ship. In the enlisting of his crew he found 
 considerable difficulty, and, as in the case of the crews 
 of the Alfred and the Providence, he undertook to aid 
 the poverty-stricken government by advancing a por- 
 tion of their wages. The seamen refused to engage 
 for more than one cruise, and the advance of twenty 
 dollars promised in the publicly posted hand-bills was 
 agreed to by Congress only on condition of a longer 
 engagement. Jones, realizing that these men must
 
 212 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 enter with contentment upon their service, wrote 
 to Lieutenant Elijah Hall, engaging himself to ad- 
 vance the sum promised, and promising also to leave 
 a sum in Boston for half the monthly wages of the 
 crew, to be drawn upon by their families during their 
 absence. The patriotic character of this generous action 
 needs no comment. 
 
 The month of July was spent in the tedious busi- 
 ness of equipping the Ranger, and the time dragged on 
 very slowly during the hot days of the summer. Jones 
 wrote frequently to his friends Parke and Charrier, 
 urging them to hasten the business of enlisting the 
 crew. At the end of July he finally reported as to his 
 progress and plans to Robert Morris, expressing his 
 already fully matured ideas as to the best methods of 
 carrying on the war on the coast of England. "I 
 have ardently wished for an opportunity of distinguish- 
 ing myself in an enterprising command," he wrote, 
 "and I agree with you that our infant fleet cannot 
 protect our own coast, and therefore ought to be em- 
 ployed to draw off the enemy's attention by attacking 
 their defenceless places. I am persuaded that even 
 with a trifling force, it is practicable to lay some of the 
 enemy's cities under contribution, and to do indefinite 
 damage to their shipping. I know them to be subject 
 to panic under the least surprise, and the business may 
 be effected before they have time for recollection." 
 The period of inactivity and delay in equipping the 
 Ranger was destined to be prolonged to a far greater 
 extent than Jones had anticipated, and many weeks, 
 and even months, were to pass before he could finally
 
 THE "RANGER" 213 
 
 set sail for the adventure which he so ardently de- 
 sired; but the tedium of his days was soon relieved 
 by the news of the near proximity of his friend Hewes 
 at Boston. 
 
 A letter from John Adams to his wife, dated July 
 11, which was to be carried by Hewes himself, states 
 that he departed from Philadelphia on that date to 
 go to Boston. Adams's letter contains a character- 
 istically clear description of his distinguished messen- 
 ger. "Hewes has a sharp eye, a keen penetrating 
 sense, but what is of much more importance, is a man 
 of honor and integrity. I hope you will treat him with 
 all the complacence due to his character. I almost 
 envy him the journey although he travels for his 
 health, which at present is infirm." 
 
 On the 27th Jones sent Hewes the following singu- 
 larly affectionate and confiding appeal for reinstate- 
 ment in his rank. He sent with this letter a packet 
 containing various documents supporting his claim 
 for reinstatement, and asking that his friends Living- 
 ston and Turnbull, in whose care he addressed the 
 letter, should also inspect its contents and give him 
 their opinion and advice: 
 
 PORTSMOUTH Augt. 17th, 1777. 
 MY DEAR AND HONORED SIR 
 
 Inclosed you have sundry letters &ca. which you 
 are at liberty to use at discretion for I can unbosom 
 myself to you with the utmost confidence. You have 
 laid me under the most singular obligations & you 
 are indeed the Angel of my happiness; since to your 
 Friendship I owe my present enjoyments, as well as
 
 214 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 my future prospects. I will not attempt to thank 
 you by letter but endeavor to prove by my conduct 
 that your Friendship and good opinion is not mis- 
 placed. 
 
 I do not at present expect an alteration to take place 
 in the line of Rank but I will hope for a Seperate 
 Command, by which I may be enabled to distinguish 
 myself in the Service; for I should esteem it a greater 
 disgrace and a worse hardship, to be set under the 
 command of any Man who was not in the Navy as 
 early as myself, than to be fairly Broke and expelled 
 the Service especially as the Man I speak of cannot 
 plead Superiour knowledge, or Superiour Services; and 
 many of them with whom I have conversed, McNeill 
 among the rest, have had candour enough to acknowl- 
 edge that they did not expect to come into the Service 
 in any other Capacity than as Junior Officers. I aver 
 that many of them durst not step forth at the begin- 
 ning in such ships as the Alfred then was, and at a time 
 when Independence had not even been mentioned out 
 of doors. I know what misfortune is, and I dare meet 
 it again, in its most frightful aspect, rather than lose 
 my Rank. There are characters, among the thirteen 
 in the list, who are truely contemptible, with such, as 
 a private Gentleman, I would disdain to Sit down, I 
 would disdain to be acquainted. I am no prophet, 
 but, an alteration in the Navy Rank will take place 
 at a period not far distant. Justice will point out the 
 Necessity of that alteration. Should it not take place 
 will it not leave room for reflection? and how will any 
 Gentleman now in the Service be assured that he will 
 not also be superceded by men of Presumptive abilities? 
 I am very far from meaning to reflect on the Gentle- 
 men who drew that line of Rank. I am persuaded 
 that it was done with intentional Impartiality; but 
 they have been misled by misrepresentation; and their
 
 THE "RANGER" 215 
 
 not being long conversant in Navy matters laid them 
 open to opposition. I esteem several of the thirteen 
 Captains by whom I am at present superceded but 
 until they give proof of their superiour abilities I never 
 shall acknowledge them as my Senior Officers I never 
 will act under their command. 
 
 I enclose a Copy of my letter to the Marine Com- 
 mittee on the subject of Rank when I supposed my- 
 self superceded by one man; and I am by no means 
 inclined to retract my sentiments now, that I find 
 (my) self superseded by a number. If I had deserved 
 this, I am unworthy of bearing a Commission, I am 
 unworthy of drawing my sword in the Cause of Free- 
 men. I am uncertain whether Mr. Morris did or did 
 not think it expedient to lay that matter before the 
 Committee perhaps he did not. I would not make 
 a difficulty about trifles, but this is no trifle to me. I 
 have last winter Paid off the sloop Providence, and ship 
 Alfred from the beginning; and from the date of my 
 first Commission until now, I have received no more 
 public money, as an individual, than the Fifty pounds 
 which was Ordered by the Committee this time Twelve 
 Month to provide Cabin Stores at Philadelphia and 
 I have now no prospect of a Settlement. In the time 
 of Twelve Weeks, including the time of fitting out the 
 Alfred at Rhode Island, I took twenty four prizes 
 among which was only one Sloop and I have received 
 little more than three Thousand Dollars as my share 
 of prize Money. Yet these and a thousand other dis- 
 agreeable circumstances I consider as trifles but, to 
 be superseded after all is insupportable. The Ranger's 
 Top-Sails will be sent to-morrow and I hope to over- 
 come all the Difficulty that subsisted when I took this 
 Command and to have the Ranger at sea much sooner 
 than any other ship in the Service hath yet been. I 
 may venture to affirm that there is not one of the thir-
 
 216 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 teen persons in question who would in my situation, 
 proceed to sea without a settlement yet I will go. 
 
 I am deeply sensible of the many distinctions and 
 preferences which I have lately experienced from Con- 
 gress, as well as from the Marine and Secret Com- 
 mittees. I am incapable of Ingratitude, and ardently 
 wish to be employed in such Enterprising services, as 
 will convince them that I have not deserved their 
 former neglect. I now understand that the Raleigh 
 and Alfred are, by the advice of Captain Whipple and 
 Colo. Langdon, destined for France in Order to pro- 
 vide the Raleigh with Stores, altho' she is now Laden 
 as deep as a Merchant Ship. I mention this as there 
 is a probability of our Junction there and I am pre- 
 determined not to serve under that dull inactive Gen- 
 ius, 1 who would serve with more reputation in a Dock 
 Yard than as a Commander in the Navy. There are 
 Frigets now building and lately built in France that 
 mount Thirty two Guns on One Deck I wish for the 
 Command of one of these Ships and indeed for the 
 present, we ought to build Ships of no other Construc- 
 tion they sail exceedingly fast, and are capable of 
 carrying Eighteen pounders. 
 
 Please to put the complaint against Captain Manly 
 into the hands of General Warren it will give me 
 much pleasure to hear from you before you leave Bos- 
 ton, and I request yours and Mr. Livingston's free 
 sentiments and advice on this letter. I have had the 
 greatest respect for his Father and for Colo. R. H. 
 Lee and could be happy in corresponding with them. 
 
 Please to inform me to whom you Communicate the 
 paper which I shewed you in Philadelphia, and whether 
 you think it prudent for me to shew it to any person 
 this way. You will soon hear of my destination. I 
 
 1 Captain Thompson, of the Raleigh, afterward dismissed from the 
 navy.
 
 THE " RANGER " 217 
 
 can write you to Philadelphia before I sail. I will hope 
 to hear from you in France should I proceed there. 
 
 I have many things to say on Navy Matters but 
 must at Present conclude with repeating what I have 
 repeatedly advanced I mean that short enlistments 
 are Incompatible with the Necessary Subordination of 
 a Navy therefore I aver that the Seamen of these 
 States ought to be Registered and made subject to 
 serve in their turns for three years at one tune. I 
 have the honor to be with much respect and perfect 
 Esteem, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your very Obliged 
 Very Obedient 
 
 Most humble Servant 
 
 J. P. J. 
 The Honble. 
 
 Joseph Hewes. 
 
 No efforts on the part of Mr. Hewes, devoted as 
 he was to Jones's interests, produced any result. By 
 the 25th of August, as stated in one of Frazer's letters, 
 "Mr. Hewes has gone to the southward," and another 
 of Abraham Livingston's states that the letter to 
 Hewes, which had been sent to his care, had safely 
 arrived, but not the packet which accompanied it. 
 The letter from Livingston is kind, even paternal in 
 tone. He advises Jones to refrain from criticism of 
 his brother officers, and promises to "do the needful" 
 in the way of presenting his letter to Hewes in Phila- 
 delphia, where it was his expectation of meeting him 
 before long, avowing that if he fails to serve him it 
 will be for lack of opportunity rather than of desire. 
 
 This was the sort of influence which always calmed
 
 218 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Jones instantly and restored his equilibrium, as is 
 shown in the following brief letter to Hewes, in which 
 he recapitulates the situation in a spirit of perfect rea- 
 sonableness and promises to pay obedient attention to 
 his advice: 
 
 PORTSMOUTH Septr. 1st, 1777. 
 
 MY DEAR AND HONORED SlR 
 
 Inclosed you have copies of sundry letters &c. 
 which I forwarded to you on the 17th Ulto. under 
 cover to Messrs. Livingston and Turnbull and which 
 I fully expected would have reached your hands in 
 Boston, but by carelessness or otherwise the Packet 
 hath never reached then- hands and is I fear entirely 
 lost. Inclosed you have also the copy of my letter of 
 the 24th to Mr. Morris, and of the 30th to the Com- 
 missioners at Paris. The reason of my then writing 
 to Mr. Morris appears in the letter. I look up to him 
 and to you with sentiments of the highest esteem and 
 Gratitude and my first wish is to appear deserving 
 in his and in your sight and to have it in my power 
 to render Eminent Services to America. Perhaps my 
 fears have been needless. I will rely on the goodness 
 of Congress. I hope they will not put me under the 
 command of men who durst or did not embark in the 
 Navy before the 7th of December, 1775, for I assure 
 you I dread such dishonor worse than Death. I can 
 have no desire to decline the service while the liberties 
 of America are doubtful. It is my pride and glory 
 that I was one of the first who endeavored to defend 
 her Just rights; suffer me but to continue in the line 
 wherein I embarked. I ask no more, or if that be too 
 much, I am willing to stand an examination with any 
 one, or with every one of the Thirteen persons by whom 
 I am at present superseded, and will yield the point 
 to superior services and abilities. I cannot now hope
 
 THE "RANGER" 219 
 
 for the pleasure of hearing from you before my de- 
 parture, which is fast approaching. I however will 
 expect that pleasure when I reach France, for by a 
 late letter from Mr. Morris to Genl. Whipple it ap- 
 pears that Congress still mean that I should attend 
 to my former Orders from the Secret Committee. 
 
 I am not disgusted, nor under a Childish pet; but 
 I will continue in the Service in the hopes that the 
 day is not far distant when my present fears and ap- 
 prehensions will be finally removed; in the meantime 
 I mean only to express my sentiments in decent tho' 
 manly language. I confess in the Overflowing of my 
 heart that the command of the important expedition 
 which was alloted to me by Mr. Morris last winter 
 far exceeded my expectation. I am also deeply sensi- 
 ble of the distinctions and preference which I have 
 since that time experienced from Congress and from 
 the Marine and the Secret Committees, and, I attrib- 
 ute the mistake in the line of Rank not to intention, 
 but to your absence, and to the partial recommenda- 
 tions which were then exhibited. 
 
 I rely on your Friendship I promise to pay atten- 
 tion to your advice, and I most sincerely am 
 
 My dear Sir your very Obliged very Obedient most 
 humble Servant 
 
 J. P. J. 
 The Honble. Joseph Hewes. 
 
 On September 6 the marine committee sent Jones 
 his final orders, directing him to sail as soon as pos- 
 sible for a convenient port in France, and to report 
 immediately to the commissioners upon his arrival. 
 A letter of September 7 to his friend Captain McNeill 
 announces that he is at last ready for sea, and ex- 
 presses the wish that McNeill, who has similar orders
 
 220 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 for Europe, might sail in his company. The letter con- 
 tains a generous and interesting reference to the gal- 
 lant Nicholas Biddle, who later met a glorious death 
 in the explosion of his ship Randolph, in a gallant 
 encounter with an overwhelmingly superior enemy: 
 "It is reported here that Captain Biddle hath lately 
 met with great success on a cruise of only five days 
 from Charlestown, having taken and carried in five 
 Jamaica ships, two of them ships of twenty and eigh- 
 teen guns. They sailed in a squadron bound for New 
 York. The twenty gun ship ran alongside of the 
 Randolph and ordered Biddle to strike, he answered 
 'He would salute first/ The action was short with 
 the ships of force, and they having yielded, their con- 
 voy was yielded of course. It gives me pleasure to 
 hear this account, especially as Biddle hath been for 
 a long time unfortunate. Should it prove true, it will 
 give a spring to our Navy operations." 
 
 Although ready, as he supposed, to set sail by the 
 first favoring breeze, two more additional months of 
 intolerable delays were still to drag by before Jones 
 was finally able to put to sea, and under this torture 
 he was unable to maintain his reasonable frame of 
 mind and became again a prey to tormenting reflec- 
 tions. The following communication to the marine 
 committee, dated the 29th of October, gives a lively 
 idea of some of the annoyances he was subjected to 
 during this trying period : 
 
 With all my industry I could not get a single suit 
 of sail completed until the twentieth current. Since 
 that tune the winds and weather have laid me under
 
 THE "RANGER" 221 
 
 the necessity of continuing in port. At this time it 
 blows a very heavy gale from the northeast; the ship 
 with difficulty rides it out, with yards and topmasts 
 struck and whole cables ahead. When it clears up I 
 expect the wind from the northwest and shall not fail 
 to embrace it, altho' I have not now a spare sail, nor 
 materials to make one. Some of those I have are made 
 of Hissings, a coarse thin stuff. I never before had 
 so disagreeable a service to perform as that which I 
 have now accomplished, and of which another will 
 claim the credit as well as the profit. However, in 
 doing my utmost, I am sensible that I have done no 
 more than my duty. I have now to acknowledge the 
 honor of having received your orders of the 6th Ulto., 
 and that I have before me the pleasing prospect of 
 being the welcome messenger at Paris of the joyous 
 and welcome news of Burgoyne's surrender. I have 
 received despatches from the Council of Massachu- 
 setts for the Commissioners, by express. I shall there- 
 fore not go out of my course unless I see a fair op- 
 portunity of distressing the enemy, and of rendering 
 services to America. 
 
 On the 30th of October he again poured out the 
 burden of his overcharged heart in the following fare- 
 well letters to his friends Hewes and Morris: 
 
 Ranger, PORTSMOUTH 3Qth Oct. 1777. 
 
 MY DEAR AND HONORED SlRI 
 
 I herewith inclose copies of my letters &ca. since 
 you left Portsmouth. You will no doubt be Surprised 
 to find that the Ranger is still in port but the Won- 
 der must cease when you understand that with all my 
 own and my Officers Application and Industry I have 
 not been able to complete a Single Suite of Sails till
 
 222 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 within these few days past and other materials have 
 been equally Backward. Had not my officers exerted 
 themselves in procuring Materials the Ranger might 
 have remained in port as long as the Raleigh. I never 
 before had so disagreeable a service to perform as this 
 which I have now accomplished, and of which Another 
 will claim the Credit as well as the profit. 
 
 I have been fully manned for near two months past 
 so you may imagine what I must have felt on being 
 thus detained by a heavy Gale from the N.E. when 
 it clears up I purpose to embrace the first Wind that 
 can carry me thro' the Enemies lines and off the Coast. 
 I have received Orders and despatches from France 
 and hope to be the welcome Messenger at Paris of 
 Burgoyne's Surrender, &ca., &ca. 
 
 I have now to inform you that a few days ago I had 
 the honor to receive by post your esteemed favor of 
 the 26th May 1776 from Philadelphia directed to 
 me as Commander of the Providence at New York. 
 my best thanks Sir, are particularly due to you for the 
 Sentiments of Regard therein expressed. this letter 
 had I been in doubt before, would now confirm me in 
 the belief that had you been present in Congress the 
 10th day of October 1776 I should have held my proper 
 Rank in the Service which (if I was worthy of my first 
 Commission) is No. 5 not No. 18. 
 
 That I should be thus degraded and set under Thir- 
 teen men, who durst not nor did not Embark in the 
 dispute, and in ships unfit for War like the Alfred, as 
 Early as myself, distracts my very Soul ! A sea officer 
 who can bear to be superseded by any man of Pre- 
 sumptive Abilities and talk or can think cooly of it is 
 a Villain! I know one person among the Thirteen 
 who, after I had embarked in the Service, made a private 
 agreement with the Captain of one of the Enemies 
 Ships to carry himself, his Family and effects off the
 
 THE "RANGER" 223 
 
 Continent. This can at any time be proved by the 
 testimony of his Neighbors. I can find many other 
 exceptions among them and not one of them can 
 teach me my duty or will ever go further with a Small 
 force in the Service than I have already done and mean 
 to do again whenever an Opportunity offers. I should 
 be to the last degree Unhappy were it not for the hopes 
 I have that Congress will yet do me right. I cannot 
 think of quitting the Service my whole mind is rapt 
 in the Dispute! But how shall I have Spirit to per- 
 form my Duty while I think myself degraded and out 
 of my proper Place? Without boasting, you know 
 Sir, that I have not deserved this. 
 
 As you have been pleased to say in your letter that 
 "I ought to have Commanded some who were" (at 
 the beginning) "placed in a higher Rank than myself, 
 I shall only add that I would lay down my life for 
 America but can never triffle with my delicate no- 
 tions of Honour. 
 
 You will please to excuse the liberty which I have 
 taken in Joining your Name with that of my friend 
 Abraham Livingston in a General letter of Attorney 
 for the disposal of the Captor's part of all prizes that 
 may be taken by the Ranger and that may Arrive in 
 any part of America excepting only the States of 
 New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island 
 and Connecticutt. Should you decline to Act in be- 
 half of the Captors you will singularly Oblige by Ap- 
 pointing such person or persons Within any or every 
 of the Nine States not excepted as you .think will do 
 Justice and render satisfaction. As you know that 
 the Credit of the Service depends not only on dealing 
 fairly with the men Employed in it, but on their belief 
 that they are and will be fairly dealt with. 
 
 You will also be pleased to excuse the liberty I have 
 taken by inserting the Esteemed Names of Robert
 
 224 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Morris and Joseph Hewes in my own private Letter 
 of Attorney and, as Executors, in my Will both of 
 which will be herewith forwarded into the hands of 
 Mr. Morris with Duplicates for you. 
 
 Major Frazer goes with me as a Volunteer He 
 wishes to have an Employment in the Marine Service 
 and desires to assist me on my private Enterprize 
 he hath given a description so truly Elysian to a small 
 Estate on the Mattapony, Virginia, that I wish to 
 become the purchaser. He writes his friend Colo. 
 Braxton thro' the Hands of Mr. Morris to whom I will 
 transmit the necessary Sum I wish you could satisfy 
 yourself respecting the Situation and properties of 
 the Lands &c. before the purchase. 
 
 I most ardently wish for the Command of some 
 Spirited private Enterprize whereby I may be enabled 
 to prove that I have not merited the disgrace of being 
 Superseded. 
 
 I will hope to hear frequently from you while in 
 France to care of Thos. Morris, Esqr., Agent Nantes 
 hi the meantime I am with Grateful Sentiments of 
 perfect Esteem and regard, 
 Dear Sir 
 
 Your very much Obliged 
 Most humble Servt. 
 
 J. P. J. 
 The Honorable 
 
 Joseph Hewes. 
 
 Ranger, PORTSMOUTH 30th October, 1777. 
 HONORED AND DEAR SIR 
 
 I herewith inclose duplicates of my letters &ca. to 
 you since I took command of the Ranger I have left 
 open the letters and papers &ca. directed for Mr. 
 Hewes which I beg of you to peruse before you forward 
 them. my situation is a truly delicate one Super-
 
 THE "RANGER" 225 
 
 seeled by thirteen persons, not one of whom had em- 
 barked in the Navy when my first Commission was 
 dated some of whom durst not or at least did not 
 then nor for many months afterwards avow their Re- 
 publican Sentiments but were on the other side, if we 
 may judge from the private Testimony of their Neigh- 
 bors not one of whom is better acquainted with Navy 
 matters than myself and several of whom are alto- 
 gether illiterate and Utterly ignorant of Marine af- 
 fairs. this is my situation, and the more I think of 
 it the more Unhappy I am, when I reach France 
 I must expect to meet with Gentlemen who consider 
 themselves as my Senior Officers and by whom I am 
 superseded in acknowledging their Seniority must I 
 not also obey their Commands and Confess that their 
 Promotion over me was the Reward of their Superiour 
 Service and abilities and how much must I then be 
 humbled ! may not the World believe that others have 
 cast me thus far at a distance and thrown me out in 
 the pursuit of Honor the thought distracts my very 
 Soul! Why alas! should my Honor and my Duty seem 
 incompatible? tho this may appear a Solecism yet 
 it's reality affects me more than all the former misfor- 
 tune of my Life some of them were perhaps br'ot 
 about by my own misconduct this I am sure was not, 
 I cannot think of quitting the Service especially 
 while the liberties of America are Unconfirmed I 
 must therefore look up to you as my Patron and Pro- 
 tector Shall I take the liberty to add, as my kind 
 Friend and Benefactor with full dependence that you 
 will do your Utmost to set me right so as to enable 
 me to continue in the Service. 
 
 In my letter of 28th. July I mentioned Major Frazer 
 of Virginia that Gentleman goes with me as a Vol- 
 unteer as he wishes to be employed in the Marine Ser- 
 vice should that be agreeable to Congress he will,
 
 226 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 from his rank in the Army, be Senior Officer in the Ma- 
 rines and he expresses a strong desire to accompany 
 me in any private Expedition it is my first and most 
 ardent Wish to be entrusted with the Command of 
 some Spirited Enterprise where I can have an Oppor- 
 tunity of proving that I have not merited the disgrace 
 of being superseded. 
 
 I must beg you to pardon the Liberty I have taken 
 in inserting the Esteemed names of Robert Morris and 
 Joseph Hewes in a private letter of Attorney; and, as 
 Executors, in my Will, both of which are herewith 
 inclosed Inclosed is also a letter from Major Frazer 
 to his friend Col 1 . Braxton of Virginia respecting the 
 purchase of a small estate on the Mattapony which I 
 must request you to forward or not as you think most 
 for my benefit agreeable to the letter of Attorney I 
 would only observe that I should be glad to own such 
 place as that is by description, but Col. Braxton will 
 give you a better account of it. 
 
 Altho' I have not 'till now been able to get in readi- 
 ness with the Ranger yet I assure you my utmost 
 Efforts have not been wanting. The Ship was Manned 
 in very little time indeed the only instance of the kind 
 that I remember in the Service I have an Orderly 
 well disciplined and spirited Crew consisting of an 
 hundred and forty odd and since the first of Sept 1 , 
 our Department hath been Impeded Soly thro' the 
 want of Canvass and many of the principle materials. 
 
 May I indulge myself in the hope of hearing from 
 you in France? Nothing could afford so much relief 
 to my anxious mind. I attribute my not having had 
 that Honor since I came here to the commotions in 
 Pennsylvania and to your Opinion of my more early 
 departure. 
 
 As the dirty and Ungrateful insinuations of the late 
 Commodore Esek Hopkins to the Committee in March
 
 THE "RANGER" 227 
 
 last hath given me much concern I have taken the 
 liberty to inclose a letter which I rec. on that subject 
 from Mr. Jarvis after my return to Boston I know 
 that you were perfectly Satisfied before and I hope 
 every other Gentleman was so. But I will leave no 
 room for refutation. 
 
 John Wendell Esqr. of this Place, a Gentleman of 
 great landed Interest and of an extensive Circle of 
 Friends in Congress, has had the goodness to write a 
 variety of letters in my behalf respecting the line of 
 rank and Command. His friends will from his remon- 
 strance mention the matter to you and he expects 
 use their utmost interest in Congress however I would 
 not wish to create a General Uneasiness in the Service 
 if I am entrusted with the Command of an expidi- 
 tion and should be so fortunate as to Succeed in it 
 no exception can then be taken at my promotion. 
 
 The Inclosed Receipt from Major Gardner will I 
 believe Sufficiently explain the Situation of My little 
 private concerns in the Eastern States If I knew any 
 men whom I could esteem more than yourself and 
 Mr. Hewes I would not have given you this trouble 
 Should any letters Appear for me directed to your care 
 in consequence of the Indulgent liberty which you 
 gave me I am sure they will be duly forwarded, I am 
 with a Heart overflowing with Sentiments of perfect 
 Gratitude Esteem and respect, 
 
 Honored and dear Sir 
 Your Very Obliged 
 very obedient 
 
 most humble Servant, 
 
 The Hon ble J. P. J. 
 
 Robt. Morris. 
 
 It is perfectly easy to discern in this very full pres- 
 entation of Jones's thoughts to his confidential friends
 
 228 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 the true motives of his conduct. Under the degree 
 of suffering expressed in these letters, it must always 
 be remembered to his credit that he did not quit the 
 service in disgust. We see here no complaint of vanity 
 at the deprivation of his command of the fleet which 
 was promised to him, but bitter and agonized resent- 
 ment crying aloud in reiterated protest against the in- 
 sult of his degradation in rank. The line of demarca- 
 tion which divides the one from the other is perfectly 
 clear, and should be observed at this time and care- 
 fully borne in mind if any accurate estimate of Jones's 
 true character and motives is to be reached. 
 
 The long delay had now come to an end, and the 
 hour of his departure was at hand. His rising spirits 
 were further exalted by the glorious news of Bur- 
 goyne's surrender, which, as he writes, reached him 
 about this time, and the official announcement of 
 which he was requested to carry to France. Jones, 
 however, was not the only bearer of the news, for a 
 copy only of the official document was given to him, 
 the original having been already despatched by John 
 Loring Austin, secretary to the Massachusetts board 
 of war, who had sailed on the packet Perch from Bos- 
 ton on the 31st of October. A few more letters pre- 
 served in his correspondence supply the details of his 
 final occupations during these last days. He dined 
 familiarly with the rich and influential Mr. Wendell, 
 of Portsmouth, whose son, placed under his command, 
 was recommended to his particular care and atten- 
 tion as a "relative of the Hancocks" and of Jones's 
 First Lieutenant Simpson. He directed his friend
 
 THE "RANGER" 229 
 
 Frazer to write about the purchase of his long-dreamed- 
 of home in Virginia, 1 testifying in this way that his 
 last thought on leaving the country was of a final 
 return and a happy residence within its borders. He 
 bade farewell to his Portsmouth friends, and then he 
 hoisted the stars and stripes to the Ranger's mast-head 
 and, on November 2, put out to sea. 
 
 1 This contemplated purchase was never consummated, but repre- 
 sents the only reference to any home or land in Virginia existing in 
 
 hisMSS.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 
 
 ONCE free from the annoyances of delay, which were 
 so particularly disturbing to Jones's temper, and again 
 afloat, he regained his normal poise, and entered into 
 a mood of cheerful activity as native to his mind as 
 the deck was to his feet. 
 
 The voyage across the Atlantic lasted a month, and 
 as it was late in the year he encountered toward the 
 end of it much severe weather. On the 29th of No- 
 vember, in a heavy gale, the Ranger hove to off the 
 Bay of Biscay. On Monday the weather cleared and 
 they sighted land from the mast-head, and on the fol- 
 lowing day ran in for the shore, just escaping a sand- 
 bank, but arrived all in good spirits, as is related 
 in Doctor Ezra Green's quaint little diary, at "Pean- 
 beauf," on the River Loire, near the port of Nantes, 
 and came to anchor in the evening. A few days after 
 Jones landed he despatched an account of his voyage 
 to the marine committee, in which the high enthusiasm 
 of his mood is clearly shown. The Ranger had dis- 
 appointed him in her sailing qualities, but he makes 
 no comment except to explain how he intends to 
 remedy her defects, and speaks of his crew with com- 
 mendation. 
 
 The character of his letters altered so sadly under 
 the repeated disappointments he was called upon to 
 
 230
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 231 
 
 bear that it is pleasant to note the original qualities 
 of his mind before his misfortunes had put it out of 
 tune. " After passing the Western Islands, " he writes, 
 "I fell in with and brought to a number of ships. I 
 took two brigantines from Malaga. I fell in with a 
 fleet of ten sail under a strong convoy, but notwith- 
 standing all my efforts, was unable to cut any of them 
 out." 
 
 He does not mention in this letter that it was the 
 Invincible, a British ship of seventy-four guns, which 
 was convoying this fleet out of the Mediterranean, a 
 possible reason for this omission being that he was 
 reluctant to confess that he had lost two days in the 
 hopeless chase, and in so doing had missed the oppor- 
 tunity of being the first to bring the official news of 
 Burgoyne's surrender to the commissioners in Paris. 
 John Loring Austin had landed at Nantes on the 30th 
 of November, and by the time Jones had arrived 
 was well on his way to Paris with the news. 
 
 Speaking of the Indien, the ship which had been 
 promised him by Congress, he says: 
 
 I understand that the commissioners have provided 
 for me one of the finest ships that ever was built, but 
 were under the necessity of giving her up. My un- 
 feigned thanks are equally due for the intention as 
 for the act. 
 
 This was the largest of the frigates which were being 
 built in Europe under Silas Deane's direction, with 
 the aid of French funds and French engineers, and 
 Jones had been sent to Europe with the express object
 
 232 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 of assuming her command as a recompense for his de- 
 prival of the colonial fleet. The manner in which he 
 accepted this second disappointment could hardly be 
 excelled. 
 
 On the 4th of December, which was the day after 
 he had come up to Nantes from Paimbceuf , he wrote 
 for the first time to the commissioners, giving a brief 
 account of his voyage and assuring them that he would 
 await their orders with particular pleasure. On the 
 next day he wrote again, giving his own views as to 
 the best method of conducting an aggressive warfare 
 against the enemy's coast. "I am here," he wrote, 
 "and ready to receive, and to pay cheerful and prompt 
 obedience to your orders. It is my first and favorite 
 wish to be employed in active and enterprising ser- 
 vices where there is a prospect of rendering acceptable 
 services to America. The singular honor which Con- 
 gress hath done me, in their generous acknowledgment 
 of my past services hath inspired me with sentiments 
 of gratitude which I shall carry with me to my grave. 
 I have always, since we had ships of war, been per- 
 suaded that small squadrons could be employed to far 
 better advantage on private expeditions, and would 
 distress the enemy infinitely more than the same force 
 could do by cruising either jointly or separately. Were 
 strict survey observed on our part, the enemy have 
 many important places in such defenceless situations, 
 that they might effectually be surprised and attacked, 
 with no very considerable force. We cannot yet fight 
 their Navy, as then- numbers and force is so far supe- 
 rior to ours, therefore it seems to be our natural prov-
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 233 
 
 ince to surprise their defenceless places and thereby 
 divide their attention and draw it off from our coasts." 
 
 These conclusions, both brief and lucid, represented 
 the result of his long habit of close thought upon the 
 best possible methods to be employed in fighting the 
 battles of his adopted country. Their wisdom and 
 common-sense were immediately approved by the com- 
 missioners and their execution left unquestioningly 
 to the man who had conceived them. The responsi- 
 bility for their success was thus put entirely upon his 
 shoulders. 
 
 While awaiting a reply to this letter to the commis- 
 sioners Jones busied himself with the task of refitting 
 and improving the Ranger, which needed shorter masts 
 and heavier ballast. This tiresome business was re- 
 lieved by the pleasant associations he had formed 
 with the group of Continental agents then resident 
 at Nantes, who had given Jones and his officers a most 
 cordial welcome upon their arrival. Jonathan Will- 
 iams, whom Doctor Green describes as "a most amia- 
 ble character," was the first of these. He was Frank- 
 lin's nephew, and was afterward distinguished as the 
 founder of the military academy at West Point. The 
 commissioners had appointed him to his office, in 
 association with Thomas Morris and his partner, M. 
 Penet, in the spring of this year, and he occupied 
 apartments at Nantes, where Jones was frequently re- 
 ceived. At this moment of his ardent youth he ful- 
 filled to perfection Jones's beau ideal of " candor and 
 ingenuity," and they entered into a brotherly and 
 most loving intimacy from the very first moment of
 
 234 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 their meeting. Thomas Morris also owed his appoint- 
 ment to a distinguished relative, his half-brother, 
 Robert Morris, but was very unreliable and dissipated 
 in his habits, and was on the point of being dismissed 
 from his post when his death, a few weeks after Jones's 
 arrival, removed him from his duties. John Ross, 
 also employed as an agent for the purchase of supplies 
 for the Continental cruisers, was another member of 
 this group, and with him also Jones began a life-long 
 relation of confidence and friendship. Williams's par- 
 ticular province was the forwarding of important letters 
 to and from the commissioners, and to his care Jones 
 intrusted all his official communications. 
 
 Jones found it necessary to avoid further association 
 with his convivial friend Frazer, who soon departed 
 from Nantes, leaving his unpaid notes and his ser- 
 vant in Jones's hands. He refers to him in the follow- 
 ing hitherto unpublished letter to his partner, Robert 
 Morris, too frankly expressive of his inmost feelings 
 at this moment to be omitted : 
 
 Ranger, NANTES, llth December 1777 
 HONORED AND DEAR SIR: 
 
 As the situation of affairs in Pennsylvania, when 
 I sailed from Portsmouth, rendered the conveyance 
 of letters from the Eastern States not altogether cer- 
 tain, I take the Liberty of inclosing copies of those 
 which I had the honor of writing to you while fitting 
 out. 
 
 It is not in my nature to persist intentionally in an 
 error, therefore I always wish to take the earliest op- 
 portunity of acknowledging a mistake; and as it now 
 appears from the situation of affairs, and more espe-
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 235 
 
 cially from the important step that was taken in my 
 favor by the commissioners, in obedience to the gen- 
 erous and liberal sentiments and orders of the Secret 
 Committee that Congress have had my Honor and 
 Benefit at Heart; I must conclude also that it is not 
 intended to place me under the command of men who 
 durst not, or did not step forth as soon as myself. In 
 this flattering belief I bid defiance to danger, and enjoy 
 once more the cheerful Ardour and Spirit, which alone 
 can animate and support an Officer in the performance 
 of his duty. To be continued in the line wherein I 
 stepped forth, and found acceptance at the beginning, 
 was, and is the height of my ambition; but for me to 
 fight under men who held back, and did not appear in 
 the first doubtful juncture, and who cannot now teach 
 me my duty, is impossible, nor will it be expected by 
 men of Candour and Ingenuity. 
 
 When I have the honour of hearing from the Com- 
 missioners, I will return my thanks to the Secret Com- 
 mittee, but what form of thanks shall I render to 
 you? * * * * I am utterly at a loss, nor know how to 
 begin, the obligations I owe to you are so many, so 
 important and were so unexpected, that I must be 
 grateful indeed did I not feel more than I can express. 
 But I detest flattery, therefore must decline the sub- 
 ject, lest I should enrobe fair truth in that flattering 
 dress. Yes, sir, I feel by a prophetic impulse in my 
 breast that I shall either manifest a grateful sense of 
 your friendship by my conduct in life, or by meeting 
 my death in support of the great cause wherein you 
 have borne so noble and so respected a part. 
 
 It gives me pain to inform you that I found Mr. 
 Frazer to be a person different from what I thought 
 him in America; he is subject to drink even to intoxi- 
 cation, which is at least a weakness utterly incom- 
 patible with the Characteristic of a good Officer; how-
 
 236 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 ever, Charity obliges me to think it rather a habit 
 acquired from disappointment than a constitutional 
 Vice. 
 
 The care which France is now taking of her Seamen, 
 ought to have some weight with America, they have 
 Ships of War stationed in all their Ports to make 
 strict search, and to prevent the departure of French 
 Seamen in foreign Ships. As America must become 
 the first Marine Power in the World, the care and in- 
 crease of our seamen is a consideration of the first 
 magnitude, and claims the full attention of Congress. 
 That our Seamen have decreased is a sad reality. 
 That they will continue to decrease is as certain unless 
 effectual measures are taken to prevent it. I have 
 seen with indignation, the sordid Adventurers in Pri- 
 vateers sporting away the Sinews of our Marine, for 
 notwithstanding the many captures that have been 
 made, how trifling a proportion of Prisoners have been 
 brought into our Ports and given up for Exchange. 
 Public virtue is not the characteristic of the men con- 
 cerned in Privateers, no wonder then that they let 
 their prisoners go in such a manner, that they imme- 
 diately augment the strength of the enemy's fleet. 
 Their selfishness furnishes them with reasons for this 
 conduct. Were they to keep their Prisoners, their 
 provision would be sooner consumed which might per- 
 haps oblige them to return home before they had suf- 
 ficiently glutted their avarice. Besides there might 
 be some danger from insurrections! These and the 
 like are with them all prevailing motives, and bear 
 down every public consideration. Were this base 
 conduct practiced by these licensed Robbers alone "I 
 should have found within my soul one drop of Pa- 
 tience" but to find individuals in our Navy affected 
 with the same foul contagion, racks me with distress- 
 ing Passions, and covers me with Shame! One in-
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 237 
 
 stance among many may be sufficient. The redoubt- 
 able Manly went near the entrance of St. Johns and 
 disdaining advantages, made the Enemy a Present of 
 Eighty Seamen at once. Such conduct on our part, 
 at a time when our cruel enemies are enforcing an act 
 of their Parliament, by the indiscriminate confinement 
 of our subjects in England's dungeons, not as Pris- 
 oners of War, but under the complicated appellations 
 of Traitors, Pirates and Felons whose necks they wish 
 to destine to the cord, and whose hearts they wish to 
 destine to the flames, is a wonder "passing strange," 
 and will be deemed Romance by future ages. Were 
 an exemplary punishment to be inflicted on all who 
 are thus regardless of the Interests of America, it is 
 to be hoped that such infernal Practices would cease 
 every prisoner of whatsoever denomination, and how- 
 ever distant when taken, ought to be brought into * 
 
 Another letter of this time, addressed to the affluent 
 Mr. Wendell, of Portsmouth, gives a pleasing idea of 
 the graceful and humorous courtesy of his social atti- 
 tude, quite in the fashion of the day, and a charming 
 glimpse of his habitual kindness to the young officers 
 under his command. He could already turn a senti- 
 mental phrase, and had a pretty taste of his own for 
 poetry: 
 
 Ranger, NANTES, llth December 1777 
 MY DEAR SIR: 
 
 The Ranger was wafted by the pinions of the gen- 
 tlest and most friendly Gales along the surface of the 
 Blue profound of Neptune, and not the swelling bosom 
 of a Friend's or even an Enemy's Sail appeared within 
 
 1 The MS. is incomplete, ending abruptly at this point,
 
 238 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 our placid horizon until after we had passed the Ever- 
 lasting mountains of the Sea (called Azores) whose 
 tops are in the clouds, and whose foundations are in 
 the center. When lo! this halcyon season was inter- 
 rupted! The gathering fleets o'erspread the sea and 
 war alarms began, nor ceased day or night until aided 
 by the mighty Boreas, we cast Anchor in this asylum 
 the 2nd. current, but since I am not certain that my 
 poetry will be understood, it may not be amiss to add, 
 by way of marginal note, that after leaving Ports- 
 mouth nothing remarkable happened until I got to 
 the eastward of the Western Islands, and from that 
 time until my arrival here I fell in with ships every 
 day, sometimes every hour. My heart glows with the 
 most fervent gratitude for every unsolicited and unex- 
 pected instance of the favor and approbation of Con- 
 gress, and if a Life of Services devoted to the interests 
 of America can be made instrumental in Securing its 
 Independence, I shall be the happiest of men. I es- 
 teem your son as a promising and deserving young 
 man. I have just now had some conversation with 
 him and am much pleased with his diffidence and 
 modesty. He would not, he says, accept of a commis- 
 sion until he thinks himself equal to the duty of the 
 office of Lieutenant. There I think he shows the true 
 spirit. Anything in my power to render his situation 
 happy and instructive shall not be wanting. I must 
 rely on you to make my best compliments to the fair 
 Miss Wendell, and to the other agreeable Ladies of my 
 acquaintance in Portsmouth. I cannot, at present, 
 give you my address, but will drop you another how 
 do you do shortly. 
 
 On the 17th the commissioners in Paris replied to 
 Jones, summoning him, as soon as he should find it 
 possible, to proceed thither for a consultation. On
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 239 
 
 the 22d, having received these orders, he wrote to the 
 marine committee that as the ship Independence was 
 still in port it was his duty to inform them of the re- 
 ceipt of this letter and to proceed immediately to Paris. 
 He wrote that he should remain away from his ship as 
 brief a time as possible, and promised to use his best 
 endeavors to transmit accounts of his proceedings. 
 On the 23d he replied to the commissioners, saying 
 that he would wait to respond to their summons only 
 so long as was necessary to advance the repairs of the 
 Ranger to a point where they might progress without 
 him, and render her fit for sea upon his return. 
 
 It must have been very nearly the new year when 
 Paul Jones arrived in Paris for the first time, to enter 
 into association with European diplomacy, through the 
 American commissioners, and to enjoy the first benefits 
 of his friendship with Franklin. His credentials from 
 the marine committee had been most flattering, and 
 encouraging news from home lent a hopeful atmosphere 
 to the American embassy, for this is what the resi- 
 dence of the commissioners at Passy was entitled to 
 be called. 
 
 The manner of the announcement of Burgoyne's 
 surrender was narrated to Jones upon his arrival and 
 must have accentuated his regret that he himself had 
 not been the first messenger of the wonderful news. 
 A vivid record of the scene of the announcement is 
 preserved in an old and rare copy of a Boston monthly 
 magazine: 
 
 The commissioners had assembled at Dr. Franklin's 
 apartments, on the rumor that a special messenger
 
 240 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 had arrived, and were too impatient to suffer a mo- 
 ment's delay. They received him in the courtyard, 
 before he had time to alight. Dr. Franklin addressed 
 him: "Sir, is Philadelphia taken?" "Yes Sir." The 
 old gentleman clasped his hands and returned to the 
 house. " But Sir, I have greater news than that, Gen- 
 eral Burgoyne and his whole Army are prisoners of 
 War." The effect was electrical; the dispatches were 
 scarcely read before they were put under copy. Mr. 
 Austin himself was impressed into the service of 
 transcribing them. Communication was without de- 
 lay made to the French Minister at Versailles. 
 
 It is interesting to know from other contemporary 
 records that it was none other than Caron de Beau- 
 marchais who was the messenger, and who, with Ar- 
 thur and William Lee, Silas Deane, Izard, Doctor 
 Bancroft, and Franklin, were dining together at the 
 home of the commissioners in Passy, to await Mr. 
 Austin. Beaumarchais (that same impetuous Beau- 
 marchais who broke the windows to ventilate Marie 
 Antoinette's little theatre at Versailles at the first 
 performance of his "Marriage of Figaro") jumped 
 into his chaise and drove so furiously in the darkness 
 of the winter's night to Versailles that the chaise was 
 upset by the road-side and his arm dislocated for his 
 pains. 
 
 Such thrilling news as the surrender of the great 
 English army was, indeed, sufficient to turn the head 
 of the French enthusiast and enough to raise the calm 
 philosophy of Franklin to a mood of confidence and 
 courage; and this was the mood in which he received 
 the man who was destined to be his chief support in
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 241 
 
 the war as waged by the Americans in Europe. Once 
 before, in the course of his life of extraordinary alter- 
 nations of fortune, Paul Jones had been brought into 
 contact with a group of individuals representing a 
 strategic centre of important influence and a moulding 
 school of manners. It has been seen how his early and 
 providential experience in North Carolina, under the 
 patronage of the aristocratic and powerful Willie Jones, 
 had illuminated and given opportunity to his ambition. 
 But this preparation was only introductory to the 
 role he was now about to play in Europe. 
 
 The house at Passy which was the residence of the 
 American commissioners during the period of the Rev- 
 olution was lent to them by a generous sympathizer 
 with our cause, M. Leray de Chaumont, who held impor- 
 tant naval appointments from the French Government, 
 with which he was in confidential relations. The gift 
 of this spacious official residence was reluctantly ac- 
 cepted by Franklin and openly objected to by Adams, 
 but it was probably countenanced if not instigated 
 by the French court, which desired this convenient 
 retreat for the representatives of the nation it se- 
 cretly wished to protect. It served, in fact, as a 
 meeting-place for the sympathizers as well as the 
 representatives of the new republic. It became the 
 principal rendezvous of politicians, gazetteers, soldiers 
 of fortune, and soldiers of the highest rank and im- 
 portance. The house occupied by the commissioners 
 was only a dependance of the property owned by M. 
 de Chaumont, which had then belonged to him but 
 a few months, having been originally the residence of
 
 242 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 the Duchesse de Valentinois, and still called the Hotel 
 Valentinois. There were two houses on the estate, 
 which was considerable, one designated "le grand 
 hotel" and the other "le petit h6tel," the larger 
 being occupied by M. de Chaumont and his family and 
 the other by the commissioners. The relations of the two 
 households, separated as they were only by a garden, 
 became naturally intimate, and the proximity of Frank- 
 lin, who became the idol of the French court and the 
 admiration of the entire nation, was a source of infinite 
 pride and pleasure to his host, himself somewhat of a 
 philosopher and anxious to please the court and to be 
 serviceable to its favorite. At the time when Jones 
 first visited Passy, where he was destined to be later 
 a frequent and honored guest, Franklin had been about 
 a year in residence, and the unfortunate Silas Deane, 
 his co-commissioner, already involved in difficulties, 
 was soon to return to America, recalled by a resolu- 
 tion passed on the 8th of December, 1777, to give 
 an account of his financial transactions with govern- 
 ment funds, before the bar of Congress. This was 
 brought about by the unjust suspicions of the third 
 commissioner, Arthur Lee, the marplot of the Revo- 
 lution, whose stormy disposition and jealous distrust 
 caused more trouble to his colleagues than any other 
 of the many difficulties which they were forced to 
 meet. The bitter enemy of Franklin, the cause of the 
 ruin of Deane and of Beaumarchais, the dupe of English 
 spies, this misguided patriot, for such his sincere love 
 of America declared him to be, was also the cause of 
 infinite distress to Jones, and proved himself in the
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 243 
 
 latter's affairs an obstructionist and an enemy of the 
 most dangerous kind. 
 
 Over this nest of dissension, hid away in the peace- 
 ful retreat of Passy, the calm philosophy of the all- 
 knowing, the wellnigh all-powerful Franklin fortu- 
 nately held sway, and to the refuge of his friendship, his 
 unerring and kindly protection, Paul Jones was ever 
 welcome to return for assistance and advice. His re- 
 lation with the best and greatest Americans, most fort- 
 unately maintained in the case of Hewes and Morris, 
 was again exemplified in the case of Franklin. Paul 
 Jones found in him from the first his principal ally 
 and supporter, and their minds, practical, efficient, and 
 far-seeing, entered at once into active alliance, Franklin 
 receiving Jones's suggestions and on his own initiative 
 planning large schemes for his employment in connec- 
 tion with the French allies. He recognized at once the 
 superb fighting instrument which Jones represented, 
 and was fully as eager as the latter's admirers of the 
 marine committee to see his splendid powers in action. 
 The tenor of their correspondence, which was fully 
 preserved by them both, shows a reverence on Jones's 
 part and a paternal affection on the part of the sage, 
 fond, admiring, and yet reserved, as if he feared too 
 greatly to praise a favorite son. Like a father, Franklin 
 corrected the young man, warning him of dangers and 
 sharply reproving his faults of temper. Fortunate, in- 
 deed, for the cause of America as for Paul Jones that 
 he found such protection and advice at the outset of 
 his European career. 
 
 Although received with flattering cordiality by the
 
 244 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 commissioners, the news which awaited Jones upon his 
 arrival was far from exhilarating, as far as the princi- 
 pal object of his mission was concerned, for the rumor 
 of the sale of the Indien, and the loss of his promised 
 command, was fully confirmed. The British ambas- 
 sador, Elliot, at The Hague, had discovered the secret 
 of the ownership and destination of the vessel, then on 
 the stocks at Amsterdam, from a chance sight of some 
 papers lying on the desk of M. Dumas, secretly em- 
 ployed as American agent at the Dutch capital. To 
 prevent the confiscation of the vessel in a neutral port 
 it was deemed imperative immediately to transfer it 
 to the French Government. Jones had no intention 
 of giving up his efforts to get the command of the ship, 
 but he realized that there was nothing to be done for 
 the moment, so he wasted no time in remonstrances, 
 and returned after a few days to Nantes to resume his 
 command of the Ranger. His ensuing correspondence 
 shows that the relations he had so quickly formed at 
 Passy included a warm and sympathetic friendship 
 with at least two of the commissioners and with Doctor 
 Bancroft, an Englishman officially employed by the 
 latter, and eminent for his scientific discoveries. The 
 letters of Silas Deane written to Jones at this period 
 abound in expressions of admiration and a desire to 
 further his designs letters which indicate not only 
 the ardent nature of this unfortunate public servant, 
 but the engaging personality of his correspondent. 
 Deane had been from the first an active and influ- 
 ential member of the Continental Congress and also 
 a member of the first marine committee. He was ap-
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 245 
 
 pointed business agent and American commissioner 
 at Paris in June, 1776, and filled that arduous position 
 alone from July until December of that year, when 
 Franklin arrived to be associated with him. Although 
 he had embarrassed the government by his too easy 
 belief in the representations of the French officers who 
 desired to enter the American army, he had been 
 eminently successful in the conduct of the very com- 
 plicated matter of procuring supplies through Beau- 
 marchais, which were absolutely essential to the pros- 
 ecution of the war. He is described as being a man 
 of distinguished manners and appearance, used to the 
 world, and, through his warm personal relations with 
 Beaumarchais, favorably known to the powerful French 
 minister of foreign affairs, the Count de Vergennes. Ar- 
 thur Lee, as a member of the influential and patriotic 
 Lee family, of Virginia, was closely related to Washing- 
 ton and was also in strong sympathy with Adams and 
 the New England party in Congress. He resented 
 a subordinate position, or even the divided authority 
 which was forced upon him by the presence of his col- 
 leagues in France, and refused to subscribe either to 
 the diplomacy of Franklin or the conduct of the busi- 
 ness affairs by Deane. He failed, although with a very 
 small majority, in Congress, in his attempt to oust 
 Franklin from his position, but was only too successful 
 in his attacks upon Deane. No sooner had he arrived 
 in Paris than he sent the most sweeping and, as it 
 was proved, unfounded accusations to Congress as to 
 Deane's dishonesty, with the result that Deane's bills 
 were dishonored by his government and he was left
 
 246 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 penniless in Europe. In this emergency, through the 
 earnest persuasions of Beaumarchais, Vergennes sup- 
 plied Deane's immediate necessities from the French 
 exchequer and sent him home to his trial in America 
 with honors from the King. In spite of the recom- 
 mendations of Franklin, who clearly testified to his in- 
 tegrity, Lee's suspicions prevailed with Congress, and 
 when Deane finally appeared in Philadelphia it was 
 only to be sent away shorn of the rewards he had 
 merited for his services to America and of every dol- 
 lar he possessed. Not the least of the political crimes 
 which lie at the door of Arthur Lee was the unde- 
 served persecution which drove this zealous patriot 
 to penury and to the despair from which his subse- 
 quent treachery to his country originated. 
 
 The first letter in regard to Jones, which emanates 
 from Passy after his visit, is addressed to Jonathan 
 Williams, and directs him to advance Jones the sum 
 of five hundred "Louidores," for which his draft upon 
 the commissioners will be paid. This letter, although 
 signed by the three commissioners, is in the handwriting 
 of Arthur Lee, and represents the only evidence of 
 confidence in Jones for which he was responsible. 
 
 Another short official document belonging to this 
 period gives a record of the sale of the Ranger's prizes, 
 negotiated by Williams, on the reverse side of which 
 is a note in Jones's handwriting, stating that it is the 
 only account of sales ever received from any agent. 
 This evidence of Williams's business integrity is less 
 remarkable than the inference it contains in regard 
 to the other prize-agents employed in the sale of the
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 247 
 
 many prizes Jones captured, not only in Europe, but 
 in American waters, during the Revolutionary War. 
 Both Jones and Williams were soon to be sharers in 
 Lee's universal suspicion, and the statement of Jones 
 is therefore significant. 
 
 Jones now turned his attention to the cruise he was 
 planning to make in the Ranger, and, to his great satis- 
 faction, he received on the 15th day of January a letter 
 from the commissioners promising the rewards which 
 he had already requested for his officers and crew, 
 in case the expedition should prove successful. On 
 January 16 his full instructions were sent to him. 
 
 PAKIS, January IQth, 1778. 
 CAPT. JONES, 
 Sir. 
 
 As it is not in our Power to procure you such a 
 Ship as you expected, we advise you after equipping 
 the Ranger in the best manner, for the Cruise you pro- 
 pose, that you proceed with her in the manner you shall 
 judge best, for distressing the Enemies of the United 
 States, by Sea, or otherwise, consistent with the Laws 
 of War, and the Terms of your Commission. If you 
 take Prizes on the Coast of France or Spain, send them 
 into Bilboa or Corogne, unless you should apprehend 
 the Danger too great; in which Case, we advise you 
 to send them either into L'Orient, or Bordeaux, di- 
 recting the Officers who may have them in charge to 
 apply at L'Orient to Mr. Moylan or Mr. Gourlade, and 
 at Bordeaux to Messrs. S. & J. T. Delaps, and inform 
 us immediately of their arrival, and Situation; if you 
 send to Spain, or should put into the Ports of that 
 Kingdom apply at Bilboa to Messrs. Gadroque, et fils, 
 at Corogne to Messrs. Loganiere & Co. if you make
 
 248 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 an attempt on the Coasts of Great Britain, we advise 
 you not to return immediately into the Ports of France, 
 unless forced by the stress of weather, or the pursuit 
 of the Enemy, and in such Case, you can make the 
 proper Representation to the Officers of the Port and 
 acquaint us with your Situation; We rely on your 
 Ability, as well as your Zeal, to serve the United States, 
 and therefore do not give particular instructions as 
 to your Operations. We must caution you against 
 giving any cause for complaint, to the Subjects of 
 France, or Spain, or of other Neutral Powers, and 
 recommend it to you to show them every proper mark 
 of Respect and real Civility which may be in your 
 Power. You will communicate to your Officers and 
 Seamen the encouragement we give them, and explain 
 to them that tho' it was not in our Power to be par- 
 ticular as to the Rewards they should be entitled to, 
 yet they may safely Rely on the Justice of the Con- 
 gress. 
 
 Before you sail it will be proper to settle with Mr. 
 Williams the Account of your Disbursements and send 
 the Account up to us. 
 
 We most heartily wish you Success and are with 
 much Esteem, 
 
 Sir Your most obed. & very humble Servants 
 
 B. FRANKLIN 
 SILAS DEANE. 
 
 These instructions, unlimited as to plan and desti- 
 nation, were such as were calculated to please Jones 
 best, but they were signed by only two of the com- 
 missioners, for Arthur Lee, already beginning to 
 make trouble for Jones, had written on the back 
 that he doubted the integrity of the prize-agent at 
 L'Orient recommended by his confreres, and held that
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 249 
 
 American agents appointed directly by Congress should 
 be trusted with the business. 
 
 This example of the obstructionist character of Lee's 
 actions, based on a pretended obedience to the letter of 
 the varying laws of the far-distant Congress, is highly 
 characteristic of his subsequent course, and caused hi 
 this, as in every other instance, incalculable difficulty 
 to those who, with greater wisdom, were endeavoring 
 to follow, in the rapidly changing course of events, 
 the spirit rather than the letter of their government's 
 instructions. 
 
 A new and accelerated movement was now about 
 to take place in European affairs owing to the news of 
 Burgoyne's surrender, which not only raised the hopes 
 of the commissioners but most importantly altered 
 the hesitating attitude of the French court in regard 
 to the American cause, the almost immediate result 
 being the resolution to adopt a commercial treaty of 
 alliance between France and the United States. This 
 all-important step was not determined upon without 
 long and careful deliberation by the French ministers. 
 As far back as the reign of Choiseul, the wisdom of a 
 sympathetic attitude toward the colonies was recom- 
 mended to the French court. Individual liberty was 
 promulgated by Voltaire, social liberty by Rousseau. 
 Liberty was the favorite theme of the Encyclopedists; 
 it became the passion of the young nobles of the court, 
 which was already unconsciously republican, with an 
 ironical tragedy, working soon to its destruction. A 
 veritable rage for the new ideas spread rapidly and 
 dangerously among the people; the press was full of
 
 250 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 "anecdotes Ame'ricaines," school-children were fed on 
 Poor Richard's maxims, and Franklin himself had a 
 translation made of the States' constitutions, which 
 circulated freely with amazing results. The Comte 
 de Vergennes attempted to control the popular ex- 
 citement by forbidding the crowds in the cafe's to 
 discuss the affairs of the American revolutionists, but 
 the voice of the people already sounded loud in the 
 corridors of Versailles, and the monarchical minister 
 and the King himself were forced to yield to the 
 pressure. Not without long and careful balancing 
 of arguments and possibilities was the treaty decided 
 upon. The memorials on the subject of the American 
 alliance from the pens of Turgot, who opposed it, 
 and of the astute Vergennes, who finally favored it, 
 perpetuate the profound and careful reflections these 
 great French statesmen had perfected. Vergennes, 
 who desired, above all things, the preservation of the 
 monarchy and who was devotedly attached to Louis 
 XVI, was in no wise inclined to yield to the popular 
 enthusiasm, but he did intend to weaken the power 
 of Great Britain by any means in his command. He 
 had large schemes for restoring the ancient power of 
 France by a net-work of treaties with European pow- 
 ers, and had long been contemplating a treaty of com- 
 mercial alliance with the new nation, to go into force 
 as soon as it seemed probable that her independence 
 was likely to become an established fact. For this 
 reason he had furthered the semi-mercantile but wholly 
 enthusiastic schemes of Beaumarchais for the assist- 
 ance of the colonists. With infinite patience and the
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 251 
 
 exercise of his accomplished diplomacy, he had man- 
 aged to lead the reluctant King of Spain, with the aid 
 of the Marquis de Grimaldi, who favored the idea of 
 humiliating England, to the very point of declaring 
 war against their common enemy. Working upon the 
 Spanish King's resentment at the secret encourage- 
 ment furnished to Portugal by the British cabinet, in 
 their hostile threats against his country's supremacy in 
 the Spanish Peninsula, he represented that the Span- 
 ish as well as the French possessions in the New World 
 were in imminent danger of being seized by the Eng- 
 lish, and that war was a necessity from which there 
 was no escape. The Spanish cabinet had so far yielded 
 to Vergennes's persuasion that it had joined with the 
 French ministry in the first loan of two million livres, 
 which was accorded to the American colonies through 
 the negotiations of Beaumarchais. The formal con- 
 sent to this proposal was sent on the 27th of June, 
 1776. 1 
 
 When the news of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence reached France, Vergennes came to the conclu- 
 sion that the Revolution was as serious as he had 
 hoped and likely to be fought out to the bitter end. 
 He therefore, with the consent of Louis XVI and his 
 council, formally proposed to the Spanish cabinet that 
 war should be declared by their respective sovereigns 
 against England. The consent of Spain, on condi- 
 tion that she should be permitted immediately to in- 
 vade Portugal, had just been received, when the news 
 
 ^'Espagne," t. 580, no. 193, vol. I, 485: "Participation de la France 
 dans 1'Etablissement des Etats Unis," DonioL
 
 252 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 of the defeat of the colonists at Long Island arrived. 
 The face of affairs was instantly changed, and Ver- 
 gennes himself, to the great disappointment of Carlos 
 III, now retreated from his militant attitude and re- 
 turned to the position of caution and watchful con- 
 servatism in regard to the adoption of treaties with 
 the American colonists, or to any proclamation of hos- 
 tilities against England. He was now willing only to 
 aid the cause of the insurgents in secret, for the pur- 
 pose of keeping up their resistance to the oppression 
 of the mother country as long as possible. This was 
 the posture of affairs in France from October, 1776, 
 when the news of the American reverses arrived, un- 
 til December, 1777, when the announcement of Bur- 
 goyne's surrender revived his belief in the ultimate 
 independence of America and his never-sleeping de- 
 sire to attack the ancient enemy of his country at the 
 moment of her distress. Louis XVI, who had at first 
 been a warm sympathizer and friend of the respect- 
 able George III, and had ineffectually attempted to 
 prevent Lafayette from sailing for America, was now 
 convinced by his minister's arguments, and despatched, 
 on the 8th of January, a letter to his uncle of Spain, 
 in which he announced his determination to espouse 
 the cause of the revolted English colonies. "Amer- 
 ica," he wrote, "since the destruction of Burgoyne's 
 forces is triumphant, and England depressed although 
 hoping if subjugation be impossible to establish an 
 efficient alliance with the Colonies. In this view I 
 have considered it just and necessary to treat with 
 them to prevent their union with the parent state."
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 253 
 
 According to the terms of the family compact be- 
 tween the two Bourbon monarchs, France could not 
 make treaties or declare war without the consent of 
 Spain. But Carlos III was now under the control of 
 a conservative minister, and the relations between his 
 court and that of Portugal were greatly improved. 
 He therefore refused to join in the declaration of an 
 alliance which would mean war with England, and re- 
 fused to act with his nephew. Proceeding to treat with 
 the American commissioners before the reply from the 
 Spanish court could arrive, Vergennes finally dispensed 
 entirely with the consent of Carlos III, announcing the 
 final adoption of a treaty of commerce and alliance 
 with the American colonies, after Spain's formal refusal 
 had been received. The public announcement of the 
 conclusion of the negotiations with the American com- 
 missioners was made on February 6, 1778. 
 
 Although hatred of England rather than love of 
 America was plainly the motive which actuated both 
 the King and his minister in thus publicly espousing 
 the cause of the insurgents, Vergennes's consistent in- 
 tention had been to aid them, and in this he was 
 supported by the overwhelming and sincere sympathy 
 of the French people. In the management of the ne- 
 gotiations with the French cabinet, Franklin exhib- 
 ited the tact and wisdom which constituted him the 
 greatest, as he was the first, of American diploma- 
 tists. His personal relation to Vergennes, who was the 
 sole agent of the French Government in its foreign 
 affairs, as Franklin was in reality the sole responsible 
 representative of America, was characterized by as
 
 254 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 great a degree of frankness as the conditions permit- 
 ted, and by a courtesy as invariable as it was respect- 
 ful. It was the natural result of high intelligence, 
 deliberate reflection, and mutual confidence in each 
 other's integrity. Arthur Lee was suspected by Ver- 
 gennes, and John Adams's truculent independence 
 was equally repugnant to the suave but exceedingly 
 powerful French minister, who finally refused to treat 
 with him, or with any other of the many colonial agents 
 who were unwisely sent with roving commissions to 
 the various European courts. 
 
 When this first French treaty was signed, Arthur 
 Lee and Deane, still vested with the powers of com- 
 missioners, were present at all the interviews which 
 led to its adoption, but Franklin was the only one 
 who was seriously considered by the French court, 
 and, as events compelled, was eventually relieved by 
 Congress of the embarrassment of divided authority. 
 Allied as he was thus closely with Vergennes and 
 the King, through their unfaltering confidence in his 
 ability, Franklin began to plan expeditions in which 
 the American forces and those of the allies could be 
 used in conjunction. Following out this idea, he at- 
 tempted on various occasions to bring Jones into asso- 
 ciation with the distinguished French volunteers who 
 had offered their services to the cause of the colonies. 
 A letter from Silas Deane, written to Jones the day 
 after the signing of the treaty, makes reference to a 
 plan proposed, after Jones's visit to Paris, to bring 
 him into personal communication with Lafayette. 
 Jones asked, and received permission, to join the con-
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 255 
 
 voy of American vessels awaited by La Motte Picquet 
 in Quiberon Bay and destined to accompany Lafayette 
 as far as Cape Finisterre on his return voyage across 
 the ocean. This plan was subsequently altered but 
 its intent is plain. 
 
 A few days after Jones's return to Nantes, while he 
 was still waiting for the completion of the alterations 
 of the Ranger, he received news by a Nantucket priva- 
 teer in regard to the situation of the British forces in 
 America of so encouraging a character as to set his 
 inventive mind immediately to work. He instantly 
 conceived a bold plan for an immediate invasion of 
 America by a fleet to be assembled from the forces of 
 the allies, which, as he calculated, would bring the 
 whole contest to a speedy conclusion. For some reason, 
 possibly because of the hasty manner in which it was 
 prepared and sent off hot-foot to the commissioners on 
 the very day Jones received the news from America, 
 he preserved no copy of this important paper. There 
 existed no trace of it in the large collection of his papers 
 left to his family at his death, or of those left by 
 Jones in America, which formed the basis of Sher- 
 burne's biography, and were finally acquired by Con- 
 gress in the year 1867. Separately preserved, how- 
 ever, for upward of a century among the Continental 
 Congress papers in the archives of the State Depart- 
 ment, this very important document has finally come 
 to light. It may have found its way thither through 
 its inclusion in the Franklin papers, part of which 
 came into the possession of Congress, or Jones himself 
 may have procured a copy from Franklin for presenta-
 
 256 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 tion to the government at the time of his long and tri- 
 umphant examination by Congress in the year 1781. 
 
 The importance of this paper is very great in any 
 consideration of the character and career of Paul 
 Jones, not only because it clears him from the suspi- 
 cion of having wrongfully laid claim to the authorship 
 of the plan of invasion, but because it establishes his 
 ability to conceive a great scheme of naval operations 
 which, to the incalculable loss to America, he was 
 never given the opportunity of conducting. In his 
 journal, written in the year 1787 for Louis XVI, Jones 
 gives in elaborate detail the completed plan of the 
 proposed expedition, and states that he sent it to Silas 
 Deane, who claimed it as his own and laid it before 
 the French court. Silas Deane was rewarded for this 
 service by the gift of a miniature of Louis XVI. This 
 letter, then, as it is here appended, containing the brief 
 but perfectly clear outline of the plan, must have been 
 temporarily sequestered by Deane,who seized the credit 
 himself. It is addressed plainly to the three commis- 
 sioners: 
 
 Ranger, PAIMBOEUF, Wth Feby. 1778. 
 GENTLEMEN : 
 
 I had the honor of writing to you from Nantes the 
 27th Ulto. the affair of Quiberon, which I did not then 
 know of, is now in every Brokers Mouth. Strange! 
 that nothing can remain secret? Should I then find 
 that force likely to depart within a few days I will avail 
 myself of its protection especially as it is the general 
 opinion that I can be of service to the supply ships 
 however, unless something is determined very soon I 
 shall depart alone.
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 257 
 
 I heartily congratulate you on the pleasing News 
 contained in the within paper which I believe may be 
 entirely depended upon as the informant appears to 
 me to be very intelligent and well affected to America. 
 
 2. Were any Continental marine power in Europe 
 disposed to avail of the present situation of affairs in 
 America and willing to deserve our Friendship, a sin- 
 gle Blow well directed would now do the needful. 
 Ten or Twelve sail of the line with Frigates well 
 equipped and provided would give a good account 
 of the Fleet under Lord Howe for as that force would 
 be Superior to any of Howe's divisions the strongest 
 being once taken the Victorious Squadron might sail 
 in quest of the next in strength and reach it before ad- 
 vice. I know the genius of the English seamen (having 
 lived long on salt provision) would induce them to 
 enter on the Strongest side where they would find 
 better food the American Seamen would enter, of 
 course, and in all probability many of the officers 
 would Pull off the Mask and declare in favor of Heaven 
 and America. Small squadrons might then be formed, 
 to secure the coast and cut off the Enemies supplies 
 while our army Settled the Account current. 
 
 3. However extravagant this calculation may appear 
 on a slight view it will not be found so in reality. 
 
 Had Lord Howe or any commander in the Ene- 
 mies Fleet an Idea or expectation of such a Visit it 
 is certain that the attempt would be folly and madness 
 but as our Enemies Ride in perfect security that 
 security would prove their Ruin and insure our Suc- 
 cess. Whoever can surprise well must Conquer. 
 
 I have the honor to be with sentiments of esteem 
 and great respect, etc. 
 
 J. P. JONES. 
 
 The Honble. B. Franklin, Silas Deane and A. Lee, Esqrs. 
 American Commissioners &ca. Paris.
 
 258 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 In the following extract taken from Jones's journal 
 he tells how he was deprived of the credit of this con- 
 ception : 
 
 As I had received from America on the 10th of 
 February, information in regard to the forces and the 
 location of the frigates and men-of-war under Lord 
 Howe, I wrote on the same day to Deane, one of the 
 French Ministers in Paris, to communicate to him 
 the plans and details of an expedition to be conducted 
 in America with only one squadron and ten ships of 
 the line with some frigates and troops, with the ob- 
 ject of entirely destroying the forces of England in 
 the United States before they had time to send to 
 England for reinforcements. France had then afloat 
 thirty ships of the line, as well as a number of frigates, 
 fully equipped and ready for service. There never 
 had been, and there was no prospect of there being 
 again, so wonderful an opportunity of striking an 
 overwhelming blow at the English Navy. If the plan 
 of the expedition had been adopted without delay, 
 and a squadron despatched from Brest, Great Britain 
 would have had no knowledge of this destructive proj- 
 ect until after it had been carried out in America. 
 Lord Howe would have been surprised and captured 
 in the Delaware; his squadron would have imme- 
 diately been armed from American forces, and sep- 
 arating in small detachments to left and right, the 
 naval forces of England would have been completely 
 destroyed before the arrival of Admiral Byron. The 
 resulting enthusiasm of the Americans would have so 
 supported General Washington that he would have 
 taken New York, and captured or destroyed all the 
 English regiments in the United States. 
 
 At the same time, the French squadron, raising the 
 English flag off the Harbour of New York, would have
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 259 
 
 lured into the trap and taken Admiral Byron, and fol- 
 lowing that, all of his squadron, whose vessels, sepa- 
 rated by storm during the passage, arrived one after 
 the other in New York. Thus, in a single campaign, 
 with little expense, France would have had an admi- 
 rable opportunity of establishing the Independence of 
 America, and with a single blow to bring Great Britain 
 to her feet, thereafter to abandon her boast of being 
 "Mistress of the seas." What will be the opinion of 
 posterity regarding France's long neglect of this unique 
 opportunity? Will it not judge that this fault was 
 only increased by the adoption of the project three 
 months later, when the time had passed, by sending 
 the squadron from Toulon instead of from Brest, and 
 causing a delay of at least another month? It is use- 
 less to add to the narrative of these details the unhappy 
 effects which were caused by this delay, the general 
 result of which was a long, bloody and costly war in 
 which France, Holland, Spain and the East Indies were 
 afterwards embroiled. 
 
 When Deane presented to the Court of France the 
 plan of the expedition which I had conceived, he had 
 the bad faith to claim the honor of its invention for 
 himself, and received in consequence the portrait of 
 His Majesty on a box ornamented with diamonds. 
 
 A comparison of these two documents will prove, 
 without question, the identity of the ideas and author- 
 ship, and justify the authoritative and deliberate judg- 
 ment of Captain Mahan, expressed in the following 
 conclusion : 
 
 The comprehensive professional intelligence, com- 
 bined with daring in enterprise, and endurance in 
 action, shown by Jones, give the best antecedent to- 
 kens of the great general officer that might have been.
 
 260 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Although rewarded by the gift of the portrait of the 
 King, Silas Deane, on the eve of his recall, did not 
 bring about the immediate adoption of the plan of in- 
 vasion which Jones had so hastily and urgently recom- 
 mended. But when Count d'Orvilliers, then admiral 
 of the French fleet assembled at Brest, heard of the 
 plan from Jones himself a few weeks later, the project 
 was again put in motion. D'Orvilliers, then and always 
 in perfect accord with Jones, approved the plan and 
 enclosed a copy of it to M. de Sartine, the minister of 
 marine, with a letter recommending its immediate 
 adoption. With the added authority of this advice the 
 plan was adopted and eventually put into operation. 
 How the expedition, under Count d'Estaing, failed of 
 success is a matter of history, but it is highly probable, 
 if the French fleet had started at the tune when 
 Jones proposed it and had followed out his plan, 
 the war would have then and there been brought to 
 an end. On March 31, in a letter to the French min- 
 ister of marine, Jones again makes mention of this 
 plan, and in a still subsequent letter to him insists 
 that "had Count D'Estaing arrived in the Delaware 
 a few days sooner he might have made a glorious and 
 easy conquest." 
 
 There is a forgotten piece of testimony in regard to 
 this ill-fated expedition in the form of a letter from 
 Jones, hidden away, in the finest of print, in the ap- 
 pendix of Miss Taylor's rare compilation of her uncle's 
 papers of the year 1830. It is a curious and interesting 
 fragment. The letter is without date and lacks an ad- 
 dress, but, according to the authority of the editor, it
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 261 
 
 is an authentic letter in Jones's own handwriting and 
 bears his signature. It is well known that, owing to 
 the ill-advised policy of the French Government, Count 
 d'Estaing's fleet was ordered to start from Toulon 
 instead of from Brest, and sailing finally on April the 
 13th, two months after Jones had proposed the expe- 
 dition, wasted still another month in getting into the 
 Atlantic. Contrary winds still more delayed the fleet, 
 and it was not until July the 8th that it appeared before 
 the mouth of the Delaware, just too late to intercept 
 the little British squadron, which had left the river a 
 few days earlier, when Howe evacuated Philadelphia. 
 Washington sent his aides, Hamilton and Laurens, out 
 to Sandy Hook when the fleet arrived off the entrance 
 of New York Bay, where they held a council of war 
 with the French admiral. Hamilton had brought pilots 
 with him to conduct the vessels through the channel, 
 but neither his pilots nor those D'Estaing had brought 
 with him from the Delaware would venture to take the 
 larger ships across the bar. In despair, D'Estaing 
 jumped into a small boat to try and reconnoitre the 
 passage for himself, with no success. Arguments and 
 inducements alike proved fruitless, and so the little 
 English squadron remained safely in the harbor while 
 the great French fleet lay helpless without, and this 
 through ignorance which seems strange, indeed, and 
 incredible hi these latter days. How bitterly and 
 how long D'Estaing felt this failure is vividly told by 
 Jones. 
 
 " Count D'Estaing " he writes curiously in this for- 
 gotten letter "the King never had a subject who
 
 262 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 loved him better, and who is a more worthy citizen. I 
 gave the plan the 10th of February 1778. That long 
 and unnecessary delay rendered it scarcely possible for 
 the expedition to succeed. This was no fault of the 
 Admiral. He would have surmounted every difficulty, 
 and taken Lord Howe in the road of New York, if 
 a generous sacrifice of his own fortune 150,000 livres, 
 could have induced the pilot to conduct him over the 
 bar." 
 
 The letter, too long to quote in its entirety, breathes 
 the atmosphere of an intimate and even recent conver- 
 sation with D'Estaing himself, and might well remain 
 as an apology not only for the conduct of the French 
 commander on this unsuccessful expedition, but for his 
 character and entire career. 
 
 Jones had now completed the alterations of the 
 Ranger and was again ready for sea. Leaving Nantes 
 on the 12th of February, with Jonathan Williams and 
 brother aboard, he arrived off Quiberon Bay the follow- 
 ing morning. He bore the flag of a new nation and 
 was determined that it should be recognized by the 
 admiral of the French squadron at Quiberon. He im- 
 mediately sent in his boat to demand a salute for the 
 stars and stripes from the French commander. How 
 he obtained this first recognition of American inde- 
 pendence through this first salute to the nation's 
 flag is related in his own words in a naturally jubilant 
 account to the marine committee: 
 
 I am happy in having it in my power to con- 
 gratulate you on my having seen the American Flag 
 for the first time recognized in the fullest and amplest
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 263 
 
 manner by the Flag of France. The Brig Independence 
 accepted of my convoy from Nantes to this place; I 
 was off the Bay the 13th, and sent in my boat to know 
 if the Admiral would return my salute. He answered 
 that he would return to me as the Senior American 
 Continental Officer in Europe the same salute which 
 he was authorized by his Court to return to an Admiral 
 of Holland, or of any other Republic, which was Four 
 Guns less than the salute given. I hesitated at this, 
 for I had demanded gun for gun, but after a very par- 
 ticular inquiry, on the 14th, finding that he had really 
 told the truth, I was induced to accept of his offer; the 
 more so as it was in fact an acknowledgment of Amer- 
 ica's independence. The wind being contrary and 
 blowing hard, it was after sunset before the Ranger got 
 near enough to salute La Motte Picquet with 13 guns, 
 which he returned with 9. However, to put the mat- 
 ter beyond a doubt I did not suffer the Independence to 
 salute till next morning, when I sent word to the 
 Admiral that I should sail through his fleet in the Brig, 
 and would salute him in open day. He was exceed- 
 ingly pleased and returned the compliment also with 
 9 guns. 
 
 Elsewhere Jones states, with an inference very ex- 
 pressive of the courage of the French commander 
 and his enthusiasm for the cause of America, that 
 "Neither he nor La Motte Picquet had at this time 
 any knowledge that the Treaty with France had been 
 signed." 
 
 The act of recognizing the American flag was, as a 
 matter of fact, the virtual as it was the first acknowl- 
 edgment of American independence by France. That 
 this gallant officer experienced some pleasure in the in- 
 teresting act of acknowledging for the first time the
 
 264 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 independence of America is pleasantly inferred by 
 Jones's assurance that he "was exceedingly pleased at 
 the compliment." 
 
 It is interesting to recall that the man who thus 
 gladly and promptly acknowledged our national ex- 
 istence was scarcely less distinguished for services to 
 his country than the young commander who demanded 
 it. It is interesting also to remember that the first 
 laurels of La Motte Picquet's career were won in fight- 
 ing for America's independence. Enthusiasm for the 
 new nation, and for the cause of human liberty it rep- 
 resented, was evidently as prevalent among the young 
 and highly born officers of the French navy as among 
 the soldiers who were so eagerly offering their services 
 to our army. It will be remembered, also, that no 
 officers were accepted at this time in the French navy 
 who could not prove their noble descent. Here, then, 
 was an atmosphere which exactly suited Paul Jones, 
 and where indeed his charming manners and his en- 
 thusiastic ideals found a warm welcome and appreci- 
 ation. He expressed his satisfaction in his report to 
 the marine committee: 
 
 This squadron is officered by a very well bred set 
 of men. They have all visited the* Ranger and ex- 
 pressed great satisfaction, calling her a "parfait bijou." 
 When Mr. Carmichael and myself visited their ships, 
 we were received with every mark of respect and glad- 
 ness, and saluted with a feu de joie. 
 
 Another extract hints at the manner in which he was 
 intending to execute the unlimited orders of the com- 
 missioners.
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 265 
 
 I have in contemplation several enterprises of im- 
 portance, where an enemy thinks a design against him 
 improbable, he can always be surprised and attacked 
 with advantage. It is true I must run great risk, but 
 no gallant action was ever accomplished without dan- 
 ger; therefore, "although I cannot ensure success, I 
 will endeavor to deserve it." 
 
 Writing again on the same day to the marine com- 
 mittee to express the gratitude which filled his heart 
 at the recollection of the flattering terms they had used 
 in regard to him in their letter of recommendation to 
 the commissioners, he took occasion to send them a 
 patriotic ode indited by some French enthusiast of 
 the American cause, and recommends the author to 
 the attention of Congress. 
 
 This somewhat sentimental proceeding, although 
 probably not unsympathetic to the grave forefathers of 
 our Congress, who were themselves prone to express 
 their feelings in quotations from the poets, is highly 
 indicative of the exhilaration of Jones's emotions at this 
 time. The first accredited standard-bearer of a new 
 nation, he was received with the most flattering atten- 
 tions from the "well-bred" officers of the French fleet. 
 His glory-loving soul basked in its proper atmosphere, 
 and the laudatory phrases of Congress rang harmoni- 
 ously in his ears. 
 
 His correspondence indicates the warm and affec- 
 tionate intimacy which already existed between his 
 American associates and himself, and abounds in refer- 
 ences to frequent meetings with the French officers. 
 The flattering reception he received at Quiberon was
 
 266 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 repeated at Brest, whither he repaired on the 3d of 
 March, waiting without at Cammeret, as he relates in 
 his journal to Louis XVI, until the French ambassador 
 at London had formally announced the treaty between 
 his country and America. On the 23d of March he 
 entered the harbor and received again the salute to his 
 flag from Admiral Count d'Orvilliers, in command of 
 the French fleet. It was not until a month later that 
 the action of these two commanders in formally recog- 
 nizing the American flag was authorized by their govern- 
 ment. On the 27th, Sartine wrote to L'Avigne Buisson, 
 at Brest, sending him instructions to that effect. 
 
 A week later, on the 31st of March, Jones wrote for 
 the first time to the minister of the French marine. 
 This letter was the first of a long and voluminous 
 correspondence between Jones and Sartine, which he 
 wrote with the evident permission of Count d'Orvilliers, 
 furnishing another characteristic example of his meth- 
 ods of making valuable relations with those in power: 
 
 Ranger, BREST, March 3lst, 1778. 
 M. DE SARTINE, Minister and Secretary o/) 
 State for the Marine Department ) 
 Honored Sir: 
 
 As I have not the honor of being known to you, I 
 hope you will pardon the liberty I take of enclosing the 
 copy of a letter from the Secret Committee of Congress 
 to the American Commissioners in Europe. I must, 
 however, acknowledge that the generous praise which 
 is therein bestowed on me by Congress, far exceeds the 
 merits of my services. 
 
 My reason for laying this matter before you is, be- 
 cause I am destined by Congress to command a frigate
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 267 
 
 of a very large construction lately built at Amsterdam, 
 and as political reasons made it necessary for that 
 frigate to become French property, I am now induced 
 to hope that on her arrival in France, she will again 
 become the property of America, and of course, be put 
 under my command. 
 
 The within extract of a letter dated 10th Feb. last, 
 to the American Commissioners will, I hope, prove to 
 you the real satisfaction with which I have anticipated 
 the happy alliance between France and America. I 
 am, sir, convinced that the capture of Lord Howe's 
 light ships and frigates in America, and the destruction 
 of the enemy's fishery at Newfoundland, which might 
 easily be effected this summer, would effectually de- 
 stroy the sinews of their Marine, for they would after- 
 ward be unable to man their fleet; and as to their 
 army in America, that must fall of course. 
 
 I should be ungrateful did I forget to acknowledge 
 the polite attentions and favors which I have received 
 from Compte d'Orvilliers, M. De la Porse, M. la Motte 
 Picquet, and every officer in this place. 
 
 The Admiral d'Orvilliers has, I doubt not, com- 
 municated to you a project of mine. I am, sir, am- 
 bitious of being employed in active and enterprising 
 services; but my ship is of too small a force, and 
 does not sail so fast as I could wish. If I am success- 
 ful I will return to France, and hope for your counte- 
 nance and protection. 
 
 I have addressed you, sir, with the same freedom 
 which has ever marked my correspondence with Con- 
 gress. The interests of France and America are the 
 same; and as I hope to see the common enemy hum- 
 bled, I shall be happy if I can furnish any hint whereby 
 that even can be effected. Meantime, 
 I have the honor to be 
 
 With profound respect &c.
 
 268 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Jones had every reason to be satisfied with his experi- 
 ence at Brest, for Count d'Orvilliers received him with 
 every mark of confidence and esteem, and invited him 
 constantly to his table. With the long experience of an 
 old commander he recognized at once that he had to do 
 with a man of remarkable ability, possessing that rarest 
 of qualities, an imaginative constructive brain. He 
 not only introduced him to M. de Sartine, but instantly 
 recognized the value of Jones's plan for Count d'Es- 
 taing's expedition and, as has been seen, recommended 
 it to his court. He went further than La Motte Pic- 
 quet in his recognition of the flag of America, for he 
 returned eleven guns instead of nine to the thirteen 
 guns of the Ranger. He assured Jones that his letter 
 to M. de Sartine would procure him the eagerly coveted 
 command of the Indien, and recommended the in- 
 tendant of the port, M. de la Porte, to man the vessel, 
 with the result that Jones was promised four hundred 
 French seamen to make up his crew. The Indien had 
 finally been completed and launched at Amsterdam, 
 and Jones had every expectation of finding her waiting 
 for him at Brest upon his return from his cruise in the 
 little Ranger. Having secured D'Orvillier's French 
 ship Fortuna as a consort, he wrote to the commis- 
 sioners, on the 4th of April, that he was ready to sail, 
 saying also that they might rest assured "that I shall 
 leave nothing unattempted that can be expected from 
 the small force under my command. The time which 
 has been lost gives me the deepest concern, but I know 
 of no other remedy than to make the better use of 
 that to come."
 
 ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 269 
 
 On the 9th he was still at Brest. "We have been 
 out," he wrote to his friend John Ross, "but obliged 
 to put back, not being able to weather Ushant." His 
 spirits were high and impatient, and expressed with a 
 certain youthful ardor of feeling which creeps with re- 
 freshing interest into the official pages of his reports. 
 "The world, as Milton said of Adam, lays all before 
 me," he writes again to Ross, and to Silas Deane he 
 declares: "If I meet with much Game, I may continue 
 the sport three months." He wrote affectionate fare- 
 wells to Jonathan Williams and "all friends at Nantes," 
 and thus, confident and happy hi the prospect of im- 
 mediate action, he set sail on April the 10th for the 
 first of those descents upon the British coasts which 
 were destined to prove the wisdom as well as the 
 daring of his conceptions.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 
 
 IN issuing "unlimited" orders to Jones, the commis- 
 sioners followed the example of the marine committee, 
 and must have had no little satisfaction in thus re- 
 lieving themselves of any personal responsibility for 
 his possible failure. Their experience in conducting 
 what was among many other offices a "naval bureau" 
 in Europe, had been marked with difficulties and dis- 
 asters. Nothing better exemplifies the temper of the 
 Americans in this war than the fact that it was carried 
 boldly into European waters and that expeditions and 
 depredations against the coasts of England, her com- 
 merce, and her ships, should have been attempted with 
 the absurdly small forces at the command of the com- 
 missioners. Silas Deane, while sole agent of the col- 
 onies in Europe, had been occupied with a zeal and 
 activity which should not be forgotten in the purchase 
 and building of the Continental cruisers which were 
 destined for this hazardous service. Franklin himself, 
 when called upon to share the responsibility of conduct- 
 ing this part of the war, was by no means backward 
 in devising schemes of harassing the enemy, although 
 not conspicuously experienced in the knowledge or 
 management of naval affairs. The plans he suggested 
 in numerous letters to Congress, prior to Jones's arrival, 
 with their daring guesses at what a more professional 
 
 270
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 271 
 
 executant was about to attempt, illuminate another 
 province in his wellnigh boundless capacity. He de- 
 clared that he had not "the least doubt but that two 
 or three of the continental frigates might intercept and 
 seize the great part of the Baltic and northern trade, 
 and that one frigate would be sufficient to destroy 
 the whole of the Greenland whale fishery and take the 
 Hudson's Bay ships returning." 
 
 In carrying out this policy of aggressive warfare the 
 captains of the American cruisers had met with some 
 success, but several serious disasters. Lambert Wickes, 
 who brought Franklin to Europe in the Reprisal, had 
 sailed alone all around the British islands in his little 
 vessel, capturing many British ships unaided until 
 joined by Captain H. Johnston in the Lexington, when 
 they made several successful cruises together; but 
 when Wickes took refuge in French ports to refit and 
 to sell his captured vessels he had been peremptorily 
 ordered out by the French Government. Franklin 
 attempted to evade what he perfectly realized to be 
 a breach of international law by ordering Wickes to 
 moor his vessels somewhere in the "offing," con- 
 tiguous to the ports, and there secretly to sell his 
 prizes; but the proceeding was fraught with danger to 
 the invaluable although yet unavowed friendship of 
 France, and Wickes was finally sent away from Euro- 
 pean waters and was lost at sea, off the coast of Nova 
 Scotia, going down with the little vessel in which he had 
 done such valiant and useful service. The Lexington 
 was captured, and her crew, including Richard Dale, 
 were thrown into prison in England. Gustavus Conyng-
 
 272 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 ham, almost as celebrated as Paul Jones himself for the 
 audacity of his cruises in the British Channel, had been 
 appointed captain of a secretly armed cruiser sailing as 
 a merchantman, and in accomplishing the feat of capt- 
 uring the Harwich packet which plied between Eng- 
 land and Holland he created the wildest excitement and 
 alarm in England. Unwisely, however, he turned back 
 with his prize into the open port of Dunkirk, that very 
 French port which had been shorn of its batteries and 
 put under English surveillance during the late humiliat- 
 ing conflict between France and England. The English 
 authorities complained loudly and with perfect reason, 
 with the result that the prizes were given up to the en- 
 emy, and Conyngham and his crew thrown into jail at 
 Dunkirk. No sooner was Conyngham released by the 
 complaisant intendant of the port than he sailed on 
 another daring predatory raid, but was again captured, 
 and this time cast into a British military prison, 
 where, in a dungeon and in fetters, he was subjected 
 as a rebel to the most brutal treatment. 
 
 Paul Jones was now about to risk these dangers, 
 with an ardor undiminished by disaster. Although 
 given a free hand by the commissioners, he was des- 
 tined to discover that his officers were by no means 
 ready to support him. Several reasons existed for this. 
 In the first place, it was well understood by both officers 
 and crew that Jones had been promised command of 
 the Indien upon his arrival in Europe, and Lieutenant 
 Simpson, expecting to assume the command of the 
 Ranger as soon as Jones should have crossed the At- 
 lantic, considered himself already her captain, and had
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 273 
 
 imbued the crew of New Englanders with this idea. 
 The new notions of republican independence were also 
 strongly prevalent among them, and they declared that 
 their opinions, as representing the voice of the people 
 on this American vessel, should prevail even over those 
 of their commander. They were none of them sym- 
 pathetic with Jones's daring schemes of warfare. Some 
 of them confessed "they had no turn for enterprise," 
 and all were infected with the singular greed for gain 
 which privateering had bred in American seamen, to the 
 detriment of the government service. Jones well under- 
 stood the unheroic temper of his crew, and having him- 
 self advanced a portion of their wages to induce them 
 to sail in a ship of war, he now stipulated with the 
 commissioners for rewards to insure contentment and 
 proper co-operation. Their gratitude for his generos- 
 ity took the usual form of expectation of future favors 
 and bound them in sympathy not to their commander 
 and benefactor, but to each other in a common dispo- 
 sition to criticism and insubordination. Such was the 
 mettle of the crew which Jones had to depend on for 
 aid and support in the execution of his plans. Their 
 aversion to anything which smacked of adventure 
 brought about the entire failure of some of his projects, 
 and only sleepless vigilance and unyielding determina- 
 tion enabled him to prevail against their opposition to 
 his wishes. He relates that his anxiety was so keen 
 that he remained practically sleepless during the whole 
 of this cruise, snatching a few hours only when a 
 momentary halt in the prosecution of his daring 
 schemes permitted him to repose.
 
 274 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 The best account of his adventures is contained in 
 his own detailed report, sent to the commissioners a 
 fortnight after the completion of the cruise: 
 
 " I sailed from Brest," he wrote, " on April 10th. My 
 plan was extensive. I therefore did not at the begin- 
 ning wish to encumber myself with prisoners. On the 
 14th I took a Brigatine between Scylla and Cape Clear 
 bound for Ostend with a cargo of flaxseed for Ireland, 
 sunk her, and proceeded into St. George's Channel. 
 On the 17th I took the ship Lord Chatham with a cargo 
 of porter and a variety of merchandise and almost 
 within sight of her port. The ship I manned and or- 
 dered for Brest." 
 
 On the next day toward nightfall the Ranger was off 
 the Isle of Man, and the weather being fair and the 
 winds favorable, he steered his course toward the town 
 of Whitehaven. Out of this port, which was situated 
 on the southern side of the Firth of Forth, directly op- 
 posite to his Scottish home in Arbigland, he had sailed 
 as a boy and every feature of the town and shore was 
 familiar to him. It is impossible not to be struck by 
 the fact that Jones chose this spot for the purpose of 
 dealing out a just retaliation for the wanton destruc- 
 tion practised by the English on the American coasts; 
 but his former familiarity not only with the locality, 
 but also with the unsuspecting temper of the inhabi- 
 tants, was unquestionably the reason which influenced 
 him in his choice. On the evening of the 18th he 
 was at the entrance of the harbor, his boats manned 
 and ready to start; but before eleven the wind sud- 
 denly shifted and greatly increased, blowing directly
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 275 
 
 inshore, and raising such a sea as to make a landing 
 impossible. Jones was now in the greatest danger 
 of losing his ship, for he had approached so near that 
 he was forced to crowd on all sail to escape from being 
 dashed upon the rocks. He succeeded, however, in 
 avoiding this danger, and getting away to sea to await 
 another and more favorable opportunity. 
 
 On the 18th, in Glenbue Bay, off the southern coast 
 of Scotland, he met a revenue wherry which he antic- 
 ipated would engage his apparently unarmed ship, 
 but in this he was mistaken, for the wherry outsailed 
 the Ranger and made her escape. The next morning 
 off the Mull of Galloway, he found himself near a 
 Scotch coasting schooner, and in spite of the risk of 
 exposing the true character of the Ranger he relates 
 characteristically that "he could not avoid sinking 
 her." A rumor of the presence of a fleet of ten or 
 twelve merchantmen at anchor in Loughryan Bay 
 tempted him to a descent upon that place, but a hard 
 squall arising again intervened to protect the Scottish 
 coast, and deterred him from his intention. He chased 
 a cutter steering for the Clyde, this also ineffectually; 
 but sunk a sloop from Dublin to prevent her from giv- 
 ing information of his presence in those waters. On 
 the 20th, off Carrickfergus, a fishing-boat boarded the 
 Ranger and from her crew, whom Jones detained on 
 finding they were pilots, he received the welcome news 
 that a ship he perceived at anchor in Belfast Lough 
 was the British sloop-of-war Drake, of twenty guns. 
 He immediately formed a plan of attacking her dur- 
 ing the night by an exceedingly brilliant manoeuvre,
 
 276 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 which failed only through the incapacity of his subordi- 
 nates. 
 
 "My plan/' he said, "was to overlay her cable and 
 to fall upon her bow, so as to have all her decks ex- 
 posed to our musketry, etc. At the same time it was 
 my intention to have secured the enemy by grappling, 
 so that, had they cut their cables, they would not 
 thereby have gained an advantage. The wind was 
 high and unfortunately the anchor was not let go so 
 soon as the order was given, so that the Ranger was 
 brought up on the enemy's quarter, at the distance of 
 half a cables length. We had made no warlike appear- 
 ance, of course, had given no alarm; this determined 
 me to cut immediately, which might appear as if the 
 cable had parted, and at the same time enabling me, 
 after making attack out of the Lough, to return, with 
 the same prospect of advantage which I had at the 
 first." 
 
 But the wind once more interfered, increasing to a 
 gale, before which the Ranger drove, barely escaping 
 the light-house rocks, and this protecting gale continued 
 with a stormy sea until the morning of the 22d, when, 
 as Jones writes again, with a youthful hint of pleasure 
 and excitement: "The weather was once more fair, 
 though the three kingdoms, as far as the eye could 
 reach, were covered with snow." 
 
 Again the Whitehaven plan came uppermost in his 
 mind, and with great difficulty he managed to persuade 
 a party of thirty-one men to make the descent. At 
 midnight, having waited again for the capricious wind, 
 which had so often foiled his projects, he left the ship
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 277 
 
 at last, with two boat-loads, with the intention of set- 
 ting fire to the shipping in the port. He commanded 
 the first boat himself, leaving the other to Lieutenant 
 Wallingsford. The tide was running ebb, so that as 
 he writes: 
 
 When we reached the outer pier the day began to 
 dawn. I would not, however, abandon my enterprise, 
 but despatched one boat under the direction of Mr. 
 Hill and Lieutenant Wallingsford, with the necessary 
 combustibles in the North side of the harbor, while I 
 went with the other party to attempt the South side. 
 
 The two docks lay parallel to each other, divided 
 only by a stone pier, and the task which Jones confided 
 to his officers should not have been difficult of accom- 
 plishment. After the issuing of these orders he con- 
 sidered it necessary to disarm the batteries of the two 
 forts, which guarded the entrance of the harbor, so as to 
 insure the safe retirement of his party after the attack. 
 With this idea in view he left several of his own boat's 
 crew to make all in readiness to fire the shipping in the 
 southern basin upon his return, and with the others he 
 rowed out to the strip of shore which lay under the 
 walls of the northern fort. With no scaling-ladders 
 their only way of entering the fort was to mount upon 
 each other's shoulders, when they climbed in through 
 the embrasures, Jones himself in the lead, and found 
 everything silent and deserted, and all the sentinels 
 soundly asleep in the guard-house. This was precisely 
 what Jones had expected and counted upon, and he 
 relates with satisfaction that he "secured them all un-
 
 278 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 harmed." It was now fairly daylight, and haste was 
 imperative. He spiked all the guns and left his own 
 men on guard, taking one man only (Mr. Green), to 
 accompany him to the southern fort, where he also 
 spiked all the guns without trouble or resistance. 
 
 "On my return from this business," he says, "I natu- 
 rally expected to see the fire of the ships on the North 
 side as well as to find my own party with everything 
 in readiness. Instead of this, I found a boat under the 
 direction of Mr. Hill and Lieut. Wallingsford returned, 
 and the party in some confusion, their light having gone 
 out at the instant it became necessary, and by the 
 strangest fatility, my own party was in the same situ- 
 ation. The day, too, had come on apace, yet I would 
 by no means retreat, while any hopes of success re- 
 mained." 
 
 Jones now placed sentinels, and having again pro- 
 cured a light from a lonely house far away from the 
 town, he kindled at last, with his own hands, a fire in 
 the steerage of a large ship which the tide had left 
 stranded, and which was surrounded by a number of 
 other vessels all aground, and lying closely side by 
 side. There was no time to kindle other fires, barely 
 enough to feed the one already lighted by adding the 
 contents of a tar barrel found after considerable dif- 
 ficulty. 
 
 "The inhabitants now began to appear in thou- 
 sands," Jones continues, "and individuals ran hastily 
 toward us. I stood between them and the ship on fire, 
 with a pistol in my hand, and ordered them to retire, 
 which they did with precipitation. The flames had
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 279 
 
 already caught the rigging and began to ascend the 
 mainmast; the sun was a full hours march above the 
 horizon and as sleep no longer ruled the world, it was 
 time to retire." 
 
 Again the note of youthful ardor creeps into the re- 
 cital of this daring exploit, which is repeated in his fol- 
 lowing description of the moment when he stood alone 
 on the pier, surveying with imperturbable coolness the 
 scene of awe and consternation which he had created. 
 
 After all my people had embarked, I stood alone 
 upon the pier for a considerable time, yet no person 
 advanced. I saw all the eminences around the town 
 covered with the amazed inhabitants. When we had 
 rowed to a considerable distance from the shore, the 
 English began to run in vast numbers to their forts. 
 There disappointment may easily be imagined when 
 they found at least thirty heavy cannon, the instru- 
 ments of their vengeance, rendered useless. At length, 
 however, they began to fire, having, as I apprehend, 
 either brought down ships' guns or used one or two 
 cannon which lay on the beach and which had not been 
 spiked. They fired with no direction, and the shot, 
 falling short of the boats, instead of doing us any dam- 
 age, afforded some diversion, which my people could 
 not help showing by discharging then* pistols, etc., in 
 return of the salute. Had it been possible to have 
 landed a few hours sooner, my success would have been 
 complete. Not a single ship out of more than two 
 hundred, could possible have escaped, and all the world 
 would not have been able to save the town. What 
 was done, however, is sufficient to show that not all 
 then* boasted navy can protect their own coast, and 
 that the scenes of distress which they have occasioned 
 to America, may be soon brought home to their own
 
 280 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 door. One of my people 1 was missing, and must, I 
 fear, have fallen into the enemies hands after our de- 
 parture. I was pleased that in this business we neither 
 killed nor wounded any person. I brought off three 
 prisoners as a sample. 
 
 In his "Memorial" addressed to Congress from the 
 Texel, in 1779, Jones further elucidates the object he 
 had in view in this expedition, and explains his lieuten- 
 ant's failure to carry out his part of the plan to burn 
 the shipping at Whitehaven: 
 
 My first object was to secure an exchange of pris- 
 oners in Europe, and my second to put an end, by one 
 good fire in England of shipping, to all the burnings to 
 America. I succeeded hi the first, even by means far 
 more glorious than my most flattering ideas had ex- 
 pected, when I left France. In the second, I en- 
 deavored to deserve success, but a wise officer of mine 
 observed that "it was a rash thing, and that nothing 
 could be got by burning poor people's property." I 
 must, however, do him the justice to mention his ac- 
 knowledgment that he had no turn for enterprise, and 
 I must also do justice to my former officers in the Provi- 
 dence and the Alfred by declaring that had they been 
 with me in the Ranger, 250 or 300 sail of large ships at 
 Whitehaven would have been laid in ashes. 
 
 1 This man, according to a foot-note in the Edinburgh "Life of 
 Jones," was a sailor called David Freeman, who voluntarily remained 
 on shore, having given information that fire had been set to a ship. In 
 an alarmed notice of the Whitehaven attack, published in the Cumber- 
 land Packet of April 28, 1778, he is described as the "savior of the 
 town." Another account says that this man was seen running from 
 house to house shouting that the Americans had landed and were firing 
 the shipping, and the Gentlemen's Magazine for 1778 states that the de- 
 struction of the town was "providentially prevented by the exertions 
 of the inhabitants, who extinguished the flames before they reached 
 the rigging of the ships."
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 281 
 
 How often Paul Jones must have compared those 
 beloved and loyal officers of the Alfred and Providence 
 to the motley and mutinous crews which later he was 
 called upon to command. Hi-clad and ill-fed, they 
 shared with him the dangers of the northern seas, were 
 fired by his enthusiasm, grateful for his generosity, and 
 only too anxious to sail again with him. It has fre- 
 quently been charged by his detractors that Paul Jones 
 was an overbearing and unpopular commander. If he 
 had been fortunate enough always to have been fur- 
 nished with crews like those of the Alfred and the Provi- 
 dence it is safe to say that he never would have ap- 
 peared to deserve this imputation. The facts in regard 
 to the disposition of the Ranger's crew, set forth in his 
 own reports to the commissioners, and most amply 
 supported by the subsequent history of these men, lead 
 to the conclusion that Jones's patience with their in- 
 subordination was nothing short of marvellous, and the 
 success attained with their support an extraordinary 
 example of tact and determination. 
 
 Not having sole power to choose the officers of the 
 Ranger, he had been compelled to accept the selections 
 of the two other members of the commission appointed 
 by Congress, John Langdon and Abraham Whipple. 
 These New England men, the first and most important 
 men in Portsmouth, were both more or less sectional in 
 their sympathies and had no mind to give the " North 
 Carolina Captain" too much authority, particularly in 
 their own territory. Although permitted to take upon 
 himself the tedious and troublesome duties of equip- 
 ping the Ranger and of advancing the wages of the crew
 
 282 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 to induce them to engage, Jones himself had, in fact, 
 named one single officer, Captain Parke, of the marines. 
 Neither the first lieutenant, Simpson, nor the second, 
 Elijah Hall, had ever sailed before in a ship of war. 
 Before starting on his cruise against the British coasts, 
 Jones, having discovered the animosity of his crew to- 
 ward Captain Parke, for harmony's sake had sent him 
 back to America. Eight of the crew deserted in Qui- 
 beron when they discovered that Jones's intentions were 
 more extensive than a mere cruise after merchant-ships, 
 and Simpson and others of the officers and crew flatly 
 refused to obey orders. This spirit of insubordination 
 so increased that before they left Brest a conspiracy had 
 already been formed to kill or confine their captain and 
 return to America under Lieutenant Simpson. This 
 mutinous disposition continued throughout the cruise, 
 was the reason of the failure to effect the total destruc- 
 tion of the shipping at Whitehaven, and caused the 
 unfortunate outcome of Jones's plan of descent upon 
 Lord Selkirk's castle on Saint Mary's Isle. This cele- 
 brated raid took place on the evening of the same day 
 of the attempt on Whitehaven and is briefly mentioned 
 in the next paragraph of Jones's report to the commis- 
 sioners. This part of his narrative, together with the 
 curious correspondence connected with the incident, 
 will be more fully considered later. 
 
 In regard to his capture of the Drake Jones's narra- 
 tive again becomes copious and detailed. 
 
 On the morning of the 24th, I was again off Carrick 
 Fergus and would have gone in had I not seen the
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 283 
 
 Drake preparing to come out it was very moderate 
 and the Drake's boat was sent out to reconnoitre the 
 Ranger. As the boat advanced, I kept the ship's stern 
 directly towards her, and though they had a spy glass 
 in the boat, they came on within hail and alongside. 
 When the officer came on the quarterdeck, he was 
 greatly surprised to find himself a prisoner, although 
 an express had arrived from Whitehaven the night 
 before. I now understood what I had before imagined, 
 that the Drake came out in consequence of this infor- 
 mation, with volunteers against the Ranger. The officer 
 told me also, that they had taken up the Ranger's 
 anchor. The Drake was attended by five small vessels 
 full of people who were led by curiousity to see an 
 engagement, but when they saw the Drake's boat at 
 the Ranger's side, they wisely put back. Alarm smokes 
 now appeared in great abundance, extending along on 
 both sides of the channel. The tide was unfavorable, 
 so that the Drake worked out but slowly. This obliged 
 me to run down several times and to lay with courses 
 up, and main topsail to the mast. At length the Drake 
 weathered the point and having led her out to about 
 midchannel I suffered her to come within hail. The 
 Drake hoisted English colors, and at the same instant 
 the American stars were displayed on board the 
 Ranger. I expected that preface had now been at an 
 end, but the enemy soon after hailed, demanding what 
 ship it was. I directed the master to answer " the Ameri- 
 can Continental ship Ranger; that we waited for them 
 and desired that they would come on; the sun was now 
 a little more than an hour from setting, and it was 
 therefore time to begin." The Drake being astern of 
 the Ranger, I ordered the helm up and gave her the 
 first broadside. The action was warm, close and 
 obstinate. It lasted an hour and four minutes, when 
 the enemy called for quarters; her four and main top-
 
 284 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 sail yards being both cut away and down on the cap; 
 the top gallant yard and mizzen gaff both hanging up 
 and down along the mast; the second ensign which they 
 had hoisted shot away and hanging in the water; the 
 sails and rigging entirely cut to pieces, her masts and 
 yards all wounded and her hull very much galled. I 
 lost only Lieutenant Wallingsford, and one seaman, 
 John Dougall, killed, and six wounded, among whom are 
 the gunner, Mr. Falls and Mr. Powers, a midshipman, 
 who lost his arm. One of the wounded, Nathanial 
 Wills, is since dead, the rest will recover. The loss of 
 the enemies killed and wounded is much greater. All 
 the prisoners allow that they came out with a number 
 not less than 160 men and many of them affirm that 
 they amounted to one hundred and ninety. The me- 
 dium may perhaps be the most exact account; and by 
 that it will appear that they lost, in killed and wounded, 
 forty-two men. The captain and lieutenant were 
 among the wounded, the former having received a 
 musket ball in the head the minute before they called 
 for quarter, lived and was sensible some time after my 
 people boarded the prize. The lieutenant survived two 
 days. They were buried with the honors due to their 
 rank and the respect due their memory. 
 
 Here, then, was a victory won fairly in open fight 
 within sight of the enemy's coast and in the view of 
 hundreds of spectators, over a fully armed English 
 man-of-war. Victory was on the side of the Americans 
 from the firing of the first broadside. Although slightly 
 verbose and over-eloquent in his answer to the enemy's 
 appeal, a method which one commentator thinks was 
 adopted for the purpose of getting his ship in line for 
 the first manoeuvre, Jones was short and sharp enough
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 285 
 
 in action. Before the enemy was aware of his intent, 
 he ran the Ranger across the bows of the Drake, raking 
 her decks with a destructive fire and thus gaining an 
 advantage which in the broadside to broadside contest 
 which followed was never recovered by the English. 
 The superior handling of the Ranger over that of the 
 Drake, which belonged to a regularly established and 
 wellnigh universally victorious navy, is all the more re- 
 markable in view of the fact that the equipment of the 
 Ranger was experimental and defective, and its officers, 
 with the exception of the captain, totally without ex- 
 perience in war. 
 
 In considering the relative merits of the victory, it 
 is seen by Jones's report that the English ship carried 
 twice as many men as the American. The Ranger's 
 guns were eighteen six-pounders, while according to 
 the principal witness in the English court-martial, held 
 over the survivors of the battle, the Drake's guns, al- 
 though twenty in number, were four-pounders. This 
 advantage, however, may fairly be considered as di- 
 minished by the shortness of the Ranger's guns (a defect 
 of which Jones had complained) and more than bal- 
 anced by the numerical superiority of the Drake's crew, 
 all fully supplied with small arms, and by her greater 
 size and heavier construction. Professor Laughton, 
 an able although partisan English authority, states in 
 extenuation of the loss of the Drake, that "her crew 
 was increased by a number of newly raised men, and 
 that there was no gunner, no cartridges filled and no 
 preparation for handling powder." It is also stated 
 that the first lieutenant, who was killed in the battle,
 
 286 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 had boarded the Drake as she was warping out of the 
 channel, to take the place of the officer who had died 
 two days before the engagement. Captain Burden, 
 who was also mortally wounded a quarter of an hour 
 before his ship surrendered, was beyond the reach of 
 the question of the court-martial as to why he delib- 
 erately took his vessel out in an unprepared condition 
 to meet and capture the Ranger. 1 A confession of un- 
 readiness for battle is hardly an apology for defeat, nor 
 does the admitted fact that the forts at Whitehaven 
 were guarded by sleeping sentinels excuse the weakness 
 of the English coast defences. Jones also had his diffi- 
 culties with his insubordinate and almost unmanageable 
 crew. A drunken quartermaster caused the failure of 
 his first bold attack upon the Drake, a disobedient 
 officer wellnigh rendered abortive the descent upon 
 Whitehaven, and, according to his account drawn up for 
 King Louis XVI, his officers not only planned to leave 
 him on shore at Whitehaven, but refused to engage the 
 Drake in open day, as he earnestly desired, and were 
 again in open mutiny and planning to throw him over- 
 board when the English ship, toward nightfall, fortu- 
 nately volunteered the battle and forced them to de- 
 fend their lives. 
 
 In Jones's journal for Louis XVI he states, "that 
 plunder rather than honor was the object of the 
 
 1 George Roberts, of Dover, New Hampshire, who was a seaman on 
 the Ranger, has left an account of a visit to the Drake immediately after 
 her capture. He found the dead body of an English officer in the uni- 
 form of the land service, who had come to see the Yankees whipped. 
 The hogshead of rum which had been sent on board to drink to 
 their victory had been demolished by a cannon-ball. (Boston Public 
 Library.)
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 287 
 
 Ranger's officers and crew," and that on his announcing 
 his intention of giving battle to the Drake the crew of 
 the Ranger revolted, "and I ran every chance of be- 
 ing killed or thrown over-board." The truth of this 
 statement is attested by the certificate of Lieutenant 
 Meyer, a Swedish officer who had entered the service 
 of the United States under the auspices of Silas Deane 
 and was on board the Ranger. 1 
 
 The personal element in Jones's conduct of this cele- 
 brated battle was therefore solely responsible for the 
 victory. His ship, according to Professor Laughton's 
 admission, was well handled and well fought, and this 
 result was accomplished by the extraordinary char- 
 acter of its commander who, at the moment of action, 
 could inspire an inexperienced and rebellious crew with 
 
 1 "I, Jean Meyer, lieutenant in the Infantry regiment of the Baron de 
 Fleming, in the service of his Majesty the King of Sweden, on leave with 
 permission of the court, do certify, to all it may concern that I em- 
 barked at Nantes in Brittanny, on the 12th February, 1778, in the 
 frigate Ranger commanded by Captain Paul Jones, to whom I was 
 recommended by M. le Comte de Kraitz, ambassador of his majesty 
 at the court of France, in pursuance of my purpose of entering the ser- 
 vice of Congress under the auspices of M. Silas Deane, who told me to 
 report to the Honbl Robert Morris, an order which I was unable to obey. 
 The said Captain Jones deciding to cruise in St Georges channel, 
 brought me finally back to France. During the cruise I observed that 
 cabals and plots were being formed against the said Captain Jones. To 
 assure myself of the truth or falsity of my suspicion I questioned a 
 Swedish sailor by the name of Shoondelin who spoke English perfectly 
 and who informed me that the crew supported by the majority of the 
 officers had decided to sieze the person of their captain whom they dis- 
 liked because he was a Scotchman with the intention of throwing him 
 overboard, or at least to put him in irons. They intended afterwards 
 to choose Lieutenant Simpson for then- captain, to take them back to 
 America their country, where all ardently desired to return. I imme- 
 diately informed Captain Jones of this plot, happily for him, for if he 
 had not been warned of the misfortune which threatened him, one day 
 when the master had the temerity to attack him, he would undoubtedly 
 have been over come (all the officers being hostile to him, and having
 
 288 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 something of his own skill and enthusiasm. Nothing 
 short of his unequalled pertinacity, his own inflexible 
 determination and superb self-confidence, could have 
 succeeded under such conditions. The practical re- 
 sults of this brilliant victory were great and immediate. 
 The contemporary English newspapers abound in ac- 
 counts of the arming of defensive fleets and of their 
 ports and of the re-establishment of coast guards. 
 Householders prepared to remove their goods to places 
 of safety, and bankers packed up their gold in boxes 
 and retired to the country. In London stocks fell and 
 insurance rates on merchant-ships, which had already 
 greatly risen after Conyngham's cruises and captures, 
 were now trebled. The moral effect of this one man's 
 exploits was still more remarkable and far-reaching. 
 
 by previous agreement scatted to different parts of the ship) if the brave 
 captain had not pointed his pistol at the head of his assailant. I attest 
 also that on the day when we made the landing in two boats at the port 
 of Whitehaven, that the captain had hardly left the first boat in which 
 I accompanied him, together with a few sailors, to take possession of 
 the forts when the other men who remained in the boat tried to pur- 
 suade me not to land, because if the captain did not return immediately 
 they intended to leave him behind and to return to the ship. This plan 
 had undoubtedly been concerted with Captain Hill and Lieutenant 
 Wallenson (WalUngsford) for they delayed a long time before landing 
 from the other boat to second Jones in his plan, according to his direc- 
 tions. Jones called to them several times. Finally, however, when 
 they saw their commander on the ramparts, and heard his summons 
 to come and share the glory with him, they decided to join him. I only 
 left my boat at the last moment, because I wanted to watch the sailors, 
 who remained with me, to see to it, in case Mr. Hill and Mr. Wallenson 
 went off with their boat that ours should be ready to receive the valiant 
 captain, renowned in both the old and new worlds for actions which have 
 brought him immortal reputation , and to take him back to the ship 
 to resume his command. I affirm that no reason except a regard for 
 truth and justice which are alike the illuminating guides of my con- 
 science has dictated this certificate, and that I sign it in the hope that 
 it may be of service and value to whomever it may concern. At Dun- 
 kirk, April, 1778."
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 289 
 
 An immediate and very extraordinary result of the 
 terror which his successful attacks upon their coasts 
 produced upon the English people was the development 
 which actually occurred at this tune of a permanent 
 volunteer service. In a book entitled " The Annals of a 
 Yorkshire House," which relates the history of Colonel 
 George Stanhope's connection with this service, is found 
 the following description of the volunteer camps which 
 were organized in the year 1778: 
 
 In 1778 when the conclusion was announced of the 
 treaty of commerce between France and the States of 
 America, a war with France appeared imminent, and 
 excitement was universal at the prospect. Partly on 
 that account, partly owing to the alarm occasioned by 
 the depredations of Paul Jones, the celebrated Priva- 
 teer who greatly hampered British commerce, the 
 militia was called out, and the country began arming 
 itself. Stanhope, who had ardently wished for a regi- 
 ment was delighted on April 17th of that year to receive 
 a cordial letter from Lord Rockingham announcing 
 that " I have been able to give you what you so desire, 
 a captain's commission, in the command of the com- 
 pany in the regiment of militia in the West Riding of 
 Yorkshire, whereof Sir George Savile is Colonel." If 
 anything had been required to whet Stanhope's ardour, 
 the events of that April must have done so. On the 
 23rd of that month Jones, after a bold attack upon the 
 Drake Sloop of War, entered Whitehaven, and made an 
 attempt to set on fire the three hundred ships which 
 lay there. Forced to make his escape, without having 
 achieved his object, he landed on St. Mary's Isle in- 
 tending to kidnap Lord Selkirk, and hold him hostage. 
 The Earl was absent from home, but Jones followers 
 insisted upon plundering his silver plate, and crowned
 
 290 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 their success the next day by a second attack upon the 
 Drake, which they captured after an hour's contest. 
 The alarm was universal, and the importance of the 
 episode was magnified by the friends and foes of Great 
 Britain. England was soon studded with militia camps, 
 and Stanhope threw himself with avidity into his occu- 
 pation. When Parliament rose early in June of that 
 year, members instead of retiring to the country seats 
 went with their regiments to join in mimic warfare. 
 There were camps at Salisbury, at Bury St. Edmunds, 
 at Cox Heath in Kent, at Warly Common, in Essex and 
 at Winchester. " Camps everywhere " writes Walpole, 
 "and the ladies in the uniform of their husbands. 
 All the world are politicians or soldiers or both, servants 
 are learning to fire, all day long." Yet these gatherings 
 were scenes of festivity and fun as well as of hard soldier- 
 ing, places not only for military maneuvres and manual 
 exercise, but for fashionable picnics and flirtations; the 
 most noted men of the day made a point of visiting 
 them, and becoming spectators of the new amusement, 
 which had for its basis a commendable object. Lord 
 Palmerston, Garrick, Dr Johnson and Sir Joshua Rey- 
 nolds, were among those who witnessed the operations 
 at Warly Common, and the Doctor, as he watched 
 the regimental maneuvres or went visiting round 
 amongst the men in command, made it his aim to learn 
 all he could about Military duty and drill. "The Cox 
 Heath men," he wrote, facetiously to the commander 
 of the Lincolnshire regiment, "I think have reason to 
 complain, for Reynolds says your camp is better than 
 theirs." Finally a Royal progress round the camps 
 took place, which began in Winchester, where the King 
 visited the troops on September 29th. The military 
 fervor of that age was not merely a pose, born without 
 cause and fated to die without fruits. Its effect upon 
 the betterment of a permanent volunteer force has ex-
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 291 
 
 tended to our own times, while its necessity at the date 
 which witnessed its rise, may be inferred from the course 
 of events. 
 
 Jones was, in fact, the most formidable enemy which 
 England then possessed upon the sea, through his 
 knowledge of their coasts, his remarkable foresight, and 
 his unequalled fighting qualities. Secure in the quiet 
 of their country homes, with pride excited by the recent 
 and world-wide extension of their dominions, safe in the 
 consciousness of their undisputed command upon the 
 sea, the revolt of the American colonies was a matter 
 which had very little disturbed the people at large, and 
 was considered as a futile rebellion of a contemptible 
 and cowardly lot of yokels easily to be subdued by 
 Hessian mercenaries, or, if necessary, by the scalping- 
 knife of the Indian. The venial subserviency and in- 
 capacity of a ministry controlled by the obstinacy of a 
 slow-witted king prevailed over the wiser counsellors of 
 the nation. The solemn laments of the dying Chatham 
 lamenting the dismemberment of the empire he had 
 helped to extend, the fiery denunciations of Burke and 
 Fox, were drowned in choruses of indecent raillery from 
 the benches of Westminster, and the sarcastic prophecies 
 of Walpole, crying out in warning from Strawberry Hill, 
 were unheeded by a people who, until the advent of 
 Paul Jones, had been slumbering in peace. With a 
 terror which curiously finds its counterpart in later 
 times, the very idea that the "Englishman's home" 
 could be invaded now cast the whole island into un- 
 reasoning and hysterical panic. It was all very well
 
 292 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 that armies should be sent across the seas to fight the 
 rebellious colonies, but when the shipping in their un- 
 protected ports could be set on fire, their battle-ships 
 taken in home waters, and English peers be in danger 
 of capture in their sacred homes, it was a very different 
 matter. Chap-books depicted Paul Jones as a buccaneer, 
 armed to the teeth, in highly colored pictures, bloody 
 and terrifying. Mothers frightened their children with 
 the bare mention of his name. From this time on he 
 was celebrated in popular song, and took his place 
 with Captain Kidd in the histories of the pirate kings. 
 There is nothing surprising in the fact that Jones should 
 have been dubbed a rebel in the days when the revolted 
 Americans were all considered felons, and traitors to 
 the mother country. 1 
 
 The correctness of these titles was an issue which all 
 the colonists were discussing with the uncertain argu- 
 ments of war. Had the outcome been otherwise, Paul 
 Jones might have been hanged as a rebel and a like fate 
 
 1 An amusing incident concerning a gale of wind which drove him on 
 one occasion away from the Scottish coasts, is quoted by Sherburne 
 from a contemporary book by a Mr. Henderson. 
 
 "About the time that Jones visited Whitehaven, he went round to the 
 Firth of Forth, and made his appearance off the harbor of Kirkaldy, a 
 noted small town on the borders of Fifeshire, (called by the Scotch 
 'Langtoun o' Kirkaldy,' owing to its length). No other enemy, how- 
 ever formidable, could have created in the minds of the inhabitants 
 such consternation and alarm as that which then approached. Paul 
 Jones was the dread of all, young and old, & (pamphlets of his depre- 
 dations were as common in every house as almanacs). He was looked 
 upon as a sea-monster, that swallowed up all that came in his power. 
 The people all flocked to the shore to watch his movements, expecting 
 the worse consequences. There was an old Presbyterian Minister in 
 the place, a very pious and good old man, but of a most singular and 
 eccentric turn, especially in addressing the Deity, to whom he would 
 speak with as much familiarity as he would to an old farmer, and seem- 
 ingly without respect, as will appear from the following. He was soon
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 293 
 
 might have befallen those great leaders whose names 
 have been revered through more than a century of 
 glorious independence. He was, however, particularly 
 well qualified, in the eyes of the British, to bear the added 
 title of " pirate. ' ' He commanded a vessel disguised as a 
 merchantman; he made sudden and stealthy midnight 
 descents upon their vessels and their ports; his method 
 of warfare, brilliantly skilful as it was, had a coolness 
 and a daring unexpectedness which recalled the legends 
 of the early Vikings, a method which clothed his name 
 with the immortal halo of romance but brought upon 
 him the bitter hatred of his native land. It is, how- 
 ever, a matter surprising, in any nature but the English, 
 that a people forced in a few brief years to acknowledge 
 the independence of the United States should even now 
 ignore the commissioned authority of Jones, who was 
 at the very time that he made his first descent upon 
 the English coasts the very first accredited standard- 
 bearer of our flag in Europe, which, through him, re- 
 seen making his way through the people with an old black oak arm- 
 chair which he lugged down to the low-water mark (the tide flowing) 
 and sat down in it. Almost out of breath, and rather in a passion, he 
 then began to address the Deity in the following singular way: 
 
 "'Now deed Lord, dinna ye think it's a shame for ye to send this vile 
 pireet to rub out folk o' Kirkaldy; for ye ken they're a' puir enough 
 already, and hoe naething to spare. They are a' gaily gaid, and it wad 
 be a peety to serve them in sic in a wa. The wa the wun blaws, he'll 
 be here in a jiffie, and wha kens what he may do. He's nain too guid 
 for anything. Meickle's the mischief he has dune already. Ony 
 packet gear they hae gathered thegither he will gang wi' the heal o't; 
 and burn their hooses, tak their vary claes and tirl them to the sark; 
 and waes me! wha kens but the bluidy villain might tak their lives. 
 The puir weemen ere maist freightened out o' their wute, and the bairns 
 skirling after them. I canna' tho'lt! I hae been lang a faithfu' ser- 
 vant to ye, Laird; but gin ye dinna turn the wun about, and blaw the 
 scoundrel out of the gate, I'll na stur a fit, but will just sit here, until 
 the tide comes and drowns me. Sae tak yere wull o't.' "
 
 294 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 ceived its first salute from French admirals in the open 
 ports of France. The honors he subsequently received 
 from the courts of Russia, France, and Denmark have 
 likewise been persistently ignored in England, and in 
 these later days, in spite of the recent and much-her- 
 alded recovery of his honored remains by the grateful 
 country he helped to free, the old obloquy still clouds 
 his name. 
 
 Paul Jones has not unnaturally been censured for 
 the choice of the familiar localities of his childhood for 
 his retaliatory attacks. In the excellent biography by 
 Captain A. S. McKenzie, of the United States navy, 
 published in 1848, the author gives expression to this 
 hostile opinion. 
 
 Few naval enterprises exhibit a character of greater 
 daring and originality than the descent upon White- 
 haven, the hardihood with which it was conceived and 
 the imperturbable coolness with which it was executed. 
 As to the propriety of attempting to destroy such an 
 amount of private property, it was amply justified, as 
 it was provoked and occasioned by the burning and 
 devastations of the British on our own coasts. Still 
 the author cannot coincide with such of his country- 
 men as have commended Jones for volunteering to be 
 the agent of this retribution. The scheme was wholly 
 his own. He selected the scene, choosing for the pur- 
 pose the familiar haunts of his boyhood. Had he suc- 
 ceeded in his wish of destroying the whole shipping in 
 the port of Whitehaven, out of which he had so long 
 sailed, he must have involved shipmates, employers, 
 and benefactors in one common ruin. It has been 
 said that Paul Jones alone, on account of his familiarity 
 with the localities, could have attempted this project
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 295 
 
 with success if so, it had better been omitted alto- 
 gether. 
 
 In answer to this critical comment it is interesting to 
 quote the very able defence of Paul Jones written by 
 his niece, Miss Taylor, during her visit to America, in 
 1848, which exists in her own handwriting in a collec- 
 tion of manuscripts in the Harvard Library, prepared 
 by Jared Sparks, for a life of her celebrated uncle: 
 
 The connection of Paul Jones with America, com- 
 mences with his thirteenth year and from that period 
 until his descent upon Whitehaven, he had never resided 
 for five consecutive years, in any port of the world, 
 America excepted. He had at the time, no mother, 
 sister or relation of any denomination whatsoever in 
 either Whitehaven or its neighborhood; the hand of 
 death had placed beyond the reach of his wholesale 
 desolation both his employers and almost every person 
 belonging to the place, with whom he had ever had any 
 intercourse. If Paul Jones can be justified in taking 
 up arms in behalf of the revolted Colonies, he may also 
 be justified for his descent upon Whitehaven. If he 
 cannot be the former, what apology is to be offered for 
 the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who 
 were Englishmen, Scotchmen, Irishmen, and Welshmen 
 by birth? 
 
 There are many indications that Jones was mindful 
 of the peculiar position he occupied in commanding 
 and directing these cruises in his home seas. No 
 instance of brutality or vindictiveness in his conduct 
 is discernible ; there were no wanton acts of destruction ; 
 there was no unnecessary bloodshed, but a gallant
 
 296 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 punctiliousness in the observation of all the rules and 
 ceremonies of honorable warfare, strangely in contrast 
 with the customs of the English and their hirelings in 
 America. He comments with the most evident satis- 
 faction upon the facts that the sentinels in the White- 
 haven ports were captured "unharmed," and that he 
 never killed or injured any single person during the 
 attack. 
 
 If he realized, as he must have done, that his at- 
 tack upon the English coasts would bring upon him 
 a peculiar execration, and stain eternally the fame he 
 held so dear; if he believed that his peculiar familiarity 
 with these coasts pre-eminently fitted him, and him 
 alone, to conduct these attacks, the sacrifice of his 
 personal feelings must be considered an admirable act 
 of loyalty to the country which he served. The bitter 
 recollections of the injustice and jealous undervalua- 
 tions which had been his lot, in common with other 
 prophets, in his own country, may naturally have 
 tempered his reluctance to appear as the triumphant 
 avenger of its injustice, and he was also inspired by that 
 burning desire for fame which his most enthusiastic ad- 
 mirer cannot fail to recognize as the ruling motive of 
 his character. His conviction of the justice of the cause 
 he had embraced, the cause of liberty and of human 
 nature, which had been adopted by the new thought of 
 a changing world, was equally ardent and openly 
 avowed. 
 
 In this first of his two glorious cruises against the 
 British coast he succeeded, in spite of the reluctance of 
 his mutinous crew, in accomplishing the two principal
 
 THE "RANGER" CRUISE 297 
 
 objects of his daring purpose: he terrified the too con- 
 fident enemy into a recognition that their own coasts 
 could be attacked and their invulnerable battle-ships 
 could be captured; and, above all, he brought about 
 the exchange of American captives, hitherto treated as 
 felons and rebels, on equal terms with English seamen 
 as prisoners of war, and thus forced what was in fact 
 England's first recognition of the existence of America 
 as an independent power. 
 
 The capture of the Drake was unprecedented, almost 
 incredible, at that time of England's unquestioned mar- 
 itime supremacy, and added the crowning glory to a 
 cruise which for cool audacity and brilliant initiative 
 has never been surpassed in naval history.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 
 
 SINGULAR as the celebrated descent upon Lord Sel- 
 kirk's estate at Saint Mary's Isle has always been con- 
 sidered by the biographers of Paul Jones, its actual 
 significance has never been fully appreciated. 
 
 When, after a careful examination of the evidence 
 which has been preserved in his own writings and 
 in other contemporary documents, the conclusion be- 
 comes inevitable that Paul Jones believed up to the 
 time of his attack upon Saint Mary's Isle that he was 
 the unacknowledged son of Lord Selkirk, his deter- 
 mination to carry him off as a hostage assumes the 
 character of a conception which might easily find its 
 place in melodrama. The earliest testimony which 
 bears upon this, the most questionable of all Jones's 
 actions, is found in the narrative of Thomas Chase, 
 wherein it is stated with categorical emphasis that Paul 
 Jones, during his conversations with Chase, had ex- 
 pressed his belief that he was the son of Lord Selkirk 
 and stated that his earliest recollections were of Saint 
 Mary's Isle. He admitted also, according to the Chase 
 narrative, that he was continually taunted with his 
 illegitimate birth, and asserted this to have been the 
 principal cause of his early departure from Scotland. 1 
 
 1 Colonel Wharton Green repeats these facts as reported by Major 
 Knox, who was a guest at "The Grove." Major Knox was also au- 
 thority for Jones's statement that he had assumed the name of Jones 
 because he had none of his own. 
 
 298
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 299 
 
 Rumors orally transmitted by those in intimate 
 association with Jones during his sojourn at "The 
 Grove," in North Carolina, in the year 1774, repeat 
 these statements, and, as far as such traditions can be 
 accepted as historical evidence, tend to confirm the 
 truth of Thomas Chase's narrative. 
 
 The most significant testimony, however, exists in 
 the remarkable letter to Benjamin Franklin of March 
 6, 1779, wherein Jones used the following extraordinary 
 phrases in reference to Lord Selkirk and his refusal to 
 accept the return of the plate which was taken by 
 Jones's men from his house. "It has not been my in- 
 tention to attract his notice either by my history or 
 otherwise, if however, his delicacy will not suffer 
 him, to receive what he thinks an obligation from me 
 it will be no difficult matter to point out to him, if 
 he should be at a loss, how to discharge that obliga- 
 tion." 
 
 Taken in conjunction with the fact that these phrases 
 are found in a letter of the most private and confidential 
 character, wherein Jones not only makes his full state- 
 ment of the killing of the mutineer, but refers to other 
 obscure incidents in his career as if to his father con- 
 fessor the curious remark that it had not been his 
 intention to attract Lord Selkirk's notice by his history or 
 otherwise cannot be overlooked. 
 
 In the total absence of any other circumstances 
 which might assign another significance to these pecul- 
 iar expressions, the statements in Chase's narrative 
 supply the only available and highly probable reasons 
 which prompted Jones to use them.
 
 300 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 In connection with the above mutually confirmatory 
 evidence, a letter from William Birnie, a Scotchman 
 now resident in New York City, demands considera- 
 tion. 1 William Birnie is the great-grandson of George 
 Paul, the gardener at Saint Mary's Isle and brother of 
 Paul Jones's reputed father, John Paul, of Arbigland. 
 Birnie's reference to the latter indicates a suspicion 
 that the latter was not Jones's father, and he also ad- 
 mits his knowledge of a well-defined rumor of Jones's 
 connection with the Selkirk family. When questioned 
 on the subject his mother admitted that she knew some- 
 thing in regard to the birth of John Paul Jones which 
 she might some time reveal. Mrs. Birnie was a grand- 
 daughter of George Paul and spent her early life in 
 
 1 NEW YORK, Mar. 8, 1908. 
 SIR: 
 
 The other day when I told you that on my mother's side, I was de- 
 scended from George Paul, the Earl of Selkirk's gardener, who accord- 
 ing to the school histories when I went to school, was the father of John 
 Paul Jones, you told me to write an account of what I knew or had 
 heard about the connection. Which request is the excuse for the fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 My mother was a daughter of John Paul of Kircudbright, Scotland. 
 What the exact year of his birth was I do not know, but think from what 
 my uncle writes it was 1785. He came to this country and settled in 
 Charleston S. C. in the very beginning of the last century, going into 
 business, as a wholesale and retail grocer. When the war of 1812 broke 
 out, he organized a company of Scotchmen for the defence of Charleston, 
 and was their captain until the close of the war. In 1828 he retired 
 from business and returned to Kircudbright where in 1829 he married 
 Isabella Mc'Whinnie of the same place. He died June 2, 1846 leaving 
 eight children, four sons and four daughters. His father was John Paul 
 a carpenter and builder of Kircudbright, whose wife was Mary Kerr of 
 the same place. They were the parents of twelve children. He died 
 at the age of 72, 1 dont know the year, but his wife who survived him 
 died in 1828. 
 
 The father of the last mentioned John Paul, was George Paul, the 
 Earl of Selkirk's gardener. I do not know the year of his birth or death
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 301 
 
 Scotland with her relatives. She never revealed this 
 mystery, but her evidence tends to confirm Chase's 
 statement that the stigma of illegitimacy had been cast 
 upon Paul Jones. Further confirmatory evidence in 
 regard to the obscurity surrounding his birth is found 
 in the fact that his name is not recorded with those of 
 his sisters in the Parish register at Kirkbean. This 
 obscurity is also augmented by the written statement 
 of the clergyman of Kirkbean, Doctor Grierson, re- 
 porting that Mr. Dunbar Hamilton Craik, the grand- 
 son of Jones's patron, Robert Craik, had informed him 
 personally that the date of Jones's birth as given in the 
 so-called Edinburgh biography was incorrect. Mr. 
 
 nor his father's first name. His brother John, also a gardener, is the 
 generally accepted father of Paul Jones to-day. 
 
 I cannot recall any family tradition about Paul Jones, except that my 
 great grandfather on one occasion ordered him out of his house for being 
 impolite to the ladies. The Kircudbright people considered him a Buc- 
 caneer, and never mentioned his name if they could help it. 
 
 One day in a talk with Mother, I suggested that Paul Jones was not 
 a Paul, but a Douglass (The earl of Selkirk's family name.) She said 
 that he was not a Douglass but a Paul, and that at some time she would 
 tell me all that she had heard about him. I have at different times 
 asked my Uncle if they had any information that they could give me, 
 but they said that they knew nothing about him. 
 
 When I was a boy of nine we spent the summer of 1870 in Kircud- 
 bright with an aunt of Mother's, Miss Agnes Paul. Her house was on 
 ground that George Paul owned and used as a nursery after he left the 
 Earl's employ. The house, or rather the back of it, was built by his 
 son, the carpenter, the front being added by my grandfather. Two of 
 my aunts live there to-day. 
 
 During my stay in Kircudbright my uncle took me to St. Mary's 
 Isle (The Earl's residence) to see the silver that Paul Jones had "stolen " 
 from the Earl of Selkirk when he made his raid on the Scotch coast. 
 This silver was afterward returned to Lady Selkirk with the compli- 
 ments of John Paul Jones. Although the Kircudbright people pretend 
 to despise Paul Jones, they are mighty proud of the silver. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 (Signed) WM. BIRNIE. 
 To Capt. John H. Barnee.
 
 302 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Craik affirmed that he was not born on July 6, 1747, 
 but several years earlier. 1 
 
 Returning to the letter of William Birnie, we find the 
 categorical statement of his mother that he was not a 
 Douglass, but was in reality a Paul. An examination 
 of the recorded data in regard to the whereabouts and 
 history of both the third and the fourth Earls of 
 Selkirk, confirms Mrs. Birnie's negation, and proves 
 without question that Paul Jones was not related by 
 blood to either of them. The third Lord Selkirk died 
 in the year 1744 at Edinburgh at the advanced age of 
 eighty-two, having been resident in that city for several 
 years prior to his death. The fourth Lord Selkirk, 
 whose son Jones apparently believed himself to be, was 
 the fourth cousin of the third earl, living at a distance 
 from Saint Mary's Isle, at Baldoon, in another part of 
 Scotland. At the time he inherited the property he 
 was actively engaged in recruiting royalist soldiers in 
 the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, and exerted himself 
 with the greatest zeal in animating the inhabitants of 
 
 1 Extracts from Dr. Filkins's note-book: 
 
 " The following extract from a letter from Reverend Thomas Grierson 
 A. M. dated Kirkbean Manse, Oct. 17th, 1842. 
 
 " 'John Paul, alias Paul Jones was born in this Parrish at Arbigland. 
 His father was gardener to Mr. Craik, grandfather of the present ex- 
 cellent proprietor, Douglas Hamilton Craik. . . . He was born, accord- 
 ing to a printed life of him in Mr. Craik's possession, the 6th of July, 1747. 
 Mr. Craik told me to-day that he believed he was born several years earlier. 
 He used to carry about the present Laird upon his back when he was a 
 child.' " 
 
 Another statement from the Naval and Military Gazette of January 14, 
 1843, also found in Doctor Filkins's note-books, affirms that Jones was 
 born in the year 1742. Jones's last secretary, Andre", who published 
 his journal of the American war in 1798, gives it as his belief that Jonea 
 was older than the age ordinarily assigned to him.
 
 . 
 
 a 
 H 
 H
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 303 
 
 Lanarkshire and the western counties to support the 
 government. 
 
 After the end of the rebellion Lord Selkirk went 
 abroad, where he remained, principally in France, for a 
 number of years. It was not until his marriage, which 
 occurred in the year 1758, that he took up his resi- 
 dence on the estate of Saint Mary's Isle, which he had 
 inherited fourteen years before. 
 
 The only point contained in the historical records of 
 the lives of the third and fourth Earls of Selkirk, which 
 bears upon the presence of Paul Jones at Saint Mary's 
 Isle, is found in the fact that the Duke of Queensbury 
 was a brother-in-law of the third earl. This fact is of 
 great importance when taken in connection with the 
 sentence in Jones's letter to Robert Morris in which he 
 refers to "his former intimacy with British Naval 
 Officers of note." This sentence points unquestion- 
 ably to his service in the royal navy, and furnishes in- 
 controvertible confirmatory evidence of his own later 
 statements as reported in the letter of his fellow-lodger, 
 quoted in Chapter I, that he received his appointment 
 at the hands of Lord Selkirk's brother-in-law, the Duke 
 of Queensbury, and that he was seen by the duke at 
 Saint Mary's Isle. 
 
 The fact being established that he was not the 
 son of either the third or the fourth Earl of Selkirk, 
 and as it is also certain that he was actually pres- 
 ent at Saint Mary's Isle, it is necessary to come to 
 some conclusion as to the reasons which caused Paul 
 Jones's belief in a relationship with the Selkirk family, 
 and the facts which gave color to such an assump-
 
 304 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 tion. The statement of Jones's fellow-lodger, printed 
 by the reviewer of Sherburne's biography, that Jones 
 had told him that he was the son of Lord Selkirk's 
 gardener, coupled with the knowledge of George 
 Paul's descendants that although of doubtful pater- 
 nity Jones was a Paul, would point to the identifica- 
 tion of George Paul, gardener of Lord Selkirk, as the 
 actual father of Paul Jones. This hypothesis, although 
 impossible of confirmation, furnishes a reasonable ex- 
 planation of Jones's presence during his early child- 
 hood at Saint Mary's Isle, particularly in view of the 
 emphatic statement of the reviewer of Sherburne's 
 biography, that the testimony of Jones's fellow-lodger 
 was to be relied upon. Assuming that the testimony 
 of Mr. Craik is correct, and that Jones was born 
 several years earlier than the generally accepted date, 
 he was probably at Saint Mary's Isle as early as 1744 
 or 1745. There he was brought up in ignorance of 
 his real paternity, although constantly taunted by his 
 supposed illegitimacy, and there he was seen and 
 favorably noticed by the Duke of Queensbury. 
 
 According to the accounts contained in both the 
 biographies written in association with Jones's rela- 
 tives, he was apprenticed at the early age of twelve to 
 Mr. Younger and sent off to America in the year 1759. 
 If, however, he was born several years before 1747, he 
 would have been fourteen or a little older at the time 
 of his first sea service. 
 
 After the failure of Mr. Younger, Paul Jones was 
 thrown out of employment and, as related in Chap- 
 ter I, applied to the Duke of Queensbury for assist-
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 305 
 
 ance, relying upon his early acquaintance with him 
 and the marked interest which the duke had mani- 
 fested. He was not disappointed in this hope of 
 assistance, and, having been recommended to a com- 
 mander in the navy, received his appointment and 
 entered the service. Deciding to abandon it on ac- 
 count of lack of opportunity for quick advancement, he 
 immediately procured his first independent place on 
 board the slaver King George, in the year 1766. It is 
 evident from these facts that the young John Paul was 
 rarely in Scotland from the date of his first departure 
 with Mr. Younger for America. 
 
 Whatever his feeling might have been toward his 
 putative father, it is remarkable that no reference 
 whatever exists in any of his letters in regard to the 
 elder John Paul, while his letters and references to his 
 mother and sisters are many and affectionate. 
 
 The honored and universally respected gardener, 
 while loyal to his wife, who was apparently beloved by 
 all her family, was evidently unwilling to countenance 
 the presence of the boy, who at the earliest possible age 
 was apprenticed to the captain of a trading-vessel and 
 sent off for long voyages and sojourns across the sea. 
 
 Bitterly conscious of his supposed illegitimacy, the boy 
 must have brooded during the long hours of his exile 
 over the mystery, attempting to solve it in the light of 
 the only facts of which he was possessed, his early pres- 
 ence at Saint Mary's Isle and the protection of the Duke 
 of Queensbury. He knew that he could not refer his 
 paternity to the octogenarian, the third Earl of Sel- 
 kirk, but his infant recollections were wholly devoid of
 
 306 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 any facts which would disprove a relationship with the 
 fourth earl, the young Dunbar Hamilton, who in- 
 herited the estate in 1744. The fact that he was not 
 permitted to return to Saint Mary's Isle after the Lord 
 Selkirk of his day had come with his young wife to live 
 on the estate, might easily have added substance to 
 Jones's fancy, and have confirmed his belief that he 
 was the earl's child, originally harbored at his home, 
 provided with the advantageous position in the navy, 
 and subsequently sent back, in fear of discovery of his 
 birth, to the humble cottage at Arbigland. These were 
 the facts on which John Paul dwelt with bitterness 
 during the years of his service in the navy, when his 
 obscure birth seemed the sole cause of his failure to 
 advance with the rapidity demanded by his impatient 
 and ardent nature. As he grew older and became con- 
 scious of his extraordinary mental powers, the ambitious 
 lad tenaciously clung to the supposition that the pro- 
 tection of the Duke of Queensbury, accorded to him in 
 so unusual a manner, must argue an obligation on the 
 part of the family with which the duke was connected. 
 An illegitimate son of his mother's patron, Mr. 
 Craik had been acknowledged and protected by his 
 father, and the young John Paul bitterly resented that 
 the protection which he had received at the hands of the 
 Selkirk family should not be accompanied by an open 
 acknowledgment of the supposed relationship. This 
 suspicion, fostered by imagination and uncorrected by 
 any facts at his command, during the long years of his 
 absence from Scotland grew into a belief. This belief 
 finally became so strong that he spoke freely of it to
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 307 
 
 Thomas Chase and to his friends in North Carolina, 
 and at last hinted it in words of unmistakable signifi- 
 cance in his letter to Benjamin Franklin. 1 
 
 Having now recapitulated the facts which pertained 
 to Jones's belief in his relationship to the Selkirk family, 
 the thoughts which animated him on the morning of his 
 descent upon Saint Mary's Isle may be clearly imagined. 
 The same spirit of bravado and the burning determi- 
 nation to announce his new position and importance, 
 which had filled his mind as he stood with his pointed 
 pistol on the pier defying the wonder-stricken inhabi- 
 tants of Whitehaven, now drove him, beyond his better 
 judgment, to enter the very gates of his one-time abode, 
 and to show his power to the man whom he believed 
 to be his father. 
 
 The reasons which he consistently maintained had 
 actuated him in his purpose to carry off Lord Selkirk 
 as a hostage and thus effect the deliverance of the 
 American prisoners, although undoubtedly a part of 
 his plan, thus assume a minor importance. Lord Sel- 
 kirk, as he afterward averred in a letter to Jones, was 
 in no way connected with the government of England, 
 and could at no time or for any reason have been so 
 important to the King or his ministers as to have 
 effected an exchange of the many hundreds of Ameri- 
 can prisoners still in captivity in England. 
 
 1 An example of the exceedingly wide-spread report that Paul Jones 
 was actually the son of Lord Selkirk's gardener, George Paul, which 
 appeared in numberless contemporary journals, is found in a number 
 of a magazine entitled Weekly Entertainer and West of England Mis- 
 cellany: "Paul Jones, born and bred on the estate of Lord Selkirk near 
 Kircudbright, his father by name Paul, a steady methodist Scotch- 
 man, being head gardener to the Earl."
 
 308 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 In a high mood of exultation over his surprise of the 
 port of Whitehaven, which had been accomplished with 
 impunity a few hours before, Paul Jones sailed up to 
 the entrance of Kirkcudbright Bay and, marking the 
 hour of full tide, to enable him to withdraw in safety, 
 went off in a boat at the head of a party of his men 
 and landed at the foot of the gardens of Saint Mary's 
 Isle. There he himself waited, walking back and forth 
 under the familiar trees. He was at once informed of 
 Lord Selkirk's absence and would immediately have 
 retired, but his men, wholly ignorant as they were of 
 the real purpose and significance of his intentions, in- 
 sisted on raiding the house and demanding the plate, 
 according to the practice followed by English soldiers 
 in America. They were led by Lieutenant Simpson and 
 second Lieutenant Wallingsford, and, according to Lady 
 Selkirk's account, behaved with perfect civility. It 
 was ten o'clock in the morning, and the family had just 
 finished breakfast. Descending to the parlor, Lady 
 Selkirk addressed Lieutenant Simpson in the character 
 of the leader of a press gang, which she had been in- 
 formed had invaded her property. Simpson immedi- 
 ately undeceived her, and on his assertion that he was 
 an officer of an American ship of war, and that it was 
 his purpose to take possession of the plate, she very 
 scrupulously collected all that the house contained and 
 delivered it to the officer. The accompanying letter of 
 the countess to her husband, one of several of which 
 she wrote to Lord Selkirk and her sister, gives a nai've 
 picture of the scene and a sympathetic impression of 
 her character:
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 309 
 
 ST. MARY'S ISLE, April 24th, 1778. 
 The history of the invasion of the Americans not 
 being very cleverly specified perhaps in yesterday's 
 letters, I propose to give you a better account to-day, 
 and by a letter I expect to-night shall judge where to 
 send it. My dear Love, I cannot tell if you have heard 
 of this matter or not, but you may read on without 
 alarm, as you must judge by the beginning we are all 
 well and at ease. On Wednesday morning Mrs. Wood 
 and her daughters came here. On Thursday just after 
 breakfast Daniel told me a press gang was in the Isle, 
 and several of the gardeners had run from then* work, 
 I could not help it, a few minutes after they surrounded 
 the house, the Commanding Officer desired to speak to 
 me. I went down to the Parlor, Miss Elliott asked to 
 go with me. I began to say something to him in the 
 light I looked upon him. "Madam," said he, "we 
 meant so to deceive you, but it is needless any longer, 
 we belong to a frigate belonging to the States of Amer- 
 ica, our business was with the Lord of the House, to 
 take him on board our prisoner, as he is absent our next 
 orders are to demand all your plate, produce it directly, 
 we are masters of this house and everything in it, it is 
 needless to resist." "I am very sensible of that" said 
 I, called Daniel, told him what was wanted, ordered 
 him to get it, and followed him to the pantry. Whether 
 what I did after was right or wrong you must deter- 
 mine, I found Daniel filling one of the maid's aprons 
 with whatever he could lift first to hide it, I made him 
 lay it down again, resolving not to dispute or deny it 
 to them, by which means they very deliberately called 
 for sacks, put everything up, they now called, "Then 
 where is the teapot and coffee pot?" I made them 
 also be produced, they still insisted there was more. I 
 assured them there was no more to the best of my 
 knowledge, so they took up their booty, he next said
 
 310 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 he had orders to walk through the house, he did so, 
 but took nothing. Upon the whole, I must say they 
 behaved civilly, the men on the outside of the house 
 were each armed with a musket, and bayonet, two 
 large pistols and a hanger, the doors were open, none 
 of them offered to come in, nor asked for anything, 
 everybody was out and asking questions, they said 
 the orders given were to behave civilly and take noth- 
 ing but plate. Of the two officers one was a civil 
 young man in a green uniform, an anchor on his buttons, 
 which were white, he came to the house in a blue great- 
 coat, he was but second, the principal one was in blue, 
 no uniform, and seemed by nature a very disagreeable, 
 and one may say a bad man, had a vile blackguard 
 look, still kept civil as well he might, but I should sus- 
 pect might have been rough enough had he met with 
 provocation, and that was one reason why I never left 
 him, for the anger every one was in might have led 
 them to say what was at all their tongue's ends. But 
 if no accident had ensued, I now see some plate might 
 have been saved, by leaving them to the servants, for 
 they went nowhere below but the pantry, did not look 
 sharp about there, and looked alarmed when they saw 
 the bewildered crowd at the door of it. At going off 
 they said they belonged to the Ranger frigate, Captain 
 Paul Jones, Esquire, commander. While they were 
 about the house John Archer made his escape, unde- 
 ceived those met concerning their being a press gang, 
 alarmed the town, too much indeed as they thought 
 they had fired the house. Very soon a great multitude 
 were in the Isle, and some few arms, but of no use to 
 prevent their getting off, which I couldn't regret as 
 bloodshed might have followed, and probably no good 
 could have been done. We have seen no more of 
 them. It was immediately known that this Paul Jones 
 is one John Paul, born at Arbigland, who once com-
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 311 
 
 manded a Kirkcudbright vessel belonging to Mr. Muir 
 and others, a great villain as ever was born, guilty of 
 many crimes and several murders by ill usage, was 
 tried and condemned for one, escaped, and followed a 
 piratical life, till he engaged with the Americans. He 
 seems to delight in that still, as robbing a house was 
 below the dignity of the States of America. The 
 sailors at the door told, their Captain was born at 
 Berrick, knew my Lord, (whose name and the name of 
 the place those in the house pretended ignorance of) 
 had a great opinion of him, and for that reason had 
 given orders that no more should be done. 
 
 Having refreshed themselves with a drink of Scotch 
 whiskey, served by the reluctant Daniel, the major- 
 domo of the castle, the party of raiders made a quiet 
 retreat, and joining the captain, who was waiting for 
 them on the shore, returned to the Ranger, which imme- 
 diately sailed out of sight. 
 
 The alarm of this surprising occurrence spread in- 
 stantly to the adjoining village of Kirkcudbright. 
 Arms were distributed and an old gun levelled at a dis- 
 tant object, which in their terror the villagers took for a 
 ship; it was discovered later to be a rock emerging 
 from the water, and the discomfited defenders of their 
 patron's home and property could only lament the 
 waste of their ammunition and content themselves 
 with expressions of horror and indignation at the deeds 
 of the "rebel" and "marauder" whom they had known 
 in his boyhood and alienated by unmerited obloquy 
 and suspicion. 
 
 The letters of Lady Selkirk abound in the hostile and 
 hearsay rumors hi regard to Jones's early and unfort-
 
 312 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 unate experiences with Mungo Maxwell and the mu- 
 tineer, and reflect the generally accepted belief that the 
 one-time John Paul was a very bad and dangerous 
 character. The fact that Jones informed his men of 
 his "acquaintance" with and high opinion of Lord 
 Selkirk indicates that his delusion of a relationship 
 with his Lordship was strongly in his mind at the time 
 he made his descent upon the estate. Lady Selkirk 
 was naturally ignorant either of any "acquaintance" 
 or of any of the motives which inspired Jones's asser- 
 tion. 
 
 No sooner departed on the Ranger, which was on the 
 next day destined to win its victory over the Drake, 
 Paul Jones bitterly regretted his action in permitting 
 his men to carry off the plate, and immediately decided 
 to return it. In many hours of careful composition he 
 penned the following elaborate letter to the countess, 
 in which he made his offer to return her property, and 
 attempted in strange and affected phrases to explain 
 himself and the motives of his action : 
 
 Ranger, BREST, 8th May, 1778. 
 MADAM : 
 
 It cannot be too much lamented that in the profes- 
 sion of arms, the Officer of fine feelings, and of real sen- 
 sibility, should be under the necessity of winking at any 
 action of persons under his command, which his heart 
 cannot approve. But the reflection is doubly severe 
 when he finds himself obliged in appearance to coun- 
 tenance such Action by his authority. This hard case 
 was mine when on the 23rd. of April last I landed on 
 St. Mary's Isle. Knowing Lord Selkirk's interest with 
 his King, and esteeming as I do his private Character,
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 313 
 
 I wished to make him the happy instrument of allevi- 
 ating the horrors of hopeless captivity, when the brave 
 are overpowered and made Prisoners of War. It was 
 perhaps fortunate for you, Madam, that he was from 
 home, for it was my intention to have taken him on 
 board the Ranger, and to have detained him till thro' 
 his means, a general and fair exchange of Prisoners as 
 well in Europe as in America had been effected. When 
 I was informed by some men whom I met at landing, 
 that his Lordship was absent, I walked back to my 
 boat determining to leave the Island; by the way, 
 however, some officers who were with me could not 
 forbear expressing their discontent, observing that in 
 America no delicacy was shown by the English, who 
 took away all sorts of movable property setting fire 
 not only to towns and to the Houses of the Rich, with- 
 out distinction, but not even sparing the wretched 
 hamlets and Milch cows of the poor and helpless at the 
 approach of an inclement winter. That party had 
 been with me as volunteers the same morning at 
 Whitehaven, some complaisance therefore was their 
 due. I had but a moment to think how I might 
 gratify them, and at the same time do your Ladyship 
 the least injury. I charged the two officers to permit 
 none of the seamen to enter the house, or to hurt any- 
 thing about it to treat you, Madam, with the utmost 
 Respect to accept of the plate which was offered and 
 to come away without making a search or demanding 
 anything else. I am induced to believe that I was 
 punctually obeyed, since I am informed that the 
 plate which they brought away is far short of the 
 inventory which accompanied it. I have gratified my 
 men, and when the plate is sold, I shall become the 
 purchaser, and I will gratify my own feelings by restor- 
 ing it to you, by such conveyance as you shall be 
 pleased to direct. Had the Earl been on board the
 
 314 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Ranger the following Evening, he would have seen the 
 awful Pomp and dreadful Carnage of a Sea Engage- 
 ment, both affording ample subject for the Pencil, as 
 well as melancholy reflection for the contemplative 
 mind. Humanity starts back from such scenes of 
 horror, and cannot but execrate the vile Promoters of 
 this detested War. 
 
 For they t'was they unsheathed the ruthless blade, 
 And Heaven shall ask the Havock it has made. 
 
 The British Ship of War, Drake, mounting 20 guns, 
 with more than her full complement of Officers and 
 Men, besides a number of Volunteers, came out from 
 Carrickfergus, in order to attack and take the Ameri- 
 can Continental Ship of War, Ranger, of 18 guns, and 
 short of her complement of Officers and Men. The 
 Ships met, and the advantage was disputed with great 
 fortitude on each side for an Hour and Five minutes, 
 when the gallant Commander of the Drake fell, and 
 Victory declared in favor of the Ranger. The amiable 
 Lieutenant lay mortally wounded, besides near forty 
 of the inferior officers and crew killed and wounded. 
 A melancholy demonstration of the uncertainty of 
 human prospects, and of the sad reverse of fortune 
 which an hour can produce. I buried them in a spa- 
 cious grave, with the Honours due to the memory of 
 the Brave. Tho' I have drawn my sword in the pres- 
 ent generous struggle for the Right of Men, yet I am 
 not in Arms as an American, nor am I in pursuit of 
 Riches. My fortune is liberal enough, having no wife 
 nor family, and having lived long anough to know that 
 Riches cannot ensure Happiness. I profess myself a 
 citizen of the world, totally unfettered by the little 
 mean distinctions of Climate or of Country, which 
 diminish the benevolence of the Heart and set bounds
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 315 
 
 to Philanthropy. Before this War began I had at an 
 early time of Life, withdrawn from the sea service, in 
 favour of "calm contemplation and poetic ease," I 
 have sacrificed not only my favorite scheme of Life, 
 but the softer affections of the Heart, and my prospects 
 of Domestic Happiness, and I am ready to sacrifice 
 Life also with cheerfulness, if that forfeiture could 
 restore peace and goodwill among mankind. As the 
 feelings of your gentle bosom cannot but be congenial 
 with mine, let me entreat you, Madam, to use your 
 soft persuasive Arts with your Husband, to endeavor 
 to stop this cruel and destructive War, in which 
 Britain can never succeed. Heaven can never coun- 
 tenance the barbarous and unmanly Practices of the 
 Britons in America, which Savages would blush at, and 
 which if not discontinued will soon be retaliated in 
 Britain by a justly enraged people. Should you fail 
 in this, (and I am persuaded you will attempt it, and 
 who can resist the power of such an Advocate?) your 
 endeavors to effect a general Exchange of Prisoners, 
 will be an Act of Humanity, which will afford you 
 Golden Feeling on a Death bed. I hope this cruel 
 contest will soon be closed, but should it continue, I 
 wage no War with the Fair, I acknowledge their Power, 
 and bend before it with profound Submission, let not 
 therefore the amiable Countess of Selkirk regard me 
 as an Enemy, I am ambitious of her esteem and Friend- 
 ship, and would do anything consistent with my duty 
 to merit it. The honor of a line from your hand in 
 answer to this will lay me under a very singular obli- 
 gation, and if I can render you any acceptable service 
 in France, or elsewhere, I hope you see into my char- 
 acter so far as to command me without the least grain 
 of reserve. I wish to know exactly the behavior of my 
 people, as I determine to punish them if they have 
 exceeded their Liberty.
 
 316 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 I have the Honour to be with much Esteem and 
 with profound Respect, 
 Madam, 
 
 Your most obedient and most humble servant, 
 
 PAUL JONES. 
 
 This letter he posted on his return to Brest, and sent 
 open for perusal to the Postmaster-General, Lord De- 
 spencer, with the request that it should be forwarded 
 at once. The accompanying correspondence, includ- 
 ing Lord Selkirk's letter to Paul Jones and to the Post- 
 master-General, with the latter's reply to Selkirk, give 
 a very clear impression of the earl's character and of 
 his opinion of the strange communication of Paul 
 Jones's. Lord Despencer's letter expresses the gen- 
 eral contemptuous opinion which was entertained of 
 Paul Jones: 
 
 Lord Selkirk to Paul Jones (enclosed to Lord De- 
 spencer and returned by him) : 
 
 * 
 
 A MONSIEUR, 
 
 MONSIEUR J. P. JONES, 
 
 Capitaine du Vaisseau Americain, La Ranger, 
 a Brest, 
 
 DUMFRIES, June 9th, 1778. 
 SIR:- 
 
 The letter you wrote to Lady Selkirk of the 8th of 
 May from Brest and enclosed to Lord Despencer, he 
 was so good as to forward, and it came to hand t'other 
 day, as also its duplicate by common post. It was 
 matter of surprise both to my Wife and me, as no 
 apology was expected for your landing from your 
 Privateer at St. Mary's Isle on the 23rd. of April, but
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 317 
 
 as the letter is polite, and you seem very anxious for 
 an answer, I shall therefore transmit this unsealed to 
 Lord Despencer, who, as I have the honour to be 
 well acquainted with him, will I hope excuse my giving 
 him this trouble, and his Lordship, as Post Master 
 General will judge whether or not it is proper to be 
 forwarded to you, as a letter by common post would 
 certainly be stopped at the London Office. Your la- 
 menting the necessity of these things in the Profession 
 of Arms, and of being obliged to gratify your Officers 
 by permitting them to go to my house, and carry off 
 some plate, and your expressing the great sensibility of 
 your feelings at what your heart cannot approve, are 
 things which we, who have no knowledge of you, nor of 
 your character, but by report, can form no proper judg- 
 ment of, but must leave to your own Conscience, and 
 to the Almighty Judge of the real motives of all actions. 
 You certainly are in the right, Sir, in saying that it was 
 fortunate for Lady Selkirk that I was from home, as 
 you intended to carry me off and detain me prisoner, 
 for had that happened, I dread what might have been 
 its effect upon my Wife, then well advanced in her 
 pregnancy. I own I do not understand how a man of 
 Sensibility to fine feelings could reconcile this to what his 
 heart approved, especially as the carrying me off could 
 have no possible effect for the purpose you mention 
 which you say was, "knowing my interest with the 
 King, your intention was to detain me, until through 
 my means, a general and fair exchange of prisoners, as 
 well in Europe as in America had been effected." 
 Now, Sir, nothing can be more erroneous than these 
 Ideas, for I have no interest whatever with the King, 
 and am scarce known to him, being very seldom in 
 London, scarce six months in whole, during these last 
 one and twenty years. With regard to the King's Min- 
 isters, I neither have nor can have any interest with
 
 318 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 them, as I have generally disapproved of most of their 
 measures, and in particular of almost their whole con- 
 duct in the unhappy and iUjudged American War. 
 And as to a general exchange of Prisoners being effected 
 through my means, I am altogether at a loss how any 
 man of sense could entertain such an Idea. I am 
 neither a Military nor a Ministerial Man. I neither 
 have nor ever had a Ministerial office, Employment or 
 Pension, nor any connection with Administration, nor 
 am I in Parliament, and except having the disadvantage 
 of a useless Scotch title, I am in all respects as much a 
 Private Country Gentleman, as any one can be, living 
 a retired life in the country, and engaging in no factions 
 whatever. How then would it have been possible for 
 such a man to effect a general exchange of Prisoners? 
 When so many men of great power and influence in 
 both houses of Parliament have not been able to bring 
 it about. You must, therefore, be sensible on reflec- 
 tion, Sir, that you have proceeded on a very improper 
 and mistaken notion, and that had your attempt suc- 
 ceeded, its only effect would have been to distress a 
 family that never injured any person, and whose wishes 
 have certainly been very friendly to the Constitutions 
 and Just Liberties of America. You exclaim on the 
 barbarities committed in America, and say they will be 
 retalliated in Britain if not discontinued. I have 
 always been extremely sorry at the accounts of these 
 things, no man can be a greater enemy to all ungenerous 
 inhumanities in war than I am. God knows best which 
 side he began those things, and which has most to ac- 
 count for, but it is certainly the general opinion hi 
 Britain, that the American began the unusual and 
 cruel practices complained of, and first against their 
 own countrymen who adhered to the British Govern- 
 ment. In your letter you profess yourself a Citizen of 
 the World, and that you have drawn your sword in
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 319 
 
 support of the Rights of Man, yet you say you are not 
 in arms as an American, nor in pursuit of Riches. If 
 you are not in arms as an American, I do not under- 
 stand in what character you act, and unless you have 
 an American Commission, I doubt the laws of war and 
 of nations would not be very favorable to you as a citi- 
 zen of the World, which, however, ought to be a very 
 honorable character, and you will do well to endeavor 
 to act up to the humanity and honour of it. Consider 
 then, Sir, the impropriety and danger to the Common 
 Interests, and happiness of Society, in your departing 
 from the established and usual practice of Modern War. 
 Nothing does more honour to Mankind, than the gen- 
 erous humanity and mildness introduced in War of late 
 ages, through all the best civilized parts of Europe, and 
 its violation is always disapproved of and generally re- 
 sented by the Ministers of every State. I am there- 
 fore persuaded that neither the French Government 
 nor the Congress, would have countenanced your 
 carrying me off, nor would have permitted me to be de- 
 tained. Their own coasts are as much exposed to such 
 enterprises as ours, and they will not wish to introduce 
 such things into the practice of war, as can have no 
 effect upon the great and general operations of it, but 
 would only add to its calamities. It was certainly fort- 
 unate both for Lady Selkirk and me, that I was from 
 home, and it was also fortunate for you, Sir, that your 
 officers and men behaved well, for had any of my family 
 suffered outrage, murder or violence, no quarter of the 
 Globe should have secured you nor even some of those 
 under whose commission you act, from my vengeance. 
 But, Sir, I am happy that their welfare enables me to 
 inform you, that the Orders you mention in your letter 
 were punctually obeyed by your two Officers and Men, 
 who in every respect behaved as well as could be ex- 
 pected on such an occasion. All the men remained on
 
 320 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 the outside of the house, were civil and did no injury, 
 the two officers alone came within, and behaved with 
 civility, and we were all sorry to hear afterwards that 
 the younger officer in green uniform was killed in your 
 engagement with the Drake, for he in particular showed 
 so much civility and so apparent a dislike at the busi- 
 ness he was then on, that it is surprising how he should 
 have been one of the proposers of it. What you men- 
 tion is certainly so, that some of the Plate was left, 
 but that was contrary to Lady Selkirk's intention and 
 to her orders, but happened partly by accident, con- 
 fusion and hurry, and partly by the improper inclina- 
 tions of some servants, for which they were severely 
 reprimanded afterwards. So much was it contrary to 
 Lady Selkirk's intentions, that she, having met a ser- 
 vant carrying some Plate out of the way, ordered it 
 instantly to be taken back and given up, and indeed 
 her giving the inventory along with it, tho' not asked 
 for, proves that she meant it all to go, as the inventory 
 would only serve to show, what she would not have in- 
 clined to be known, had she intended or believed any 
 was left, and indeed had your Officers taken time to 
 examine it, they would have got all, by means of the 
 inventory, but the only thing they observed wanting 
 was a tea pot and coffee pot, and on mentioning it, the 
 servant immediately brought them. This circum- 
 stance, however, proves also what I have pleasure in 
 acknowledging, that your Officers obeyed your orders 
 in making no search, for which, Sir, you are entitled to 
 our thanks, and I most willingly give them. Tho' you 
 say nothing improper about what was left, nor can 
 Lady Selkirk be thought at all accountable for it, yet 
 she chooses these things to be mentioned, as she said 
 to your officers she believed it was all delivered, and 
 she would be sorry if any person whatever should be- 
 lieve her capable of deceit. The little Plate that was
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 321 
 
 left, will seem greater by the inventory than it was in 
 reality, of the six candle sticks left, two are of a very 
 small old fashioned kind, and belonged to Lady Sel- 
 kirk's Grandmother, and are not one-third of the 
 weight of those now in fashion, the other two are little 
 flat trifles made exceedingly small, for the purpose of 
 standing in a cabinet for the purpose of sealing letters, 
 the teaspoons and also some spoons of an inferior make, 
 used at the housekeepers table, by not being kept in 
 the Butler's Pantry were forgot, together with some 
 other very small things of little value, all the larger 
 things left were of the Birmingham plated kind. Your 
 genteel offer, Sir, of returning the plate is very polite, 
 but at the same time neither Lady Selkirk nor I can 
 think of accepting it, as you must purchase it you say 
 for that purpose, but if your delicacy makes you unwill- 
 ing to keep that share of its value which as Captain 
 you are entitled to, without purchasing, I would in that 
 case wish that part to be given to those private men 
 who were on the party, as an encouragement for then- 
 good behaviour. You, Sir, are entitled to what is more 
 honorable, viz: the Praise of having your men under 
 good discipline, which on all occasions I take care to 
 make known. 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 SELKIRK. 
 
 Lord Selkirk to Lord Despencer: 
 
 MY LORD: 
 
 Your obliging attention in sending Lady Selkirk that 
 strange letter of Apologies Jones wrote from Brest, has 
 emboldened me to give you this additional trouble, and 
 makes me take the liberty of enclosing to you my 
 answer to him, which otherwise I should not know how 
 to send. I presume there is no impropriety in allowing 
 my letter to go on. I leave that to your better judg-
 
 322 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 ment and knowledge. He is such an odd fellow by 
 what I hear of him, (for we were perfectly unac- 
 quainted with him till his landing at my house) that it 
 is not easy to know how to write to him, nor yet very 
 proper to neglect answering him, since he is anxious to 
 get one. You would see by his strange ridiculous bom- 
 bast letter, that he is altogether an exotick character. 
 I am not entirely convinced that he is the man that the 
 people of this country say he is, if he is not that man, 
 he seems to be an enthusiast, absurd and ignorant of 
 the springs and moves of our affairs, and as such I 
 would wish to convince him that he had no business 
 to meddle with me, But if he is the man whom the 
 people here believe him to be, he is both a dangerous 
 and worthless fellow by all accounts I can hear of him. 
 He is said to be a most cruel fellow, to have committed 
 no less than three murders, and that in absconding 
 from the West Indies after the last one, he fled to 
 America, and so commenced heroic vindicator of the 
 Rights of Mankind, and the Officer of fine feelings. I 
 have made my letter to him intolerably long, but I 
 could not well help it, unless I had given him a very 
 short answer, which might have made him burn my 
 house at his next trip to these coasts, but we should 
 give the Devil his due, he certainly, be who he will, 
 behaved well at my house, notwithstanding that some 
 Plate was taken away. His letter was so long and so 
 absurd, that it has forced me to be very diffuse also, 
 and perhaps as absurd, to think of arguing with the 
 Captain of a Privateer. If you do not send the letter, 
 be so good as to return it, tho' I think there can be no 
 harm in sending it. 
 
 I have the honor to be with much regard and esteem 
 Your Lordship's most obedient and most humble 
 servant 
 
 SELKIRK.
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 323 
 
 From Lord Despencer to Lord Selkirk: 
 
 June 22nd, 1778. 
 MY LORD: 
 
 I am upon all occasions extremely desirous to obey 
 your commands when I think I can do it with pro- 
 priety, but I cannot help doubting, in the situation I 
 am in, the propriety of my forwarding a letter to such 
 a Rascal and Rebel as this Jones; a letter directed 
 to him must of course be opened at the Post Office. 
 This being the case, and my real sentiments, I hope 
 your Lordship will excuse my returning you the letter 
 you sent me to forward to such a person. 
 
 Your Lordship's most obedient and most humble 
 servant, 
 
 LE DESPENCER. 
 
 A long series of difficulties incident to the valuation 
 of the plate delayed for several years its return. In 
 the year 1779, before Jones's cruise in the Bon Homme 
 Richard, he finally succeeded, with the help of Jona- 
 than Williams, in getting it away from Mr. Schweig- 
 hauser, the Continental agent at Nantes, but it was 
 not until February 12, 1784, that Jones wrote to Lord 
 Selkirk announcing that in consequence of the permis- 
 sion communicated to him through the latter's son, 
 Lord Daer, he had ordered the plate to be for- 
 warded to the care of Lord Selkirk's sister-in-law, the 
 Countess of Morton, in London. "My sole induce- 
 ment," he declared in this letter, "was to turn the at- 
 tention of my men and stop their rage from breaking 
 out and retalliating on your house and effects, the too 
 wanton burnings and desolation that had been com- 
 mitted against their relatives and fellow citizens in
 
 324 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 America by the British, of which I assure you you 
 would have felt the severe consequences had I not 
 fallen on an expedient to prevent it, and hurried my 
 people away before they had time for further reflec- 
 tion. As you were so obliging as to say to Mr. Alex- 
 ander that my people behaved with great decency at 
 your house, I ask the favor of you to announce that 
 circumstance to the public." 
 
 On the 4th of August, 1785, Lord Selkirk replied 
 that the plate, after more than a year of further de- 
 lay, had at last arrived in Scotland, and that he had 
 announced its return, together with his acknowledg- 
 ment of the good behavior of Jones's men to "many 
 people of fashion, and on all occasions both now and 
 formerly, I have done you the justice to tell that you 
 made an offer of returning the plate very soon after 
 your return to Brest." 
 
 The plate finally arrived at Castle Douglas intact, 
 after its many wanderings, with the tea leaves still in 
 the kettle, where even to this day it is offered to the 
 inspection of any American visitors. 
 
 The correspondence relating to the celebrated raid 
 is preserved in the strong-room of the castle, and 
 copies of it have been presented by a descendant of Lord 
 Selkirk to the Navy Department in Washington. 
 
 A very brief letter from Lord Daer to his father, 
 written from Paris in the year 1791, relates his meeting 
 with Jones at the house of the American envoy to 
 Paris, with an expression of surprise that the black- 
 browed marauder was in reality so quiet and esti- 
 mable an individual.
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 325 
 
 Lord Daer to Lord Selkirk: 
 
 PARIS, April 20th, 1791. 
 
 I was carried to-day to take a dinner at Mr. Short's 
 the American Envoy to this Kingdom. I met there 
 Thomas Paine, the author of "The Rights of Man" 
 and Paul Jones. This latter and I had two hours in 
 the room, walking, and at dinner, before either of us 
 knew who the other was. After dinner we were intro- 
 duced, I made him a speech from you, expressive of 
 your obligations to him, for the order in which his men 
 were kept at the landing. I told him how you had 
 first answered his letter. He said he had got your 
 second, and began apologizing for not having answered 
 it. I told him there was no occasion, it had not been 
 expected he should. He seems a sensible little fellow. 
 He is not dark as I had heard. He acknowledged he 
 was from Britain, but said he was settled in America 
 before the war began, and it was then his country. I 
 did not ask him from what part of the kingdom. 
 Yours affectionately, 
 
 DAER. 
 
 Whatever effect Lord Selkirk's extremely sincere 
 epistles might have eventually produced upon Paul 
 Jones, with their evident and entire unconsciousness of 
 any personal knowledge of his correspondent, Jones 
 clearly retained at the tune of his letter to Franklin in 
 March, 1779, his long-cherished belief in some connec- 
 tion with the Selkirk family. 
 
 In the winter of 1780, in reply to a request of the 
 Baron Van der Capellen for a public declaration hi 
 regard to his relationship with Lord Selkirk, he stated 
 that "he had no obligation to Lord Selkirk, except for 
 his good opinion, and that neither himself or his imme-
 
 326 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 diate family were known to the earl except by repu- 
 tation." 
 
 After the close of the Revolution, during his sojourn 
 in Paris, from 1784 to 1786, he dwelt in the same 
 lodging with the author of the already quoted letter in 
 the American Literary Magazine, and to him made his 
 final statement that he was the son of George Paul, 
 Lord Selkirk's gardener. Having been ultimately dis- 
 abused by the character of Lord Selkirk's later epistles, 
 and doubtless by further information concerning the 
 well-known facts of Lord Selkirk's absence from Saint 
 Mary's Isle during the years preceding and following 
 his birth, Jones had finally been compelled to abandon 
 his belief in his aristocratic descent and to conclude 
 that the Duke of Queensbury's unusual interest did 
 not imply any relation to the Selkirk family. 
 
 The statements of Jones himself in regard to his 
 service in the British navy, definitely contained in his 
 letter to Morris, and the unquestionable suggestion of 
 his relationship to Lord Selkirk in the letter to Frank- 
 lin, exist in his own handwriting, and are therefore 
 evidence of an unimpeachable kind. The significance 
 of Mrs. Birnie's suggestion as to the irregularity of his 
 birth is likewise highly important, as she was in a posi- 
 tion to know the facts from her immediate family. 
 
 Jones's statement to his fellow-lodger rests on the 
 authority of a reviewer of a perfectly reliable publica- 
 tion, and the internal evidence of veracity in the writ- 
 ten statement of his informant. It is the only state- 
 ment coming from Jones himself in regard to his 
 paternity. Taken in consideration with the accounts
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 327 
 
 in the Chase narrative and those of Colonel Green in 
 regard to the utterances of Jones to his friends in North 
 Carolina, the above collection of testimony of a mutu- 
 ally confirmatory character bearing upon his early be- 
 lief that he was related to the Selkirk family can admit 
 of little question. 
 
 Without the determining motive which Jones himself 
 so long believed to have actuated the protection and 
 favor of the Duke of Queensbury, it is evident that this 
 unusual attitude must have arisen from the Duke's 
 recognition of the remarkable promise of the child whom 
 he found in the garden at Saint Mary's Isle. 
 
 Wholly unaware, as both Lord and Lady Selkirk un- 
 questionably were, of the delusion existing in Paul 
 Jones's mind as to the connection with their family, the 
 strange letter which they received from an individual 
 known only to them through the disparaging reports 
 current in the adjoining village and county of Kirkcud- 
 bright, must always have been entirely incomprehen- 
 sible. Lord Selkirk's letters are those of a singularly 
 honest and high-minded person, anxious to do full 
 justice to the much-despised man who had dealt so 
 surprisingly with his property. The obscure psychol- 
 ogy of the mind from which emanated the epistle to 
 Lady Selkirk is worth analysis. The first and ruling 
 passion of Paul Jones was ambition; this ambition, 
 abnormal in its intensity, was the motive-power which 
 determined his career. 
 
 While yet of tender years he abandoned his position 
 hi the royal navy for lack of opportunities of quick ad- 
 vancement. This same ambition, combined with great
 
 328 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 capacity, procured him the position of mate and com- 
 mander of trading-vessels while he was still exceed- 
 ingly youthful, and after disastrous adventures and re- 
 verses brought about his astonishing advancement to 
 his conspicuous place in the United States navy. 
 
 Ambition, working unhindered upon his immensely 
 vigorous imagination, built the delusion of an aristo- 
 cratic extraction upon circumstantial evidence, wholly 
 devoid of definite facts. From his self-love and burn- 
 ing determination to force his own valuation of himself 
 into public recognition grew the extraordinary concep- 
 tion of carrying off his supposed father as a captive 
 and the no less extraordinary address to Lady Selkirk. 
 
 From the height to which his untrammelled fancy 
 had raised him he announced himself as the impartial 
 defender of the insulted rights of human nature, de- 
 claring himself "totally unfettered by the little mean 
 distinctions of climate or of country." Bearing the 
 American flag, he went so far as to state that he was 
 not in arms as an American, an expression in actual 
 disagreement with his unquestioned devotion to the 
 "country of his fond election" and with the facts. 
 This unsympathetic declaration can only be explained 
 by the torturing consciousness of his attitude toward 
 his native land, and of the public odium which he 
 realized he had thereby incurred. 
 
 Together with this deep-lying consciousness, forcing 
 him into the impartial position of a "citizen of the 
 world," were the long and bitter reflections of his 
 youth upon the stigma of illegitimacy and the later 
 and undeserved obloquy which had made his name a
 
 THE SELKIRK RAID 329 
 
 byword of contempt in his home and driven him into 
 exile. 
 
 These were the sources from which emerged, in the 
 poetic phraseology of the period, this curious apologia 
 for his character and motives which has for so many 
 years puzzled the students of his character. 
 
 He was exceedingly proud of the carefully turned 
 phrases; sent the letter open to the Postmaster-General 
 to insure its official recognition, and furnished many 
 copies to his valued friends. Without his extraordi- 
 nary passion for distinction Paul Jones would never have 
 emerged from the obscure and unfortunate conditions 
 of his birth; but the attack upon Lord Selkirk's estate, 
 together with the strange letter which resulted from it, 
 remain as the fantastic error and the culminating 
 extravagance of the tyrant motive which enslaved 
 him. 1 
 
 1 In a report to the board of admiralty of the year 1781 is found the 
 following reference to his descent upon Saint Mary's Isle: 
 
 "I landed the day after in Scotland in order to take some nobleman 
 prisoner as a hostage for the good treatment and exchange of our 
 countrymen in England. The Earl of Selkirk lived near the shore, and 
 it was my intention to take him." 
 
 This unnecessary disclaimer of any especial interest hi this particular 
 nobleman is very significant in its disagreement with Jones's habitual 
 and transparent frankness. Having known Saint Mary's Isle since his 
 childhood, it would have been far more natural if he had assigned this 
 familiarity as the reason of bis choice of Lord Selkirk as a hostage.
 
 CHAPTER XH 
 SIMPSON 
 
 THE weather, fortunately, remained moderate for 
 twenty-four hours after the engagement with the 
 Drake, so that Jones was able to refit the two ships 
 and get them in readiness for the return voyage to 
 Brest. These necessary preparations did not prevent 
 the victorious captain from capturing a Whitehaven 
 brigantine, which out of curiosity had ventured too near 
 the Ranger and her prize. The weather soon became 
 unfavorable and the wind rose and shifted to the north. 
 Jones therefore determined to give up his design of 
 returning as he came, by Saint George's Channel, and 
 steered a northerly course with the purpose of rounding 
 the coast of Ireland. This brought him off Belfast 
 Lough toward nightfall of the day following the battle. 
 "It was now time," he relates, "to release the honest 
 Irishmen whom I took here on the twenty-first, and as 
 the poor fellows had lost their boat, she having sunk, 
 in the late stormy weather, I was happy in my power 
 to give them the necessary sum to purchase everything 
 new which they had lost. I gave them also a good 
 boat to transport themselves ashore, and sent with them 
 two infirm men, on whom I bestowed the last guinea 
 in my possession to defray their traveling expenses to 
 then- proper home in Dublin. They took with them 
 
 330
 
 SIMPSON 331 
 
 one of the Drake's sails, which would sufficiently explain 
 what had happened to the volunteers. The grateful 
 Irishmen were enraptured, and expressed their joy in 
 three huzzas as they passed the Ranger's quarter." 
 
 Jones's invariable humanity to his prisoners, as 
 shown in the case of the Canadian fishermen, whom he 
 had furnished with a ship to transport them across 
 the Northern ocean after he had effected the destruc- 
 tion of the enemy's fisheries at Canso, was again shown 
 in his kindness to these Irishmen as well as in a very 
 courteous letter which he wrote at this time to inform 
 the relations of Lieutenant Dobbs of the circumstances 
 of his death, which occurred two days after the capture 
 of the Drake. 
 
 On the 20th Jones placed his first lieutenant, Simp- 
 son, in command of the Drake, with careful instructions 
 to keep close to the Ranger, to assist him in any en- 
 counter with British ships, and in case of unavoidable 
 separation from his consort, to steer directly to the 
 port of Brest. The Drake, however, was in tow of the 
 Ranger during the passage around the northern coast 
 of Ireland, the two vessels pursuing their course with- 
 out incident until the morning of the 5th of May, when 
 they were off Ushant. Jones then perceived a strange 
 sail at a short distance, and ordering the hawser cut 
 which attached him to the Drake, started off alone in 
 pursuit of the prize. Finding that it was a Swede, he im- 
 mediately turned back to rejoin the Drake, but instead 
 of waiting for the Ranger, the Drake hauled close by 
 the wind, so that when the Ranger hailed her she was 
 nearly out of sight. Owing to this unexpected circum-
 
 332 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 stance, Jones was unable to chase a number of large 
 merchant-ships, which sailed by him into the channel, 
 being compelled to run after the Drake, which still 
 steered her course away from him. Toward noon the 
 Ranger came up nearly abreast of the Drake, but con- 
 siderably to leeward, when the wind shifted, and the 
 Drake again showed her heels to her pursuer. Jones 
 flew his signals in vain during the afternoon and all 
 through the night, and when morning dawned gave 
 chase to a sail which he perceived at a very great dis- 
 tance. The vessel showed no intention of speaking 
 the Ranger, although, as Jones afterward learned, she 
 was recognized and her signals plainly seen. Jones 
 finally succeeded in coming up with the fleeing ship, 
 when he discovered that she was no other than the 
 truant Drake. Exceedingly angry over his lost time, 
 exasperated at length by this last exhibition of insub- 
 ordination, and no doubt fortified by his recent suc- 
 cesses, he now suspended Simpson for disobedience of 
 orders, and put his second lieutenant, Elijah Hall, in 
 command of the Drake. This entirely justifiable action 
 was destined to involve him in many complications and 
 clouded the pleasure of his success. 
 
 On the evening of the 8th of May the two ships 
 arrived finally off the mouth of Brest harbor. Jones 
 had brought in as many as two hundred prisoners, and 
 his first concern was to insure by an equal exchange 
 the release of the American captives who had long been 
 languishing in the British military jails. His first act 
 on landing at Brest was to pay an early morning visit 
 to his friend Count D'Orvilliers, to consult with him as
 
 SIMPSON 333 
 
 to the best methods of avoiding any miscarriage of his 
 purpose. D'Orvilliers welcomed him with great cor- 
 diality, and, although considering that he was bound to 
 announce the capture of the English prisoners and the 
 result of Jones's cruise to his government, which he did 
 by letter on this very day, he advised Jones to forestall 
 any possible interference with the execution of his 
 plans by equipping the Drake with all speed, and send- 
 ing the prisoners off to America before any answer 
 could arrive from Paris. The ill-advised policy of re- 
 leasing English prisoners on parole, without assurance 
 of exchange, had rendered all Franklin's earnest efforts 
 for the release of the American captives quite ineffect- 
 ual. This policy had been followed by the captains of 
 the American cruisers in Europe, for the reason that 
 they had no funds with which to maintain their pris- 
 oners. Jones was determined to make a better use of 
 the two hundred he had captured, and had no inten- 
 tion of letting one of them go without exchange. 
 
 His first letter to the commissioners was written im- 
 mediately after his consultation with D'Orvilliers: 
 
 Ranger, BREST, May 9th, 1778. 
 GENTLEMEN: 
 
 I have the honor to acquaint you that I arrived here 
 last night and brought in with me the British ship of 
 war Drake, of 20 guns, with English colors inverted 
 under the American stars. I shall soon give you the 
 particulars of my cruise; in the meantime you will 
 see some account of it in a letter of this date from 
 Count D'Orvilliers to Monseigneur de Sartine. I have 
 brought in two hundred prisoners, and as Comte D'Or- 
 villiers is apprehensive that as war with England is
 
 334 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 not yet declared, they may perhaps be given up with- 
 out exchange, I have resolved to equip the Drake with 
 all possible expedition at Cammeret, and to send the 
 prisoners in her to America, so fully am I convinced of 
 the bad policy of releasing prisoners, especially seamen, 
 without an exchange, that I am determined never to 
 do it while there remains an alternative. I should not, 
 however, have taken a resolution of such importance 
 without consulting with you, had not Comte D'Or- 
 villiers told me that the return of a letter from the 
 Minister might perhaps put it out of my power, and 
 therefore recommended me that I should lose no time. 
 
 Notwithstanding this, you will perhaps find it expe- 
 dient to endeavor to effect an exchange of those pris- 
 oners in Europe, and should the Minister agree to hold 
 them avowedly as prisoners of war, you will of course 
 inform me thereof per express, so as to reach me if 
 possible before the departure of the Drake. 
 
 I have suspended and confined Lieutenant Simpson 
 for disobedience of orders. I have only time at pres- 
 ent to add that I have the honor to be, with much 
 esteem and respect, Gentlemen, 
 Your very obliged, very obedient, very humble servant, 
 
 JOHN PAUL JONES. 
 
 This letter, with its very natural pride in the hitherto 
 unprecedented capture of an English man-of-war, and 
 its glowing reference to the American flag, furnishes a 
 far more consistent and genuine expression of Paul 
 Jones's real devotion to the country of his "fond elec- 
 tion" than the strange self-conscious rhodomontade of 
 the epistle so lately penned to Lady Selkirk. 
 
 As no express arrived to inform him of the commis- 
 sioners' will in regard to the disposition of his prisoners, 
 and as he was anxious already to find the funds with
 
 SIMPSON 335 
 
 which to maintain them, and to clothe and feed his 
 crew, Jones wrote to Franklin on the 16th to announce 
 that he had that day drawn on the commissioners, in 
 favor of M. Bersolle, a bill of 24,000 livres. He was 
 further impelled to this action by the intelligence com- 
 municated to him by the French authorities that the 
 sale of the Ranger's prizes was likely to be indefinitely 
 delayed by the claims of the admiralty board at Brest. 
 His confidence in the support of the representatives of 
 his government, and his continued regard for the wel- 
 fare of the men who had so reluctantly aided him in 
 his cruise, were both destined to severe and afflicting 
 disillusionment. The commissioners declined to honor 
 his bill, and his officers and crew, with scarcely an ex- 
 ception, sympathized with Simpson and wrote to the 
 commissioners to protest against his imprisonment. 
 
 Again, as in the case of his supersedure in rank, 
 Paul Jones was destined to receive blows instead of 
 laurels, and "roses" which he complained "had a 
 superabundance of thorns." His feelings in regard to 
 his rebuff at the hands of the commissioners are ex- 
 pressed in the continuation of his detailed account of 
 the cruise sent on the 27th. No reply had arrived in 
 answer to his letters of the 9th and 16th, nor was 
 there any indication that any report had reached the 
 commissioners through D'Orvilliers's letter to Sartine, 
 although the latter had replied to D'Orvilliers. "M. 
 Bersolle," Jones writes to the commissioners, " has this 
 moment informed me of the fate of my bills, the more 
 extraordinary, as I have made no use of your letter of 
 credit of the 10th of January last, whereby I then
 
 336 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 seemed entitled to call for half the amount of my last 
 draft, and I did not expect to be thought extravagant 
 when on the 16th current I doubled that demand. I 
 cannot, however, be silent when I find the public credit 
 in the same disgrace. I conceive this might have been 
 prevented. To make me completely wretched M. Ber- 
 solle has told me that he now holds his hand, not only 
 of the necessary articles to refit the ship, but also of 
 the daily provisions. I know not how to find to-mor- 
 row's dinner for the great number of mouths that 
 depend on me for food. Are the Continental ships of 
 war to depend on then* prizes for a daily dinner for 
 their men? Publish it not in Gath. My officers as 
 well as men want clothes, and the prizes are precluded 
 from being sold before further orders from the Min- 
 ister. I will ask you, gentlemen, if I have deserved all 
 this? I am unwilling to think that you have inten- 
 tionally involved me in this sad dilemma at a time 
 when I ought to expect some enjoyment." 
 
 It is evident that Jones would have been wiser had he 
 availed himself first of the letter of credit for 500 
 "Louidores," which he already had in his hands, and 
 then sent an account of his further expenses and neces- 
 sities to the commissioners. This letter of credit was 
 actually written by Arthur Lee himself and that 
 troublesome gentleman would have been compelled to 
 honor it. 
 
 Jones's natural elation at his unprecedented success 
 and his earnest desire to please the disaffected officers 
 and men of the Ranger, coupled with his belief that he 
 was entitled to call for twice the amount of his letter of
 
 SIMPSON 337 
 
 credit, after his cruise had been successfully completed, 
 and twice the number of months had elapsed for which 
 this letter of credit was supposed to suffice, furnish the 
 excuse and explanation of his act. The difficulties 
 which this very pardonable indiscretion brought upon 
 him were many, and were complicated by reasons of 
 which he was then unaware. The commissioners were 
 exceedingly embarrassed for funds, but Franklin would 
 unquestionably have found some means of relieving his 
 immediate necessities if his hands had not been tied 
 temporarily by the radical change which had taken 
 place at Passy, owing to the arrival of John Adams, on 
 April the 1st, to take the place of Silas Deane. 
 
 Adams was, at least at this tune, in sympathy with 
 Arthur Lee, and Lee's policy of suspicion and obstruc- 
 tion was now in control. Adams belonged to the New 
 England party in Congress, who were secretly opposed 
 to both Washington and Franklin and jealous of their 
 power. He was supported very strongly by the pow- 
 erful Lee brothers in this attitude, and they repre- 
 sented a dangerous opposition to the great constructive 
 leaders who were laboring not only for the indepen- 
 dence but the permanent establishment of the new 
 nation. 
 
 A glance at the secret journals of the Continental 
 Congress, now open to public perusal, with their records 
 of the small majorities which defeated the Con way 
 cabal, and the attempts of the Lees to place their 
 brother Arthur in sole control in Paris, furnish a terri- 
 fying retrospect of the dangers which nearly dethroned 
 Washington in America and Franklin in Europe, and
 
 338 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 narrowly failed of destroying the usefulness of the 
 great leaders in the republic at the moment of its 
 birth. John Adams was afterward convinced of Lee's 
 malicious inefficiency, but now distinctly supported 
 him in the acts which were prompted by the latter's 
 insane jealousy and suspicion. A sweeping reform was 
 instituted in the business methods of the commissioners' 
 office at Passy by Adams, at the instigation of Lee, and 
 a minute examination of accounts was made and 
 changes brought about which Franklin himself punc- 
 tiliously aided and abetted. 1 
 
 Jonathan Williams, holding his appointment as Con- 
 tinental agent at Nantes under the authority of the 
 commissioners, was dismissed, with his uncle's concur- 
 rence, on the peremptory order of Adams and Lee; and 
 Lee's brother, William, who had been informed by an 
 unconfirmed private letter to Deane from a member of 
 Congress, that that body had appointed him, with 
 direct and superior authority, to the post of Conti- 
 nental agent, was sent to Nantes to supersede Jonathan 
 Williams and to investigate his papers. William Lee 
 spent a couple of months at Nantes, and then departed, 
 leaving one Schweighauser, a foreign merchant and a 
 most troublesome and venial Jew, in charge of the 
 American affairs at the French port. John Ross's bills 
 were also held up, and it was entirely natural, under 
 such a sweeping regime of investigation and suspicion, 
 
 1 Franklin's accounts when presented to Congress were found to 
 show a discrepancy of exactly three cents, and those of Jonathan 
 Williams, still preserved by his descendants, were also found to be 
 without error. His commissions for the sale of prizes were exactly 
 half the sum of Schweighauser's.
 
 SIMPSON 339 
 
 that Paul Jones, at the moment of his hard-won suc- 
 cess, should come in for his share of the trouble. 
 
 Other unfortunate circumstances which probably 
 influenced Franklin's concurrence in the rebuff which 
 was dealt out to Jones were the arrival of Simpson's 
 complaint at his imprisonment, supported by the entire 
 ship's crew, and the non-arrival of any account of ex- 
 penditures to explain Jones's draft, or of any official 
 report of his cruise. It does not appear why none of 
 Jones's letters had reached Passy, but the first com- 
 munication from the commissioners, dated the 23d, 
 written throughout in the autograph of Arthur Lee, is 
 significant of his temporary ascendency and is frankly 
 hostile and mandatory in tone: 
 
 To CAPTAIN PAUL JONES 
 
 Sm: 
 
 We have heard of your arrival at Brest with a 
 prize, and are surprised that you have not given us an 
 account of that, and of your other proceedings. We 
 desire that you will not take any measures relative to 
 the prize and prisoners, you may have made, except 
 in securing them, nor incur any considerable expense 
 without our orders. 
 
 Upon receipt of this, you will immediately send us an 
 account of what you have done upon your cruise; of 
 what your prizes consist of; what repairs you want; 
 and what further measures you propose to pursue. 
 Upon all these subjects you will wait our directions. 
 Lieutenant Simpson has stated to us your having put 
 him under arrest for disobeying orders. As a Court 
 Martial must by order of Congress consist of three 
 Captains, three Lieutenants, and three captains of 
 Marines, and these cannot be had here, it is our desire
 
 340 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 that he may have a passage procured for him by the 
 first opportunity to America, allowing him whatever 
 may be necessary for his defence. As the consequences 
 of an arrest in foreign countries are thus extremely 
 troublesome, they should be well considered before they 
 are made. 
 
 This was scant recognition for the brilliant success 
 which Jones had achieved at such risk and with such a 
 singular display of his sole courage and pertinacity. 
 
 The next communication which was despatched to 
 him from the commissioners was the letter of the 26th, 
 which announced the refusal of his bill. This docu- 
 ment was not the sole work of Lee, but was inscribed 
 in the autograph of Adams and signed by all three of 
 the commissioners. It contained a brief acknowledg- 
 ment of his services, congratulating him on his "suc- 
 cess and safe arrival at Brest," as well as on the "honor 
 you have acquired by your conduct." It informed him 
 that a new Continental agent had replaced his friend 
 Williams at Nantes, and that all applications for his 
 expenses should be made through Schweighauser. The 
 new appointee of Arthur Lee showed not the slightest 
 inclination to attend to his duties, and Jones found 
 himself in a very critical condition of poverty and 
 distress. He applied to Comte D'Orvilliers and the 
 Intendant of the Marine at Brest, as well as to the 
 Due de Chartes, who lent him the necessary money 
 on his own personal credit; and thus relieved by his 
 French friends, when his own government had left him 
 in the lurch, he was able to feed his prisoners and his 
 crew. Jones was tempted to publish the reasons for his
 
 SIMPSON 341 
 
 extraordinary predicament, but wisely refrained, con- 
 tenting himself with pouring out his indignation pri- 
 vately in various letters to his friends, expressed with 
 his characteristic freedom and force. 
 
 "That America should suffer this damned disgrace," 
 he wrote to Doctor Bancroft, "in the presence of the 
 French fleet, and the knowledge of every officer and 
 person here, covers me with shame. None of my prizes 
 can be sold, and my officers and men want the withal 
 to cover their nakedness. Mr. Williams I expect will be 
 with you when this appears; he will not forget his 
 suffering friend at Brest." To Carmichael and Ross, 
 and Williams himself, he also wrote, thanking the last 
 named for his sympathetic letter, and avowing that he 
 was in great need of such "cordial drops." "I am so 
 ashamed," he confessed, "that I have thought of shut- 
 ting myself up, except that it would appear that I 
 deserved it, Perhaps, my friend, you will bring fair 
 weather and sunshine, or take me in tow until I can 
 repair my rigging." About the commissioners' letter 
 he wrote: "I wish you could see a letter of the 25th ult. 
 spun from the brains of Arthur Lee, the Commissioners 
 all sign it, tho' the first, (Franklin) is the last, and the 
 last, (Lee) is the first. I know that the letter is not of 
 Franklin's dictation." In a few days, an encourag- 
 ing and complimentary epistle arrived from Franklin, 
 which showed that Jones's powerful ally was still in 
 sympathy with him and secretly engaged in his behalf. 
 The reference it contained to Jones's letter to Lady 
 Selkirk, coming from the pen of the author of the 
 "Autobiography," showed an indulgent comprehension
 
 342 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 of Jones's chivalric intentions. What Franklin really 
 thought of the literary style of this bombastic example 
 of the philosophical jargon of the eighteenth century, 
 does not appear. 
 
 PASSY, May 27th, 1778. 
 DEAR SIR: 
 
 I received yours of the 18th enclosing one for the 
 Countess of Selkirk, which I forwarded this day by the 
 way of Holland, as you desire. It is a gallant letter, 
 and must give her ladyship a high and just opinion of 
 your generosity and nobleness of mind. The Jersey 
 Privateers do us a great deal of mischief by intercepting 
 our supplies. It has been mentioned to me that your 
 small vessel commanded by so brave an officer, might 
 render great service by following them where greater 
 ships dare not venture their bottoms, or being accom- 
 panied and supported by some frigates from Brest at 
 the proper distance, might draw them out and take 
 them. I wish you to consider this, as it comes from 
 high authority, and that you would immediately let 
 me know what you think of it, and when your ship 
 would be ready. I have written to England about the 
 exchange of your prisoners. I congratulate you most 
 cordially on your late success, and wish for a continu- 
 ance and increase of the honor you have acquired. It 
 will always be a pleasure to me to contribute what 
 may lie hi my power towards your advancement, and 
 that of the brave officers under your command. 
 
 This word of praise from Franklin produced the 
 happy result of instantly calming Jones's irritation and 
 restoring to him his equanimity; such had been the in- 
 fluence of his friend Hewes in allaying the tormenting 
 sense of injury which followed his supersedure in rank;
 
 SIMPSON 343 
 
 such was invariably the result of the lightest word of 
 sympathy or commendation from any friend in whom 
 he believed. 
 
 The plan of decoying the Jersey privateers was cal- 
 culated to redound but little to Jones's credit, although 
 accompanied with considerable danger; but with his 
 characteristic disinterestedness he signified his readi- 
 ness to cany it out, sending by return post a careful 
 letter filled with wise suggestions as to the best methods 
 of successfully carrying out the plan, and saying that 
 he wished to render "essential services to the cause of 
 America in any measure which might be considered 
 expedient." 
 
 A few days later the tide of his very natural indigna- 
 tion at the treatment he had received from the com- 
 missioners had so far subsided that he was able to send 
 them a very candid letter of explanation and apology 
 for his unauthorized draft. "I frankly ask your par- 
 don for the liberty I took the 16th ult. when I ventured 
 to sign a draft upon you for the purpose of supplying 
 the people under my command with necessary clothing. 
 I hope that you do not impute to me a desire to receive 
 presents of the public's money. On the contrary, I 
 need not now assert that I stepped forth at the begin- 
 ning, from nobler motives. My accounts before I left 
 America, testify that I am more than 1500 pounds in 
 advance for the public service, exclusive of any con- 
 cern with the sloop of war Ranger, and as for wages, I 
 never received any. The rules whereby Congress have 
 been pleased to command me to regulate my conduct 
 in the Navy, authorize me to issue my warrant to the
 
 344 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 agent, and I humbly conceive that it is his province 
 to furnish me with an estimate of the amount of ex- 
 penses." 
 
 In this way Jones very properly reminded the com- 
 missioners, with a view to enlightening Lee in particu- 
 lar, of his own direct relations with Congress. He also 
 observed with point that all disagreeable altercations 
 would have been avoided if they had written to inform 
 him of their determination to change the Continental 
 agent, and complained that the new incumbent of the 
 office had failed to be present at Brest to conduct the 
 necessary sale of prizes or to send any representative. 
 
 The first-fruits of Lee's reform were not particularly 
 successful. It is interesting to record that Bersolle's 
 accounts were properly paid, after Bersolle himself had 
 laid his complaint before the French minister of marine, 
 and that Jones himself was also supplied directly with 
 funds for the necessities of his crew. 
 
 The long account of his cruise had meanwhile reached 
 Franklin, giving at last a full idea of the real value of 
 his achievements and of his unique abilities, with the 
 result that Franklin began at once to provide the full- 
 est possible opportunities for their further use. He 
 now availed himself secretly of his unimpaired influence 
 with the French court, and having received Sartine's 
 assurance that the King would favor his wishes, on the 
 1st of June he sent off to Jones a letter in which he 
 held out to him the prospect of the long-coveted com- 
 mand of the Indien: 
 
 11 1 have the pleasure of informing you," he wrote, 
 " that it is proposed to give you the command of the
 
 SIMPSON 345 
 
 great ship we have built at Amsterdam. By what you 
 wrote us formerly, I have ventured to say in your be- 
 half that this proposition would be agreeable to you. 
 You will immediately let me know your resolution, 
 which that you may be more clear in taking, I must 
 inform you of some circumstances. She is at present 
 the property of the King, but as there is no war yet 
 declared, you will have the commission and flag of the 
 United States, and act under their orders and laws. The 
 Prince de Nassau will make the cruise with you. She 
 is to be brought here under cover as a French Mer- 
 chantman, to be equipped and manned in France. We 
 hope to exchange your prisoners for as many American 
 sailors, but if that fails, you have your present crew, to 
 be made up here with other nations and French. The 
 other commissioners are not acquainted with this prop- 
 osition as yet, and you see by the nature of it that it is 
 necessary to be kept secret till we have got the vessel 
 here, for fear of difficulties in Holland and interrup- 
 tion. You will therefore direct your answer to me 
 alone, it being desired that at present the affair rest 
 between you and me. Perhaps it may be best for you 
 to take a trip up here to concert matters, if in general 
 you approve the idea. 
 
 "I was much pleased with reading your journal which 
 we received yesterday." . . . 
 
 Jones replied to this thrice welcome epistle by return 
 post: "I cannot but be deeply sensible of the honor 
 conferred upon me by the proposition," he declared, 
 "and I really think it affords a fair prospect of success. 
 I shall be happy in opportunities to prove by my con-
 
 346 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 duct how much I wish to meet the continuance of 
 your confidence, and that of the Prince." 
 
 On the 10th Doctor Franklin wrote again, confirming 
 the promise of the Indien, and suggested the possibility 
 that the lately arrived Providence frigate, under Cap- 
 tain Whipple, would join Jones in the cruise. He 
 asked him to come up to Versailles without delay, to 
 consult with the commissioners and the French authori- 
 ties. He gave Jones a hint of the dissatisfaction of 
 Adams and Lee in regard to the insubordination on the 
 Ranger, and the protection afforded its captain by him- 
 self, and concluded with an expression of well-merited 
 confidence and esteem. "The project of giving you 
 this ship pleases me the more as it is a probable open- 
 ing to the higher preferment you so justly merit." 
 
 In obedience to these direct orders Jones now pro- 
 ceeded to Paris, where he became immediately the 
 centre and bone of contention between the opposing 
 commissioners. It is interesting to observe, by the 
 conflicting character of the letters addressed to him 
 from Passy, the attitude of Adams and Lee as con- 
 trasted with that of Franklin. Lee found no difficulty 
 in influencing Adams in his hostile and disparaging at- 
 titude toward Jones, for the latter's sectional prejudice 
 was already very definitely directed against him. The 
 New England statesman consistently resented the pre- 
 ferment which Jones had acquired through the North 
 Carolina member of the marine committee, Mr. Hewes, 
 and referred to Jones as an "emigrant foreigner from 
 the South." Lee, in a letter to the committee of for- 
 eign affairs, entirely omitted to mention any of Jones's
 
 SIMPSON 347 
 
 accomplishments, and compared the victorious Ranger 
 with Conyngham's ship, which the latter had seen fit 
 to withdraw from European service without orders, 
 saying that he "fears the Ranger will share the fate 
 of the Revenge" He enclosed in this same letter a 
 communication severely criticising Jones, signed by 
 the majority of his crew, and said that "the Commis- 
 sioners had done all in their power to bring him and 
 his officers to order, but hitherto in vain." 
 
 In spite of this hostility Jones succeeded in estab- 
 lishing favorable relations with the French minister of 
 marine, and the prospect of procuring the Amsterdam 
 ship, with its promise of an adequate command, greatly 
 encouraged him. It had been reported that the Indien 
 was already in deep water, and would be ready for 
 service without delay, but when the Prince of Nassau 
 went to Holland to take possession of her, he found 
 these representations unfounded. He reported that it 
 would still be three months before the ship could be 
 launched, and also made known the objections of the 
 Dutch Government to permitting the ship to be used 
 against England. The Prince of Nassau was not of 
 the calibre to get anything done which required prac- 
 tical ability. Collaterally related to the French royal 
 family, and possessed of a restless love of adventure, 
 he had been granted the opportunity of sailing with 
 Jones in the projected cruise, but the choice of him as 
 a messenger to the Dutch Government, by the French 
 court, was an unwise one, and the negotiation, which 
 demanded a diplomatic talent far beyond the capacity 
 of this roving paladin, failed of success.
 
 348 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 In later years, in Russia, Jones was destined to be 
 associated with this prince; he found him a false and 
 treacherous companion in arms, and had great reason 
 to regret the unfortunate connection. 
 
 The news of the engagement of the Belle Poule with 
 the Arethusa, with its indication of the rapid approach 
 of open hostilities between France and England, now 
 further added to the embarrassment which the min- 
 ister was under at the reluctance of the Dutch Govern- 
 ment to release the Indien, and Jones saw that he must 
 definitely abandon his hopes of obtaining the vessel. 
 Realizing at this juncture that the main purpose of his 
 coming to Europe was not to be fulfilled, he now pro- 
 posed to return without delay to America, hoping to 
 get the command of some one of the new ships which 
 had been built by the home government. He requested 
 the commissioners to permit him to sail without delay, 
 and orders to that effect were issued to him on the 
 16th of June. 
 
 Jones now wrote an admirable letter to his disaffected 
 crew, announcing that he had arranged on the instant 
 of his arrival at Versailles for the free sale of the prizes, 
 and promising his homesick men a speedy return to 
 America. He wrote that he hoped this good news 
 would be published in the ship, for the "general hap- 
 piness and satisfaction," and said that he would soon 
 be able to convince every person under his command 
 that he took "particular pleasure in making them 
 rich and happy." This posture of affairs was des- 
 tined, however, to last but a few days. The French 
 court again intervened and requested the commis-
 
 SIMPSON 349 
 
 sioners to detain Jones in Europe to act under their 
 orders. 
 
 It was now necessary to find another captain for 
 the Ranger, and the commissioners decided to appoint 
 a Mr. Livingston to take her back to America; but 
 Jones, who had meanwhile been informed by his friend 
 Jonathan Williams that Simpson was willing to make 
 apologies and concessions, and who never did things 
 by halves, now intervened in behalf of his disobedient 
 officer, and persuaded the commissioners to give him 
 the command of the ship. As a matter of fact, a far 
 more rigorous imprisonment of Simpson had been 
 brought about by the extravagant behavior of the cul- 
 prit than had been originally contemplated by Jones 
 himself. Placed in nominal confinement upon the 
 Drake, and given a good state-room and freedom to 
 walk the deck, he had so increased the insubordination 
 of the crew by his assertions that Jones was responsible 
 for the detention of their prize-money, that they again 
 became mutinous and disobeyed orders with boldness 
 and frequency. When D'Orvilliers recommended plac- 
 ing the English prisoners upon the Drake, it was nec- 
 essary to provide other quarters for Simpson, and he 
 was transferred to the Admiral, a French ship, where 
 he was allowed the same liberties as before. Here, 
 however, his expressions of insubordination were so 
 extravagant and surprising to the French commander, 
 that he advised Jones of the immediate necessity of 
 placing him in close confinement on shore. In this 
 situation Jones paid Simpson's expenses out of his own 
 pocket, and then voluntarily released him on parole.
 
 350 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Influenced, as he undoubtedly was, by the kindly 
 counsels of his friends Franklin and Williams, upon 
 his arrival in Passy, and believing in the sincerity of 
 Simpson's conciliatory messages, he now determined 
 to let the matter drop entirely, and wrote as follows to 
 the commissioners: "I am willing to let the dispute 
 between us drop forever, by giving up his parole; I 
 bear no malice, and if I have done him an injury, this 
 will make him all present satisfaction in my power. 
 If, on the contrary, he has injured me, I will trust him 
 for acknowledgment." 
 
 The magnanimity of this action was ill-appreciated 
 by its recipient, and Jones lived to bitterly regret his 
 impulsive confidence and good nature. 
 
 The command of the Ranger being now, as Jones sup- 
 posed, satisfactorily arranged, he announced himself 
 as ready to receive the orders of M. de Sartine, and 
 wrote to him as follows: 
 
 PASSY, July 17th, 1778. 
 M. DE SARTINE, 
 
 My Lord: 
 
 I should be ungrateful did I not return my thanks 
 for your kind and generous intentions in my favor. 
 My greatest ambition would be to merit your future 
 approbation, by my services against the common enemy 
 of France and America. Had your first plan taken 
 effect, the most pleasing prospect of success would 
 have been before me. But that now seems a distant 
 object. 
 
 I have no doubt but that many projects, which would 
 promise success, might be formed from the hints I had 
 the honor of sending lately for your inspection. Had
 
 SIMPSON 351 
 
 I been entrusted with the chief command, I would have 
 been responsible for the consequences. 
 
 I am bound in honor to communicate faithfully to 
 Congress the generous offer which the King now makes 
 of lending the Epervier, hi the meantime to be em- 
 ployed under my command and under the flag of the 
 United States of America. I would thankfully have 
 accepted this offer the moment it was communicated 
 to me, had no difficulties have occurred on account of 
 the situation of the American funds. I have now under 
 my command a ship bound to America. On my arrival 
 there, from the former confidence of Congress, I have 
 reason to expect an immediate removal into one of 
 their best ships. I have reason, also, to expect the 
 chief command of the first squadron destined for an 
 expedition. I have in my possession several similar 
 appointments, and when Congress sees fit to appoint 
 admirals, I have assurances that my name will not be 
 forgot. 
 
 These are flattering prospects to a man who has 
 drawn his sword only from motives of philanthropy, 
 and in support of the dignity of human nature. But, 
 as I prefer a solid to a shining reputation a useful to a 
 splendid command I hold myself ready, with the 
 approbation of the American Commissioners at Paris, 
 to be governed by you in any measures that may tend 
 to distress and humble the common enemy. 
 I have the honor to be &c. 
 
 J. P. JONES. 
 
 The French Government was now rapidly maturing 
 plans for a general attack upon the naval forces of 
 England, and a great fleet of thirty ships of war was 
 assembled at Brest, awaiting the actual declaration of 
 hostilities. Jones requested to be permitted to join the
 
 352 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 fleet as a volunteer under the command of his good 
 friend Count d'Orvilliers, hoping to profit by the les- 
 sons in naval strategy and in the management of 
 large forces, which D'Orvilliers was very willing to 
 afford him, but the minister replied that, although the 
 King appreciated his offer, his desire was to employ 
 him in a manner more useful to the allied powers. 
 Jones then, at Sartine's request, submitted the papers 
 he had already drawn up for the commissioners, in 
 which various plans for descents upon the coasts of 
 England were laid out: 
 
 Plan for Expeditions submitted by Com. Jones to the 
 American Plenipotentiaries, and to the French 
 Minister of Marine. 
 
 PASSY, June 5, 1778. 
 
 As the first proposed will be impeded for some time, 
 in the interval a great variety of projects present them- 
 selves, some of which might prove of great utility to 
 France and America by distressing the common enemy 
 at a small expense. 
 
 Three very fast sailing frigates, with one or two 
 tenders, might enter the Irish Channel, and burn at 
 Whitehaven from two to three hundred ships, besides 
 the town which contains 50,000 inhabitants; this would 
 render it difficult, if not impossible, to supply Ireland 
 with coal the ensuing winter. 
 
 The same force would be sufficient to take the bank 
 of Ayr in Scotland and destroy the town, or perhaps 
 the whole shipping in the Clyde with the towns and 
 stores of Greenock and Port Glasgow, provided no 
 alarm was first given at other places. The fishery at 
 Cambletown is an object worthy attention, and in 
 some of the ports of Ireland ships may perhaps be
 
 SIMPSON 353 
 
 found worth from 150,000 to 200,000 L. Sterling, each. 
 
 It might perhaps be equally expedient to alarm 
 Britain on the east side, which might be effected with 
 equal and perhaps inferior force, by destroying the coal 
 shipping of Newcastle &c, which would occasion the 
 utmost distress for fuel in London ; and there are many 
 towns of consequence on the East and North coasts of 
 England and Scotland which are defenceless, and might 
 be either burnt or laid under contribution. 
 
 The success of either these or the like enterprises will 
 depend on surprising well, and on despatch both in the 
 attack and in the retreat; therefore it is necessary the 
 ships should sail fast and that their force should be 
 sufficient to repel any of the enemy's cruising frigates, 
 two of which may perhaps be met at a tune. 
 
 It is scarcely conceivable how great a panic the suc- 
 cess in any one of these projects would occasion in 
 England. It would convince them that their coasts 
 are vulnerable, and would consequently hurt their 
 public credit. 
 
 If alarming the coast of Britain should be thought 
 inexpedient to intercept the enemy's West India or 
 Baltic fleets, or their Hudson Bay ships, or to destroy 
 their Greenland fishery are capital objects, which 
 promise success if well adopted, and any one of them 
 might be finished before the first can take place. 
 
 These suggestions were received with favor by Sar- 
 tine, who had conceived a high idea of Jones's abilities 
 from his conduct of the Ranger cruise, and who was 
 entirely willing that French ships under an American 
 flag should conduct attacks upon the coast of their 
 ancient enemy in a manner not ordinarily practised in 
 modern warfare, and that all possible and immediate 
 damage should be worked against England without the
 
 354 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 direct or apparent responsibility of his government. 
 M. Baudouine, who was Sartine's personal agent, and 
 M. de Chaumont, who offered to equip the squad- 
 ron from his personal resources, assured Jones that the 
 three fast-sailing frigates which were called for in his 
 plan would soon be at his disposition, with the tenders 
 and the troops which he had asked for. A company 
 of soldiers from Captain Walsh's Irish regiment was 
 detailed to accompany him, to deliver the land attacks. 
 
 The plans which Jones had proposed were so exten- 
 sive and so bold in character, and his record in the 
 execution of such services had been so brilliant, that 
 the minister was inclined to encourage him in every 
 possible manner. He even hinted that the Indien 
 might be spirited away from Holland, in spite of the 
 opposition of the Dutch, and given to Jones as the 
 flag-ship of his future squadron. The Prince of Nassau 
 also expressed the warmest desire to accompany Jones 
 on his] daring expedition, and again proposed to join 
 Jones on board the Indien as a volunteer. These were 
 flattering prospects indeed, and Jones's hopes rose high. 
 The first plan decided between him and Sartine was 
 such as "to astonish the world," being nothing less 
 than to invade England itself, to invest Liverpool, and 
 to lay the city under contribution. Every detail had 
 been perfected and nothing was wanting, as Jones 
 related, except the King's signature, when rumors of 
 the project became current and the minister thought it 
 prudent to abandon it. 
 
 .An alternate plan proposed by Jones was now 
 adopted, namely: to intercept the Baltic fleet, and it
 
 SIMPSON 355 
 
 was decided to put this project into execution without 
 delay, owing to the private information which Jones 
 had received from England as to the imminent sailing 
 of the fleet and as to its probable route. The King 
 offered him the Epervier, then in readiness at L'Orient, 
 and the minister promised to give him two other 
 frigates with two cutters then lying at Saint Malo. 
 
 Fully confident that he was now about to be invested 
 with an adequate force, and desirous of fulfilling his 
 office as commander-in-chief with fitting dignity and 
 propriety, Jones now sought to engage a chaplain for 
 his squadron, and described the qualifications he de- 
 sired in a letter to his banker's son, Henry Grand, 
 written on the eve of his departure from Paris: 
 
 I should wish him to be a man of reading and let- 
 ters, who understands, speaks and writes the French 
 and English, with elegance and propriety. For politi- 
 cal reasons it would be well if he were a clergyman of 
 the Protestant profession, whose sanctity of manners 
 and happy natural principles would diffuse unanimity 
 and cheerfulness throughout the ship, and if to these 
 essentials were added the talent of writing fast, and in 
 fan* characters, such a man would necessarily be wor- 
 thy of the highest confidence, and might therefore 
 assure himself of a place at my table, the regulations of 
 which should be entirely under his direction. 
 
 A few days subsequent to this he wrote the first of 
 his letters to General Washington, indicating by this 
 act his realization that as commander of an important 
 squadron, awarded him by the allied power of France, 
 he was at last in a position where he might communi-
 
 356 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 cate in terms of compliment with the head of the 
 American forces: 
 
 PASSY, near Paris, August 6th. 
 HONORED SIR: 
 
 As the scene of War by Sea is now changing from 
 America to Europe, I have been induced to give up 
 the command of the American ship of war Ranger and 
 to continue for some time in Europe in compliance 
 with the request of the Minister of the French Marine, 
 in a letter to our Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court 
 of Versailles. 
 
 I will not intrude upon your Excellencies' time even 
 by attempting to pay you the respect which you so 
 justly command. The intention of this letter is only 
 to beg your acceptance of two Epaulettes with which it 
 is accompanied, and which my friend Mr. Williams of 
 Nantes has undertaken to forward I expected to have 
 had the honor of delivering this little present into your 
 own hands, but not having that satisfaction if in the 
 meantime I can render you any acceptable services in 
 France I hope you will command me without reserve, 
 being with sentiments of perfect Esteem 
 
 Honor'd Sir 
 
 Yours &c. 
 His Excellency 
 
 Gen. Washington 
 
 Commander in chief of the American Army, at his 
 Headquarters. 
 
 Jones's agreeable sojourn in Paris was now about to 
 close. He had been honored by the French Govern- 
 ment; he had successfully arranged for the sale of his 
 prizes; he had settled, as he supposed, his difficulties 
 with Simpson and his crew. During the two months
 
 SIMPSON 357 
 
 of his stay at Passy, he was first a daily visitor and 
 afterward an honored guest in the house of the com- 
 missioners, where the beloved Franklin and his asso- 
 ciates lived in friendly and familiar intercourse with 
 the family of their generous host, M. de Chaumont. 
 
 The chateau, then called the H6tel de Chaumont, was 
 of noble construction, castellated, vine-embowered, and 
 commanded a wide view of Paris and its surrounding 
 villages. From a great distance the six towers could 
 be seen upon their hill as one approached by a winding 
 road leading under a stone bridge, and thence through 
 a gate into the walled enclosure. Here Paul Jones and 
 Jonathan Williams, Franklin and Doctor Bancroft, 
 John Adams, Le Ray de Chaumont, his wife and 
 daughter, and her two young brothers, must often have 
 met during those summer days in the garden which 
 spread between the "petit h6tel" of the commissioners 
 and the "grand h6tel" of their host, and these periods 
 of youthful ardor, of rising glory, of intimate associa- 
 tion with the friends of the new republic, must always 
 have remained in the memory of Paul Jones as one of 
 almost unalloyed delight and satisfaction. A gallant 
 figure himself, with his honors fresh upon him, he was 
 treated with distinction by the statesmen and soldiers 
 who gathered about Franklin in his retreat at Passy. 1 
 
 1 Nathaniel Fanning, who was afterward distinguished for his intrepid 
 and most successful conduct of the battle from "the tops" in the 
 Bon Homme Richard engagement, has left an agreeable account of hia 
 reception by Franklin, at Passy, and a description of the mansion of 
 the commissioners. 
 
 "It was on the 26th day of July, 1783, at night, when I arrived at 
 the city of Paris, and the next day I visited and paid my respects to 
 Dr. Franklin who then resided at a small village situated upon an emi- 
 nence between Paris and Versailles, which commands a prospect delight-
 
 358 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Franklin took pleasure in making him known to his 
 powerful friends, and took him to the hotel of the good 
 Due de la Rochefoucauld and recommended him to the 
 favor of the philanthropist and philosopher who then 
 dignified that historic name. M. de Chaumont and his 
 family were exceedingly attentive to the young Ameri- 
 can officer, and received him on terms of the greatest 
 intimacy, and Madame de Chaumont and her young 
 daughter conceived the warmest admiration for him. 
 Already known and cordially received by the Due 
 de Chartres upon the flag-ship of the French fleet at 
 Brest, Jones had been given letters by that attractive 
 and ill-starred prince of the Orleans family, which had 
 procured him an introduction to the Duchesse de Char- 
 tres and a favorable reception at the Palais Royal and 
 
 fully pleasing to the eye. This pleasant village is called Passy. Three 
 miles distant from Paris, and about six from Versailles. The building 
 in which the Doctor resides with his secretaries, is a noble piece of 
 modern architecture, large and commodious, and adjoining which is a 
 beautiful garden. From this village may be seen nearly the whole of 
 the city of Paris, and its suburbs, and nearly three hundred walled 
 towns, besides a great number of noblemens' villas, which have the 
 appearance of so many palaces and country seats scattered over the 
 country as far as you can extend the eye. Dr. Franklin received me 
 without any ceremony, but with the kindness of a parent, and in this 
 way he conducted himself toward all Americans, whom he was in the 
 habit of calling his children. I found in company with him the Marquis 
 de Lafayette and several other gentlemen, and as soon as they were 
 gone (which was in about a half an hour after my arrival) the Doctor 
 asked me to follow him into his study, and after being seated, he held a 
 long conversation with me upon different subjects, and when I was 
 about leaving him, he invited me to call and see him often and gave me 
 good advice relative to the conduct which I ought to observe while I 
 resided at Paris, and in the same familiar style as though he had been 
 my father, and for which I shall always revere him as long as I live. 
 At this time Dr. Franklin was highly esteemed not only by the French, 
 but by all the foreign ministers resident at the court of France, and 
 his levee, for numbers and respectability, every day exceeded that of 
 the Count de Vergennes, the King's favorite, and the American peoples' 
 friend."
 
 SIMPSON 359 
 
 at Versailles. The extreme grace and amiability of the 
 Duchesse de Chartres, who was a daughter of the Due 
 de Penthi&vre, and a princess of the royal house, never 
 failed to impress the most distant of her acquaintances. 
 By her beauty and elegance and her exalted rank she 
 was the very "glass of fashion, and the mould of form/' 
 but she was far more remarkable for the ideal distinc- 
 tion of her character and the purity and gentleness of 
 her mind. At the time when Paul Jones was received 
 at the Palais Royal the well-known adoration of the 
 duchess for her husband was still undimmed by either 
 his infidelities or his crimes. The afterward notorious 
 Philippe Egalite* was still in the eyes of his brilliant 
 world a gallant prince and trusted servant of France. 
 He was at this moment in command of a portion of the 
 great French fleet of D'Orvilliers, then assembled at 
 Brest and about to engage England on the sea and 
 dispute her ancient sovereignty. As the bearer of let- 
 ters to the duchess from her husband, Paul Jones 
 could not fail of a condescending and amiable reception. 
 The duchess honored him and his friend Williams with 
 marked attention whenever the two young Americans 
 attended her levees, and intrusted Jones with letters 
 in reply to the duke when he finally departed for Brest. 
 All royalist sentiment was silenced in the chorus of 
 enthusiasm for the new republican ideas. The long's 
 hesitations were overcome, and Marie Antoinette, hi a 
 hopeless minority, saw the policy of the cabinet prevail 
 over her protests. 1 
 
 1 Extract from the diary of Mercy Argenteau: "The silent unready 
 Louis did not easily discuss anything, Maurepas was therefore able to 
 continue his policy of fostering republican sentiments, without any
 
 360 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 A soldier of liberty himself, Paul Jones was exqui- 
 sitely flattered by the attentions of these liberty-loving 
 aristocrats of France, whose enthusiasms were so con- 
 sonant with his own. The gardener's son can scarcely 
 be censured for his delight in that unequalled society 
 of the eighteenth century, brought to the last point of 
 its perfection and still happily unconscious of its ap- 
 proaching fall. 
 
 It is significant to observe that, in the midst of the 
 pleasures and honors which he received, Jones's last 
 act before departing from Paris was to leave a for- 
 mal written request with the commissioners to fulfil 
 their promise of recommending the officers and crew of 
 the Ranger to the favor of Congress. This done, he 
 started for the sea-coast on the 7th, and after visiting 
 L'Orient to view the frigate Epervier, which Sartine had 
 promised him as the flag-ship of his future squadron, 
 he reached Brest on the 10th of August, but was met 
 on the moment of his arrival with the most disappoint- 
 ing intelligence. His good old friend Count d'Orvil- 
 liers, who ran to embrace him in his garden, when Jones, 
 as was his custom, sought him out upon his return, 
 informed him that he himself had given the Epervier 
 away to one of his own captains who had lately lost 
 his ship. Count d'Orvilliers informed him, also, with 
 reluctance, that orders had been issued by the minister 
 immediately after Jones's departure from Paris for the 
 
 question as to the ultimate end, from the sharp witted Imperialist Marie 
 Antoinette. Lafayette was in Paris, and Paul Jones the buccaneer, and 
 great swelling plans of an expedition against England were fermenting. 
 Paul Jones the Scottish corsair was born at Selkirk in 1736 and hia 
 name spread terror in all the seaports of Great Britain and Ireland."
 
 SIMPSON 361 
 
 frigates at Saint Malo to sail at once on the errand 
 of intercepting the Baltic fleet. 
 
 An unwise decision this afterward proved, for the 
 French commanders, less accurately informed than 
 Jones as to the probable route of the English ships, 
 failed to overtake them, and thus the favorite plan of 
 the commissioners failed of success. Jones now found 
 himself actually without a ship: the Ranger had been 
 given away to his disobedient first lieutenant, the 
 promised squadron of Sartine had slipped away before 
 he had even had a sight of it, and he was forced again 
 to bear the heaviest disappointment at the very mo- 
 ment when his fond dream of an important command 
 seemed about to be realized. 
 
 From this time on until the spring of the following 
 year Jones was subjected to repeated postponement of 
 his hopes and condemned to the torture of inactivity. 
 The determining reasons for this, as in the case of 
 the surprising refusal of his bill by the commissioners, 
 were not primarily personal, but were the result of the 
 course of more important affairs pertaining to the war 
 which had now openly broken out between France 
 and England. 
 
 The brilliant action of the Belle Poule with the Eng- 
 lish Arethusa, in which the French ship had come off 
 triumphant, had aroused the greatest enthusiasm in 
 France and raised the hopes of the nation in the re- 
 habilitated navy. The English court, tardily awaken- 
 ing to the world-wide results which their oppression of 
 the American colonies was bringing upon them in an 
 almost universal European war, sought to ignore this
 
 362 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 engagement and to excuse the depredations made by 
 their ships upon the commerce of France by various 
 temporizing pretences. The French court, however, 
 considered the withdrawal of the English ambassador 
 from Paris and the message of George III to his Parlia- 
 ment resenting the insult of the treaty of alliance 
 between France and America to have definitely an- 
 nounced the belligerent attitude of England, and pro- 
 ceeded with all speed to prepare for war. 
 
 The almost complete destruction of the French naval 
 forces in the Seven Years' War had resulted in a deter- 
 mined demand from the entire French nation for the 
 restoration of the navy. Under Choiseul's direction 
 this policy had been begun and most generously sub- 
 sidized by public and private contributions. A pro- 
 digious activity sprang up in the lately silent ports, 
 and everywhere ships were building and repairing. 
 Under Sartine, who had been promoted to the post 
 of minister of marine as a result of his brilliant suc- 
 cess in reforming the police regulations of Paris, the 
 construction of new battle-ships was actively pursued, 
 and when the war was finally begun, at the battle off 
 Ushant, on July the 29th, 1778, the French force under 
 D'Orvilliers had thirty ships of the line to meet an 
 equal number under Keppel. This conflict, ill-managed 
 on both sides, was barren of results. No ships were 
 taken or destroyed, and both fleets, after a bloodless 
 engagement, returned intact to their respective ports. 
 The signals of Admiral Keppel, who commanded the 
 English fleet, being disregarded by Palliser, the plan 
 of the battle failed of execution, and Palliser later
 
 SIMPSON 363 
 
 brought capital charges against his superior officer. 
 Amid a storm of excitement and fury over the indeci- 
 sive engagement, the court-martial over Keppel was 
 held, with the result that he was triumphantly ac- 
 quitted and restored to an almost unexampled popu- 
 larity, while PaUiser, by a narrow vote, escaped with 
 his life at a similar trial, but not without the execra- 
 tion of the public. The Due de Chartres, who had also 
 disregarded the signals of his commanding officer, and 
 thus brought about the failure of Count d'Orvilliers's 
 plan of the engagement, was bitterly criticised through- 
 out the kingdom, and his name became a byword for 
 incapacity. This singular engagement, celebrated for 
 its futility, had just taken place, before Jones arrived 
 at Brest, and he found his friend the Due de Chartres 
 in considerable distress of mind, and D'Orvilliers again 
 ready to sail and eager to retrieve the ill-success of the 
 first encounter with England. 
 
 D'Orvilliers realized that it would be exceedingly 
 difficult, now that war had actually begun, for Sar- 
 tine to divert any considerable force from the French 
 officers who were now clamoring for ships. He there- 
 fore invited Jones with much cordiality to accompany 
 him on his next cruise on the Bretagne, his flag-ship, 
 and a request was forthwith despatched to Sartine 
 for the requisite permission. An unaccountable delay 
 and misapprehension occurred in this negotiation. The 
 minister sent the permission with Franklin's concur- 
 rence, but it failed to arrive in time, and D'Orvilliers 
 sailed away without Jones, who was much chagrined 
 at this second disappointment. His natural irritation
 
 364 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 at this enforced inaction was further increased by re- 
 ports emanating from the ungrateful Simpson to the 
 effect that Jones had been deprived of the command 
 of the Ranger by order of the commissioners. In this 
 situation he immediately took steps to convene a court- 
 martial for the purpose of bringing Simpson to trial, 
 and appealed for support and redress to the commis- 
 sioners. "I have been five days in this place," he 
 wrote on August the 15th, "since my return from 
 Passy, during which time I have neither seen nor heard 
 of Lieutenant Simpson; but Mr. Hill, who was last 
 winter at Passy, and who sailed with us from Nantes, 
 informed me truly that it is generally reported in the 
 Ranger and of course throughout the French fleet, and 
 on shore, that I am turned out of the service; that you 
 gentlemen have given Mr. Simpson my place with a 
 Captain's commission, and that my letter to you was 
 involuntary on my part, and hi obedience only to your 
 order, to avert dreadful consequences to myself. That 
 these reports prevail is not an idle grounded conjecture, 
 but a melancholy fact, therefore I beseech you, I con- 
 jure you, I demand of you to afford me redress by a 
 court martial, to form which we have, with the assist- 
 ance of Captain Hinman, a sufficient number of officers 
 in France, exclusive of myself. The Providence and 
 Boston are expected here very soon, and I am certain 
 that they neither can nor will depart again before my 
 friend Captain Hinman can come down here, and it is 
 his unquestioned right to succeed me in the command 
 of the Ranger." 
 The commissioners replied to this appeal by return
 
 SIMPSON 365 
 
 post, authorizing Jones to call a court-martial in case 
 sufficient officers could be procured, but directed that 
 no change should be contemplated hi the command of 
 the Ranger. Jones soon discovered that he was mis- 
 taken in believing that a requisite number of officers 
 could be found to form the court. On the 18th he 
 wrote a peremptory command to Captain Whipple of 
 the Providence, who was then in the port of Brest, to 
 immediately summon the court-martial on board his 
 ship; but Whipple replied, after due consideration, 
 that, as Captain Hinman refused to serve since he was 
 expected to face a court-martial himself on his return 
 to America, it was impossible to convene the court. 
 He also advanced other reasons for his disapprobation 
 of the court-martial, saying that, as Jones had actually 
 given up Simpson's parole, he believed that Simpson 
 was no longer subject to a trial, and that he, Whipple, 
 had been informed that the commissioners held the 
 same opinion. Jones, with natural irritation, took 
 occasion to remind Whipple of his testimony in his 
 favor when Whipple was tried for cowardice in the 
 affair of the Glasgow. Whipple then hastened to re- 
 move himself and the ship under his command to Cam- 
 meret, and thence to sea. 
 
 Jones now penned an exceedingly elaborate account 
 of his troubles with Simpson, from the beginning of his 
 service on the Ranger, and sent it off to the commis- 
 sioners. He recounted his many acts of conciliation, 
 his patience and forbearance with this hopelessly recal- 
 citrant and inefficient officer, and then he abandoned 
 all further thought of redress, and dismissed the matter
 
 366 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 from his mind. At a later date the commissioners 
 wrote a formal letter to Jones, clearing him from Simp- 
 son's insinuations and false representations. 
 
 PASSY, February 10, 1779. 
 SIR: 
 
 As your separation from the Ranger and the appoint- 
 ment of Lieutenant Simpson to the command of her 
 will be liable to misinterpretations by persons who are 
 unacquainted with the real cause of those facts, we 
 hereby certify that your leaving the Ranger was by 
 our consent, at the express request of his Excellency 
 Monsieur de Sartine, who informed us that he had 
 occasion to employ you in some public service; that 
 Lieutenant Simpson was appointed to the command of 
 the Ranger with your consent, after having consented to 
 release him from an arrest under which you had put him. 
 
 That your leaving the Ranger, in our opinion, ought 
 not, and cannot be an injury to your rank or character 
 in the service of the United States; and that your com- 
 mission in their navy continues in full force. 
 
 We have the honor to be, etc. 
 
 B. FRANKLIN 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 A few days after Whipple's departure the Ranger also 
 sailed away, her crew refusing, as usual, to obey orders, 
 and casting Jones's effects ashore to lie broken in the 
 dust, as a last compliment to their captain who had led 
 them to victory and recommended them to the favor 
 of Congress. 
 
 An indignant letter from Jonathan Williams, written 
 a few days after Simpson's departure, expressed great 
 regret that he should have influenced Jones to give up
 
 SIMPSON 367 
 
 Simpson's parole, as well as his chagrin that Simpson 
 had gotten away before he, Williams, could have had 
 the opportunity of facing him with his own letter ac- 
 knowledging his gratitude to Jones for his favorable 
 recommendations to the commissioners. Simpson had 
 openly denied having made use of any such expression 
 to Williams. The duplicity of character thus indicated 
 amply justified Jones's ill-opinion of his insubordinate 
 and ungrateful officer, and further evidence of the 
 justness of this opinion was afterward supplied by 
 Simpson's later record. He was relieved from his com- 
 mand soon after his return to America, and never after- 
 ward employed in the United States navy. The venial- 
 minded crew of the Ranger also fully justified the 
 opinion their too enterprising captain had formed of 
 them, for without exception they all abandoned the 
 service of the government and adopted the more lucra- 
 tive occupation of privateering immediately upon their 
 return to Portsmouth. 
 
 A cooler-headed and less ardently ambitious officer 
 than Paul Jones might easily have yielded to irritation 
 if hampered with such rank insubordination and small- 
 mindedness, and insubordination was not the only 
 difficulty with which he was forced to deal. The 
 ignorance, carelessness, and malicious jealousy of other 
 American officers in Europe likewise tormented him. 
 Captain Whipple permitted the escape of several of 
 Jones's prisoners and released others on parole without 
 his knowledge, and to his horror and dismay Jones 
 learned by a chance meeting with a French officer that 
 the guard of French soldiers which D'Orvilliers had
 
 368 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 generously placed over them had been removed, and 
 that they might all escape at any moment. He wrote 
 in frantic haste to the commissioners, but wisely re- 
 frained from waiting for their reply, and secured an- 
 other guard from the French intendant of the marine 
 at Brest. The Ranger's prize, the Lord Chatham, was 
 sold without his knowledge, and the Drake plundered 
 with impunity. He commented with his usual force 
 upon these outrages in letters to his friends, but was 
 not distracted from the one burning preoccupation of 
 his days and sleepless nights, which was to force the 
 French minister to fulfil his promise to give him an- 
 other command.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 
 
 IN the voluminous correspondence which belongs to the 
 five months which followed Paul Jones's departure 
 from Paris his biographer is furnished with an almost 
 daily record of his days and a clear and intimate 
 picture of his mind and character. That inflexible de- 
 termination to succeed in spite of every obstacle which 
 had won him every advancement in his career is here 
 most vividly disclosed. 
 
 The letters which he sent out to every important 
 individual of his acquaintance grew from dignified 
 remonstrance into agonized appeals for release from 
 his intolerable situation. Inaction was literally de- 
 structive to him, and the prolonged torture had a most 
 acute effect upon his health. Once more he was called 
 upon to experience the plunge from high hopes to un- 
 merited misfortune which was so singular a part of 
 his remarkable life. The bearer of the new flag of 
 freedom, the valorous captor of the Drake, who in 
 former times had found Brest a port of pleasure, where 
 he had dined familiarly with titled officers of rank and 
 had been the universal object of praise, now found him- 
 self alone, except for Lieutenant Amiel, who, as he 
 expressed it, "had exercised patience with him for four 
 months in this detested spot, without society or hos- 
 pitality." Keenly conscious of his inability to dispel 
 the prevalent impression that he had offended the 
 
 369
 
 370 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 commissioners and was an officer in disgrace, he was 
 reluctant to walk abroad. Under these circumstances 
 he became, as was his custom during his periods of 
 inactivity, reserved and silent, "taciturn," as the un- 
 lucky companion of his misfortunes complained in let- 
 ters to his wife. So the Chase narrative describes him 
 when tortured by his longing for action, and so Andre*, 
 his last companion and secretary, related that he had 
 again become during the closing days of his life. 
 
 On taking leave of Franklin in Paris he had received 
 permission to write to him frequently, and the promise 
 of prompt replies; but, fearing to be troublesome to his 
 venerable friend, he wrote long letters to Doctor Ban- 
 croft, relying on him to present his case to Franklin 
 and to M. de Chaumont. On the 24th of August he 
 wrote to Bancroft, saying that a French frigate, the 
 Renommee, was still without a commander, and begging 
 him to ask M. de Chaumont to procure it from Sartine. 
 On the same day he wrote briefly to Franklin, urging 
 that at "this nice moment he should either be in search 
 of marine knowledge, or of honor in some private enter- 
 prise." In this very restrained and respectful letter he 
 enclosed another which he had prepared for the Prince 
 of Nassau, with whom he had expected to be associated 
 in the cruise with his vanished squadron, for his inspec- 
 tion and approval: 
 
 BREST, August 24, 1778. 
 MY PRINCE: 
 
 The Honor which you propose to do me by accom- 
 panying me on the Ocean fills my heart with the 
 warmest Sentiments of Gratitude.
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 371 
 
 When your intentions were communicated to me I 
 had under my Command a Ship bound in company 
 with two fine Frigates for America where there is now 
 two new Ships of 80 Guns each and 8 Frigates of 40 
 Guns each nearly ready for Sea. 
 
 On my arrival there from the former confidence of 
 Congress I had assurance of an immediate removal into 
 one of their best ships and to have been Appointed to 
 Command the first Squadron which they thought fit 
 to destine for any private Expedition Before I came 
 to Europe I had been honored with several such Ap- 
 pointments and I had Assurance that when America 
 saw fit to appoint Admirals, my name should be 
 Numerated. 
 
 These my Prince were flattering prospects to a man 
 who drew his sword only from Principles of Philan- 
 throphy, in Support of the Dignity of Human Nature. 
 And these are the prospects which I have Voluntarily 
 laid aside that I may pursue Glory hi your Company. 
 
 Suffer me not therefore I beseech you to continue 
 longer in this shameful inactivity such dishonor is 
 worse to me than a thousand deaths. I have already 
 lost that Golden Season the Summer which in War is 
 of more value than all the Rest of the Year I appear 
 here as a Person cast off and useless and when any 
 person asks me what I purpose to do, I am unable to 
 Answer. 
 
 Had this been my first or second disappointment I 
 should have said nothing concerning it but after vari- 
 ous other objects had miscarried before I left Passy, 
 which M. de Sartine had thought of to keep me 
 employed until the scheme wherein you were con- 
 cerned could take place I was ordered down here at 
 so short a notice that I had not time before my de- 
 parture to take leave of you; yet on my arrival here I 
 found that what had been proposed for me was be-
 
 372 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 stowed on others. I then offered to follow Count 
 D'Orvilliers as a Volunteer agreeable to his kind invita- 
 tion but Mons. De la Prevalaye will not even permit 
 me to do this, it not being mentioned in his Orders. 
 
 I have my Prince been unaccustomed to ask any 
 favors even from Congress for I am not in pursuit of 
 Interest Yet let me beseech you to represent my 
 Situation to the best of Kings that I may with you 
 be forthwith enabled to pursue Glory and to humble 
 the Common Enemies of Humanity. 
 
 If the Ship that was at first proposed cannot with 
 certainty be got to Sea next month you, my Prince, can 
 obtain another with the Epervier and Alert tenders 
 There is a fine Frigate at L'Orient built on the same 
 construction with the Ship at first proposed and 
 mounted with eighteen pounders this Ship has been 
 at India, is known to sail fast and might perhaps be 
 obtained 'till it is seen whether the other can be got 
 out. 
 
 If this Ship is refused there are many other fine 
 Frigates newly built at St. Malo's and other places to 
 which I hear of no Commanders being appointed I 
 have the greatest dependence on the generous inten- 
 tions of that great Minister Monseig'r de Sartine, but I 
 cannot every day intrude on him with letters and in 
 the Multiplicity and importance of his Affairs my 
 Concerns may escape his Memory. 
 
 I wish for the honor of a letter from your hand 
 tho' I cannot write to you in French yet I understand 
 letters that are written on that Language and I have 
 now with me a Lieutenant who speaks it well. 
 
 I am with Sentiments of real Esteem and Respect 
 
 My Prince, 
 
 Yours &c. 
 His Highness 
 
 The Prince de Nassau
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 373 
 
 A week later, without news from any quarter, he 
 wrote again to the prince and to Bancroft, saying that 
 he was "to the last degree unhappy." The Prince of 
 Nassau never replied to Jones's appeal, but after a few 
 days a friendly letter arrived from Franklin, explaining 
 that Bancroft's silence was due to illness, and exhorting 
 him to have patience. By the llth of September he 
 had become very impatient and wrote to his friend 
 Williams a free expression of his feelings, saying that 
 if the next post brought him nothing definite he 
 would tell the dilatory minister "a round unvarnished 
 tale." This with his characteristic directness he pro- 
 ceeded to do in the following explicit presentation of 
 his situation : 
 
 BREST, 13th September 1778. 
 HONORED SIR: 
 
 When his Excellency Doctor Franklin first informed 
 me that You had condescended to think me worthy of 
 your Notice, I took such pleasure in reflecting on the 
 happy Alliance between France and America that I 
 was really flattered, and entertained the most Grateful 
 sense of the Honor which you proposed for me, as well 
 as of the favor which the King proposed for America; 
 by putting so fine a Ship of War as the Indien under my 
 command and under its Flag with unlimited Orders. 
 
 In obedience to your desire I came to Versailles, and 
 was taught to believe that my intended Ship was hi 
 Deep Water and ready for the Sea. But when the 
 Prince returned, I received from him a different ac- 
 count; I was told that the Indien could not be got 
 afloat within a shorter period than three months, at 
 the first approaching Equinox. 
 
 To employ this interval usefully, I first offered to go
 
 374 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 from Brest with Count D'Orvilliers as a volunteer 
 which you thought fit to reject I had then the satis- 
 faction to find that You approved in general of a 
 variety of hints for private enterprises which I had 
 drawn up for your Consideration; and I was flattered 
 with assurances from Messrs, de Chaumont and Bau- 
 douine that three of the finest Frigates in France with 
 two Tenders and a number of Troops should be imme- 
 diately put under my Command, and that I should 
 have unlimited Orders and be at the liberty to pursue 
 such of my own projects as I thought proper. But 
 this plan fell to nothing in the moment when I was 
 taught to think that nothing was wanting but the 
 Bang's signature. 
 
 Another much inferior Armament from L'Orient was 
 proposed to be put under my command, which was by 
 no means equal to the Services that were expected 
 from it; for Speed and Force, though both requisite, 
 were both wanting; Happily for me this also failed 
 and I was thereby saved from a dreadful prospect of 
 Ruin and Dishonor. 
 
 I had so entire a reliance that You would desire 
 nothing of me inconsistent with my honor and rank, 
 that the moment you required me to come down here 
 in Order to proceed round to St. Malo; tho' I had 
 received no written orders, and neither know Your 
 intention respecting my destination or Command; I 
 obeyed with such haste that altho' my curiosity led 
 me to look at the Armament at L'orient; Yet I was 
 but three days from Passy 'till I reached Brest. Here 
 too I drew a blank. 
 
 But when I saw the Lively it was no disappointment; 
 as that Ship both in sailing and equipment is far inferior 
 to the Ranger. 
 
 My only disappointment here was my being pre- 
 cluded from Embarking in pursuit of Marine Knowl-
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 375 
 
 edge with Count D'Orvilliers; who did not sail till seven 
 days after my return. He is my friend, and often ex- 
 pressed his wish for my Company. I accompanied 
 him out of the Road when the Fleet sailed; and he 
 always lamented that neither himself nor any person 
 in Authority in Brest had received from you any Order 
 that mentioned my Name; I am astonished therefore 
 to be informed that you attributed my not being in the 
 Fleet to my stay at L' Orient. 
 
 I am not a mere adventurer of fortune. Stimulated 
 by Principles of Reason and Philanthropy, I laid aside 
 my enjoyments in private life, and embarked under the 
 Flag of America when it was first displayed. In that 
 line my desire of Fame is Infinite; and I must not now 
 so far forget my Honor and what I owe to my friends 
 and America as to remain inactive. 
 
 My Rank knows no superior in the American Marine; 
 I have long since been appointed to Command an ex- 
 pedition with five of its Ships; and I can receive orders 
 from no Junior or Inferior Officer whatever. 
 
 I have been here in the most tormenting Suspense 
 for more than a month since my return and agree- 
 able to your desire as mentioned to me by Monsieur 
 de Chaumont a Lieutenant has been appointed and 
 is with me, who speaks the French as well as the 
 English. 
 
 Circular letters have been written and sent the 8th of 
 last month from the English Admiralty because they 
 expected me to pay another visit with four Ships 
 Therefore I trust that if the Indian is not to be got out, 
 you will not at the approaching Season substitute a 
 Force that is not at least equal both in Strength and 
 Sailing to any of the Enemies Cruising Ships. 
 
 I do not wish to interfere with the Harmony of the 
 French Marine, but if I am still thought worthy of 
 your Attention, I shall hope for a separate Command
 
 376 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 with liberal Orders. If on the Contrary You should 
 have no further occasion for my Services; the only 
 favor I can ask is that You will give me the Alert with 
 a few Seamen, and permit me to return and cany with 
 me your good opinion in that small vessel before the 
 Winter to America. 
 
 I am happy to hear that the Frigates from St. Malo 
 have been successful near Shetland. Had Count 
 D'Estaign arrived in the Delaware a few days sooner, 
 he must have made a most Glorious and easy Conquest. 
 Many other successful projects may be adopted from 
 the Hints which I had the honor to draw up; and if I 
 can still furnish, or execute any of those already fur- 
 nished so as to distress and humble the Common Enemy 
 it will afford me the truest Satisfaction. 
 
 I am ambitious to merit the Honor of your Friend- 
 ship and favor; and being fully persuaded that I now 
 address a noble-minded man who will not be offended 
 with the Honest Freedom which has always marked 
 my Correspondence I am with great Esteem and 
 profound Respect, 
 
 Honored Sir, 
 
 Yours &c. 
 Monseigneur De Sartine. 
 
 This letter he also submitted to Franklin, promising 
 still to have patience and to do nothing without his 
 knowledge and advice. To M. de Chaumont he de- 
 clared in a letter of the 16th that he "would not wish 
 his worst enemy to be in his situation." The French 
 fleet now returned to Brest, bringing in the Fox, an 
 English frigate of twenty-four guns, once the prize of 
 the American ships Hancock and Boston. Although a 
 far more modest command than the squadron which
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 377 
 
 had previously been promised him, Jones knew that the 
 Fox was a fast sailer and immediately asked Franklin 
 to procure her for him, with the Alert as tender, and a 
 day or two afterward wrote also to the Due de Chartres, 
 who had returned to Paris, begging him to use his influ- 
 ence in his behalf. 
 
 A letter from Doctor Bancroft, who had persuaded 
 M. de Chaumont to interview Sartine hi regard to 
 Jones's affairs, announced that the minister had 
 promised to give him the Fox, but this welcome news 
 was soon contradicted by the intelligence that the 
 minister had broken his promise to Jones, and had 
 given the frigate away to a French lieutenant. Con- 
 scious of the wrong he had inflicted upon Jones in 
 giving preference to the French officer, M. de Sartine 
 now became very desirous of getting rid of him, and 
 wrote to D'Orvilliers that it was his intention to send 
 the importunate American officer home in a "bonne 
 voiture " an easy coach. Justly indignant, Jones now 
 took occasion to express his opinion of the minister in a 
 quarter where it might prove effective. The Due de la 
 Rochefoucauld, during a recent stay at Brest, had 
 given a sympathetic hearing to Jones's complaints, 
 and to him he now directed a letter which has been 
 criticised as indiscreet, but which expresses very for- 
 cibly his just contempt for M. de Sartine's methods. 
 Paul Jones never stooped to employ any of the arts 
 of the courtier to king or minister, but boldly demanded 
 his rights with a freedom and democratic indepen- 
 dence worthy of the cause which he had so ardently 
 adopted :
 
 378 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 BREST 9th Octo. 1778. 
 HONORED SIR: 
 
 The 21st Ult. I wrote a particular Account of my 
 situation here to his Royal Highness the Due de 
 Chartres. But that brave prince has himself I under- 
 stand met with unmerited trouble and of course has 
 not yet had leisure to remove my suspense. 
 
 The Minister's behavior towards me has been and is 
 really Astonishing. 
 
 At his request (for I sought not the Connection) I 
 gave up absolute Certainties and far more flattering 
 prospects than any of those which he proposed. What 
 inducement could I have for this but Gratitude to 
 France for having first recognized our Independence? 
 
 And having given my word to stay for some time in 
 Europe, I have been, and am unwilling to take it back 
 Especially after having Communicated the Circum- 
 stances to Congress. 
 
 The Minister to my infinite mortification after pos- 
 sessing himself of my schemes and ideas has treated me 
 like a Child five times successively, by leading me on 
 from great to little and from little to less. Does such 
 conduct do Honor either to his Head or to his Heart? 
 
 He has not to this moment offered me the least 
 apology for any of these five deceptions nor has he, I 
 believe, assigned any good reason to that venerable 
 and great character His Excellency Doctor Franklin 
 whom he has made the instrument to entrap me in 
 this cruel state of Inaction and Suspense. 
 
 The Minister has lately written a letter to Count 
 D'Orvilliers proposing to send me home in "Une bonne 
 voiture." This is absolutely adding Insult to Injury 
 and it is the proposition of a Man whose veracity I 
 have not experienced in former cases. 
 
 I could in the summer with the Ranger joined by the 
 two other American Frigates have given the Enemy
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 379 
 
 sufficient foundation for their Fears in Britain as well 
 as in Ireland. And I could since have been assisting 
 Count D'Estaing or acting separately with an American 
 Squadron. Instead of this I am chained down to a 
 shameful inactivity here after having written to Con- 
 gress to reserve no Command for me in America. 
 
 Convinced as I am that your Noble and generous 
 breast will feel for my unmerited treatment I must 
 beseech you to interest yourself with the Due de 
 Chartres that the King may be made acquainted with 
 my Situation. 
 
 I have been taught to believe that I have been de- 
 tained in France with his Majesty's knowledge and 
 approbation and I am sure he is too good a prince to 
 detain me for my hurt or dishonor. M. de Sartine may 
 think as he pleases but Congress will not thank him 
 for having thus treated an Officer who has always 
 been honored with their Favor and Friendship. 
 
 I entertained some hopes of his honorable intentions 
 'till he gave the command of the Fox to a Lieutenant 
 after my friends had asked for me only that Ship with 
 the Alert, Cutter. He was the asker at the beginning 
 and ought to be so now He has to my certain knowl- 
 edge, Ships unbestowed And he is bound in honor to 
 give me the Indien as he proposed at the first, or an 
 equivalent command immediately. I should very 
 much esteem the honor of a line from Your hand and 
 shall always be happy hi Opportunities to merit your 
 Favor and Friendship being with profound Esteem 
 and Respect, 
 
 Honored Sir 
 Yours &c. 
 
 JOHN PAUL JONES. 
 Monseig. Le Due De Rochefoucauld. 
 
 "I am not ill pleased," he wrote to Williams, who 
 had commented not unnaturally upon the courage of
 
 380 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Jones's attitude toward the minister, "that you discover 
 a species of inflexibility in my nature which will not 
 suffer me to kneel at the feet of haughty power, or to 
 stoop where I cannot esteem. I know that this turn 
 of mind is highly unfavorable to any who would obtain 
 court favor, or promotion in Europe, yet I find no 
 inclination to alter my disposition, and tho' in my life 
 I have met with some severe trials, if I cannot rise by 
 even and direct methods, I will not rise at all." 
 
 His friends at Passy were scarcely less indignant than 
 Jones himself over the bad faith of the French minister, 
 and Bancroft wrote him on the 10th of October that 
 he had himself gone to the Chevalier Baudouine to make 
 "one more strong and final representation of your 
 business," and that Baudouine had said that Sartine was 
 ashamed, and felt the justice of Jones's complaints, and 
 that he had good intentions, but had been prevented 
 from carrying them out by the intrigues of the French 
 marine officers, who were demanding ships and oppos- 
 ing the assignment of any except to their own num- 
 ber, but that he would soon provide him with a ship, 
 even if he were obliged to purchase it. 
 
 Bancroft wrote also that, if nothing were done, 
 Franklin would in a few days declare his utmost resent- 
 ment, but advised Jones to have patience a little while 
 longer. Franklin's grandson and secretary, William 
 Temple Franklin, wrote also very sympathetically of 
 the indignation of his friends at the treatment he had 
 received. "Ce brave capitaine Jones, que fait il?" 
 was the question which he declared that he heard daily 
 from many inquirers.
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 381 
 
 Jones now received a letter from M. de Chaumont, 
 in which his friend informed him that he also had 
 visited Versailles to urge the minister to give him a 
 ship, and that Sartine had sworn "by the Styx" that 
 he would surely give him one; in the meantime he, 
 M. de Chaumont, offered him the command of a priva- 
 teer owned and fitted out by himself for private enter- 
 prises, but to this offer Jones replied with pride that, 
 "as a servant of the Imperial Republic of America, 
 honored with the friendship and favor of Congress he 
 could not on his own authority or inclination serve 
 either himself or even his best friend in any private line 
 whatsoever, unless either the honor or interest of 
 America is the premier object." He declared that he 
 had believed the minister in the beginning, but now, 
 as he had led him on from one fair promise to another, 
 he doubted him, and wished Sartine to know that 
 he had lost all confidence in his engagements. "Tho* 
 he 'swears even by the Styx' I will accept nothing 
 now," he announced, from the height of his just indig- 
 nation, " which sails slow or is of trifling force, and shall 
 expect a yes, or no, to this immediately." 
 
 On the same day, in a cipher letter to his friend 
 Williams, Jones, now at white heat, declared that "by 
 earth, air, and sea, Sartine must make direct satisfac- 
 tion to his sacred honor, which he has dared to violate, 
 and that he had now determined to appeal from the 
 minister to the King." 
 
 The presentation of his situation which Jones now 
 drew up for Louis XVI is not only an admirable example 
 of that terse and lucid English which was at his com-
 
 382 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 maud, but an instance, possibly the most notable, of 
 the courage and superb self-confidence which were the 
 principal elements of his greatness. His request to the 
 Duchesse de Chartres to present his letter in person to 
 the King partook of the same courage, not to say 
 aplomb, with which he had directed his appeal over the 
 head of the minister to the King himself. The brief 
 letter to the duchess as well as that to the King have 
 been published in French by a recent biographer of 
 Jones, 1 with the statement that the duchess obeyed his 
 behest and that, in consequence of her personal inter- 
 view with the King, the Bon Homme Richard was placed 
 finally at Jones's disposition. 
 
 The letters were not written in French, for, accord- 
 ing to repeated statements in his letters to the Prince 
 of Nassau and the Due de Chartres, he was unable at 
 this time to write the language, nor in all probability 
 were they ever seen by either the duchess or the 
 King; for before they arrived in Paris, sent first, ac- 
 cording to Jones's invariable custom, to Doctor Frank- 
 lin, M. de Sartine had himself sent a formal promise to 
 the commissioners to give Jones a ship. It was there- 
 fore Franklin's opinion that there was no longer any 
 necessity for Jones to send them, and that an expres- 
 sion of lack of confidence in the minister in the face of 
 his written promise to carry out his engagement with 
 Jones would be unwise. Jones acquiesced in this de- 
 cision, although with some reluctance, and the letters 
 never left the hands of Franklin. They are, however, 
 too expressive of his feelings at this crisis to be omitted : 
 
 1 A. C. Buell.
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 383 
 
 BREST, Oct. 1778. 
 MADAME: 
 
 The business which brought me from Brest to Paris 
 last Summer, when I had the honor and happiness of 
 paying my respects to your Royal Highness afforded 
 me a very fair prospect of being able immediately to 
 pay a much more successful visit to the enemies' coast 
 than that from which I was then returned. 
 
 I appeared at Versailles by the particular desire of 
 M. de Sartine who in consequence of the high Opinion 
 which he professed to have of my Conduct and Bravery 
 voluntarily proposed (as I understood with the consent 
 and approbation of his Majesty) to bestow on me a 
 very Honorable Command; he having written a letter 
 to their "Excellencies the American Plenipotentiaries" 
 requesting as a favor that I might be permitted to 
 remain in Europe. 
 
 I had the honor to furnish the Minister with a num- 
 ber of plans which he approved for Secret Expeditions, 
 but tho' various Armaments have been proposed to be 
 put under my command to pursue my own projects 
 Yet every one of these Armaments have fallen to noth- 
 ing some of them even in the Moment when I was 
 taught to believe that the King's signature alone was 
 wanting. 
 
 Thus have I been trifled with for nearly five months. 
 The best season of the year and such opportunities of 
 serving my Country and acquiring Honor as I cannot 
 again expect in the course of this War are lost. 
 
 I have written to the Congress to reserve no Com- 
 mand for me in America And to my inexpressible 
 mortification having no Command here, I am con- 
 sidered everywhere as an Officer in Disgrace. 
 
 Yet the Minister has made no apology for all this 
 either to myself who did not seek after the connection 
 or to his Excellency Doctor Franklin.
 
 384 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 I am not an Adventurer in search of Fortune, on the 
 contrary I laid aside my enjoyments in Private Life 
 and drew my Sword at the Commencement of this War 
 only in support of the Dignity and Violated Rights of 
 Human Nature. 
 
 Honored as I am with the favor and friendship of 
 the Congress both my Honor and my Duty prompt 
 me to steadfastly persevere; 'till I see those Rights 
 Established, or lose my life in the Righteous pursuit. 
 
 But as I see no prospect of being soon relieved from 
 this Unworthy Situation I have written the within let- 
 ter to his Majesty which I must beseech your Royal 
 Highness to present you will thereby add a Singular 
 Objection to what I already owe to your former Con- 
 descending Attention. 
 
 I should be supremely happy to succeed thro' the 
 influence of so Amiable a Princess and so powerful an 
 Advocate whom I perfectly esteem and respect. 
 
 Being truly and always in the Artless sincerity of my 
 Heart, 
 
 Madam Your Royal Highness, 
 
 Very Obliged &c. 
 Madame la Duchesse de Chartres. 
 
 BREST, October 19th, 1778. 
 SIRE: 
 
 After my return to Brest in the American Ship of 
 War the Ranger, from the Irish Channel, His Excel- 
 lency Doctor Franklin, did me the Honor to inform me 
 by a letter dated the 1st of June That M. de Sartine 
 having an High Opinion of my Conduct and Bravery, 
 had determined with your Majesty's consent and ap- 
 probation to give me the Command of the Ship of War 
 the Indien; which was built at Amsterdam but after- 
 wards for political reasons made the property of France. 
 I was to act with unlimited orders under the Com-
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 385 
 
 mission and Flag of America, and the Prince de Nassau 
 proposed to accompany me on the Ocean. 
 
 I was deeply penetrated with a sense of the Honor 
 done me by this generous proposition, as well as of the 
 favor which your Majesty intended thereby to confer 
 on America, And I accepted the offer with the greater 
 pleasure as the Congress had sent me to Europe in the 
 Ranger to Command the Indien, before the property 
 of that ship was changed. 
 
 The Minister desired to see me at Versailles to settle 
 future plans of Operation; and I attended him for 
 that purpose I was told that the Indien was at the 
 Texel completely Armed and fitted for the Sea. But 
 the Prince de Nassau was sent express to Holland and 
 returned with a very different account. He reported 
 that the Indien was at Amsterdam and could not be 
 got afloat or Armed before the September Equinox. 
 
 The American Plenipotentiaries proposed that I 
 should return to America, and as I have been appointed 
 oftener than once to the Chief Command of an Ameri- 
 can Squadron to execute Secret Enterprizes, it was not 
 doubted but that Congress would again show me 
 preference. 
 
 M. de Sartine however thought proper to prevent my 
 Departure by writing a letter without my knowledge 
 to the American Plenipotentiaries, requesting as a 
 favor that I might be permitted to remain in Europe, 
 and that the Ranger might be sent back to America 
 under another Commander; He having special ser- 
 vice which he wished me to execute. 
 
 This request they readily granted And I was flat- 
 tered by the prospect of being enabled to testify by my 
 services, my gratitude to Your Majesty, as the first 
 Prince who has so generously acknowledged our 
 Independence. 
 
 There was an interval of more than three months
 
 386 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 before the Indien was expected to be afloat. To em- 
 ploy that period usefully, when your Majesty's Fleet 
 was first Ordered to sail from Brest; I proposed to 
 the Minister to embark in it as a Volunteer in pursuit 
 of Marine knowledge. The Minister thought fit to 
 reject that offer but I had at the same time the Sat- 
 isfaction to find that he entirely approved of a variety 
 of Hints for private Enterprizes which I had drawn up 
 for his consideration. 
 
 Two gentlemen were appointed to settle with me the 
 plans that were to be adopted who gave me assurance 
 that three of the best Frigates in France with two 
 tenders and a number of troops should be immediately 
 put under my Command, to pursue such of my own 
 projects as I tho't proper, but this fell to nothing in 
 the Moment when I was taught to believe that your 
 Majesty's signature alone was wanting. 
 
 Another Armament composed of Cutters and small 
 vessels at L'Orient was proposed to be put under my 
 Command to Alarm the Coasts of England and check 
 the Jersey Privateers But happily for me, this also 
 failed; and I was thereby saved from impending ruin 
 and Dishonor. For as I now find each of the vessels 
 sail slow, and their United Force is very insignificant. 
 
 The Minister then thought fit that I should return 
 to Brest to Command the Lively, and join some Frigates 
 on an Expedition from St. Malo to the North Sea. 
 
 I returned here with express haste for that purpose; 
 but found that the Lively had been bestowed at Brest 
 before the Minister mentioned that ship to me at 
 Versailles. 
 
 This was, however, another fortunate disappoint- 
 ment as the Lively proves both in sailing and equip- 
 ment much inferior to the Ranger. 
 
 But more especially if it be true, as I have since 
 understood, that it was the Minister's intention to give
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 387 
 
 the Chief Command of the Expedition to a Lieutenant, 
 which had I been concerned in it would have occa- 
 sioned a very disagreeable Misunderstanding. 
 
 For as an officer of the first Rank in the American 
 Marine, who has always been honored with the Favor 
 and Friendship of the Congress; I can receive Orders 
 from no Inferior Officer whatsoever. 
 
 My plan was the destruction of the English Baltic 
 Fleet of great consequence to the Enemies Marine, and 
 then only protected by one Frigate, and I would have 
 held myself responsible for its success had I commanded 
 the Expedition. 
 
 M. de Sartine afterwards sent orders to General 
 D'Orvilliers to receive me on board the Fleet agreeable 
 to my former proposal, but the orders did not appear 
 until after the departure of the Fleet the last time from 
 Brest, nor was I made acquainted with the Circum- 
 stances before the Fleet returned here. 
 
 Thus have I been chained down to a Shameful Inac- 
 tivity for the space of near Five Months. I have lost 
 the best season of the Year; and such opportunities of 
 serving my Country and acquiring Honor as I cannot 
 again expect hi the course of this War; and to my 
 infinite Mortification having no command, I am con- 
 sidered everywhere as an Officer cast off and in Dis- 
 grace for Secret Reasons. 
 
 I have written respectful letters to the Minister 
 none of which he has condescended to answer. I have 
 written to the Prince de Nassau with as little effect. 
 And I do not understand that any Apology has been 
 made even to that great and venerable Character his 
 Excellency Doctor Franklin; whom the Minister has 
 made the instrument of bringing me into such unmerited 
 trouble. 
 
 Having written to the Congress to reserve no Com- 
 mand for me in America, my sensibility is the more
 
 388 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 affected by this Unworthy Situation, in the sight of 
 your Majesties Fleet, I however make no remark on 
 the treatment which I have received. 
 
 Though I wish not to become my own panegyrist; 
 Yet I must beg your Majesties permission to observe 
 that I am not an Adventurer in search of Fortune, of 
 which I thank God I inherit a Sufficiency. 
 
 When the American Banners were first displayed, I 
 drew my Sword in Support of the Violated Dignity and 
 the Rights of Human Nature, and both Honor and 
 duty prompt me to steadfastly continue the Righteous 
 pursuit, and to sacrifice to it not only my private enjoy- 
 ments but even my life if necessary. 
 
 I must acknowledge that the generous praise which I 
 have received from Congress and others exceeds the 
 merit of my past services, and therefore I the more 
 ardently wish for future opportunities of testifying my 
 gratitude by my activity. 
 
 As your Majesty by espousing the cause of America 
 hath become "the protector of the Rights of Human 
 Nature" I am persuaded that you will not disregard 
 my Situation nor Suffer me to remain any longer in this 
 insupportable Disgrace. 
 
 I am with perfect Gratitude and profound Respect, 
 Sire, 
 
 Your Majesties 
 Very Obliged 
 Very Obedient 
 
 and very humble Servt. 
 
 His Most Christian Majesty 
 
 Louis King of France & Navarre. 
 
 Brought to a realizing sense that Jones was too highly 
 regarded by the representatives of the American Gov- 
 ernment to be ignominiously sent home, and further
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 389 
 
 influenced by the Due de la Rochefoucauld, who, with 
 his well-known benevolence, had used the power of his 
 great position with the minister in obedience to Jones's 
 request, the minister assured the due that he entertained 
 the highest opinion of Jones. Abandoning at once his 
 resentment against the minister, on the intelligence of 
 the latter's appreciation, Jones wrote to M. de Chau- 
 mont that "his best respects and most grateful thanks 
 awaited the minister, for the honorable things he had 
 said of him to the Due de la Rochefoucauld, and that 
 it would be his ambition to merit his favor and af- 
 fection." 
 
 It was well that Jones's sufferings were allayed tem- 
 porarily by these fair words, for many weeks and even 
 months were to elapse before the promises were re- 
 deemed. During the month of November he was in 
 receipt of various communications from the different 
 Continental agents at the various seaports in regard 
 to available ships, and he attempted to beguile the 
 ennui of his suspense by sending accounts of his situa- 
 tion to his friends Morris and Hewes, whose rapturous 
 praises of his conduct of the Ranger cruise had been 
 repeated to him by his fellow-officer Captain Bell, who 
 had just arrived at L'Orient, and who had seen Morris 
 at Philadelphia and Hewes at Edenton. Captain Bell 
 reported that various "northward" officers had stated 
 that Simpson had superseded him in the command of 
 the Ranger, but that "The Public to the southward think 
 you the finest fellow belonging to America." To this 
 comforting letter Jones replied that his account of the 
 particular affection of Mr. Morris and Mr. Hewes af-
 
 390 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 forded him the truest pleasure, that he would rather 
 have the esteem and friendship of a few such men 
 than the empty applause of millions; yet he confessed 
 that his vanity was justly flattered by the account of 
 the generous approbation of his past services. To that 
 generous public he declared: "I pledge myself that it 
 shall be my first care and my heart's supremest wish to 
 merit the continuance of its approbation, by my future 
 services and constant readiness to support the honor 
 of freedom's flag." 
 
 To his friend Captain McNeill, who had been un- 
 justly suspended from his command, he wrote with 
 great sympathy, as to one who had also fallen among 
 thieves, and expressed his sincerest thanks for his good 
 opinion, saying modestly that in spite of his troubles 
 he believed "no man ever received so much praise for a 
 little service in Europe as himself." 
 
 Six long weeks had now dragged by since Jones had 
 had the minister's definite promise to give him a ship, 
 and at last he received orders from M. de Chaumont 
 directing him to inspect some insignificant sloops at 
 Brest, with a view to their purchase. Jones reported 
 them as utterly unfit for his purpose, saying that "he 
 wished to have no connection with any ships which do 
 not sail fast, as I intend to go in harm's way." He 
 had been fearful that the Indien would be given away 
 to some French officer, and thanked M. de Chaumont 
 for his assurance that she was not to be armed before 
 the spring. He wrote that the French officers under- 
 stood that that ship had been promised him and would 
 make no difficulty about its being given to him. "You
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 391 
 
 know/' he continued, "that I have remained in Europe 
 on the faith of commanding that ship, and have lost 
 so much time that I cannot regain ! I have almost half 
 killed myself with grief," and then he reminded M. de 
 Chaumont that the Congress of the United States had 
 adopted no rule against rewarding the merit of a 
 stranger, and referred to the appointments in the army 
 and to the fact that the best ship in the navy had 
 been called the Alliance and given to a French officer. 
 Wearied out at last with the long-drawn agony of 
 his waiting, Jones now thought of going to L'Orient, 
 being, as he declared, "heartily sick of Brest and an 
 eyesore to the Marine," but before he departed he had 
 occasion to reply to a characteristic inquiry of Arthur 
 Lee's in regard to the sale of one of the prizes taken by 
 the Ranger on his voyage across the Atlantic, the one 
 which had been properly conducted and recorded by 
 Jonathan Williams. Mr. Lee had declined to give 
 Jones a copy of the rules and regulations of the Ameri- 
 can marine, which Jones had desired for use in his 
 approaching cruise, for the reason that he considered 
 that Jones's apph'cation had not been made in a respect- 
 ful form. Disappointed and mortified as he was in his 
 seemingly helpless situation, Jones saw no reason why 
 he should accept insult from Mr. Lee, and sent the fol- 
 lowing very independent and dignified reply: 
 
 BREST, November 21st, 1778. 
 His EXCELLENCY, ARTHUR LEE, 
 Sir: 
 
 I have the honor to receive your letter of the 16th 
 current. It is my duty, and will ever afford me
 
 392 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 pleasure, to give every satisfactory information in my 
 power respecting any circumstances that regards the 
 public interest, and my conduct as an American officer. 
 In my letter of the 3rd of June to the Commissioners I 
 was particular in accounting for the prizes I had taken. 
 On my way from America to Nantz I took two brigs 
 laden with fruit from Malaga, for London. The one of 
 which you inquire arrived at Nantz and was sold very 
 cheap by Messrs. Morris and Williams, the captors' 
 moiety of which was paid them in February, agreeable 
 to your letter. This is all that came within my knowl- 
 edge; but I have understood, and believe, that the 
 latter acted in that business by virtue of the authority 
 which he received from the former, to whom I made 
 application on my arrival. Should any farther account 
 be necessary, I am always ready to give it as far as it 
 lays in my power. 
 
 If Mr. Lee will for a moment recur to my letter to 
 him, dated on board the Ranger the 26th of February 
 last, he will find no reason to charge me with want of 
 due respect. The handbill that was enclosed by which 
 I became accountable to those who entered to serve 
 under my command for the regular payment of their 
 wages, having been approved by the Marine Committee 
 (as certified to me under their Secretary's hand) the 
 public faith was thereby pledged to put it in my power, 
 else I should have found other means to fulfill that 
 engagement. And this appears to have been Mr. Lee's 
 opinion when he wrote with his own hand a letter of 
 credit in my favor, at Passy, the 10th of January last, 
 now before me. 
 
 The handful of men under my command had been 
 led through many dangers of storms and enemies, and, 
 though in want of clothing and money, were returned 
 with some credit to Brest, yet when on the 16th of May 
 I ventured to sign my first draft on the public funds for
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 393 
 
 their relief, agreeable to my letter of advice, my signa- 
 ture was dishonored. 
 
 Neither Dr. Franklin nor Mr. Adams were ac- 
 quainted with my engagement to the crew; but Mr. 
 Lee, who had been better informed, concurred to dis- 
 honor my draft, and left me with two hundred pris- 
 oners of war, a number of sick and wounded, an almost 
 naked crew, and a ship, after a severe engagement, in 
 want of stores and provisions, from the 9th of May 
 till the 13th of June, destitute of any public support; 
 yet I found means to cure my wounded, feed my 
 people, to refit the ship, and guard my prisoners. 
 
 The dishonor that had been done me was known 
 through the French fleet and elsewhere; yet though I 
 was the first that had appeared at Brest and obtained 
 from France the honors due the American flag, I made 
 no public complaints, and only expressed my concern 
 by letter to the Commissioners, at the disgraceful wound 
 which the public credit had suffered through me. And 
 now I beg leave to ask Mr. Lee if I have deserved such 
 treatment? 
 
 The wretched situation of the crew occasioned mur- 
 muring which was artfully fomented by an officer in 
 disgrace, who succeeded too well in persuading the 
 people that I had deceived them, and that they should 
 cast the whole blame upon me, as the hindrance to their 
 receiving wages, prize-money, and bounties. In this 
 agitation of their minds he obtained from them certifi- 
 cates, &c. to the Commissioners in his favor. 
 
 These poor men were at last dragged away without 
 clothing, having only received at Brest eight or nine 
 crowns each, as prize money, the moment of their de- 
 parture, and not being allowed time to lay out that 
 trifle, and imprecating general curses on the public 
 service, public agents, and all concerned. 
 
 This is not the way to establish a Navy. Congress
 
 394 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 has made laws for its internal government, and ap- 
 pointed the officers alone as magistrates to put them 
 into execution. The standing order of the Marine 
 Committee has been to preserve strict discipline in the 
 fleet, and all applications of complaint, either against 
 individuals or numbers, they have rejected without 
 answer. It not being, as they have told me, the 
 province of the civil power to interfere in the internal 
 government of ships of war. And you may now see, 
 that listening to the people of the Ranger, instead of 
 doing good, has destroyed even the shadow of subor- 
 dination. 
 
 Mr. Amiel has told me that you objected to my 
 receiving copies of some papers that concern me, be- 
 cause you thought I had not made a respectful appli- 
 cation. A copy of it is enclosed, which though not in 
 form of humble petition, I believe it will be difficult to 
 construe into disrespect. True respect can never be 
 extorted; and I will say of myself, that 
 
 "The tribute of respect to greatness due, 
 Not the bribed sycophant more freely pays." 
 
 I shall only add, that the dishonor of my bill of ex- 
 change has not only served to corroborate the ungrate- 
 ful misrepresentations of Lieut. Simpson, but also oc- 
 casioned the infamous attachment of the Ranger's 
 prizes, for the provisions previously furnished by M. 
 Bersolle. 
 
 I thank you, sir, for your polite attentions while I 
 was at Paris last Winter, which I received as a proof 
 of your good opinion, and which I have not since for- 
 feited by any misconduct. 
 
 The apparent mystery of my present situation can- 
 not be imputed to me as a fault, or if it is, I am respon- 
 sible to Congress. I have endeavored in my narrow
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 395 
 
 walk, to pursue a steady line of duty, wishing to offend 
 none. 
 I have the honor to be, 
 
 With due respect, Sir, yours, &c. 
 
 Events were to show at a later crisis of his affairs 
 how Lee was prepared to avenge himself for this self- 
 respecting attitude on Jones's part. 
 
 Among several reports from his friends in regard to 
 available ships, Jones heard from James Moylan, the 
 United States commercial agent at L' Orient, of an East 
 Indian ship called the Duras which was for sale, and 
 finally determined, although without the minister's 
 direct authority, to proceed to that port immediately, 
 to inspect the ship himself. "I am taking a step out 
 of rule," he wrote to Williams, "but I see no remedy 
 unless I wish to be trifled with until I die of grief." 
 
 Arrived at L'Orient on the evening of the 6th of 
 December, he wrote to M. de Chaumont, on the next 
 day, that he had seen the Duras, and that, although 
 somewhat more than twelve years old, he believed she 
 would answer. To this report of Jones no reply of 
 any kind arrived for two weeks, and the owner, who 
 had received other offers for the ship, gave Jones ten 
 days' refusal hi which to purchase her. Under this cer- 
 tainly unnecessary delay he wrote a most pitiful ac- 
 count of his situation to his friend Williams: "My 
 patience being worn out at Brest, Mr. Amiel and myself 
 left that purgatory and have been here since the 6th. 
 I wrote on the 7th to M. de Chaumont that there is 
 now a ship that might answer, but no reply has yet 
 appeared. I have not yet received a line from M. de
 
 396 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Chaumont since the 9th ult., he at that time offered 
 to buy me one of the small sloops at Brest; to that I 
 sent an absolute refusal. His silence has hurt me ex- 
 ceedingly, but this silence of Franklin has hurt me still 
 more, as I regard him with the affection of a son to a 
 parent. So much indeed have I suffered through the 
 severity of my situation, that I find my health much 
 impaired. I cannot sleep, and I can say from my own 
 sad experience, 
 
 " ' Were I to curse the man I hate, 
 Attendance and dependence be his fate.' " 
 
 Two days after writing this letter, he sent a last 
 agonized appeal to M. de Chaumont, telling him that 
 the Duras would certainly be sold if he did not promptly 
 send his decision, and imploring him to put him out of 
 his misery by sending him some definite reply. "If 
 you really love me," he wrote, "you will remove my 
 doubts, or tell me that my fears are true, else I shall 
 believe that I have been betrayed and sacrificed with 
 premeditation." 
 
 The very definiteness of the term at which the re- 
 fusal of the Duras would expire seemed to ease his 
 pain. "In ten days I shall know," he wrote again 
 and again to his friends Ross and Williams, "whether 
 I have had to deal with honest men or scoundrels." 
 
 At last, on the 28th, a reply arrived, and it was 
 favorable. Gourlade, the partner of James Moylan, 
 who was also acting as commercial agent at L'Orient, 
 had offered to buy the ship himself to relieve Jones's 
 torment, and now received definite orders to pur-
 
 397 
 
 chase it. But again, before Jones had had time to 
 more than draw one breath of relief from his agony, 
 another doubtful, temporizing letter arrived from M. de 
 Chaumont, and Jones forthwith made up his mind to 
 go to Paris to attend to his business himself. 
 
 In the journal drawn up for Louis XVI in the year 
 1786, in which all the incidents of his naval service are 
 related with admirable clarity and succinctness, Jones 
 stated that his reason for forming this decision was the 
 accidental reading of a passage in Franklin's " Maxims 
 of Poor Richard," in which he found the advice: "If 
 you would have your business done, go yourself, if 
 not, send." 
 
 In the first week of the new year he therefore pro- 
 ceeded to Paris, deciding, in case the minister should 
 give him the Duras, to change her name to the Bon 
 Homme Richard, to celebrate the wise axiom of "Poor 
 Richard's Almanac," and the fame of its beloved 
 author. His journey was productive of immediate 
 and favorable results, for the minister received him 
 with perfect courtesy and promised to procure him 
 the ship without further delay. He also introduced 
 him to Count Gamier, with whom he directed Jones 
 to consult in regard to the plans for his proposed expe- 
 dition. This gentleman was then at liberty at the 
 court, having been recalled from his post as charge 
 d'affaires in London on account of the severing of 
 diplomatic relations between France and England. In 
 his journal for the King, Jones describes Count Gamier 
 as " un homme d'un grand penetration et d'un jugement 
 sur." He found him exceedingly sympathetic and had
 
 398 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 the greatest satisfaction in the association. He drew 
 up for his inspection some very lucid papers in regard 
 to the proper methods of conducting aggressive war- 
 fare against the enemy's coasts and the proper dis- 
 tribution of prize-money, offering, as he had done 
 before in the case of the cruise in the Alfred and the 
 Providence, to assist in defraying the expenses of the 
 expedition from his own pocket. 
 
 The consideration he received at this time from the 
 representatives of both governments must have been 
 exceedingly gratifying to Jones's wounded pride. He 
 was again received as a guest at Passy, and again en- 
 joyed his agreeable intimacy with the admiring family 
 of M. de Chaumont and his friendship with Doctor 
 Bancroft. M. de Sartine now treated him with the 
 utmost favor, intending apparently to atone for the 
 neglect of the past. He gave Jones carte-blanche and 
 sole command of the expedition, and offered him a 
 large ship of war, the Marechal de Broglie, of sixty-four 
 guns, then lying at Nantes. He proposed also to give 
 him three or four frigates and two or three cutters, 
 with a corps of five hundred men from Walsh's Irish 
 regiment, to make the land attacks. No French sea- 
 men were to be enlisted, however, and despairing of 
 finding a sufficient number for the Marechal de Broglie, 
 Jones was compelled to refuse the splendid ship, and 
 content himself, while waiting for the Indien, which 
 Sartine again promised him, with the Duras. 
 
 On the 4th of February the minister issued to him in 
 writing the King's formal bestowal of the ship, and 
 announced that he was permitted to change her name
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 399 
 
 according to his desire. Jones replied in the following 
 letter: 
 
 PASSY, Feb. Gth, 1779. 
 M. DE SARTINE, Minister of Marine, Versailles. 
 
 My Lord-' 
 
 I have the honor to receive your Excellency's letter 
 dated the 1st, by the hands of Mr. Gamier. I take 
 the earliest opportunity to offer you my sincere and 
 grateful thanks for so singular and honorable a mark 
 of your confidence and approbation. 
 
 It shall be my duty to represent in the strongest 
 terms to Congress, the generous and voluntary reso- 
 lution which their great ally, the protector of the rights 
 of human nature, and the best of kings, has taken to 
 promote the honor of their flag, and I beseech you to 
 assure his Majesty that my heart is impressed with the 
 deepest sense of the obligation which I owe his conde- 
 scending favor and good opinion and which it shall be 
 my highest ambition to merit, by rendering every ser- 
 vice in my power to the common cause; I cannot ensure 
 success, but I will endeavor to deserve it. 
 
 I beg leave to assure your Excellency that I will 
 carefully observe your present as well as future instruc- 
 tions, and that I will communicate to you from time to 
 time a faithful account of my proceedings. 
 
 I will avail myself of the authority which you have 
 given me to raise French volunteers to serve as ma- 
 rines, as I fear there may not be easily found a suffi- 
 cient number of American seamen. 
 
 It has always been my custom to treat my people 
 and prisoners with hospitality and kindness, and you 
 may be assured that I shall ever take pleasure in pro- 
 moting the happiness of every person under my 
 command. 
 
 Your having permitted me to alter the name of the
 
 400 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 ship has given me a pleasing opportunity of paying a 
 well merited compliment to a great and good man to 
 whom I am under obligations, and who honors me with 
 his friendship. 
 
 I am in the fulness and grateful affection of my 
 heart, and with perfect esteem and respect, 
 My Lord, 
 
 Yours &c. 
 
 It was now time for Jones to commence active prepa- 
 rations. He left Paris, therefore, on the 12th and 
 journeyed to St. Malo to recruit as many seamen as 
 possible at that port. From thence, without delay, he 
 went to L'Orient, where the several ships of his squad- 
 ron were ordered to assemble. 
 
 The beautiful, fast-sailing Alliance, had just arrived 
 in Europe, bringing over Lafayette, under the com- 
 mand of Pierre Landais, and Jones wrote soon after his 
 arrival at L'Orient to Count Gamier asking him to re- 
 quest Franklin to join her to his squadron. He an- 
 nounced some difficulty in obtaining proper cannon 
 for the Poor Richard, and said that he was afraid he 
 would have to make search for them himself. He took 
 a few days of repose before proceeding upon these 
 journeys, during which time he wrote the remarkable 
 letter to Franklin in which he informed him of the 
 killing of the mutineer at Tobago. The innocent mys- 
 tery which Franklin had asked Jones to explain, arising 
 from the practical joking of the mischievous Mile, de 
 Chaumont and her maid, most strangely brought about 
 the painful confession. 1 The "misfortune of his life" 
 
 1 Letter from Franklin to Jones, March, 1779, Appendix
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 401 
 
 was never revealed by his devoted friends, nor did it 
 alter in any perceptible manner the warmth of their 
 affection for him. Jones's idea of friendship was a 
 very high one; his candid nature could not endure a 
 relationship which was limited by a shadow of conceal- 
 ment. He requested that the letter containing his 
 confession should also be shown to Doctor Bancroft, 
 for whom he had the strongest affection, and upon 
 whom he relied for advice and assistance in every 
 emergency. 
 
 In his prompt and energetic efforts to persuade Sar- 
 tine to keep his promises to Jones, Bancroft had shown 
 that he deserved this confidence, and when Jones had 
 the opportunity of serving him in investigating the 
 serious charges that Bancroft had sold his knowledge 
 of the approaching commercial alliance between France 
 and America in England for the purpose of speculating 
 in stocks, he was no less active in Bancroft's behalf. 
 In common with every associate of the commissioners, 
 Bancroft's honesty had been questioned by Arthur Lee, 
 and Jones was the instrument of clearing him from 
 suspicion. At a much later time Lee retracted these 
 charges himself, owing to the "fuller information" 
 which he had received when it was disclosed that he 
 himself had been the dupe of his two secretaries, Thorn- 
 ton and Ford, who, as spies in the pay of the English 
 Government, had duly forwarded information in regard 
 to the treaty. 
 
 Having sent off Lieutenant Amiel and other officers 
 whom he had found at Nantes to various points to re- 
 cruit seamen, Jones now started on his long and very
 
 402 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 exhausting search for cannon. He went to Bordeaux, 
 and thence to Angouleme, where he at last found a 
 foundry where they might be made, then to Nantes, 
 back to L'Orient, and once again to Nantes. At the 
 latter port he again enjoyed the delight of daily asso- 
 ciation with his beloved Jonathan Williams, who as- 
 sisted him in the revaluation of the Selkirk plate, and 
 also helped in the vigorous search for recruits. 
 
 He was wellnigh exhausted by all this journeying, 
 when, on the 9th of April, he was met at Nantes by 
 an express from Paris commanding his immediate pres- 
 ence at the capital for an important consultation with 
 Doctor Franklin and the minister of marine. He started 
 without delay to obey this summons, taking Jonathan 
 Williams as far as L' Orient. Within forty-eight hours 
 from L'Orient he was in Paris, and discovered that 
 the reason for the summons arose from Franklin's de- 
 sire to associate Lafayette with him in his approach- 
 ing cruise. The Marquis de Lafayette had no sooner 
 arrived in Paris and been informed of Jones's daring 
 plans for attacking the coast of England than he de- 
 clared his ardent desire to join the expedition. His 
 proposal was cordially received by Franklin and sanc- 
 tioned by the Count de Vergennes. A new and most 
 attractive prospect was thus opened out to Jones, 
 who accepted the idea of a joint expedition with La- 
 fayette with enthusiasm. It was proposed that the 
 general should himself command a force of seven hun- 
 dred picked men for the purpose of making the land 
 attacks, and plans were concerted and decided upon 
 between them with Count Garnier's assistance, which,
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 403 
 
 as Jones said, "would have astonished the world." 
 Jones was promised an increased naval force, and noth- 
 ing was lacking to show the confidence and good in- 
 tentions of the minister. 
 
 Jones remained in Paris only long enough to perfect 
 these plans, and then returned to L'Orient to hasten 
 the equipment of the squadron. A few days after his 
 departure Franklin wrote a letter to Jones under the 
 belief that Lafayette was about to join him at L'Orient, 
 in which he gave the two young men the benefit of his 
 affectionate and paternal advice. 
 
 To Capt. John Paul Jones: 
 
 27th of April 
 MY DEAR SIR: 
 
 I have at the request of M. de Sartine postponed 
 the sending of the Alliance to America, and have or- 
 dered her to proceed immediately from Nantes to 
 L'Orient, where she is to be furnished with her com- 
 plement of men, join your little squadron, and act 
 under your command. 
 
 The Marquis de La Fayette will be with you soon. 
 It has been observed, that joint expeditions of land and 
 sea forces, often miscarry through jealousies and mis- 
 understandings between the officers of the different 
 corps. This must happen where there are little minds, 
 actuated more by personal views or profit or honor to 
 themselves, than by the warm and sincere desire of 
 good to their country. Knowing you both, as I do, and 
 your just manner of thinking on these occasions, I am 
 confident nothing of the kind can happen between you, 
 and that it is unnecessary for me to recommend to 
 either of you, that condescension, mutual good will, 
 and harmony, which contribute so much to success in
 
 404 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 such undertakings. I look upon this expedition as an 
 introduction only to greater trusts and more extensive 
 commands, and as a kind of trial of both your abili- 
 ties, and of your fitness in temper and disposition for 
 acting in concert with others. I flatter myself, there- 
 fore, that nothing will happen that may give impres- 
 sions to the disadvantage of either of you, when 
 greater affairs shall come under consideration. 
 
 As this is understood to be an American expedition, 
 under the Congress commission and colours, the Mar- 
 quis, who is a Major General in that service, has of 
 course the step in point of rank, and he must have the 
 command of the land forces, which are committed by 
 the King to his care; but the command of the ships will 
 be entirely in you, in which I am persuaded that what- 
 ever authority his rank might in strictness give him, 
 he will not have the least desire to interfere with you. 
 There is honour enough to be got for both of you, if 
 the expedition is conducted with a prudent unanimity. 
 The circumstance is indeed a little unusual; for there 
 is not only a junction of land and sea forces, but there 
 is also a junction of Frenchmen and Americans, which 
 increases the difficulty of maintaining a good under- 
 standing; a cool prudent conduct in the chiefs is there- 
 fore the more necessary, and I trust neither of you will 
 in that respect be deficient. With my best wishes for 
 your success, health, and honour, I remain, dear Sir, 
 your affectionate and most obedient servant, 
 
 B. FRANKLIN. 
 
 Franklin sent with this letter official instructions 
 containing a prohibition against following England's 
 example in the wanton destruction of property, ex- 
 pressly forbidding the burning of any town except in 
 case of the refusal of a reasonable ransom.
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 405 
 
 On the same 27th of April, as the result of his con- 
 sultations with Franklin, Lafayette wrote for the first 
 time to Paul Jones, expressing the confidence which he 
 had immediately conceived for the man whose genius 
 and ambitions were so peculiarly sympathetic to his 
 own. The plans which had been concerted between 
 Jones and Lafayette in consultation with Count Gar- 
 nier had not been communicated by Jones to M. de 
 Chaumont, and Jones was displeased when he found 
 that he had become aware of them. Lafayette evi- 
 dently shared this feeling, for he wrote that M. de 
 Chaumont was "determined" to undertake the journey 
 to L'Orient. Lafayette also wrote that he considered 
 it inadvisable that any military should be put upon the 
 Alliance, for he had had a full experience of Landais's 
 eccentricities during his passage across the Atlantic, 
 and he gave as his reason that he feared that Cap- 
 tain Landais would get into trouble with his officers. 
 "Although this command is not equal to my military 
 rank," Lafayette wrote, "the love of the common 
 cause makes me very happy to undertake it, and as 
 this motive is the only one which controlls all my pri- 
 vate and public affairs, I am sure that I shall find in 
 you the same zeal, and we shall do as much and more 
 than any others in the same situation." He concluded 
 his letter with the warmest expressions of friendship, 
 and a promise, which he loyally kept to the close of his 
 life, that that friendship should never end. "Be cer- 
 tain, my dear Sir, that I shall be happy to divide with 
 you whatever share of glory may await us, and that 
 my esteem and affection for you is truly felt, and will 
 last forever."
 
 406 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 The messenger who brought these letters to Paul 
 Jones might well have come from Olympian heights. 
 Not even in the hour of the unique victory which was 
 to crown his brief career could his glory-loving heart 
 have felt a deeper, more satisfying happiness than 
 when he read these words of affection and confidence 
 from Lafayette and Franklin. 
 
 On the day of their arrival he sent the following 
 replies expressing in almost solemn engagements his in- 
 tention of meriting their confidence: 
 
 L'ORIENT May 1, 1779. 
 MAJOR GENERAL DE LA FAYETTE, 
 
 I have, my dear Marquis, this day had the singular 
 pleasure of receiving your very esteemed letter by the 
 hands of M. de Chaumont; so flattering and affection- 
 ate a proof of your esteem and friendship has made an 
 impression on my mind that will attend me while I live. 
 This I hope to prove by more than words. Where men 
 of fine feelings are concerned there is seldom misunder- 
 standing; and I am sure I should do violence to my 
 sensibility if I were capable of giving you a moment's 
 pain by any part of my conduct. Therefore, without 
 any apology, I shall expect you to point out my errors 
 when we are together alone with perfect freedom, and 
 I think I dare promise your reproof shall not be lost. 
 
 M. de Chaumont is now endeavoring to settle matters 
 with respect to the cannon. I hope he will succeed, and 
 if so, the Bon Homme Richard may soon be got ready. 
 I could say more with respect to the accommodation 
 of the men. I hope no difficulty will arise, for she can 
 carry 350 or 400, should there be occasion. 
 
 I have received from the good Dr. Franklin, instruc- 
 tions at large which do honor to his liberal mind, and 
 which it will give me the truest satisfaction to execute.
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 407 
 
 I cannot ensure success, but will endeavor to de- 
 serve it. 
 
 With sincere esteem and affection of my heart, and 
 with the truest regard and respect, I am always, 
 
 Yours &c. 
 
 J. P. JONES. 
 
 L'ORIENT, May 1, 1779. 
 His EXCELLENCY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 
 
 Honored and Dear Sir: 
 
 The letter I had the honor to receive from you to- 
 day, together with your liberal and noble-minded in- 
 structions, would make a coward brave. You have 
 called up every sentiment of public virtue in my breast, 
 and it shall be my pride and my ambition, in the 
 strict pursuit of your instructions, to deserve success. 
 
 Be assured that very few prospects could afford me 
 so true a satisfaction as that of rendering some ac- 
 ceptable service to the common cause, and at the same 
 time relieving from captivity (by furnishing the means 
 of exchange) our unfortunate fellow subjects from the 
 hands of the enemy. 
 
 It only remains for me to return your Excellency, my 
 thanks for past instances of your friendship, especially 
 in the last of your particular confidence. 
 
 I am, and shall be to the end of my life, with the 
 most affectionate esteem and respect, 
 
 Honored and Dear Sir, 
 
 Yours &c. 
 
 Paul Jones had need of the strength which always 
 came to him from the encouragement and appreciation 
 of his friends, for his health had so severely suffered by 
 his constant journeyings that he was obliged to take 
 to his bed.
 
 408 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Under these conditions the business of recruiting the 
 seamen proceeded with difficulty. The volunteers who 
 had been enrolled at Nantes were all sent back as being 
 entirely unfit for service. Jones had fortunately been 
 able to engage thirty reliable seamen from among some 
 American prisoners who had been sent to L'Orient in a 
 cartel, but he was compelled to recruit also a number 
 of raw French peasants from the neighboring fields to 
 make up the necessary complement, and believing 
 that the soldiers who were to sail with him under 
 Lafayette's command would keep them in order, he 
 also shipped a number of English prisoners from the 
 jails of Brest and Saint Malo, making, as he declared, 
 "as bad a crew as was ever embarked on any vessel." 
 The cannon had failed to arrive from Angouleme for 
 the Bon Homme Richard, and he therefore armed her 
 with an old battery of twenty-eight nine and twelve 
 pounders on the main deck, and placed six old eighteen- 
 pounders on the gun-deck. This was an exceedingly 
 dangerous proceeding, except in smooth water, which 
 Jones explained he expected to find in the enemy's 
 harbors. These, with the cannon of the forecastle 
 and quarter-deck, brought her armament to forty-two 
 guns. The zealous M. de Chaumont had purchased 
 the Pallas, a merchant-ship which he had found at 
 Nantes, and fitted her up in the greatest possible haste 
 with thirty-two twelve-pounders. A small brig, the 
 Vengeance, he had also mounted with twelve three- 
 pounders. This ship now arrived at L'Orient to join 
 the Bon Homme Richard, as well as the Cerf, a fine 
 cutter from the royal marine, and the Alliance of 
 thirty-six guns, which, according to Jones's request, had
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 409 
 
 been added to his force. These five ships made up 
 Jones's little squadron, and the last two were actually 
 the only ones which were fit for service. The soldiers 
 were ordered to embark, and Jones was waiting for 
 Lafayette's arrival when a letter came from him an- 
 nouncing that, owing to the indiscreet communication 
 of the secret of the expedition to M. de Chaumont, 
 the minister had ordered that the troops should not 
 sail and that Lafayette should rejoin his regiment. 
 Again disappointment destroyed the ardent hopes of 
 Paul Jones at the very moment when they seemed about 
 to be realized. The original plan of the expedition, 
 which was no less than to lay Liverpool under contri- 
 bution, as well as those which Jones had secretly per- 
 fected with Count Gamier, were also all abandoned in 
 favor of a much less important expedition with four 
 ships furnished by the Swedish minister. 
 
 At this unhappy moment Jones was also informed 
 that Count Gamier had been superseded, as adviser 
 and representative of the minister, by M. de Chau- 
 mont. Count Gamier had been promised the post of 
 minister to the United States, a promise which was 
 barren of result, and M. de Chaumont, as the direct 
 representative of the court, assumed not only the 
 office of commissary for the equipment of the ships, 
 but took to himself, in virtue of his high authority, the 
 position of general manager of the entire squadron. 
 
 The responsibility of communicating the secret of 
 the expedition to M. de Chaumont lay at the door of 
 M. de Sartine, as the following letter from Lafayette 
 to the Count de Vergennes discloses:
 
 410 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 FRANCE, ARCHIVES ETRANGERES, 
 (Translation) 
 
 PARIS, 1st April 1779 
 To the COUNT DE VERGENNES: 
 
 Sir: 
 
 From what M. de Sartine has said to me, I re- 
 quested M. de Chaumont yesterday to send and seek 
 for Captain Jones, and although the place of his pres- 
 ent residence is unknown, our messenger will do all 
 that he possibly can to bring him immediately. I en- 
 trusted to him a somewhat urgent letter for Jones, and 
 as Dr. Franklin was not at home, I left one also for him, 
 in which I gave our desire to see the captain, the 
 appearance of a consultation, rather than that of any 
 definite plan. 
 
 The time I passed with M. de Chaumont enabled me 
 to learn what I shall now have the honor of confiding to 
 you. The armament of the Bon Homme Richard, (the 
 vessel of fifty guns) goes on in the slowest possible 
 manner. The refusal of the stores from the King's 
 magazine, especially the guns, will retard our expedi- 
 tion for a whole month, because it will be the same 
 for all the other ships. The only way to obviate such 
 delay would be to put one man in charge of this arma- 
 ment, and send him to the ports with orders to take 
 all that was necessary. . I have discovered that Jones 
 had a little plan for an enterprise, formed under the 
 direction of Gamier, and in which M. de Chaumont 
 is concerned. From the manner in which M. de 
 Sartine sent for him, making M. de Chaumont a half 
 confidant, (the most dangerous of all things because 
 it gives information, without binding to secrecy) I 
 think it would now be as well to communicate to him 
 the secret of the armament, without betraying that of 
 the expedition, and to charge him to employ therein
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 411 
 
 all his activity. The other person, (Gamier) need no 
 longer in that case take any part hi it, and according 
 to the orders received by M. de Sartine, it appeared to 
 me, from what M. de Chaumont said, that the Bon 
 Homme Richard, and other vessels, would be in readi- 
 ness before the expiration of three weeks. 
 
 I intend to have the honor of paying my respects to 
 you after dinner on Saturday. If you approve of my 
 idea, M. Le Compte, M. de Chaumont, or any other 
 person you please, might be summoned at the same 
 time; for by ordinary methods we shall never finish. 
 
 I hope that in consideration of my aversion to delays 
 in military affairs, and for the sake of a project which 
 you approve, you will be good enough to pardon the 
 trouble which my confidence gives you. 
 
 I have the honor to be, with very sincere respect and 
 attachment, M. le Compte, 
 
 Your very humble and very obedient servant. 
 
 The generous offer made by M. de Chaumont to 
 Lafayette, to supply him with the necessary funds 
 for the armament of the squadron, was evidently the 
 cause of the enlargement of the powers of M. de Chau- 
 mont, as well as the confidential relation which he en- 
 joyed with M. de Sartine and the King himself. 
 
 M. de Chaumont had not been fitted by his experi- 
 ence as a manufacturer of ceramics, or by his late 
 honorable prerogatives as "Maitre des Eaux et des 
 Forets," for such powers, and his indiscretion and 
 the extraordinary orders which he issued more than 
 justified Jones's apprehensions. In spite of the un- 
 fortunate result of his revelation of the secret of the 
 proposed expedition, M. de Chaumont continued his 
 misdirected efforts to establish rules for the manage-
 
 412 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 ment of the little squadron, and on the 10th and 14th 
 of June issued written orders forbidding Jones to re- 
 quire any services from the ships under his ostensible 
 command, which differed from the designs of their 
 respective captains. The four captains, Cottineau of 
 the Pallas, Ricot of the Vengeance, Varage of the Cerf, 
 and Landais of the Alliance, who were severally placed 
 on these vessels under the orders of M. de Chaumont, 
 therefore considered themselves perfectly free to carry 
 out their own ideas without any reference to Jones. 
 Moreover, M. de Chaumont, by instilling the idea 
 into the entire personnel of the squadron that he 
 was the manager of the expedition and the agent of 
 the King, caused the opinion to prevail that it was a 
 French squadron, and that its captain was a stranger 
 to be viewed with suspicion. "According to my 
 opinion," wrote Jones to the King, "it was hardly pos- 
 sible for the commissary to render a worse service to 
 his country, as the King had made the generous reso- 
 lution to maintain at his own expense and under the 
 American flag, the squadron which he had confided to 
 my direction, and as I had given all the commissions 
 to the American officers, it was important for the good 
 of the service that they should believe that they were 
 in the service of the Congress, and that the squadron 
 belonged to the United States." 
 
 All hopes of harmonious action were lost by the 
 strange directions of M. de Chaumont. In spite of 
 these unheard-of hindrances and complications, Jones 
 attempted to establish the best possible relations with 
 his associated captains, and to keep his temper with the
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 413 
 
 commissary, whose errors he believed were of "the head 
 and not of the heart." Two of the best officers on the 
 Alliance deserted at this juncture on account of their 
 difficulties with Landais; Jones permitted this in hopes 
 of maintaining harmony on the best ship of his squad- 
 ron, writing carefully to John Adams to inform him 
 as to the actual causes of the difficulty. He was still 
 expecting that Lafayette would eventually join him 
 when he received a letter from the marquis informing 
 him that their happy idea of a joint expedition must 
 be definitely abandoned. 
 
 At the moment of receiving this disappointing in- 
 telligence Jones wrote the following letter to Franklin, 
 showing that he was able, in this instance at least, to 
 accept the inevitable with philosophy: 
 
 L'ORIENT, May 22, 1779 
 HONORED AND DEAR SIR: 
 
 Since I had the honor to receive your kind and polite 
 letter of the 10th, I have waited with impatient 
 expectation of seeing the Marquis here. The Bon 
 Homme Richard, the Alliance, the Pallas, and Cerf, and 
 the Vengeance are now ready in the road, for the 
 embarkment of the troops. This little armament was 
 not I may say begun before the 12th of this month; 
 since then the people concerned in it have been em- 
 ployed night and day, and I have flattered myself with 
 hopes of success and honor. Judge then of my dis- 
 appointment when instead of seeing the Marquis, I 
 have received a letter from him in which he tells me 
 that "the king's disposition is entirely changed, and 
 that instead of meeting me here, he is now going to 
 take command of the King's regiment at Saints." 
 Extraordinary as this change is, it is not my place to
 
 414 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 inquire into the reasons for it, and tho' the expense of 
 the armament may perhaps exceed the usual amount, 
 I am certain that the alteration cannot be attributed 
 to any want of activity on my part. I am ready to 
 follow any plan you please to adopt, or if anything is 
 left to me, you may depend on my best endeavors 
 either in Europe or America. It would have added 
 greatly indeed to my happiness to have been joined in 
 command with a character so amiable as the Marquis, 
 and I am very unwilling to drop the expectation of his 
 coming here. His letter was but this moment brought 
 to my hands, and to save the post I am obliged to 
 shorten my letter. 
 
 I have the honor to be, with honest affection and 
 esteem in all changes, 
 
 Honored and Dear Sir, 
 Your very obliged friend, and obliged servant. 
 
 The reason for the change in the plans of the French 
 Government arose from intimations which were com- 
 municated to the King by his uncle of Spain that he 
 was about to join in the war against England. M. de 
 Sartine now planned what Franklin in a private let- 
 ter called "the grand invasion," which was, indeed, a 
 project for a general attack upon England by the 
 combined forces of France and Spain. Preparations for 
 this extensive design were put into active progress, and 
 Lafayette, as the destined commander of the land 
 forces, was compelled to withdraw from the expedition 
 planned for Jones's small squadron. "I dare say," the 
 marquis wrote to Jones on the 22d of May, "that you 
 will be very sorry to hear that our plans have been 
 quite altered. I can only tell you how sorry I feel not 
 to be a witness of your success, abilities, and glory."
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 415 
 
 With the definite withdrawal of Lafayette and his 
 soldiers the prospects of controlling his motley crew, 
 with its dangerous force of English prisoners, became 
 exceedingly doubtful, but Jones had no alternative but 
 to await sailing orders from Franklin, which finally 
 arrived in the shape of a letter communicating to him 
 Sartine's desire that he should go out in a short pre- 
 liminary cruise, in which he was to convoy some mer- 
 chant-ships from L'Orient to Bordeaux and to chase 
 the enemy's ships out of the Bay of Biscay. Although 
 by no means corresponding with the ambitious plans 
 which he had made, Jones proceeded to obey these 
 orders with his customary alacrity, and put to sea in 
 the Bon Homme Richard, together with the other ships 
 of his squadron and his convoy of merchantmen, on 
 the 19th of June. This little expedition was destined 
 to be fruitful in many lessons but few results. On the 
 20th his long series of difficulties with Landais began; 
 during the night the Alliance came into collision with 
 the Bon Homme Richard on account of Landais refus- 
 ing to give his commander's ship the right of way. 
 Considerable damage was done to both of the ships, 
 the Richard losing her cut-water and jib-boom, and 
 the Alliance her mizzen-mast. The blame for this 
 accident was chiefly owing to the insubordination of 
 Landais in deliberately disregarding Jones's signal, and 
 to his disgraceful cowardice at the moment of the ac- 
 cident, when he gave no orders, but ran below to load 
 his pistols, leaving his vessel to be extricated from her 
 dangerous situation by his subordinates. Jones was 
 below at the time of this accident, but immediately
 
 416 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 took command in the place of his own inefficient of- 
 ficer of the watch, and succeeded in separating the 
 ships. The two vessels were repaired with all speed 
 and Jones proceeded to carry out his orders. After 
 escorting his convoy to Bordeaux, he went into the Bay 
 of Biscay, and in his effort to come up with various 
 English ships he found, to his infinite annoyance, that 
 the Bon Homme Richard was a hopelessly dull sailer. 
 His fears of trouble with the English prisoners were 
 also quickly realized, for they formed a plot to take 
 the Bon Homme Richard, which was fortunately dis- 
 covered in time and its ringleaders put in irons. Jones's 
 conduct of this short and relatively unimportant cruise 
 is full of indications of his character and of his aptitude 
 for command. Confronted with a disabling accident 
 and the dangers of a formidable plot to take the ship, 
 he immediately attempted to improve the efficiency of 
 his officers by issuing complete and detailed rules for 
 their direction, and by constant and personal consulta- 
 tion. 
 
 On the day after the collision he sent the Cerf, as 
 being the fastest ship in his squadron, to reconnoitre 
 two sail. After a sharp engagement the Cerf came up 
 with one of them, a sloop of fourteen guns, and capt- 
 ured her, but on the approach of a superior force was 
 compelled to abandon the prize and return to L'Orient 
 to refit. On the 22d three ships of war appeared to 
 windward and bore down in order, but, finding Jones 
 ready to engage, escaped by superior sailing. A few 
 days later the Alliance and the Pallas were lost in a 
 thick fog, and when the two remaining ships came in
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 417 
 
 sight of the Island of Groix, off L'Orient, on the 26th, 
 in a contrary gale, Jones gave the Vengeance permission 
 to make her way into port as best she could. 
 
 The time allotted to him in his orders now being 
 elapsed, Jones prepared to return to L'Orient, when he 
 found himself at nightfall in close proximity to two 
 large British frigates. He was alone in the Bon 
 Homme Richard and chased by the frigates, who were 
 rapidly overtaking him. He immediately tacked to 
 engage them, but when they perceived his intentions 
 the frigates ran away, and, as he related, "to his great 
 mortification outsailed the Bon Homme Richard and 
 got clear." Thus Jones lost an opportunity, so brill- 
 iantly exemplified in the case of the engagement of the 
 Constitution with the Cygne and the Levant in the War 
 of 1812, of beating two superior English frigates at 
 once. "I would have taken them both together," he 
 declared, "if I had been able to get between them as 
 had been my intention." 
 
 An entry in the log-book of the Bon Homme Richard 
 gives an account of Jones's dealing with his officers on 
 this occasion: 
 
 30th June. At half past 7 P. M. saw two sail bear- 
 ing down upon us, one with a flag at each mast head. 
 Hove about and stood from them to get in readiness 
 for action ; then hove mizzen-topsail to the mast, down 
 all stay-sails and up mizzen-sail. Then they hove 
 about and stood from us. Immediately we tacked 
 ship and stood after them. 
 
 After which they wore ship and stood for us. Cap- 
 tain Jones, gentleman-like, called all his officers, and
 
 418 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 consulted them whether they were willing to see them. 
 They all said, Yes. Made sail after them; but they, 
 being better sailors than we, got from us. At 1 A. M. 
 tacked ship. 
 
 An interesting example of his methods of getting the 
 very best possible service out of his crews is contained 
 in the written acknowledgment of his appreciation of 
 the conduct of his officers and men on the eve of the 
 expected engagement with the frigates: 
 
 It is with singular satisfaction that the Captain 
 returns his thanks to the officers and men for the noble 
 ardour and marshall spirit which they manifested last 
 night when in chase of two ships of war, which ap- 
 peared to be Enemies, whom we expected every mo- 
 ment to engage. 
 
 But who saved themselves by their superior swift- 
 ness of sailing and by a most shameful Flight. 
 
 The ship is now bound into port for a few days, after 
 which we shall depart again better fitted; and it shall 
 be the Captain's endeavor to search after a Fortune 
 equal to the Merit of every Man, of every free Ameri- 
 can and brave volunteer whom he has the honor to 
 command. 
 Given on board the American 
 
 Ship of War, the Bon Homme Richard 
 
 off Port Louis, the 30th 
 
 Of June, 1779. 
 
 Some of the men were those very English prisoners 
 who had joined in the plot to take the Bon Homme 
 Richard, but once convinced of Jones's capacity to pre- 
 serve discipline, and inspired, as his seamen never 
 failed to become at the moment of conflict, by the
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 419 
 
 example of his own enthusiasm, they evinced a spirit 
 of bravery so commendable that Jones made particular 
 reference to them in the account of his cruise, which he 
 drew up for Franklin and Sartine on the following day, 
 when he arrived at Groix. This report of the 30th of 
 June crossed on the way to Paris new instructions for 
 a further expedition which Franklin, in ignorance of 
 the damages to the Alliance and the Bon Homme 
 Richard, intended should be carried out immediately: 
 
 Being arrived at Groix, you are to make the best 
 of your way with the vessels under your command to 
 the West of Ireland, and establish your cruise on the 
 Orcades, the Cape of Derneus, and the Dogger Bank, 
 in order to take the enemy's property in those seas. 
 
 The prizes you may make, send to Dunkirk, Ostend, 
 or Bergen, in Norway, according to your proximity to 
 either of those ports. Address them to the persons 
 M. de Chaumont shall indicate to you. 
 
 About the 15th of August, when you will have suffi- 
 ciently cruised in these seas, you are to make route 
 for the Texel, where you will meet my further orders. 
 
 If by any personal accident you should be rendered 
 unable to execute these instructions, the officer of your 
 squadron next in rank is to endeavor to put them in 
 execution. 
 
 The slow sailing of the Bon Homme Richard, as 
 shown in this first cruise, had naturally been a severe 
 disappointment to Jones, and his discontent with his 
 vessel was further increased by the discovery that her 
 timbers were too old and rotten to permit of some 
 alterations which he had contemplated. 
 
 He therefore reported these facts to Franklin, asking
 
 420 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 if there might not be now a chance for the Indien, 
 saying that he wished "for an opportunity of attempt- 
 ing an essential service to render himself worthy a 
 better and faster sailing ship." He also suggested a 
 change in the destination of his next cruise, to which 
 Franklin replied that no alteration in Jones's present 
 orders could then be expected, but he hinted by way 
 of encouragement that he believed the French minister 
 had chosen the Texel as the ultimate destination of 
 the cruise, with the idea of there giving Jones the 
 command of the Indien. 
 
 The degree of equanimity with which Paul Jones 
 accepted this ultimatum probably drew largely upon 
 his limited store of philosophy. He had "almost half- 
 killed himself" in his efforts to get his ship, and on 
 the first trial of her qualities found that she was 
 hopelessly slow in fact, the dullest sailer of the whole 
 squadron. The cannon for which he had taken ex- 
 hausting journeys over nearly the whole of France 
 failed to arrive, and his guns were old, like his vessel, 
 and had most of them been condemned by the French 
 Government; but the die was cast, it was the Bon 
 Homme Richard or nothing, and he was ready to risk 
 all on the hope of some desperate chance, where her 
 slow sailing might not hinder him. In this temper he 
 proceeded with all haste to the business of refitting 
 his ship, but here again he was met with the usual 
 delays and complications. In the interval of prepara- 
 tion, M. de Chaumont sent orders from Paris for the 
 Pallas and the Vengeance to go out cruising for priva- 
 teers, a proceeding which caused Jones great annoyance
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 421 
 
 on account of the delay which their possible disable- 
 ment might entail upon the immediate sailing of the 
 whole squadron and the execution of his orders from 
 Franklin. 
 
 M. de Chaumont was at this juncture again in Paris 
 and in consultation with Franklin, and was also in- 
 formed by Sartine of the plans adopted for this second 
 expedition. 
 
 With the disastrous result of the commissary's indis- 
 cretion in revealing the secret of the joint expedition 
 with Lafayette still fresh in his mind, it is not sur- 
 prising that Jones was annoyed to find that M. de 
 Chaumont had divulged the destination of his approach- 
 ing cruises to various officers at L'Orient. "This is 
 surely a strange infatuation," he wrote to Franklin, 
 "and it is much to be lamented that one of the best 
 hearts in the world should be connected with a mis- 
 taken head, whose errors may affect the ruin and dis- 
 honor of the man whom he esteems and loves." 
 
 These apprehensions were not the only preoccupa- 
 tions of these anxious days, for Jones's tune was now 
 taken up with courts-martial assembled to try the ring- 
 leaders of the plot which had been discovered during 
 his recent cruise. These men, two quartermasters, 
 were convicted and condemned to death, but, to Jones's 
 relief, the sentence was changed to severe flogging with 
 the "cat-o '-nine-tails." 
 
 The officer of the Bon Homme Richard whose care- 
 lessness had contributed to the collision with the Alli- 
 ance was also tried and broken. These unfortunate 
 occurrences were reported to Sartine, who immediately
 
 422 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 formed a very poor opinion of the efficiency of the 
 squadron, and of the Bon Homme Richard in particu- 
 lar, which Jones was now eager to reverse. In these 
 unpleasant occupations many weeks dragged by. Noth- 
 ing tried his patience more severely than delay, but in 
 this instance it was providential, for it gave him the 
 opportunity of improving the character of the Bon 
 Homme Richard's crew. 
 
 The minister, thinking it wise to control the dan- 
 gerous element among Jones's seamen, sent a force of 
 marines to join the ship under Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Chamillard de Warville and Colonel Weibert, two 
 officers recommended by Lafayette. One hundred 
 and thirty-seven Portuguese seamen, lately arrived at 
 L'Orient in the Epervier, were also added to his force. 
 When the news came that a cartel of American pris- 
 oners had arrived at Nantes, Jones sent his master, Mr. 
 Cutting Lunt, to that port to recruit as many as possible. 
 Among these men, who were destined to render him 
 such heroic support in the celebrated cruises on which 
 he was now to embark, was Richard Dale, then but 
 twenty-three years old and just emerged from a 
 two years' captivity in the mill prison at Portsmouth; 
 youthful and in ill health from his rigorous and long 
 confinement, Jones immediately recognized his char- 
 acter and capacity, and gave him a commission as 
 first lieutenant of the Bon Homme Richard. These 
 American seamen were the bone and sinew of his crew, 
 without whose honesty and courage the story of the 
 cruise and the fame of its commander might have 
 borne a different character in history. The business
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 423 
 
 of recruiting seamen was by no means left to his 
 officers, for, in spite of his poor health, resulting from 
 the trials and fatigues of the winter, Jones spared 
 neither time nor trouble to persuade any likely seaman 
 whom he found at L'Orient to ship with him. Among 
 those who had joined the Alliance, possibly on her 
 arrival at Nantes, were Thomas Chase and Joe Fred- 
 erick, both released from the English prisons, and im- 
 mediately recognized by Jones. An amusing account 
 of his methods of inducing seamen to sign the ship's 
 articles is left by Nathaniel Fanning in his records of 
 his experiences under Jones's command. 1 
 
 The crew of the Richard was now swelled by these 
 various additions to the number of three hundred and 
 eighty men and boys, including one hundred and 
 thirty-seven marines. Among the officers of all de- 
 grees, according to the official list published by Sher- 
 burne from Jones's papers, there were eight Americans, 
 two French, and six British, including the commodore 
 and the two surgeon's mates. Dale was first lieuten- 
 ant, Henry and Cutting Lunt were second and third 
 lieutenants, and Samuel Stacy and Lawrence Brooke 
 were master and surgeon, respectively. Lieutenants 
 Stack, McCarthy, and O'Kelly, from Walsh's Irish reg- 
 iment, were officers of the marines under Chamillard 
 and Weibert, and John White was first mate. Thomas 
 
 1 "His smoothness of tongue and flattery to seamen when he wanted 
 them was persuasive, and in which he excelled any other man I was 
 ever acquainted with. In fact, I have seen him walk to and fro upon 
 the quay in L'Orient for hours together with a single seaman, in order 
 to persuade him to sign the ship's articles (which he commanded) and 
 in which he was often successful."
 
 424 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Potter, Nathaniel Fanning, with about seventy other 
 Americans, were enrolled as midshipmen and seamen, 
 and the others, full four-fifths of the ship's company, 
 were a motley collection of Portuguese, Malays, and 
 Swedes, together with the English prisoners whom, 
 with great reluctance, Jones was forced to retain to 
 make up the necessary complement. They were nearly 
 a hundred in number, and represented a most danger- 
 ous element of insubordination and possibly mutiny. 
 
 Six weeks had now passed by since Jones had re- 
 turned to port to refit his ship, and the time was at 
 hand once more to put to sea. The period allotted for 
 the duration of the cruise was lengthened by Franklin 
 to the end of September, at Jones's request, and his 
 spirit was further encouraged by the evident harmony 
 which seemed at that time to exist among the captains 
 of the squadron, when, to Jones's infinite annoyance, 
 his zealous friend, the commissary, once more appeared 
 at L'Orient, and at the last moment imposed upon him 
 a strange paper called the "Concordat." This "Con- 
 cordat" was the most extraordinary document ever con- 
 ceived for the confounding of the commander-in-chief of 
 a squadron. The orders which had already been issued 
 to Jones by M. de Chaumont before his first cruise, 
 expressly forbidding him to require any services from 
 the ships of his squadron which would interfere with the 
 orders of their respective captains, were confirmed by 
 the terms of the "Concordat," which now deprived 
 Jones of the least shadow of that unconditional au- 
 thority which should have belonged to him as the 
 superior officer of the squadron.
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 425 
 
 The several captains were ordered by the minister, 
 through M. de Chaumont, to act solely under the brevet 
 of the United States, but were in no manner required 
 to yield obedience to then* commander, except as it 
 suited their discretion. Other articles provided that 
 the prizes should be sent to consignees of M. de Chau- 
 mont's selection, for the reason that he had supplied 
 the expenses of the armament, and that the division 
 of the prize-money, although governed by American 
 laws, should in reality be administered solely by M. 
 de Chaumont himself, to whom every member of the 
 expedition should apply for his proportion. This ir- 
 regular arrangement was productive of great injustice 
 in the matter of the award of the prize-money, and an 
 interminable delay in its distribution. 
 
 This extraordinary paper was levelled at Jones's head 
 at the very moment of his departure, but as the com- 
 missary asserted that he represented Sartine, with 
 full power to remove Jones from the command of the 
 squadron, and as all the other officers had affixed 
 then* signatures, Jones found himself compelled to sign 
 his name to the detested paper. "Under any other 
 circumstances, and at any other tune," he wrote to the 
 King, "I should have rejected this proposal with dis- 
 dain. I saw all the dangers which I was incurring, but 
 as I had announced in America that I had remained in 
 Europe at the request of the French Court, I decided 
 to risk them all." 1 No adequate reason for the issuing 
 of this paper has ever been advanced by any of Jones's 
 biographers. The manifest inexperience and ill judg- 
 
 1 Appendix G.
 
 426 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 ment of its author, added to his desire to realize some 
 profit on his investments in the expedition of the allied 
 powers, undoubtedly furnished M. de Chaumont's per- 
 sonal reasons for imposing it upon Jones, and the 
 "cabals" of the jealous French officers which, as Jones 
 relates, were so "high and dangerous" as to have 
 brought about his instant assassination, if the minister 
 had diverted any considerable force to his command, 
 undoubtedly influenced Sartine's approval of the agree- 
 ment. To sail under the absolute authority of a little- 
 known officer of so new a power as the United States 
 was possibly more than any French officer was willing 
 to submit to. 1 
 
 The self-control which the long winter of disappoint- 
 ments and delays had taught him enabled him now to 
 
 1 John Adams, who had come to L'Orient with the expectation of 
 returning to America on the Alliance, gives the following account of a 
 dinner given by Jones to the various officers of the Bon Homme Richard 
 and Alliance. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS'S DIARY. 
 
 "Thursday. Went on shore and dined with Captain Jones at the 
 Epee Royale. Amiel, Mr. Dick, Dr. Brooks, officers of the Poor Richard, 
 Captain Cazneau, Captain Young, Mr. Ingraham, Mr. Blodgett, Mr. 
 Glover, Mr. Conant, Messrs. Moyland, Mease, Nesbit, Cummings, and 
 Mr. Taylor made the company with Captain Landais, myself and my 
 son. 
 
 "An elegant dinner we had, and very agreeable and instructive con- 
 versation; but we practiced the old American custom of drinking to 
 each other, which I confess is always agreeable to me. Some hints 
 about language and glances about women produced this observation; 
 that there were two ways of learning French, commonly recommended; 
 take a mistress, and go to the Comedy. Dr. Brooks in his good humor 
 'Pray sir, which in your opinion is the best?' Answer in as good 
 humor 'Perhaps both would teach it somewhat sooner than either.' 
 But continued I, assuming my gravity, 'The language is no where better 
 spoken than at the Comedie. The pulpit, the bar, the Academy of 
 Sciences, and the Faculty of Medicine; none of them speak as accu- 
 rately as the French Comedie.' "
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 427 
 
 bear this last indignity. The tact, and the wise and 
 conciliatory methods of dealing with complicated and 
 trying conditions, which he had already displayed hi 
 his gentleman-like treatment of his subordinates in the 
 first short cruise of his squadron, were now exhibited 
 in his efforts to establish harmonious relations with the 
 associate commanders. He endeavored in repeated 
 consultations to replace authority by personal ascen- 
 dency, and to assure as large a measure of concerted 
 action as was possible under the circumstances. For 
 this purpose he issued orders to the respective captains, 
 requesting strict regard to signals, and giving into the 
 hands of each sealed letters of rendezvous in case of 
 separation from the flag-ship. Two privateers offered 
 to join the squadron as volunteers, swelling the num- 
 ber of his ships to seven, and he now prepared to sail. 
 On the llth of August he wrote to Sartine, ex- 
 plaining that the unguarded English prisoners had 
 caused the troubles on his ship, and reminding him 
 that the minister's withdrawal of the marines at the 
 last moment of sailing had been responsible for their 
 insubordination. He wrote that, with the presence of 
 the soldiers which Sartine had now placed upon his 
 ship, he expected to be able to control them, and 
 promised to send him direct accounts of the coming 
 expedition. Two days later, on the eve of his de- 
 parture, in a happy mood of expectation, he sent a 
 farewell letter to Franklin saying that "the little 
 squadron appeared to be unanimous, and that he be- 
 lieved if that good understanding should continue, that 
 they would be able to perform essential services." "I
 
 428 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 shall certainly sail at daybreak," he continued, "and 
 I hope shortly to find opportunity to testify my grati- 
 tude to our great and good ally, for the honor he has 
 conferred upon the American flag and on myself, and 
 I look forward with flattering expectation and an 
 ardent desire to merit your friendship and that of 
 America." Another letter, brimful of affection and the 
 expression of his eager desire sometime to make the 
 joint expedition in his company, he sent to his friend 
 Lafayette, thanking him for the presence and assist- 
 ance of Messrs. Weibert and Chamillard, and assuring 
 him of his happiness hi being ranked among the number 
 of his friends. A still more intimate expression of his 
 feelings at the moment of departure is found in a letter 
 belonging to this period, which he wrote to a woman, 
 Madame de Chaumont, a letter hitherto unpublished, 
 which furnishes a striking example of the power of his 
 extraordinary personality and the delicate gallantry of 
 his attitude toward one who had impulsively confessed 
 that she had felt his charm. 
 
 On Board the Bon Homme Richard, 
 L'ORIENT, June 13th. 
 
 Although my pen has hitherto been silent, yet my 
 thoughts have done ample justice to the affectionate 
 friendship of Madame de Chaumont. Since I last had 
 the honor of seeing her, I have indeed had very little 
 time to write, yet had I been sufficiently acquainted 
 with her language she would have heard from me 
 frequently. 
 
 As I have been so long under involuntary silence, you 
 have a just right to expect me to say something that 
 can make atonement in this letter, and I ardently wish
 
 WAITING FOR A COMMAND 429 
 
 not to disappoint you. I feel however, that I never 
 had more to say, nor less power to express myself. 
 
 I am on the point again of proving the uncertain 
 fortunes of war. If I survive, I hope to return with 
 laurels. I hope this, I say, because I am sure to take 
 with me your good wishes, and because I know that 
 my success would afford you pleasure. 
 
 To support the cause of human nature, I sacrifice all 
 the soft emotions of the heart, at a time too when love 
 is my duty. But my soul's supreme ambition is to 
 merit the partial praises of my friends which I have not 
 yet done by my services. I can only add, that what- 
 ever my future fortune may be, I shall carry with me 
 through life, the most constant and lively sense of 
 your polite attentions, and of your delicate and unre- 
 served friendship. 
 
 I am, with sentiments of real esteem, affection and 
 respect, 
 
 Madame, 
 
 Yours. 
 
 The exact relation which existed between Jones and 
 his fair correspondent, who is said to have possessed 
 unusual wit and attractiveness, must be left to con- 
 jecture. But a knowledge of her ardent admiration of 
 the young American officer might easily have been 
 one reason why M. de Chaumont sent Jones forth in 
 the anomalous position of a commander-in-chief 
 of a squadron without the slightest power to com- 
 mand. 
 
 The hour had now come for him to depart, and with 
 a courage undaunted by the dangers of his situation, 
 with a rotten ship, a makeshift armament, and a mot- 
 ley crew, he set sail on August the 14th on that cruise
 
 430 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 which was destined to be his ultimate and crowning 
 adventure, the opportunity to fulfil his soul's supreme 
 ambition, and to "write his name with honor in the 
 page of history."
 
 CHAPTER XTV 
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE "BON HOMME RICHARD" 
 AND THE "SERAPIS" 
 
 ALTHOUGH Jones had received orders to sail to the north 
 of Scotland to attack the enemy's commerce off the 
 Orcades and the Dogger Bank, he had represented to 
 Franklin that these definite directions might prevent 
 his taking advantage of more favorable opportunities, 
 which he hoped might fall in his way, and hinder the 
 execution of other and far more extensive plans of his 
 own which he had already projected. Franklin had 
 yielded to his arguments, and, following the wise course 
 which the American Government had pursued from the 
 first in regard to their most successful and favorite 
 naval officer, gave him carte-blanche. 
 
 In the conception and perfection of his plans for the 
 cruise Paul Jones was therefore unhampered by his 
 own government, but the unequalled and most un- 
 fortunate terms of the "concordat" which Sartine 
 had permitted M. de Chaumont to impose upon him 
 developed without delay a series of difficulties which 
 would have utterly discouraged a less determined com- 
 mander. That inflexible quality in his character which 
 had at last procured him his command after a year of 
 disappointments and delays was now about to be sub- 
 jected to tests which ultimately revealed its wellnigh 
 
 431
 
 432 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 superhuman endurance. But he was free at last from 
 the surveillance of M. de Chaumont, and, once more 
 at sea, he viewed his squadron with determined opti- 
 mism. The addition of the two privateers had swelled 
 its numbers to seven sail, "A force," he writes, "which 
 might have affected great services and done infinite in- 
 jury to the enemy, had there been due secrecy or subor- 
 dination. Unfortunately there was neither. Captain 
 Jones saw his danger, but his reputation being at 
 stake he put all to the hazard." 
 
 Sailing at daybreak on the 14th, they arrived after 
 four uneventful days off the entrance to the English 
 Channel, where they recaptured the Verwagting, a large 
 ship from Holland which had been taken a few days 
 before by an English privateer, and here at once the 
 folly of M. de Chaumont's "concordat" bore its 
 legitimate results. The privateers Monsieur and Grand- 
 ville had desired to sign the document, and to join 
 the squadron on equal terms with the other vessels, but 
 M. de Chaumont refused their request. "This arro- 
 gant conduct," wrote Jones, "caused general belief 
 among the Americans, particularly on board of the 
 Alliance, that the squadron belonged neither to the 
 King or to Congress, but to the individuals who had 
 supplied the armament of the vessels, and who were 
 partners with M. de Chaumont in the expected profits 
 of the expedition." 
 
 The privateers therefore associated themselves with 
 the others by voluntary agreement only, and broke 
 their engagements to abide by Jones's orders at the 
 very first opportunity of securing a prize. The captain
 
 CRUISE OF THE "BoN HOMME RICHARD."
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 433 
 
 of the Monsieur, which was the boarding vessel, plun- 
 dered the Verwagting during the night, and attempted 
 to obtain the prize for himself, without reference to his 
 commander-in-chief , by despatching it to Ostend under 
 orders written in his own name and with a crew from 
 his own vessel. Jones superseded these orders, and 
 manning the prize with some of his own men sent her 
 off to L'Orient with a letter to M. de Chaumont. The 
 offended captain of the Monsieur hung about in the 
 rear for twenty-four hours, and then disappeared under 
 cover of night and did not rejoin the squadron. On 
 the 23d, having taken several well-laden merchantmen 
 from Ireland, they sighted Cape Clear, at the extreme 
 southern point of the Irish coast, where they came up 
 with another prize. At this time Jones was confronted 
 with further difficulty due to his lack of authority over 
 his squadron, and was given another example of what 
 he might expect from the strange captain of the Alli- 
 ance. "That afternoon being calm," wrote Jones in his 
 official record, "I sent some armed boats to take a 
 brigantine that appeared in the new quarter. Soon 
 after, in the evening, it became necessary to have a 
 boat ahead of the ship to tow, as the helm could not 
 prevent her from laying across the tide of flood, which 
 would have driven us into a deep and dangerous bay 
 situated between the rocks on the south called the 
 Shallocks, and on the north called the Blaskets. The 
 ship's boat being absent I sent my own barge ahead 
 to tow the ship. The boats took the brigantine (she 
 was called the Fortune) which was bound with a cargo 
 of oil blubber and staves from New Foundland for
 
 434 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 Bristol. This vessel I ordered to proceed immediately 
 for Nantes or St. Malo. Soon after sunset the vil- 
 lains who towed the ship cut the rope and decamped 
 with my barge. Sundry shots were fired to bring them 
 to, without effect. In the meantime the Master of the 
 Bon Homme Richard, without orders, manned one of 
 the ship's boats, and with four soldiers pursued the 
 barge in order to stop the deserters. The evening was 
 clear and serene, but the zeal of that officer, Mr. Cut- 
 ting Lunt, induced him to pursue too far, and a fog 
 which came soon afterward prevented the boats from 
 rejoining the ship, although I caused signal guns to be 
 frequently fired. The fog and calm continued the next 
 day till towards evening. In the afternoon Captain 
 Landais came on board the Bon Homme Richard and 
 behaved towards me with great disrespect, affirming in 
 the most indelicate manner and language that I had 
 lost my boat and people through my imprudence in 
 sending boats to take a prize. He persisted in his re- 
 proaches though he was assured by Messrs, de Weibert 
 and Chamillard that the barge was towing the ship at 
 the time of the elopement, and that she had not been 
 sent in pursuit of the prize. He was affronted because 
 I would not, on the day before, suffer him to chase 
 without my orders, and to approach the dangerous 
 shore I have already mentioned, where he was an en- 
 tire stranger, and where there was not sufficient wind 
 to govern a ship. He told me he was the only Ameri- 
 can in the Squadron and was determined to follow his 
 own opinion in chasing, when and where he thought 
 proper, and in every other matter that concerned the
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 435 
 
 service, and that if we continued in that situation three 
 days longer the squadron would be taken." 
 
 The manner in which Jones met this violent attack 
 upon his judgment and authority is related in Colonel 
 Weibert's account 1 of the occurrence, wherein he ex- 
 presses a very clear opinion of Landais's entirely un- 
 manageable character, and testifies to Jones's concilia- 
 tory attitude and admirable self-control. 
 
 Among the many dangers which gathered like mock- 
 ing fates about his devoted head none bore so fantastic 
 
 J " Comme depuis le Compagne de 1779 il y a eu des rapports 
 varies et sourdement repandus centre le caractere prive ou social 
 du Commodore Paul Jones, commandant cy devant 1'Escadre du Bon 
 Homme Richard, et comme entre autres ouidires ou propos mal fondees, 
 il m'est parfois parvenu quec et officier avait donne 1 un dementi formel 
 au Sr. Landais cy devant Capitaine de V Alliance relativement a la 
 perte du canot en vue de la C6te d'Irlande. C'est porquoi je declare 
 et affirme que le Commodore Susdit, n'a jamais dit au dit Sr. Lan- 
 dais 'You lie' (vous mentez) mais bien les seuls et propres termes, 
 'it is an untruth' quil a plu au Sr. Landais d'interpreter en un de- 
 menti formel n'ayant jamais pu vaincre son humeur facheuse, opiniatre, 
 turbulante et insubordonee qu'il na cessd de montrer pendant toute la 
 Campagne dessus. Je certifie en outre que le Commodore Paul Jones 
 bien loin de commander avec hauteur et brutalite, comme il a plu a 
 certains de la faire croire, qu'il a toujours 6t6 quoique tres strict et vif 
 dans son service, doux, honnete, et tres indulgent non seulement vis a 
 vis de ses officiers, mais encore envers le matelot et soldat, qu'il a tou- 
 jours traite avec humanitd. Comme j'ai 6t6 temoin present de la 
 querelle cy dessus, je dois avouer en conscience, que le Sr. Landais 
 y a donne beaucuop Lieu par son ton arrogant, dont il s'en servit vis 
 a vis de son commandant, au paisible bonnes et honne'tes raisons du 
 quel il n'a jamais voulu se rendre; bien au contraire, par ce que, le Sr. 
 Landais a repondu au Commodore, moi et le Lieut. Col. Chamillard 
 tous les deux present dans les termes les plus grossiers les plus insul- 
 tants, d'abord en Anglais quil rendait au plutot en Francais, a fin que 
 le Sr. Chamillard n'igorait de rien. Toute la querelle cy dessus s'est 
 passe 1 dans la chambre de Poupe du Bon Homme Richard, le 23, au 29, 
 Aout, de L'annee cy dessus. Je conclue par dire, que le Sr. Landais 
 accompagnait ou affirmait ses propos offensants et tres scandaleux par 
 les gestes, les plus provoquant. Philadelphia, le 28 Novembre 1781." 
 Lt. Colonel Weibert.
 
 436 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 a shape as Landais. Accepted by the careless home 
 government without a question as to his antecedents, 
 this cashiered French officer was yet to run a long and 
 dangerous course before his eccentricities developed 
 into the madness which properly explained his char- 
 acter. 
 
 At this moment, when his presence in Jones's 
 strangely organized squadron boded the most serious 
 trouble, no one suspected that he was more than in- 
 sulting and insubordinate. Fortunate, indeed, if Jones 
 and his French officers had realized the truth and then 
 and there removed him from his command and placed 
 him in confinement. 
 
 Unwilling to abandon his officers and boat, Jones 
 now, with the advice and assistance of Captain Cot- 
 tineau, of the Pallas, prevailed with the commander 
 of the Cerf to go in search of them. From a later 
 extract from Jones's journal, it appears that "Mr. 
 Lunt perceived the Cerf on the day she was sent to 
 reconnoitre and gladly approached her. The Cerf 
 however mounted English Colors and fired upon the 
 boat, when Mr. Lunt hastily retreated to the shore 
 where he was captured and recommitted to the con- 
 finement of an English jail from which he had so lately 
 been delivered, and where after some months he suc- 
 combed to his sufferings." 1 
 
 After the departure of the Cerf, Jones hung around 
 the coast in the greatest anxiety for several days, 
 
 1 This extract is printed in Sands compilation; it is not found in 
 Jones's journal to Louis XVI, and must belong to a draft of the same 
 journal which was in the possession of Miss Taylor, and which is no longer 
 in existence.
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 437 
 
 awaiting her return with the barge, but the cutter aban- 
 doned the squadron and returned to France. This was 
 a serious loss, for she was the only properly armed 
 ship of his force. The loss of his third lieutenant with 
 twenty of his best Americans was even more unfort- 
 unate, and his discouragement was further increased 
 by the disappearance of the second privateer, the 
 Grandville, which, having secured a prize, decamped 
 with it during the night. 
 
 The squadron was now reduced to four ships, the 
 Bon Homme Richard, the Alliance, the Pallas, and the 
 Vengeance; but Jones determined to lose no more tune 
 in attempting to perform some important service, and 
 decided to steer his course around the north coast of 
 Ireland, with the intention of intercepting a fleet of 
 eight East Indiamen which he learned were on their 
 way to London, but Landais, again insubordinate, re- 
 fused to assist him, and under cover of night separated 
 from the squadron. 
 
 Jones was now forced to abandon his plan, but steered 
 his course around Ireland, taking various prizes on the 
 way, when a few days later on the 31st Landais again 
 put in an appearance, bringing the Betsey, a valuable 
 West Indian, at the moment when Jones was in the 
 act of chasing another ship, the Union, laden with ship 
 supplies. By the 1st of September he had sailed 
 around the northerly end of Scotland outside the Ork- 
 ney Islands and into the North Sea. He had taken 
 many prizes, but was exceedingly anxious to make an 
 important attack upon the enemy's territory. He there- 
 fore requested the officers of his remaining vessels to
 
 438 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 come on board the Bon Homme Richard to concert 
 future operations. Landais insolently refused, inform- 
 ing Mr. Mease, Jones's purser, who had visited the 
 Alliance in the hope of bringing him to reason, that he 
 had the lowest opinion of the commander and would 
 meet him on shore, "where they must kill one or the 
 other." Unwilling to give up the hope of gaining his 
 co-operation, Jones now requested Mr. Mease to take 
 Captain Cottineau and Colonel Chamillard on board 
 the Alliance, believing that the persuasions of his coun- 
 trymen might prevail with Landais. More than an 
 hour was wasted in fruitless argument, Landais utterly 
 refusing to listen to the advice of his fellow-officers and 
 continuing his insulting remarks in regard to the 
 commodore. 
 
 At this juncture, as if to add to Jones's manifold 
 difficulties, a heavy gale arose which continued from 
 the 5th until the 13th of the month, during which 
 time Landais again gave them the slip and went off to 
 follow his own devices. The squadron had been work- 
 ing to the southward and arrived off the eastern en- 
 trance of the Firth of Forth. And now, although em- 
 barrassed with the large number of prisoners from his 
 various prizes, Jones decided to attempt the execution 
 of his favorite plan of laying Leith and Edinburgh under 
 contribution, having heard from the captain of one of 
 their prizes that the naval force in the harbor of Leith 
 consisted of but one twenty-gun ship of war with three 
 or four cutters, and knowing that the town itself was 
 unprovided with batteries. He was again in familiar 
 waters and hoped to accomplish his object before
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 439 
 
 the alarm of his presence had spread about the coast. 
 "His purpose," he wrote, "was to teach the enemy 
 humanity by some exemplary stroke of retaliation/' to 
 relieve the Americans still in captivity hi England, as 
 well as to make a diversion in the north in favor of 
 a formidable descent which he then expected would 
 have been made in the south side of Great Britain 
 under cover of the great combined fleets of France and 
 Spain. 
 
 This formidable descent, which Jones hoped to favor 
 by making his attack upon the north, was none other 
 than the grand invasion planned by the French court 
 and intrusted to Lafayette. The great fleet under 
 D'Orvilliers, the hope of France and the visible result 
 of years of determined effort to restore its naval power, 
 had already been beaten back by contrary winds when 
 in sight of the English coast and, in company with 
 the Spanish ships, had anchored at Brest on the same 
 day on which Paul Jones appeared before the town of 
 Leith. Exposed to the most unheard-of privations, 
 half starved and decimated by disease, this great naval 
 force had become utterly disorganized and useless in 
 spite of its well-built ships, owing to the criminal care- 
 lessness or ignorance of M. de Sartine in its manner of 
 equipment. The joint expedition originally planned 
 for Jones and Lafayette, with less pretence, would 
 unquestionably have escaped this disgraceful failure, 
 and might in all probability have succeeded in doing 
 some effectual service. 
 
 Having taken a small collier off the coast of Scotland, 
 and promising the captain to restore his ship as the
 
 440 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 price of being piloted up the Firth of Forth, Jones 
 now summoned the captains of the Pallas and the Ven- 
 geance and urged their co-operation in his attack upon 
 Leith. He assured them that the town was defence- 
 less, and that the two hundred pounds ransom which he 
 intended to demand might be gamed without the small- 
 est danger, and, although he finally obtained their con- 
 sent, he spent the whole night in persuasion, and so 
 much time was spent in "pointed remarks and sage 
 deliberations" that they lost the favorable wind, which 
 became contrary in the morning. He did not, how- 
 ever, abandon his design, but continued working to 
 windward up the Firth. On the afternoon of the 17th 
 the squadron was plainly seen from Edinburgh castle, 
 and it was high time to make the attack. 
 
 The memory of Jones's last visit to the coast of Scot- 
 land was by no means forgotten by the inhabitants, 
 and the rumor of his dreaded presence now spread 
 rapidly through the country, causing the wildest alarm. 
 Arms were distributed among the trades and an effect- 
 ual effort was made to erect batteries at Leith. Every 
 preparation had been made for the descent, and ar- 
 ticles of capitulation had been drawn up by Jones to 
 be signed by the magistrates of Leith, when suddenly 
 the adverse wind which had so often foiled his attacks 
 upon his native land rose to such violence that he was 
 obliged to bear away and run out of the Firth. One 
 of his prizes foundered in the heavy sea which rose 
 after the gale. 
 
 The country had now been thoroughly aroused, and 
 knowing that Edinburgh, which was only a mile from
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 441 
 
 Leith, would surely send a body of troops for its pro- 
 tection, Jones realized that his last hope of surprising 
 the town was gone. The plan was similar in intent to 
 his attack upon Whitehaven, and had he been able to 
 attempt it on the preceding evening while the wind was 
 still favorable, he would have unquestionably suc- 
 ceeded; but the happy moment had passed, and he 
 therefore with many regrets abandoned the cherished 
 and long-contemplated project. He had still another 
 project which he believed could be successfully accom- 
 plished, but as it offered no material reward and his 
 associate captains had now become thoroughly alarmed 
 at the idea of remaining long in sight of the enemy's 
 territory, they absolutely refused to support him. " The 
 enemy, Mr. Cottineau said, would send against us 
 a superior force, and declared that if I obstinately con- 
 tinued two days longer we would surely be taken." 
 Owing to the indiscretion of M. de Chaumont, the 
 duration and port of return for the cruise had been dis- 
 closed to Jones's associates, and they declared their in- 
 tention of steering without delay for the Texel. The 
 captain of the Vengeance announced that he and Cot- 
 tineau would depart alone if Jones refused to join them. 
 In this predicament he still considered the feasibility 
 of carrying out his plan with his single ship. " Noth- 
 ing prevented me," he said, "from pursuing my de- 
 sign, but the reproach which would have been cast upon 
 my character as a man of prudence had the enterprise 
 miscarried." 
 
 The conclusion which arises from the explanation of 
 his conduct on this occasion is inevitable. The per-
 
 442 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 sonal renown of any officer should unquestionably be 
 subordinated to his desire to serve his country. In 
 many instances Paul Jones had shown his willingness 
 to sink his personal aims in the service of the common 
 cause. But in the unprecedented situation in which 
 he was now involved, shorn of every shadow of au- 
 thority over his reluctant and insubordinate asso- 
 ciates, he was betrayed into an exhibition of most 
 unusual hesitation, between his devotion to the coun- 
 try of his adoption and his regard for his reputation 
 which was then and always the leading motive of 
 his life. 
 
 It was now late in September, and the time allotted 
 for the cruise was fast drawing to a close. Deserted 
 by most of his vessels and unsupported by his col- 
 leagues, Jones now steered for the last rendezvous of 
 his squadron off Flamborough Head, hoping to find 
 there the Alliance and the Cerf. The region around 
 this triangular headland, which projects far out from 
 the east coast of England, was chosen by Jones as an 
 excellent cruising-ground, for the reason that the coast- 
 wise vessels, forced out of their direct course, tend to 
 pass very close to the land in a favorable position for 
 attack. To the north of the head is the port of Scar- 
 borough, directly southwest is Bridlington Bay, and 
 thirty miles farther south another headland, the Spurn, 
 juts out at the mouth of the river Humber. Off these 
 several harbors Jones knew that he must meet with 
 numerous colliers and merchantmen, and, in spite of 
 the shortness of the time which still remained, hoped 
 against hope that he might still fall in with the ex-
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 443 
 
 pected Baltic fleet, the favorite object of Franklin's 
 plans, which he had been ordered to intercept at any 
 and every favorable opportunity. 
 
 Sailing down along-shore, on the 19th and 20th, he 
 took two sloops and a brigantine, sinking both sloops, 
 and on the 21st, having arrived off Flamborough Head, 
 the Pallas chased one sail toward the northeast, while 
 the Bon Homme Richard, followed by the Vengeance, 
 sailed around the point in pursuit of another which ap- 
 peared toward the south. "The one I chased," said 
 Jones, "a brigantine collier, belonged to Scarborough 
 and was soon taken and sunk immediately, as a fleet 
 then appeared to the southward. It was so late in the 
 day that I could not come up with the fleet before 
 night. At length, however, I got so near one as to 
 force her to run ashore between Flamborough Head 
 and the Spurn. Soon after I took another brigantine 
 from Holland, belonging to Sunderland, and at day- 
 light the next morning, seeing another fleet steering 
 towards me from the Spurn, I imagined them to be 
 a convoy which had been for some time expected. 
 One of them had a pendant hoisted and appeared to 
 be a ship of force. They had not however courage to 
 come on, but put back (into the Humber) all but the 
 one which seemed to be armed, and that one also kept 
 to windward very near the land, and on the edge of 
 some dangerous shoals where I could not with safety 
 approach." Jones now signalled for a pilot, and two 
 came off, one of whom, mistaking him for an English- 
 man, furnished him with the private British signal 
 which the fleet had been ordered to obey. Immedi-
 
 444 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 ately flying this signal, Jones now tried to decoy the 
 merchantmen out of the harbor, whither they had re- 
 treated, but failed in his attempt. He then decided 
 it to be imprudent to remain longer near this danger- 
 ous harbor, and steered north again toward Flam- 
 borough Head to rejoin the Pallas. 
 
 On the morning of the next day, the 23d, the weather 
 being calm and clear, Jones continued the business of 
 overhauling the merchant-ships which appeared from 
 every direction in those teeming waters. The brig 
 from Holland was not then hi sight, so he turned south- 
 west to chase a brigantine which appeared to wind- 
 ward. He had pursued her very near to the land, 
 when about noon he perceived a much larger ship 
 which appeared to the north off Flamborough Head. 
 He now armed one of the pilot-boats under Henry 
 Lunt, his second lieutenant, whom he sent off with a 
 party of fifteen to take the brigantine, which had come 
 to anchor hi Bridlington Bay, and turning northeast 
 himself, he went off in chase of the larger ship. Soon 
 after, at about one o'clock, he saw a fleet of forty-one 
 sail bearing N.N.E. around the projecting headland, and 
 at once made out that it was the Baltic fleet which he 
 had been so anxiously awaiting. He instantly called 
 back the pilot-boat and made signal for a general chase. 
 The fleet was preceded by two large ships of war, the 
 Serapis, Captain Pearson, and the Countess of Scar- 
 borough. The captain of the Serapis had come at 
 daybreak close in with Scarborough, where he was in- 
 formed of the presence of a hostile squadron which had 
 been seen standing southward on the previous day.
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 445 
 
 He therefore signalled the fleet to continue its course 
 out to sea and to leeward while he made all sail to wind- 
 ward to get between it and the ships of the enemy. 
 The convoy disregarded his signals and crowded all 
 sail to round Flamborough Head and escape, but 
 when, about noon, they caught sight of Jones's squad- 
 ron, they suddenly tacked, let fly their topgallant 
 sheets, firing guns in token of distress, and fled like a 
 flock of frightened birds straight for the port of Scar- 
 borough. As soon as Jones caught sight of the fleet 
 he signalled for his three ships to form in line of battle 
 to engage. The Pallas and the Vengeance obeyed, the 
 Pallas taking a position to leeward of the Bon Homme 
 Richard, and the Vengeance bringing up the rear. But 
 Landais, in the Alliance, sailed on disregardfully past 
 the Serapis, near the shore and to windward, to await 
 events in safety. 
 
 The Serapis and the Bon Homme Richard were now 
 sailing in converging lines along the opposite shores 
 of the triangular headland, the Serapis heading south- 
 east, and the Richard northeast toward a point at sea 
 about two leagues from the shore. At one o'clock, as 
 Pearson related in his admiralty report, "we got sight 
 of the enemy's ships from the masthead, and about 
 Four we made them plain from the deck to be three 
 large ships and a brig, upon which I made the Countess 
 of Scarborough a signal to join me, she being in shore 
 with the convoy. At Five the Serapis brought to, to 
 await the Countess of Scarborough which joined a half 
 an hour later. At Six the two ships went about, 
 steering westward in order to keep their ground better
 
 446 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 between the enemies' ships and the convoy." Per- 
 ceiving their intention, Jones also tacked, turning 
 sharply at six points of the compass, so that he gained 
 in turn the weather-gauge, and the advantageous posi- 
 tion between the English ships and the shore. Al- 
 though sailing almost directly before the wind, which 
 was S.S.W. from the land, the slow-sailing Bon Homme 
 Richard did not come within hail until seven o'clock, 
 when she came to by the side of the Serapis. The Pal- 
 las and the Vengeance were now lying some distance 
 to leeward, near the Countess of Scarborough, the 
 Alliance, out of gunshot to windward, and the Bon 
 Homme Richard was left alone with the Serapis. She 
 was an entirely new ship of war and on her first com- 
 mission; she was of improved and modern construction, 
 manned with a picked crew of three hundred and 
 twenty Englishmen, and commanded by a captain of 
 well-known courage and ability. The Bon Homme 
 Richard, with her motley and ill-assorted crew and her 
 makeshift armament, was a worn-out old Indiaman, 
 built for the carrying trade, slow sailing and unwieldy. 
 Although classed as a forty-four-gun ship the Serapis 
 actually mounted fifty; she had two covered decks, 
 twenty eighteen-pounders being placed on the lower 
 deck, and twenty nine-pounders on the main deck, 
 while above on the uncovered spar deck there were ten 
 six-pounders, throwing in all three hundred pounds. 
 The old-fashioned Bon Homme Richard, which had six 
 eighteen-pounders on the lower gun-deck, fourteen 
 twelve and fourteen nine-pounders on the main deck, 
 with eight six-pounders above, was no match for this
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 447 
 
 formidable antagonist, and as events disclosed after the 
 first broadside, had only the main-deck guns with three 
 on the quarter-deck with which to engage the enemy. 
 She had a high old-fashioned poop, on which Jones had 
 stationed Colonel Chamillard and a body of French 
 marines, and very broad tops, fortunately capable of 
 carrying a large force of riflemen, which were under the 
 command of Lieutenant Stack, of the Irish regiment. 
 Her company, which originally amounted to three 
 hundred and eighty men, was reduced to not more 
 than three hundred by the absence of the various men 
 who had been detached to man the several prizes, and 
 by the loss of both the second and third lieutenants, 
 Henry and Cutting Lunt, with their respective com- 
 panies. The latter, with two detachments of men who 
 had been captured off the coast of Ireland, represented 
 a serious loss, which was further augmented by the 
 absence of Henry Lunt with his fifteen good men, who 
 failed to obey Jones's signal to return to the ship after 
 the battle had begun. Thus Jones, at the moment of 
 engagement, found himself most unfortunately deprived 
 of two of his American officers, Richard Dale, his first 
 lieutenant and very able assistant, only remaining, 
 together with a few inexperienced subordinates and 
 petty officers. 
 
 Slowly, on that calm and beautiful autumn evening, 
 the sunlight faded over the green hills of England and 
 the dim curtains of the lingering twilight hung across the 
 sea. The transparent shadows of those northern lati- 
 tudes enveloped the approaching vessels, and a silence 
 fell upon the spectators who, at news of the imminent
 
 448 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 engagement, had assembled in numbers under the walls 
 of the Scarborough fort and upon the heights of Flam- 
 borough Head. The two vessels were now pointing on 
 the same tack in a northwesterly direction toward the 
 head, the Richard slightly in advance of the Serapis, 
 on the latter's port bow. (Position 1.) Both ships 
 had been prepared for action, with decks cleared and 
 courses hauled up, awaiting the signal to begin. At 
 the last moment a deep and breathless silence settled 
 down upon the Richard. The Serapis spoke first: 
 "What ship is that?" Hoping to drop farther toward 
 the stern of the enemy in a last moment of delay, 
 Jones answered, " I can't hear what you say." Again 
 the Serapis hailed: "Answer immediately or I shall be 
 under the necessity of firing upon you." The next 
 instant a blaze of fire burst simultaneously from both 
 the ships, announcing to the listening thousands that 
 the battle had begun; but when the fire from the 
 Serapis sank into momentary darkness, another scar- 
 let shaft lit up the sea. Disaster, great enough to de- 
 cide the fate of the Bon Homme Richard and to cause 
 any other commander at that moment to give up the 
 battle, wrecked the lower gun-deck, where two of the 
 old eighteen-pounders, exploding at the first fire, killed 
 nearly every man at that station, blowing up a portion 
 of the main deck above and rending a great hole in 
 the hull. Instantly Jones recalled the few survivors 
 and ordered the ports to be closed. 
 
 The two ships were now abreast and the Serapis, 
 which had fired the first broadside with her quarter- 
 and main-deck guns, now unmasked a lower battery,
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 449 
 
 disclosing to the Richard that she was a double-decker 
 and more than her match. 
 
 "The battle now continued with unremitting fury, 
 and every method was practised on both sides to gain 
 an advantage and to rake each other, and I must con- 
 fess that the enemy several times gained thereby an 
 advantageous situation in spite of my best endeavor 
 to prevent it, as I had to deal with an enemy of greatly 
 superior force. I was under the necessity of closing with 
 him to prevent the advantage he had over me in point 
 of manoeuvre." Thus wrote Paul Jones in regard to 
 the first stages of the conflict, when he, as well as every 
 man on board his ship, realized that they were dealing 
 with an enemy which in men and metal was over- 
 whelmingly superior. Again and again Jones tried by 
 backing his topsails to get astern of the Serapis, but 
 with some of her braces shot away the slow-sailing 
 Richard responded feebly to her helm, and in spite of 
 every effort failed to execute the manoeuvre. 
 
 The first evolutions of the two combatants as they 
 feinted like gladiators for the advantage are lacking 
 in Jones's account, and are likewise omitted by Pearson 
 in his report to the Admiralty, with the evident in- 
 tention of minimizing the advantages of his greater 
 strength and speed. But Nathaniel Fanning, one of 
 Jones's midshipmen and his secretary, has supplied 
 the missing details: "The wind was now very light, 
 and our ship not under proper command, and the 
 Serapis outsailing us two feet to one, which advantage 
 the enemy discovered and improved, by keeping under 
 our stern and raking us fore and aft."
 
 450 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 The two vessels thus successively backing their top- 
 sails to get astern of each other, the Richard failing 
 and the Serapis succeeding, must have assumed at least 
 twice Position 3, as indicated in the diagram. 
 
 The Serapis now tried to cross ahead of the Richard 
 (Position 4), pouring a slanting fire into her lee quarter 
 and attempting to lay her athwart hawse (an incident 
 related by Dale and Fanning), but finding that he had 
 miscalculated his distance, and that the Richard would 
 be aboard of him, Pearson put his helm alee, which 
 brought the two ships in a line ahead (Position 5). 
 The Richard's bow now running into the stern of the 
 Serapis, Jones seized the opportunity of closing with 
 the enemy, and ordering grappling-irons to be thrown 
 out, took command of a boarding-party to rush the 
 English ship, but was repulsed, seeing with infinite 
 chagrin his grappling-irons lose their hold and fall 
 into the sea (Position 6). Pearson now again (accord- 
 ing to his narrative, which is clear and detailed from 
 this point), "backed his top sails to get even with him 
 again" (Position 7). 
 
 At this stage of the battle, after nearly an hour of 
 broadsiding, the helpless Richard was in reality a beat- 
 en ship. Colonel Chamillard, seeing nearly every one of 
 his men killed, abandoned his station at the poop and 
 retired to the quarter-deck. 
 
 The entire battery of twenty-eight twelve and nine- 
 pounders on the main deck, manned by a picked com- 
 pany of Americans and marines under Dale and Wei- 
 bert, on which Jones had placed his chief dependence, 
 was silenced. The hole in the Richard's side, made by
 
 
 
 QD 
 
 
 
 s
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 451 
 
 the explosion of the guns on the lower gun-deck, had 
 now been so enlarged by the incessant fire of the enemy's 
 terrible eighteen-pounders, which crashed almost with- 
 out resistance through her ancient timbers, that an 
 enormous chasm gaped wide between the main-mast 
 and the stern, with only a few stanchions remaining to 
 keep the upper decks from collapsing into the hull. 
 The main deck thus lay open to the wind and waves 
 so widely that a coach-and-six could have driven 
 through from side to side. The shattered hulk of the 
 Bon Homme Richard, with the slightest rise of wind or 
 sea, would soon have plunged beneath the waves. At 
 this appalling moment, while the hull of the helpless 
 ship was being literally knocked to pieces by the great 
 guns of the enemy's lower batteries, the men fell by 
 scores under the hail of musketry and the sweeping fire 
 of grape-shot from the guns of the enemy's poop and 
 forecastle. Every gun on the Bon Homme Richard 
 had been silenced except the three nine-pounders on 
 the quarter-deck, where Paul Jones stood giving his 
 orders for a last attempt to lay the enemy's ship on 
 board. One single hope remained: the last desperate 
 possibility that he could force the disabled and doomed 
 vessel across the bows of the Serapis. 
 
 In that moment of agonized suspense, while Pearson 
 was dropping back to get abreast of his enemy, the 
 Richard fortunately blanketed the sails of the Serapis 
 and slowly forged ahead. All now depended on the 
 wind, that capricious wind which had so often thwarted 
 Jones's well-laid plans. Would it fail him now? 
 
 The guns of the Serapis had made several holes in
 
 452 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 the Richard's hull 'twixt wind and water, and the hold 
 began to fill, but still the ship bore on, slowly but 
 surely answering to the helm. And suddenly the wind 
 whispered in her sails. "Our helm was put hard a 
 weather then," says Fanning, "the main and top sails 
 then braced back, a fresh flaw of wind swelling them 
 at the same instant, which shot our ship quick ahead, 
 and the Serapis ran her jibboom between our starboard 
 mizzen shrouds." 
 
 Jones at the same time cried out: "Well done, my 
 brave lads, we have got her now." "Instantly the 
 Serapis let go an anchor, hoping that the Richard's 
 headway would tear the ships apart, by means of which 
 they would have escaped," as Jones relates, "had I not 
 made them well fast to the Bon Homme Richard." At 
 last, after long months of waiting, Jones had his chance, 
 the one possible desperate chance which he had long 
 counted on to win his victory in spite of every disad- 
 vantage. One was enough for him, and history tells 
 how he improved it. From this point on began that 
 unequalled exhibition of personal ascendency which 
 has made the fame of Paul Jones and given the re- 
 nowned engagement its unique place in the annals of 
 naval warfare. And this moment, when he at last grap- 
 pled with his enemy, was at once the crisis and the 
 climax of his career. Springing like a cat upon his 
 prey, he ordered Stacy to bring him a hawser, and as 
 the officer, fumbling at the knot, let fall a sailor's oath, 
 Jones took it from his hand, making the enemy's jib- 
 stay fast to the mizzen-mast of the Richard, saying 
 gravely: "Don't swear, Mr. Stacy; we may at the next
 
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 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 453 
 
 moment be in eternity, but let us do our duty." The 
 two ships now swung to the wind and tide. The Sera- 
 pis, under the action of the wind in her after-sails, was 
 turned stern to the north, her bowsprit breaking off 
 at the same time, so that the two ships swung head to 
 stern and the fluke of the Serapis's spare anchor hook- 
 ing the Richard's quarter, they lay close together with 
 yards interlocked and the muzzles of their guns touch- 
 ing each other's sides. 
 
 "A novelty in naval combats was now presented," 
 as Dale relates, "to many witnesses but few admirers, 
 and the rammers were run into the respective ships to 
 enable them to load, to make room for running out the 
 guns." The captain of the Serapis now gave orders to 
 shift his gunners to the starboard batteries, which had 
 not heretofore been brought into action; their port- 
 sills, still lowered and pressed closely against the Rich- 
 ard's side, were therefore blown out and crashed with the 
 first discharge into the hull of the American ship. But 
 now, although the incessant thunder of the enemy's 
 guns rolled in deafening explosions underneath the 
 trembling boards on which he stood, although his ship 
 was leaking like a sieve and instant destruction waited 
 on each moment, Jones with perfect calmness prepared 
 to make the most of his desperate opportunity, of beat- 
 ing his enemy at close quarters. The purser, Mr. 
 Mease, who had commanded the guns on the quarter- 
 deck, dangerously wounded, was removed to the cock- 
 pit, and Jones took his place, rallying with great diffi- 
 culty a few frightened men, who with his aid finally 
 succeeded in bringing over one of the lee guns across
 
 454 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 the bloody deck, so that they had all three available 
 for use against the enemy. 
 
 It was now eight o'clock, and a round harvest moon 
 lit up the scene. By her bright light they could see 
 the main-mast of the Serapis standing out blackly clear 
 amid the interlocking yards of the two ships. Against 
 this Jones himself directed the fire of one of the guns, 
 loading it with double-headed shot, while the other two, 
 as he relates, "were exceedingly well served with grape 
 and cannister shot to silence the enemies' musketry and 
 to clean her decks." And now, thronging up from the 
 subterranean vaults of the Richard, Dale and his marines 
 came to Jones's assistance and directed a skilful fire 
 against the men upon the exposed decks of the Serapis. 
 
 The fire from the tops which had been bravely 
 sustained throughout the whole action also seconded 
 Jones's little battery, driving the gunners from the ene- 
 my's quarter-deck and forecastle, and by sheer force 
 of superior marksmanship silenced the enemy's mus- 
 ketry and finally cleared her decks. At this point, as 
 Jones was afterward informed, Pearson had decided to 
 strike, when the carpenter of the Richard, who was at 
 the pumps and had seen one of them disabled by a 
 shot from the enemy, cried out that the ship might sink 
 at any moment. The master-at-arms, hearing at the 
 same instant that Jones and Dale had both been killed, 
 and believing that he was now in command, rushed up 
 from below with the carpenter and a gunner to haul 
 down the flag. The flag, fortunately, was gone shot 
 away with the ensign staff, and the cowards bawled 
 for quarter.
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 455 
 
 "What scoundrels are these?" cried Jones, throw- 
 ing both his pistols at the head of the gunner and fell- 
 ing him as he fled in terror toward the gangway. Back 
 also went the master-at-arms and the carpenter, skulk- 
 ing to their posts. But now, at the sound of the 
 cry for quarter, Pearson himself called out to Jones 
 asking if he had struck. 
 
 "I have not yet begun to fight," was the reply 
 which flashed back, vivid and sharp as a lightning 
 stroke from out the battle-clouds a reply as char- 
 acteristic of the man as of the moment, and justly 
 renowned. 
 
 Any other commander of ordinary human mould 
 would at such a moment, with silenced guns and riddled 
 ship, have accepted defeat; but Jones knew that at 
 last he had an advantage over his terrible antagonist, 
 and while the Richard remained afloat he determined 
 to use it to the last possible instant. For a new form 
 of naval battle was about to be tried out to the aston- 
 ishment of his enemy and the amazement of posterity 
 a battle not of cannon but of musketry, and in 
 this, his own invention, Jones knew that he had his 
 opportunity and a desperate chance of success. Driven 
 from the exposed decks by the shrewd musket-fire of 
 Dale and his marines, the whole force of the Serapis, 
 which was now massed at the protected batteries below, 
 still poured their fire against the hull of the Richard, 
 but the great shot of the eighteen-pounders now passed 
 without resistance through the abandoned main deck 
 of the American ship, falling harmlessly into the sea 
 beyond, while the crew of the Richard, driven up from
 
 456 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 below and swarming on the quarter-deck and in the 
 tops, poured a continuous musket-fire and an incessant 
 rain of hand-grenades and combustibles of all sorts 
 upon the exposed decks of the enemy. 
 
 The men in the Richard's tops, passing freely over 
 the interlocking yards, invaded the tops of the enemy 
 itself, and after a sharp battle in the ah-, dislodged the 
 Englishmen and gained a position in the main-top of 
 the Serapis, commanding the whole extent of the ship 
 from quarter-deck to forecastle. At this desperate mo- 
 ment, standing almost alone upon the fire-swept deck, 
 Pearson assembled a party from below and attempted 
 to board the Richard, but was met by a determined 
 and superior force of picket-men headed by Jones him- 
 self, who succeeded in beating them off. 
 
 At this point there came a lull in the continuous roar 
 of the cannon and the deadly rain of combustibles, for 
 both ships took fire from the explosion of the hand- 
 grenades, and all hands ceased fighting and helped 
 to extinguish the flames. The rotten timbers of the 
 Richard, soaked with tar and oakum, blazed persistently 
 in spite of all the water which was thrown upon them. 
 The Serapis was on fire in no less than twelve places, 
 with her whole starboard side ablaze, while above in 
 both ships the light sails and rigging were also on fire, 
 the flames spreading rapidly from one ship to the other, 
 until at last, as Fanning relates, "Our mainmast also 
 took fire, causing the greatest consternation, and the 
 water which we had in a tub in the fore part of the top, 
 was expended without extinguishing the flames. We 
 then had recourse to our coats and jackets, which in a
 
 CAPTAIN PAUL JONES SUBDUING A SAILOR WHO ATTEMPTED 
 
 TO STRIKE His COLORS IN THE ENGAGEMENT 
 
 WITH THE "SERAPIS." 
 
 From a print in the collection of Mr. Charles A. Munn.
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 457 
 
 short time smothered it. " The action was now resumed 
 with added fury, and again those flaming airy heights 
 poured fiery death upon the enemy's decks. Again 
 the thin scream of musket-balls sang its treble accom- 
 paniment to the rolling thunder of the guns. 
 
 Below, the riddled hulk of the Richard was a chaos of 
 corpses and broken guns, a charnel-house of flame and 
 death, belching from her blood-stained chasms suffo- 
 cating smoke-clouds and blinding jets of fire; above, 
 the mad carnage raged among the bodies of the slain; 
 the swarming motley crew, transformed by the courage 
 of their commander into fearless battle-fiends, grasped 
 every possible weapon, firing out of the flame-stained 
 smoke-clouds full in the faces of the enemy, and with 
 pikes and lances striking at their antagonists across the 
 nettings and through the open port-holes. Among 
 them, hatless, powder-stained, Jones stood at his gun, 
 cheering them on with his great voice, and again bend- 
 ing to send his deadly fire against the main-mast of the 
 enemy. 
 
 The fire of the guns, the mounting flames from the 
 two burning vessels, as they battled in a death embrace 
 amid the rolling smoke-clouds, lit up the sea, and the 
 silent shore gave back the reverberating echoes of the 
 deadly orchestra of war. 
 
 This mad contest had raged for about an hour when 
 a black shape appeared suddenly out of the darkness, 
 and amid the smoke-clouds they perceived another 
 ship, the Alliance, coming at last, as they supposed, to 
 their assistance. "I thought now that the battle was 
 at an end," said Jones, "but to my utter surprise he
 
 458 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 discharged a broadside full into the Bon Homme Rich- 
 ard. We called to him for God's sake to stop firing 
 into the Bon Homme Richard. There was no possi- 
 bility of his mistaking the enemy's ship for the Bon 
 Homme Richard, there being the most essential differ- 
 ence in their appearance and construction; besides it 
 was full moonlight, and the sides of the Bon Homme 
 Richard being all black, and the sides of the prize were 
 yellow, yet for the greater security I showed the signal 
 of our reconnaisance by putting out three lanthorns, one 
 at the head, another at the stern, and the third in the 
 middle, in a horizontal line. Every tongue cried out 
 that he was firing into the wrong ship, but nothing 
 availed." "My situation now," he continues, "was 
 really deplorable. The leak gained on the pumps, and 
 the fire increased on board both ships." A few mo- 
 ments after this treacherous attack the Alliance, passing 
 to leeward across the bow of the Richard, sank like 
 an evil apparition into the surrounding darkness; and 
 again the contest intermitted while both crews essayed 
 to extinguish the fire. Then another danger fiercer 
 than fire itself sprang like fury at the throat of 
 the American commander. Panic, inhuman, bestial, 
 roared and surged about him, for the five hundred 
 maddened English prisoners, released at this moment 
 by the treacherous master-at-arms, now rushed up from 
 below shrieking that the ship was sinking. Only the 
 power of the beast-tamer quick as light, magnetic, 
 unwavering could have saved Jones now. With 
 sublime audacity and instant presence of mind, he 
 ordered them to the pumps, telling them that it was
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 459 
 
 the Serapis which was sinking, and that their lives de- 
 pended upon keeping the Richard afloat. They obeyed, 
 this overwhelming force of Englishmen which at that 
 moment could have captured the Richard and delivered 
 her over to the enemy, and, commanded by Dale, who 
 had courageously assisted Jones at this crisis, retired 
 to the pumps and there remained. One man only, the 
 captain of the Union, braver than the rest, escaped 
 over the bulwarks, informing Pearson of the desper- 
 ate plight of the Richard, and advising him to hold 
 out a little longer, for she would surely be compelled 
 to strike. But now the fortune of the battle which 
 had been turning surely toward the English suddenly 
 favored Jones. The captain of the Serapis, taking heart 
 from the encouraging message he had received, still 
 stood on the deck, momentarily expecting the surrender 
 of the Bon Homme Richard. He was once more alone, 
 having ordered all hands again to retire to the protected 
 decks and to continue firing into the Richard's hull, 
 believing that a few more broadsides would surely sink 
 her. But even there, "under the protection of the 
 decks," as Dale relates, "they were not more secure." 
 An American sailor, creeping out to the extreme end 
 of the main-yard of the Serapis, threw with shrewd aim a 
 hand-grenade down upon the hatchway, where, glancing 
 inward, it fell into the midst of a line of cartridges on the 
 main deck, which had been carelessly laid there by the 
 powder monkeys. Some of the cartridges were broken, 
 and the scattered powder took fire, blazing from one 
 cartridge to another all the way aft, producing a terri- 
 fying and fatal explosion. "The effect was tremen-
 
 460 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 dous," said Dale, "more than twenty men were blown 
 to pieces, and many stood with only the collars of their 
 shirts upon their bodies." 
 
 This was the actual turning-point, for now panic 
 seized upon the enemy, which was increased by the 
 second appearance of the Alliance, which, sailing back 
 again very close under the stern of the Richard, poured 
 a deadly scattering fire of grape-shot into the two 
 vessels as they lay closely bound together bow and 
 stern. After firing this broadside at the two vessels, 
 the Alliance now passed around the off side of the 
 Richard, still firing, and finally across her bow, where 
 she killed several men, including Mr. Caswell, whose 
 station was in the forecastle. 
 
 The second appearance of the Alliance, which was 
 now dealing death to friend and foe alike, hastened the 
 issue of the conflict, and was perhaps the final reason of 
 Pearson's surrender, for he knew that in her unharmed 
 condition the Alliance could easily have destroyed him, 
 bound helplessly as he was to his unyielding enemy. 
 But the broadsides of the Alliance, firing into the un- 
 protected sides of the Richard with fatal low-aimed 
 shots, and killing the men upon her exposed decks, were 
 dealing worse destruction to her consort. Most of the 
 enemy's forces were below and in no danger from the 
 shots of the Alliance, which never came under the guns 
 on her disengaged side. But neither of the ships could 
 bring a single gun to bear upon the Alliance, and 
 Jones's officers also believed that it was time to give up 
 the fight. "Some of the officers," he wrote, "in whose 
 courage and common sense I entertained the highest
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 461 
 
 opinion, persuaded me to strike; I would not however 
 give up the point." 1 
 
 That deathless valor which could not break nor yield, 
 which had withstood what again and again had seemed 
 inevitable defeat, now had its deserved reward. Jones 
 still stood motionless upon the quarter-deck, his eyes 
 fixed narrowly upon the main-mast of the Serapis, 
 against which he had poured his ceaseless fire, and at 
 last he saw that it began to shake. His practised ear 
 discerned that the fire of the enemy was decreasing, 
 and in a last rally he cheered his men to redoubled 
 efforts. " Our fire increased," he wrote, " and the Brit- 
 ish colors were struck at one half hour past ten o'clock." 
 
 So fell the flag of England, struck by Captain Pear- 
 son's own hand, as none of his people would venture 
 aloft upon the duty; they were afraid of the American 
 marksmanship. 
 
 "On finding that the flag of the Serapis had struck," 
 Dale's narrative continues, "I went to Captain Jones 
 and asked whether I might board the Serapis, to which 
 he consented, and jumping upon the gunwale seized 
 the main brace pennant and swung myself upon the 
 quarterdeck. Midshipman Mayrant followed with a 
 party of men and was immediately run through the 
 thigh with a boarding pike by some of the enemy sta- 
 tioned in the waist, who had not been informed of the 
 
 1 Public Advertiser, October 20, 1776: "One of the men escaped from 
 Paul Jones says that in the engagement with the Serapis, Jones, almost 
 exhausted with fatigue, sat down upon a hen coop. The Lieutenant 
 of Marines went up to him and said, 'For God's sake, Captain, strike!' 
 Jones looked at him, paused a moment, then leaped up from his seat 
 and said, ' No, I will sink, I will never strike.' "
 
 462 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 surrender of their ship. I found Captain Pearson 
 standing on the leeward side of the quarterdeck, and 
 addressing myself to him said, 'Sir, I have orders to 
 send you on board the ship alongside.' The first lieu- 
 tenant of the Serapis coming up at this moment, in- 
 quired of Captain Pearson whether the ship alongside 
 had struck to him. To which I replied, 'No Sir, the 
 contrary, she has struck to us.' The lieutenant, renew- 
 ing the inquiry, ' Have you struck, sir? ' was answered, 
 'Yes, I have.' The lieutenant replied, 'I have nothing 
 more to say,' and was about to return below when I 
 informed him he must accompany Captain Pearson on 
 board the ship alongside. He said, ' If you will permit 
 me to go below I will silence the firing of the lower 
 deck guns.' This request was refused, and with Cap- 
 tain Pearson he was passed over to the deck of the 
 Bon Homme Richard. Orders being sent below to cease 
 firing, the engagement terminated after a most obsti- 
 nate contest of three hours and a half." 
 
 After Captain Pearson had surrendered his ship, he 
 made his way with the officer to the deck of the Bon 
 Homme Richard and inquired for Captain Jones. "It 
 is painful to me," he said, as he yielded up his sword to 
 the American captain, "that I must resign this to a 
 man who has fought with a halter around his neck." 
 To this insolent speech Jones replied with a compli- 
 ment, saying: "Sir, you have fought like a hero, and 
 I make no doubt that your sovereign will reward you 
 in a most ample manner." The remainder of this con- 
 versation, as reported by Fanning, disclosed that the 
 Englishman was shamed into a more courteous atti-
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 463 
 
 tude by the gallantry of his victorious opponent. Cap- 
 tain Pearson then asked Jones what countrymen his 
 crew principally consisted of. The latter said American. 
 "Very well," said the former, "it has been diamond cut 
 diamond." 
 
 The lashings were now cut which bound the two ves- 
 sels together, when the mast of the Serapis, which had 
 only been sustained by the interlocking yards of the 
 Richard, went overboard, carrying the mizzen-mast 
 with it. Jones now placed Dale in command of the 
 Serapis with orders to follow the Bon Homme Richard. 
 On going on board the prize and giving directions to 
 back the ship to the rear of the Richard, Dale was as- 
 tounded to find that the Serapis would not answer, 
 although the head sails were aback and no after-sail 
 set. In the greatest excitement Dale jumped off the 
 binnacle, where he had been sitting, to investigate the 
 reason of the extraordinary circumstance, and fell head- 
 long to the deck. A splinter from one of the guns had 
 badly wounded his leg, but he had been unconscious of it 
 until that moment. The sailing-master of the Serapis 
 now accosted Dale, informing him that he judged by 
 his orders that he was ignorant that the ship was at 
 anchor, another fact which had escaped his attention. 
 Henry Lunt had by this time made his appearance and 
 was on board the prize, and to him Dale gave orders 
 to go below to cut the cable and take command of the 
 Serapis, when he was carried on board the Bon Homme 
 Richard to have his wound dressed. 
 
 The battle with the English was now over, and the 
 beautiful Serapis, dismantled and beaten, lay at the heel
 
 464 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 of her victor. "I had yet two enemies to encounter, 
 far more formidable than the British, fire and water," 
 wrote Jones. The smouldering timbers of the Richard 
 again burst into flame, and the fire raged persistently, 
 at one time approaching within a few inches of the 
 powder-magazine, when, fearing that the ship would 
 blow up, Jones ordered the powder to be thrown over- 
 board, while all hands worked through the night to ex- 
 tinguish the flames, succeeding at last in subduing them. 
 "With respect to the situation of the Bon Homme 
 Richard " Jones's narrative continues, "the rudder was 
 entirely cut away from the stern frame, the timbers of 
 the lower deck especially, from the main mast to the 
 stern being greatly decayed with age, were mangled be- 
 yond my powers of description, and a person must have 
 been an eye witness to form a just idea of the tre- 
 mendous scene of the carnage, wreck and ruin which 
 everywhere appeared. I was determined to keep the 
 Bon Homme Richard afloat and if possible to bring 
 her into port." The pumps were now manned with a 
 double force of men from the Pallas, who worked with 
 unremitting zeal, but in spite of their utmost efforts, 
 the water gained in the hold, entering by the great 
 holes which were in the bow, caused by the shots of the 
 Alliance and by every gaping aperture of the riddled 
 ship. At last, after a careful examination, the car- 
 penters announced that it was impossible to stop the 
 holes, and Jones was convinced that with the slightest 
 rise of the wind it would be impossible to bring the 
 ship into port, so he gave orders to immediately 
 begin the business of removing the wounded. Until
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 465 
 
 this was accomplished, he commanded the English pris- 
 oners to remain on board, but, superior as they were in 
 numbers to the guard which was left on the ship, they 
 succeeded in getting her head to the land, toward which 
 a fresh breeze was now blowing. Unarmed, they were 
 subdued after a struggle, two of them being shot in 
 the mele"e and a number eventually succeeding in get- 
 ting hold of a boat and escaping to the shore. 
 
 The day of the 24th was passed in transferring the 
 wounded to the Serapis, and the next day, the wind 
 blowing fresh, Jones realized that it was impossible to 
 keep the "good old ship from sinking." All day the 
 Pallas stood by her, while the water steadily rose and 
 finally filled the hold. At nine it became necessary to 
 abandon her, and at ten she rolled, settling forward, 
 and went down bows first, her stern and mizzen-mast 
 rising out of the waves, and the next instant, as Jones 
 wrote, "I saw with inexpressible grief the last glimps 
 of the Bon Homme Richard." The instrument and sac- 
 rifice of her captain's renown, her shattered hulk was a 
 glorious receptacle for the bodies of the brave who had 
 so desperately defended her. 
 
 In regard to the conduct of the captains of the three 
 other ships, Cottineau, of the Pallas, alone behaved 
 with proper professional skill or courage, and by his 
 excellent handling of his slow-sailing merchant-ship, 
 succeeded in taking the Countess of Scarborough. Al- 
 though superior in guns to his smaller but infinitely 
 better-built antagonist, he was met by a stubborn re- 
 sistance, and only captured his prize after an hour's 
 hard fighting. This loyal and efficient assistance at
 
 466 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 the hour of battle went far to atone for the cautious re- 
 serve which he had shown in his refusal to assist Jones 
 in plans which appeared to his slow and less inspired 
 judgment to be unwise. Captain Ricot, of the Ven- 
 geance, held off discreetly in the rear and took no part 
 in the contest; no more did Mr. Henry Lunt with his 
 fifteen men, who also held off, "thinking it was not 
 prudent to approach the ship during the engagement," 
 although after the ships had grappled it must always 
 have been feasible to board the disengaged side of the 
 Richard. Mr. Lunt lived probably to bitterly regret 
 his decision, and to suffer with unavailing sorrow the in- 
 effaceable stain upon his reputation. 
 
 The conduct of the captain of the Alliance, recalci- 
 trant and insulting from the first, developed on this 
 occasion into a unique exhibition of cowardice and 
 treachery which afterward occasioned a serious investi- 
 gation and brought about his ultimate ruin. 
 
 The track of the Alliance, from the first moment 
 when the squadron perceived the Baltic fleet, gives a 
 truthful representation of the mental processes of the 
 man who directed it. Disregarding Jones's orders for 
 forming in line to engage, Landais bore on with his 
 superior speed past the commodore's ship directly 
 toward the Serapis, giving the impression that at last 
 he was about to exhibit a proper spirit and to engage 
 the enemy with the vessel which was in every respect 
 better fitted to meet her. The hopes of the officers 
 who watched his course were soon disappointed, for he 
 sailed by the Serapis, taking a position out of gunshot, 
 where he could watch events in safety. From this
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 467 
 
 position he viewed the conflict until the moment when 
 the two ships had been lashed together and were bat- 
 tling in thek death embrace. 
 
 Perfectly conscious of the desperately wounded con- 
 dition of his consort, and perceiving plainly the murder- 
 ous broadsides of the enemy, which were belching de- 
 struction from her double decks against the silent and 
 helpless sides of the Richard, he saw that the two comba- 
 tants, secured as they were by the anchor of the Serapis, 
 remained motionless in one place. He then sailed 
 toward them out of pistol-shot, and poured a deliberate 
 fire with grape-shot, which he knew would scatter, full 
 into the stern of the Richard and the bow of the Sera- 
 pis, although he was perfectly aware that by approach- 
 ing nearer he could fire accurately into the enemy 
 without danger to the Richard. After this he bore on 
 to see what had happened to the Pallas; he found that 
 she had captured the Countess of Scarborough, and hail- 
 ing first one vessel and then the other, he sailed hesi- 
 tatingly round and round them both, until Cottineau 
 asked him whether it was his intention to take charge 
 of the prize and permit him to go to the assistance of 
 the disabled flag-ship, or whether he would go to 
 Jones's aid himself. 
 
 Every moment in that desperate battle was fraught 
 with fate to the Richard, but determined that Cottineau 
 should be prevented from helping Jones, Landais finally 
 stood off again toward his consort; sailing discreetly far 
 out of the range of the enemy's guns on her disengaged 
 side, he came around the stern and larboard side of the 
 Richard, so closely at last that he was not more than
 
 468 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 three points abaft her beam, when, in spite of the signals 
 of reconnoissance which Jones had hung out after his 
 first broadside, in spite of the chorus of voices which 
 implored him not to sink them, he poured a second 
 full broadside of deadly low-aimed shots under the 
 water, full into her helpless hull, continuing his course 
 until he was in front of the Richard's bow, when he 
 poured his third broadside into the prow of his consort. 
 
 His reasons for these actions are only too clear. He 
 intended to keep out of all danger to himself. He 
 wished and intended to sink the Bon Homme Richard 
 and to capture the Serapis, which was already beaten 
 by Jones, and thus claim the credit for himself. Among 
 the several points to which the officers of the Bon 
 Homme Richard and the Alliance alike testified in the 
 accusations which were formally drawn up against Pierre 
 Landais are two statements, one made by Weibert and 
 one by Stack and McCarthy, of the Irish regiment, tes- 
 tifying that Landais had acknowledged that in firing 
 at both the vessels he had purposely used grape-shot, 
 which he knew would scatter, and that he "thought it 
 no harm if the Bon Homme Richard had struck, for it 
 would have given him an opportunity to retake her and 
 to take the Serapis." 
 
 The evident fact that his final appearance was a 
 factor in Pearson's surrender was persistently claimed 
 by Landais as the cause of the victory, and he main- 
 tained from the hour of the battle until the close of his 
 dishonored life that it was he who had taken the 
 Serapis. The cunning of the demi fou, to which dan- 
 gerous class of afflicted humanity Pierre Landais un-
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 469 
 
 questionably belonged, is shown in all of his actions, 
 together with the suspicion, cowardice, and treachery 
 which represented the controlling elements in his hope- 
 lessly deranged and malignant character. His conduct 
 in refusing to come to the assistance of his sinking 
 consort after the battle was over was an action whose 
 import, admitting of no discussion or defence whatever, 
 adds the clearest sort of corroborative testimony in re- 
 gard to the treacherous motives which directed his con- 
 duct during the engagement, and to the persistent hos- 
 tility of his attitude toward Jones from the beginning 
 of the cruise. The ultimate results of his conduct were 
 far from carrying out his animosity toward Jones, for 
 the credit of the capture of the Serapis remained wholly 
 with the man whom he considered to be his rival, 
 and his desertion and treacherous attitude served to 
 enhance the glory of Jones's victory. When he received 
 orders through Captain Ricot, of the Vengeance, to take 
 a position astern of the Bon Homme Richard in the 
 return voyage, he told Ricot insolently to "go tell the 
 commodore that he may go where he pleases." 
 
 The results of the renowned engagement, in the mat- 
 ter of killed and wounded, are impossible to calculate 
 with accuracy, owing to the confessedly incomplete ac- 
 count which was sent in by the surgeon of the Serapis 
 to the admiralty. This report admits to seventy-five 
 wounded, of which eight died of their injuries, but 
 Pearson states in his report that there were many more 
 whom he had been unable to account for. Jones states 
 that the number of wounded in the Serapis was more 
 than a hundred, and that the killed were probably as
 
 470 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 numerous. As the victor and guardian of the prisoners 
 and wounded of the prize, he was in a better position 
 to know their number than Pearson. Jones reported 
 the loss on the Richard to have been forty-nine killed 
 and sixty-seven wounded out of his crew, which by the 
 loss of the barge and the two companies of men under 
 Cutting and Henry Lunt, amounted to three hundred 
 at the time of the engagement. 
 
 The records of the Bon Homme Richard were badly 
 kept, due probably to the absence of Jones's two officers, 
 and in the haste of removing the wounded were lost 
 when the ship went down. The Countess of Scar- 
 borough lost four killed and twenty wounded. The loss 
 on the Pallas was slight, and neither the Alliance nor the 
 Vengeance had one man killed or one gun disabled. 
 
 The method which Paul Jones pursued in the engage- 
 ment was up to that time entirely unprecedented in 
 the history of naval warfare. Conscious of the hope- 
 less inferiority of the old, worn-out, and unseaworthy 
 ship under his command, he had filled her to overflow- 
 ing with a far larger crew than was at that time the 
 custom, relying on his chance of grappling with the 
 fast-sailing war-ships of England, and the hope of 
 winning victory by an overwhelming fire of musketry. 
 To this end also he had well lined his tops, and sup- 
 plied his ship with a large variety of combustibles. 
 This method, invented by Paul Jones, was gloriously 
 followed by Nelson in his immortal engagements; but 
 the credit of the conception must always remain with 
 its inventor. 
 
 The account of the battle as written by the two cap-
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 471 
 
 tains of the opposing vessels disagrees in no important 
 particular, except in the amount of damage done to the 
 Serapis by the Alliance, Pearson asserting that her 
 broadsides caused him to surrender, while Jones ex- 
 plicitly states that the Alliance killed but one man on 
 board the Serapis. Otherwise the two reports are 
 almost identical as to the succeeding stages of the 
 conflict. The account of Richard Dale, written at the 
 request of Sherbume some forty years after the battle, 
 although seamanlike and very interesting, differs some- 
 what from the reports of Pearson and Jones, for the 
 evident reason that Dale's memory had not preserved 
 all the details, and also from the fact that during the 
 first stages of the battle he was at his station below on 
 the main deck, and therefore not a witness of the first 
 part of the engagement. His account of the first evo- 
 lutions of the ships is therefore not to be implicitly 
 relied on, and certainly not to be taken in preference 
 to those of Jones and Pearson. He states that the Bon 
 Homme Richard passed before the first broadside across 
 the forefoot of the Serapis, and that the Serapis, after 
 the first broadside, went in turn across the bows of the 
 Richard. These statements are both incorrect. Sail- 
 ing northeast along the lower side of the triangular 
 promontory of Flamborough Head to meet the Serapis, 
 which was sailing down southeast along the upper 
 side of the triangle, the two ships both turned their 
 heads sharply toward land, the Richard "bringing to," 
 as Pearson explicitly states, on the port side of the 
 Serapis. At no time previous to the final execution of 
 the manoeuvre of laying the enemy athwart hawse, at
 
 472 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 the moment when Jones succeeded in grappling the 
 enemy, did the Richard pass across the forefoot of the 
 Serapis. At no tune did the Serapis pass entirely 
 across the forefoot of the Richard, although once Pear- 
 son attempted the manoeuvre, as shown in Position 4 
 of the diagram. The first manoeuvres of the ships as 
 mentioned above were unfortunately omitted in the 
 reports of the respective commanders, but the Serapis, 
 by her superior sailing and facility in handling, suc- 
 ceeded in getting behind the Richard's stern and in 
 raking her several times. 
 
 In the account of the conflict written by Admiral 
 Mahan, the author takes note of the statement of Na- 
 thaniel Fanning, that the Serapis succeeded several 
 times in raking the Richard, but remarks that if this 
 occurred, it did not necessarily prove that the Serapis 
 ever crossed over to the port side of the Richard. 
 Other proofs that this manoeuvre was never executed, 
 and that the starboard range of guns was not brought 
 into play until the Richard had grappled with the en- 
 emy and passed to her other side, are found in the 
 statement that the port-sills of the starboard side of the 
 Serapis had not been raised, and were blown out in the 
 first fire, which took place when the two ships had been 
 lashed together head and stern; as well as by the many- 
 times attested and corroborated statement of the offi- 
 cers in regard to the manoeuvres of the Alliance, which 
 indicate with absolute certainty and great lucidity that 
 the Serapis was never on the port side of the Richard. 
 
 In article 19 : of the charges against Landais, it is 
 
 1 Appendix G.
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 473 
 
 stated that "as the most dangerous shots which the 
 Richard received under water were under the larboard 
 (port) bow and quarter, they must have come from 
 the Alliance, for the Serapis was on the other side." " As 
 Landais's honor, if not his life," Admiral Mahan con- 
 tinues, "was at stake in these charges, it is not to be 
 supposed that his officers, besides two French marine 
 officers, four of whom were especially well situated for 
 seeing, would have made this statement if the Serapis 
 had at any time been in a position to fire those shots." 
 The weight of this testimony is so conclusive that the 
 present writer has seen no reason for discrediting the 
 account of Nathaniel Fanning, who was in the tops 
 from the beginning of the engagement, and who has 
 alone furnished the details of the first manoeuvres of 
 the Serapis when she succeeded in keeping behind the 
 Richard and raking her stern. 
 
 The fact that all of Colonel Chamillard's men on the 
 poop were immediately cut off is in itself strong evi- 
 dence of a repeated fire against the rear of the vessel. 
 Mr. Caswell, on the forecastle, was killed two hours 
 later, when the Alliance passed across the bow of the 
 Richard. 
 
 The opinions of Jones's co-officers were warmly ap- 
 preciative and lack nothing of the proper meed of 
 honor which they immediately recognized as his due. 
 Richard Dale, with whom Jones enjoyed the closest 
 relations, and who referred to his glorious commander 
 in intimate terms of affectionate admiration until the 
 close of his life, gives him full measure of credit for the 
 victory :
 
 474 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 "From the commencement until the termination of 
 the action, there was not a man on board of the Bon 
 Homme Richard ignorant of the superiority of the 
 Serapis, both in weight of metal and in the qualities 
 of the crews. The crew of that ship were picked sea- 
 men, and the ship itself had been only a few months off 
 the stocks; whereas, the crew of the Bon Homme Rich- 
 ard consisted of part American, English and French, 
 and in part of Maltese, Portuguese and Malays; These 
 latter contributing by their want of naval skill and 
 knowledge of the English language, to depress rather 
 than to elevate a just hope of success in a combat 
 under such circumstances. Neither the consideration 
 of the relative force of the ships, the act of the blow- 
 ing up of the gun deck above them by the bursting 
 of two of the eighteen pounders, nor the alarm that 
 the ship was sinking, could depress the ardour or change 
 the determination of the brave captain Jones, his offi- 
 cers and men. Neither the repeated broadsides of the 
 Alliance, given with the view of sinking or disabling 
 the Bon Homme Richard, the frequent necessity of sus- 
 pending combat to extinguish the flames, which several 
 times were within a few inches of the powder magazine, 
 nor the liberation by the master-at-arms of nearly five 
 hundred prisoners, could change or weaken the purpose 
 of the American commander." 
 
 Colonel Chamillard, another eye-witness and partic- 
 ipant in the engagement, who had loyally assisted 
 Jones from the outset of the cruise, has left a most 
 generous testimony of his admiration for his famous 
 associate, and seems to have realized from the hour of
 
 "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND "SERAPIS" 475 
 
 the battle the height and quality of Jones's achieve- 
 ment. Intrusted with the official report of the cruise, 
 which he carried post-haste to Paris, he received the 
 first impression of the instant appreciation of Jones's 
 victory, which spread rapidly throughout Europe, 
 arousing the highest enthusiasm at the court of Ver- 
 sailles, and a panic of terror and rage at the court of 
 Saint James. 
 
 PASSY, 9 October 1779. 
 At noon. 
 
 GENERAL, I delivered your despatches to M. de Sar- 
 tine and to Franklin, who both appeared to me to be 
 enchanted with your exploits, as well as every one who 
 has any knowledge of the battle. 
 
 Your combat of the 23rd. places you in the rank of 
 the greatest men, and immortalizes you. You see by 
 the hour of my arrival at Paris, and that of my de- 
 parture from the Texel, that I have lost no time. I 
 expect that these gentlemen will direct me to rejoin 
 you, which I greatly desire. I find the best possible 
 disposition in this country towards you, and a desire 
 to give you ample satisfaction in everything which you 
 may ask. 
 
 Adieu General, good health and a little patience, and 
 all will go well. 
 
 I am, with the truest attachment, 
 
 Your very humble servant, 
 
 CHAMILLARD. 
 To Captain John Paul Jones. 
 
 A description of the engagement from the pen of a 
 high English authority, 1 while dealing, with the extreme 
 
 1 Professor Laugh ton.
 
 476 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 of insular prejudice and injustice, with Jones's personal 
 character, gives unstinted praise to his conduct of the 
 battle : 
 
 Throughout the action Jones' conduct as the captain 
 of a ship of war is beyond all praise. His ship was in 
 every way inferior to the Serapis, and Pearson was a 
 man of known courage and good repute. I do not 
 think, though every American writer thinks, that Jones 
 took the Serapis not only single handed, but against 
 the treasonable assistance of Landais on the Alliance. 
 I think, though contrary to the opinion of every Ameri- 
 can writer, that it was the mere presence of the Alli- 
 ance that determined the result. But on the other 
 hand, I think it is impossible to overrate the ability, 
 the pluck, the determination, and the presence of mind 
 with which Jones fought and won the battle. The 
 Alliance gave Pearson an excuse for striking his flag. 
 It was Jones, and Jones alone, rather than the Bon 
 Homme Richard who first beat him to a standstill. 
 
 The opinion of his only professional biographer, Cap- 
 tain McKenzie of the United States navy, concise and 
 free from any partisan exaggeration, may also be quoted 
 as the deliberate and unanimous judgment of the coun- 
 try whose cause he had so ardently adopted, whose 
 independence he had so nobly helped to achieve : 
 
 The conduct of Jones throughout this battle dis- 
 played the greatest skill and the noblest heroism. He 
 carried his ship into action in the most gallant style, 
 and while he commanded with ability, excited his fol- 
 lowers by his personal example. We find him in the 
 course of action, himself assisting to lash the ships 
 together, aiding in the service of the only battery from
 
 which a fire was still kept up, and when the Serapis 
 attempted to board, rushing pike in hand to meet and 
 repel the assailants. No difficulties or perplexities 
 seemed to appall him or disturb his judgment, and his 
 courage and skill were equalled by his immoveable self 
 composure. The achievement of this victory was solely 
 due to his brilliant display of all the qualities essential 
 to the formation of a great naval commander. 
 
 In the decayed and ill-contrived old ship in which he 
 found himself cast out upon the ocean, in a scarcely 
 seaworthy condition from the first, and having under 
 his orders a motley collection of officers and seamen 
 from almost every country, he fought a battle which 
 for stubborn and resolute courage and triumphant suc- 
 cess, is unsurpassed by any sea fight of ancient or 
 modern times. This is a service the value of which 
 will be felt in its animating and encouraging example, 
 as long as we continue to have a name among the 
 nations of the earth. 
 
 The immediate personal results of the engagement 
 were commensurate with Jones's infinite desire for re- 
 nown. At last the glory-haunted brain saw its fond 
 visions realized, and from his baptism of fire the po- 
 tential hero leaped full-fledged into immortality. His 
 noble conceptions, by the aid of his unequalled deter- 
 mination and his great professional capacity, forced 
 themselves at last, even with the poorest of means, into 
 the reality of visible achievement. Unconquered and 
 unconquerable, in spite of his unparalleled hindrances, 
 he stood revealed at last for what he was. 
 
 No further triumphs awaited him in the ensuing 
 years; no great fleets were ever placed under his capable 
 command; this was his unique and crowning achieve-
 
 478 JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 ment. In spite of his difficulties and because of them, 
 this unforgettable exhibition of his personal quality 
 and potentiality raised him at once to equal rank with 
 the greatest naval commanders of history. 
 
 His astonishing reply to Pearson, when asked if he 
 had surrendered his doomed and sinking ship, expressed 
 in his characteristic simple phrase, "I have not yet 
 begun to fight," has become a national battle-cry, and 
 is his password to the company of heroes.
 
 Date Due 
 
 BPU MOV 16 198 3 
 
 PRINTED IN U.S.A. CAT. NO. 24 161
 
 A 000 521 437 4