m^)\:m YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE LIFE OF PAUL JONES. THE LIFE OF PAUL JONES ALEXANDER SLIDELL MACKENZIE, U. S. N. VOL. I. BOSTON: HILLIARD, GRAY, AND COMPANY. 1841. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by Harbison Gray, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Diatrict of Massaichusetts I CAMBKIDGE : STEEEOTYPED AND PRINTED BY FOLSOM, WELLS, AND THURSTON. PREFACE. The following work was undertaken some years ago, at the request of Mr. J. Sparks, the distinguished editor of the "Li brary of American Biography," with a view to its forming part of that valuable work. Professional occupations have only within the last few months permitted the writer to make use of the materials that were placed in his hands. They consist of a " Life of Paul Jones," pubhshed in 1825, by Mr. J. H. Sherburne, then Register of the Navy, from the documents on file in the govern ment offices, and from a portion of the pri vate papers of Jones, to which Mr. Sher burne had access ; of a more elaborate work on the sam6 subject, published in Vi PREFACE. Edinburgh in 1830, from the materials fur nished by Mr. Sherburne, from log-books of Jones's various cruises,' and from original papers in possession of his heirs ; and, last ly, of a third life, published in New York in 1830, by Mr. Robert Sands, from the materials used in the Edinburgh work, and subsequently brought to this country by a niece of Paul Jones. As these works are chiefly composed of original letters of Jones, they convey a suf ficiently distinct idea of his life and char acter. But the historical style in which all these works are written necessarily in volves the insertion of such a mass of doc uments, as to swell their bulk with matter which is not always of interest to the gen eral reader, whilst his mind is fatigued by unavoidable repetitions, interruptions, and irregularities of date. To avoid these diffi culties, the narrative style of biography has been adopted in the following work, by the advice of Mr. Sparks, and it has been the PREFACE. VU object of the writer to state all the known facts in the life of Paul Jones, in a simple, consecutive manner, according to their nat ural order of succession. As, however, the writings of an individual often convey to the mind a more distinct idea of his thoughts and feelings than can otherwise be obtain ed, letters of Paul Jones have been occa sionally introduced ; the temptation to in troduce more was very great, as he wrote with clearness, spirit, and vigor. Efforts have been made, both at home and , abroad, to procure additional informa tion with which to enrich the present work ; but without success. It is not likely that any important materials exist which were not brought under the notice of the Edin burgh writer and Mr. Sands. Paul Jones was particularly careful in placing on record and preserving every thing that could be of value to his biographer. He had a de cided conviction that his actions would be the subject of after interest. In addition Vm PREFACE. to the works already mentioned, a guarded use has been made of the narrative of Captain Fanning, who was a midshipman on board the Poor Richard ; and various other works have been examined, in which Paul Jones is either incidentally mentioned, or facts are stated having a connexion with his history. March, 1840. CONTENTS VOLUME FIRST. CHAPTER I. Birth of Paul Jones. — His t*arentage. — His reputed Pater nity ; disproved. — Situation of his Birth-place. — His first Voyage to Virginia. — Resides with his Brother. — Enters the Slave-Trade. — Abandons it from Humanity. — Becomes Master of a West-Indiaman. — Charged with Cruelty. — The Charge proved to be unfounded. — Charged with Smug gling. — Death of his Brother. — Abandons the Sea. — Set tles in Virginia. — Taiies Possession of his Brother's Es tate. — American Revolution, — Offers his Services. — His Motives. — Is commissioned Lieutenant in the Navy. — Ap pointed to the Alfred 1 CHAPTER IT. Departure of First American Squadron. — Destined against New Providence. — Capture of the Island. — Squadron re turns. — Engagement with the Glasgow. — Jones appointed to Command the Providence. — Engaged in Convoying. — Cruise to Nova Scotia. — Narrow Escapes. — Destruction of Fisheries. — Commands a Squadron. — Expedition against Cape Breton. — Is superseded in his Rank. — Deprived of Command. — His Ideas on N aval Organization. — Is ordered to proceed to Europe, to take Command of a heavy Ship. — Letter from the Marine Committee. — Appointed to the Ranger. — Sails for France. — Arrives at Nantes. ... 25 CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. Jones visits Paris. — Transfer of the Indien to France. — Sub- mits a Plan for employing the French Fleet. — Returns to Nantes. — Sails for Brest. — Receives the first Salute abroad to the American P'lag. — Projects a Cruise. — Sails from Brest. — Enters the Irish Channel. -i- Makes various Prizes. — Appears off Carrickfergus. — Bold Attempt to board the Drake, at Anchor. — Descent on Whitehaven. — Capture of the Forts. — Consternation of the Inhabitants. — Return to the Ranger. — Propriety of the Enterprise, generally, as undertaken by Jones. — Descent on St. Mary's Isle. — Removal of Lord Selkirk's Plate. — Alarm at Kirk cudbright. — Second Appearance off Carrickfergus. — En gagement with the Drake. — Arrest of Lieutenant Simpson. — Arrival at Brest. — Letter to Lady Selkirk. — Restora tion of the Plate 61 CHAPTER IV. Effect of Jones's Exploits. — His Letter of Credit dishonor ed. — Difficulties for Want of Money. — Contention with Simpson. — Simpson imprisoned. — Cause of Disagreement. — Care of Prisoners. — Franklin's Views for the Employ ment of the Ranger. — Jones's Views in Reply. — Asks for the Indien. — Offer of the Indien by the French Govern ment. — Jones proceeds to Paris. — Offers his Services to France. — Project for intercepting the Baltic Fleet. — It fails. — Gives up the Command of the Ranger to Simpson. — Repents having done so. — The Ranger sails for America. 87 CHAPTER V. Season of Inactivity. — Jones's Impatience. — His Efforts to Obtain a Command. — Writes to Prince of Nassau-Siegen. His Letter is not answered. — Writes to the French Min ister of Marine. — Recapitulation of Claims and Grievan ces. — Letter to the Dqke of Rochefoucaijlt. — Denuncia tion of the Minister of Marine. — Letter to M. Chaumont. CONTENTS. xi — Letter to the King. — Statement of Wrongs. — Appeal to the Magnanimity of the Sovereign. — Determination of Government to buy a Ship for Jones. — Efforts of M. Chau mont. — Character of this Gentleman. — Jones enters into a Contention with Mr. Arthur Lee. — Prolonged Delay. — Advice of Poor Richard. — Jones adopts it. — Visits Ver sailles. — Receives Command of a Ship under the Ameri can Flag. — Calls her the Poor Richard 112 CHAPTER VI. Object of the French Government in giving Jones a Com mand. — Arrival of the Alliance frigate in France. — She is added to the Expedition. — Lafayette proposes joining it. — Force and Character of the Squadron. — Advice of Franklin to Jones with Regard to Cooperation. — Instructions for the Cruise. — Treatment of Prisoners. — Jones's Gratifica tion with his Instructions. — Object of the Expedition changed. — Lafayette withdraws, to join in the Invasion of England. — The Squadron is employed in Convoys. — The Richard and the Alliance get foul. — The Richard is dam aged. — The Squadron returns to refit. — Orders for a new Cruise. — Mutinous Spirit of the Richard's Crew. — Agrefe- ment entered into by all the Commanders. — Cause of fu ture Contention. — Mixed Character of the Expedition. . 138 CHAPTER VII. Departure of the Squadron from L'Orient. — Incipient Insub ordination. — A Privateer parts Company. — Makes the Coast of Ireland. — Desertion of the Richard's Barge. — Loss of another Boat. — Insolence of Landais of the Alli ance. — Desertion of two Vessels. — The Squadron en counters a severe Gale. — Separation of Ships. — The Rich ard passes between Scotland and the Western Isles. — Falls in with the Alliance off Cape Wrath. — Capture of two val uable Prizes. — They are sent to Norway. — Renewed In solence of Landaia. — The Alliance parts Company. — The Squadron off the Firth of Forth. — Project of a Descent upon Leith. — His Captains oppose the Enterprise. — They Xii CONTENTS. yield their Consent. — The Squadron enters the Firth. — Is taken for an English Force. — Request sent to Jones for Ammunition, — Summons prepared for Leith. — Approach to Kirkaldy. — Prayer of Mr. Shirra. — Gale out of the Firth. — The Squadron driven off. — Project against Hull and New Castle. — Evils of the Concordat 156 CHAPTER vm. The Squadron off Flamborough Head. — Discovers the Baltic Fleet. — Gives Chase. — The opposing Ships approach. — State of the Weather. — Spectators on Shore. — Eccentric Movements of the Alliance. — The Action begins between the Richard and the Serapis. — Two Guns of the Richard burst. — The Serapis passes round the Richard. — Attempts to cross her Bow. — The two Ships get foul. — Jones at tempts to board. — Is repulsed. — The Ships separate. — The Richard lays the Serapis athwart Hawse. — The Ships swing Broadside and Broadside. — The Serapis anchors. — Terrible Cannonade from the Serapis. — The Alliance rakes the Richard. — Jones superintends the Quarter-deck Bat tery. — Effective Fire from the Richard's Tops. — Combus tibles thrown on board the Serapis. — Explosion on her Main Deck. — Alarm lest the Richard should sink. — Gun ner cries for Quarter. — Prisoners released. — Desperate Situation of Jones. — He dpes not despair. — The Serapis strikes. — Her Captain delivers up his Sword. — Mangled Condition of the Richard. — Both Ships on Fire. — Removal of the Wounded. — The Richard sinks. — Comparative Force of the Ships. — Victory due personally to Jones. — Conduct of Landais. — ^ Jones's Heroism 174 CHAPTER IX. Damages of the Serapis repaired. — The Squadron steers for Dunkirk. — Jones's Colleagues run for the Texel. — The Serapis follows. — Arrival in the Texel. — The English Squadron appears off the Port. — The Squadron refits, — Jones visits Amsterdam. — His enthusiastic Reception. — Shows Himself on the Exchange. — His Appearance. — CONTENTS. xiii Sympathy of the Dutch for America. — The British Minis ter demands a Surrender of Jones and his Prizes. — Not complied with. — The Squadron allowed to refit. — Jones takes Possession of a Fort on tlie Texel, as a Hospital for the Wounded. — Agreement for an Exchange of Prisoners. — Franklin's Opinion of the Victory. — Arrest of Landais. — Charges against him. — Fights Captain Cottineau. — Challenges Jones. — Escapes to Paris. — Jones's Perplexi ties. — The Squadron ordered to depart. — The Prizes and French Ships hoist French Colors. — Jones removes to the Alliance. — Renewed Orders to depart. — Prisoners reCm- barked. — Part of them delivered to France 210 CHAPTER X. Dissatisfaction of Paul Jones. — Contemplates returning to America. — Is offered a French Privateer's Commission. — Rejects it with Disdain. — Is ready for Sea. — Refuses to hoist French Colors. — Receives a soothing Letter from the French Ambassador. — His Anger appeased, — The Al liance sails. — Finds the Coast clear of Blockaders. — Passes the Downs and Straits of Dover. — Ndw- Year's Day. — Verses to a Lady. — The Alliance sails badly. — Singular, Arrangement of Ballast. — Goes into Corunna, — Mutinous Disposition of the Crew. — Makes a short Cruise. — Enters L'Orient. — Jones's Health impaired 241 LIFE OF PAUL JONES CHAPTER I. Birth of Paul Jones. — His Parentage. — His reputed Paternity; disproved. — Situation of his Birth-place. — His first Voyage to Virginia. — Resides with his Brother. — Enters the Slave- Trade. — Abandons it from Humanity. — Becomes Master of a West-Indiaman. — Charged with Cruelty. — The Charge proved to be unfounded. — Charged with Smuggling. — Death of his Brother. — Abandons the Sea. — Settles in Virginia. — Takes Possession of his Brother's Estate. — American Revolution. — Offers his Services. — His Motives. — Is commissioned Lieu tenant in the Navy. — Appointed to the Alfred. In every pursuit of life, successful example seems to encourage the enterprising and stim ulate the doubting. This is eminently the case in the career of arms. England will owe many a future naval hero to the memory of her Nelson. History also furnishes the exam ple of heroes, who, with less extensive means and in a smaller sphere of action, have reflect ed honor on our own land. Among the fore- VOL. I. 1 2 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1747. most of these is Paul Jones,^ the events of whose life it is the object of the following pages to portray. John Paul Jones was born on the 6th of July, 1747, on the estate of Arbigland, in the parish of Kirkbean, in Scotland. His father's family was originally from Fifeshire ; but his grandfather removed to Leith, where he fol lowed the business of a gardener. John Paul, the father of our hero, by whom the name of Jones was subsequently assumed, followed the same calling ; on finishing his apprenticeship, he entered into the employment of Mr. Craik, of Arbigland, for whom he laid out the garden much as it now exists, and planted the trees which still surround the mansion. Soon after John Paul removed to Arbigland, he married Jean Macduff, daughter of a small farmer in the neighbouring parish of New Ab bey, whose family had been established in that district from time immemorial. There were seven children from this marriage, the two youngest of whom died in infancy. Of those who survived, and came to years of maturity, the eldest was a boy named William, the next LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 3 three were girls, called Elizabeth, Janet, and Mary Ann, and the youngest, John, the sub ject of the following biography. The long period of John Paul's service with Mr. Craik, and the interest which this gentleman is known to have always taken in the family of his dependent, after the death of the latter, are cited as conclusive evidence of his fidelity and worth. In after times, when the name of Jones be came the subject of romantic interest, an effort was made to assign to him what was thought a nobler origin, as the natural son of the Earl of Selkirk, or of Mr. Craik. As if the brand of illegitimacy, and the stigma on a mother's fame, would be more than compen sated by an association with noble names, or a sinister descent from a Scottish earl or from a bonnet laird best known to fame by the fact of our hero being the son of his gardener, would be a more fitting introduction to a career of glory, than birth in honorable wedlock, of humble but honest parents. These calumnies, though intended for commendations, were falsified by the unsullied character of the wife 4 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1747. of John Paul, and by the happiness of their union. The birth-place of our hero, and the home of his boyish days, are surrounded by scenes well suited to cherish an adventurous temper ament, and create an inclination for the sea. Arbigland, the estate of Mr. Craik, occupies a jutting promontory of the Galloway shore, where the river Nith opens into the estuary of the Solway. The bank rises gradually from the water, until it blends with the steep side of Criffel,' a towering mountain of granite. While the Nith opens away to the north, and, is bounded on the opposite side by the Dum fries shore, the upward course of the Solway may be traced eastward, to where it receives the waters of the Esk. Beyond and far sea ward, stretches the Cumberland shore, while in the remote distance rise the majestic tops of Helvellyn, Skiddaw, and the Saddleback. The mansion of Arbigland stands about a quar ter of a mile from the shore ; and a little far ther west, on the same gently sloping promon tory, is the cottage in which young Paul was born. Both buildings are surrounded by LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 5 dense masses of thrifty and umbrageous trees, many of them planted by Paul's father, open ings through which render the houses visible from the Solway, and conspicuous objects to the passing mariner.* Amid such scenes as these our hero first gazed abroad upon the world. As years gave him strength to wander, the enchanting views, which on all sides presented themselves, increased the temptation to ramble forth. Sometimes in company with the son of the * In the summer of 1831, Arbigland was visited by Lieutenant Alexander B. Pinkham, of the United States Navy. He found the cottage, in which Paul Jones was born, a perfect ruin, with only the stone walls, gables', and one chimney standing. Feeling a lively sense of gratitude for the services of Paul Jones to his country, he was painfully affected by this sight, and conceived a strong desire to contribute to the preservation of so in teresting a memorial. Through a friend in Dumfries, he sought the acquaintance of Mr. Craik, and was kindly received by him, and readily obtained permission to do what he pleased with the cottage. An architect was em ployed to make an estimate of the probable expense, and Mr. Pinkham, with a liberality alike creditable to his patriotism and to his professional feelings, generously set apart from his savings the sum of twenty-five sovereigns, which considerably exceeded the estimate. Mr. Craik also entered with spirit into the project, and caused the repairs to be prosecuted on a more extensive scale. The 6 , . LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1747. proprietor, who was very recently still living, he explored the magnificent rocks and cav erns, which impart such an air of grandeur to the seaward coast, and which, in more recent times, have furnished romance with scenes for its fictitious horrors ; occasionally, they clomb the side of Criffel, to gaze abroad upon the majestic spectacle which it commands ; or oftener strolled towards the protected bay of Carsethorn, at the foot of the lawn, where vessels not unfrequently took shelter from present condition of the house may be gathered from the following extract from the " Dumfries Courier," of the 30th of July, 1834, which contains an eloquent tribute to the generous enthusiasm of Mr. Pinkham. " The site of the cottage is a glade in a thriving wood, on the shores of the Solway, with a green in front, fancifully railed in, and tastefully ornamented with evergreens, flowers, and flowering shrubs. Inside and out, it is a trim cottage, which may vie with similar buildings in England ; and, as the walls are whitened annually with the finest lime, it is become a sort of land-mark to nearly every sail that enters the Solway. The widow of a fisherman, who died under highly distressing circumstances, and. who owes much to the humanity of Mr. Craik, tenants it rent- free, and will probably close her eyes under its honored roof; and, as this fact is generally known, almost every tar, in passing the spot, doffs his bonnet in token of gratitude, and says, 'God bless the kind Lieutenant Pinkham!'" LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 7 Storms. As the boldness of the coast permit ted vessels to approach it within a stone's throw, to avoid the tide, their masts, as they glided closely along, seemed blended with the trees through which they were seen ; while the hoarse voices of the mariners, as the com mands Avere given and responded to, resound ed loudly through the avenues. Thus early did our hero become familiar ¦with the sights and language of the sea. Tradition relates, that the words of command, of which he early caught the sound, and per haps imbibed something of the sense, he was wont to repeat among his playmates, mustered on the shores of some little inlet, each with / his jnunic bark, while he himself, perched on a rocky eminence, screeched forth the various orders, in imitation of the mariners. At other times, he passed his leisure alone, in similar amusements. Of those, however, who in their boyish days sail boats in brooks and horse- ponds, and sometimes by the sea-shore, there are many who get no farther in the sailor's career, for the taste is a very prevailing one ; but, in the case of our hero, the inclination 8 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1759. must have been very decided ; for at the age of twelve years we find him, with the consent of .his parents, crossing the Frith to Whiteha ven, which lay opposite to his father's resi dence, and is the principal port of the Solway, in order to be bound apprentice to Mr. Youn ger, a merchant in the American trade. Paul soon after went to sea, in the Friend ship, of Whitehaven, Captain Benson, bound to the Rappahannock. While in port, he passed his time on shore, with his brother William, who had been some time settled and married at Fredericksburg, in Virginia, where h& bore an honorable reputation, and is said to have eventually acquired a handsome fortune. While under his brother's roof, he improved the leisure afforded him, to continue his stud ies. He particularly devoted himself to navi gation. The habit of studious application thus early formed, and unremittingly prosecu ted both at sea and on shore, enabled him so far to overcome the disadvantage of kn inter rupted education, as always to enable him to appear equal to every situation in which he was placed; and subsequently to figure, with- .St. 12.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 9 out risk of an unfavorable comparison, in the highest circles oP society. In this respect, his example may be usefully imitated by every youth who makes the sea'his profession, whether in the navy or the merchant service ; as it shows, that, however early one may be called from study to the active pursuits of life, leisure and opportunity for the improve ment of the mind can never be wanting to those who ere sedulous to profit by them. The uniform good conduct of young Paul, and his extraordinary aptitude in acquiring a knowledge of all that is necessary to form an accomplished seaman, speedily recommended him to the favor and good will of Mr. Youn ger ; but, the affairs of this gentleman becom ing soon after embarrassed, he had no other means of serving his apprentice, than by sur rendering his indentures, and abandoning him, at a very early age, to his own guidance. It is a sufficient evidence of the favorable esti mation which he had already won for himself, that he was almost immediately employed as third mate of the King George slaver, of Whitehaven. 10 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1766. In 1766, being only nineteen years old, he was received on board ih& brigantine Two Friends, a slaver of Jamaica, in the important office of chief mate. This is conclusive evi dence that he was already an accomplished seaman, and admitted to possess a firm and decided character. It is stated by the rela tions of John Paul, from whom the only account of this period of his life is to be derived, that, in abandoning this iniquitous traffic in human beings, he was impelled by an irresistible feeling of disgust at the cruel ties and horrors with which it was necessarily attended. As the slave-trade was exceedingly profitable, having mainly contributed to build up the early fortunes of Bristol, Liverpool, and other considerable ports in England, where it is now held in becoming detestation, it is highly probable that the motives of young Paul, in relinquishing it, were those which his relatives ascribe to him, and for which he de serves the greater honor, from their being not only in opposition to his own interests, but so much in advance of the age and country in which he lived. Mt.21.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. H Giving up his situation on board the Two Friends, John Paul sailed from Jamaica for Scotland, in 1768, as a passenger in the brigantine John, of Kirkcudbright. Both the master and mate dying of fever on the voy age, Paul assumed the command, and arrived safely at Kirkcudbright. The owners of the vessel, feeling grateful to him for the preser vation of their property, placed him on board of the John, as master and .supercargo, and despatched him to the West Indies. He made a second voyage in the same vessel ' to the West Indies, and in the course of it became involved in a difficulty, in consequence of his having inflicted punishment on the carpenter of the John, Mungo Maxwell by name, by flogging him, in the customary manner, on the back. Maxwell had been guilty of mutinous and disrespectful conduct towards his com mander, who made use of the power intrust ed to him by the law for the necessary preser vation of discipline, to inflict a corresponding punishment. Maxwell was subsequently dis charged from the John, and entered on board the Barcelona Packet, where he took a fever 12 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1771. and died. Out of these circumstances a report originated, that Maxwell owed his death to the punishment inflicted by his commander. This report, which is supposed to have been circulated by some rivals, who, in the little community of Kirkcudbright, envied the eminence as a shipmaster, to which Paul's in telligence and skill had raised him at such an early age, was fully set at rest at the time by affidavits from persons in authority at Tobago, where the affair took place, and from the mas ter of the vessel on board of which Maxwell died. Nor would it, indeed, have been thought worthy of refutation here, had it not been long after renewed on another scene of action, when Paul's own nephew was substituted for Maxwell, the carpenter, and the motive to de traction, instead of being rivalry for the com mand of a brigantine, and the desire to supplant him in the favor of its owner, had its origin in the wish to remove him from the command of a warlike fleet, conferred upon him by the favor of Catharine of Russia. Paul's last visit to Scotland took place in 1771, where he seems to have been looked ^T. 25.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 13 upon with some distrust, on account of his alleged cruelty to Maxwell. This affair is adverted to in one of the earliest of his letters extant, written two years afterward, during which interval he must have made other voy ages. This letter is interesting as furnishing a transcript of his feelings and character at this early period. It is dated at London, on the 24th of 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 expectations, has added very much to the asperity of my mis fortunes, and, I am well assured, was the cause of my loss of health. I am now, how ever, better ; and I trust Providence will soon put me in a way to get bread, and, which is by far my greatest happiness, be serviceable to my poor, but much valued friends. I am able to give no account of my future proceed ings, as they depend upon circumstances which are not fully determined. " I have enclosed you a copy of an affidavit 14 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. , [1772. made before Governor Young, by the judge of the court of Vice-admiralty of 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 malicious ly loading me 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 pow er, being conscious of my innocence before Heaven, which 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, notwithstanding I was sensible of the general prejudices which ran against me ; but, after all, none of my accusers had the courage to confront me. Yet I am willing to convince the world, if reasons and facts will do it, that they have had no foundation for their harsh treatment. I mean to send Mr. Craik a copy properly proved, as his nice feelings will not, perhaps, be otherwise satisfied ; in the mean time, if you please, you may show him that enclosed. His ungracious conduct to me, before I left Scotland, I have not yet been. .ffiT. 25.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 15 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 seeming unconcernTTjut Heaven can witness for me that I suffered the more on that ac count. But enough of this." The above letter shows a commendable in terest in preserving the favorable opinion of those who had hitherto esteemed him, a jeal ousy of any imputation which was likely to sully it, and a spirit easily wounded _bv the suspicion of those from whom he expected a confidence in his character, founded on a long- continued observation of its worth. We may discover, also, in his solicitude about his rela tions, and his desire to be serviceable to his " poor but much valued friends," the traces of a gentle and affectionate spirit. This spirit, which never forsook him, stamps his heroism with the seal of genuineness. As he does not mention his father, he was no doubt dead ; and his mother and sisters were probably de pendent on their own exertions, and his occa sional aid. There is no means of ascertaining now the 16 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1773. exact nature and motive of the ungracious treatment which he complains of having re ceived from Mr. Craik. It was evidently oc casioned by the calumnies of which he was the subject, on account of his punishment of Maxwell ; and the acuteness with which he felt it was doubtless augmented by his having always looked up to Mr. Craik for protection, as having been born on his estate, and passed his early , years under his immediate observa tion. It is satisfactory to know that Mr. Craik was subsequently convinced that Paul had been calumniated. On the completion of the second voyage of the John, her owners dissolved partnership, and sold her, giving to young Paul an honora ble discharge from their service, as a skilful navigator and supercargo. Subsequently to this period, Paul is said to have been engaged in the smuggling trade, extensively carried on at that time, between the Isle of Man and the shores of the Solway. The first entry of goods from England to the Isle of Man, after it was annexed to the crown, and the motive for smuggling taken away, stands in his name Ml. 26.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 17 in the custom-house books of Douglas. This shows that he did trade to the island at one time, and may have given occasion to the re port that he was engaged in smuggling to it, when his name became afterwards the subject of vilification. He, however, always denied the charge, and pronounced it calumnious and luitrue. Soon after, we find Paul in command of the Betsey, of London, in the West India trade. He continued in this trade for some time, and seems, from his subsequent letters, to have been engaged at Tobago and Grenada, in some commercial speculations on his own ac count. In 1773, he went to Virginia, to ar range the affairs of his brother William, who had died intestate and without children. As this brother of Paul's is reported by all the biographers to have left a considerable for tune, and as Paul took charge of the estate on behalf of his family, it is difficult to account for the penury of which he soon after com plains. About this time he conceived the project of abandoning the profession of the sea, and devoting himself to agriculture, by VOL, I. 2 18 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1773. taking advantage of the opening which his brother's estate offered. It is probable that he commenced carrying his project into execu tion, for two years of his life at this period are unaccounted for by his biographers. It is to this period that he subsequently referred, in writing to the Countess of Selkirk, when he said ; " Before this war began, I had at the early time of life withdrawn from the sea ser vice, in favor 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 am ready to sacrifice my life also with cheerfulness, if that forfeiture could restore peace and good will among raankind." There are no means now of ascertaining whether more was meant by this passage,^ than to please the ear of the lady to whom he was writing, by this array of soft words, and to present himself before her imagination as a species of knight-errant in the cause of liberty, abandoning the retirement that was dear to him, in order to do battle against tyrants and oppressors. The susceptibility to female at tractions, which he afterwards showed, renders iET. 26.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 19 it likely that his feelings may have become interested in the course of a residence of two years on shore ; but, beyond the passage which we have quoted, there is no clue to any entan glement in which our hero's heart may have been engaged during his residence in Virginia. His planting operations do not seem to have prospered, and his brother's fortune, if it ever existed, seems to have evaporated, or to have passed into other hands. About this time the American Revolution broke out. It found Paul buried in the re tirement of the country, and overwhelmed by penury. His feelings had doubtless been long before enlisted in favor of the country of which, during two years, he had considered himself a permanent inhabitant, and with which he must have identified himself from the moment that he settled in it, in the belief that it was for life. It was easy for him to feel a real interest in the cause of the colonies, and a real indignation at wrongs that were any thing but imaginary. The humbleness of his social position in Britain could have given him little sympathy with an aristocratic 20 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1775. government, wielded by the privileged and the rich for their own interests, and in opposition to the interests of the class to which he belonged. He might, as a conscientious Briton, have sided with his fellow subjects of the colonies, on the abstract question in which he believed them to be right, in their struggle against op pression. A colonist himself of two years' standing, attached, moreover, to the country from the very early period when he had first visited it, then less than thirteen years old, his adhesion to the cause of America became not only justifiable, but obvious. There may, however, have existed a belief in his own mind, that some of his family and friends at home might be led, by the bias of their feel ings in a contrary direction, to disapprove of the step he had taken. Perhaps it was to spare the feelings of these, that he about this time assumed the name of Jones ; for which he himself gives no reason^ and which may well be accounted for in this way ; or, what is perhaps more likely, he may have dreaded being recognised as a born Briton, in case of capture in arms against his native country. jEt. 28.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 21 Though the Revolution found Jones in pov erty, it does not necessarily follow that the offer, which he almost immediately made to Congress, to serve in the navy, was in any great measure due to his immediate want of profitable employment. There was little in the condition of our national finances, to ex cite the cupidity of office-seekers ; and the privateers which were fitted out from the commencement of the Revolution, to cruise against British commerce, afforded the pros pect of much greater gain. Jones was proba bly impelled by far nobler motives ; enthusi asm in the cause of America, a spirit of adventure, and a chivalrous longing for glory. Fortunately Jones's tender of his services was accepted, and he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the navy, on the 22d of December, 1775, by the following resolution ; " Resolved, that the following naval officers be appointed : E. Hopkins, Esquire, commander- in-chief of the fleet. Dudley Saltonstall, cap tain of the Alfred ; Abraham Whipple, captain of the Columbus ; Nicholas Biddle, captain of the Andrew Doria ; John B. Hopkins, captain 32 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1T76. of the Cabot. First lieutenants, John Paul Jones, Rhodes Arnold, Stansbury, Hers- ted Hacker, Jonathan Pitcher. Second lieu tenants, Benjamin Seabury, Joseph Olney, Eli- sha Warner, Thomas Weaver, McDou- gall. Third lieutenants, John Fanning, Ezekiel Burroughs, Daniel Vaughan." A resolution was also passed, for equipping thirteen frigates, and in the mean time a few. vessels were pur chased from the merchant service, and fitted out in the Delaware. They consisted of the Alfred, of thirty guns and three hundred men ; Columbus, of twenty-eight guns and three hundred men ; Andrew Doria, of sixteen guns and two hundred men ; Cabot, of fourteen guns and two hundred men ; Providence, of twelve guns ; Hornet, of ten ; Wasp, of eight ; and the despatch vessel Fly. Jones was ap pointed first lieutenant of the Alfred flag-ship ; and, when the commander-in-chief came on board of her, Jones hoisted the American flag with his own hands, being the first time it was evej" displayed. The exact appearance of this flag is not known, though it is believed to iiave represented a pine tree, with a rattle- Ml. 28.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 33 snake coiled at its root, as if about to strike. Our present national standard was not adopted until nearly two years later. Jones had been offered the command of the sloop Providence, which he declined ; because, as he says, he had never sailed in a sloop, and considered that rank the most acceptable, in which he could be most useful in a moment of public calamity. At this time Jones was in the twenty-ninth year of his age. His health was excellent, his figure light, graceful, and active, and he was capable of enduring great fatigue. His countenance was thoughtful, melancholy, and somewhat stern in its expression, and his air decidedly officer-like. He must necessarily have been a skilful and dashing seaman ; for, having raised himself by merit alone, without other friends than it procured him, to the re sponsible situation of chief mate of a slaver at the early age of nineteen, and to the command of a merchant ship when barely twenty-one, his qualifications as a seaman must have been of a high order. His familiarity, too, with armed vessels, and the command of numerous 34 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1775. crews, must have furnished him with all the information essential to the management and discipline of a man-of-war, whilst his natural ly lofty and chivalrous character eminently fitted him to assume at once the bearmg of an officer. Could Jones's character have been penetrated and cofaprehended at the first, and he placed at the head of our navyj there can be little doubt that it would at once have as sumed 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 glorious deeds, would have greatly acceler ated the events which led to the recognition of our independence. .iEt. 28.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 25 CHAPTER 11. Departure of First American Squadron. — Destined against New Providence. — Capture of the Island. — Squadron returns. — Engagement with the Glasgow. — Jones Appointed to com mand the Providence. — Engaged in Convoying. — Cruise to Nova Scotia. — Narrow Escapes. — Destruction of Fisheries. — Commands a Squadron. — Expedition against Cape Breton. — Is superseded in his Rank. — Deprived of Command. — His Ideas on Naval Organization. — Is ordered to proceed to Eu rope, to take Command of a heavy Ship. — Letter from the Marine Committee. — Appointed to the Ranger. — Sails for France. ' — Arrives at Nantes. This first squadron fitted out during the revolutionary war was originally intended to act against Lord Dunmore, who was ravaging the shores of Virginia. The Delaware hav ing, however, been frozen up before it could get to sea, its destination was changed ; and, when it finally sailed, on the 17th of Februa ry, 1776, the course was shaped for the Baha ma Islands. Jones's narrative of this expedi tion, contained in the journal drawn up by him for Louis the Sixteenth, and read by that unfortunate monarch, shortly before his execu tion, furnishes the best account of it extant. We shall accordingly follow it very closely. 26 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1T76. On the 1st of March, the squadron anchored at Abaco, carrying in with it two sloops belong ing to New Providence, which it had just cap tured. From persons on board these vessels, information was obtained, that the fortifica tions of New Providence could easily be taken, and that they contained a large supply of munitions of war. An expedition was ac cordingly determined on against that island. A plan was formed, to embark the marines on board the two sloops, keeping the men be low until the vessels had anchored in the har bour, close to the forts, when the marines were to land, and take possession. As there was no force in the island capable of opposing them, the plan seemed likely to succeed ; in which case all the public stores would have been secured, and a considerable contribution might have been obtained, as a ransom for the town. But the whole squadron very injudi ciously appeared off the harbour in the morn ing, instead of remaining out of sight till af ter the sloops had entered ; the alarm being given, it was impossible for the sloops to at tempt crossing the bar. The commander-in- .fflT. 28.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 27 chief proposed to land at the west end of the island, endeavour to march the marines up, and attack the town on the land side ; but Joiies, on being consulted, suggested that this could not be effected, as the islanders would have time to collect, and there was no fit anchorage for the squadron, nor road from that part of the island to the town. Jones had learned from the pilots that there was anchorage under a key, three leagues to windward of the harbour, and now acquainted the commander-in-chief with the fact. Hop kins having objected to confiding in the pilots, Jones personally undertook to carry the Alfred safely in. Taking the pilot to the fore-top mast head, from whence every danger was clearly seen, he carried the squadron in with out accident. The marines were immediately sent in by the east passage, with two vessels to cover their landing. The inhabitants im mediately abandoned the forts. In the course of the night, the governor, finding he must surrender the island, embarked all the powder in two vessels, and sent them away. Jones says this was foreseen, and might have been 28 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1776. prevented by sending the two brigantines to lie off the bar. The squadron entered the har bour of New Providence the following morn ing, being the 17th of March, and sailed the same day, carrying away near a hundred can non, and other . military stores, together with the governor. In the night of the 6th of April, the squad ron fell in with the British ship Glasgow, of twenty guns, off Block Island. After a run ning engagement of several hours, in which, notwithstanding the great collective superiori ty of our squadron, it suffered more than the enemy's single ship, the Glasgoto got away, and the American squadron ran irito New London. This action shows conclusively, not only the inefficient character of these our first ships of wax, taken from the merchant service and hastily equipped, but also the total unfit ness of most of the commanders. On this oc casion, Jones commanded the lower battery of the Alfred, and did his duty bravely. Had he been on the quarter-deck, which is now the station of the first lieutenant, there can be no doubt that the Glasgow would have been captured. JEt.29.-] life OF PAUL JONES. 29 One of the results of this inglorious action was the dismissal of Captain Hazard, of the Providence sloop, from the navy, for having failed to do his duty. Jones was ordered to take his place. The Providence mounted twelve long fours, and had a crew of seventy men. After being engaged for several months in convoying along the coast between Boston and the Delaware, in which Jones showed great coolness and seamanship in avoiding the enemy's cruisers, he was ordered out on a six weeks' cruise against the enemy's commerce. In this vessel Jones put to sea from the Dela ware, on the 21st of August, and stood to the eastward. On the 1st of September, near the latitude of Bermuda, he chased a large ship, under the belief that it was a merchantman ; on a nearer approach, the ship was seen to be a frigate, afterwards known to be the Solebay. After a chase of four hours by the wind, with a heavy sea, the Solehay had got within mus ket-shot, on the lee quarter of the Providence, keeping up a fire with her low chasers, which Jones returned with his light guns, his colors being kept flying. Capture seemed inevita- 30 life of PAUL JONES. [1776. ble ; but Jones had no thought of yielding while a single expedient remained untried. He had gradually edged away, until he had brought the Solebay on his weather quar ter, when, putting his helm suddenly up, he stood dead before the wind, setting all liis light sails together. This manoeuvre brought the vessels within pistol-shot ; but, before the Solebay could imitate it, the Providence had got a considerable start, and, sailing better than the Solebay with the wind aft, she es caped. Jones subsequently had an encounter with the British frigate Milford, off the Isle of Sable, from which he escaped with equal success, and some little display of bravado. He was lying to, in order to allow his men to fish, when the Milford was first seen. He made sail to try his speed, and, finding he had the advantage, shortened sail again, to let the Milford approach near enough to waste her ammunition. The ship, as he expected, kept up her fire at a great distance, occasionally rounding to and discharging her broadside. " He excited my contempt so much," says Paul Jones, in his report of the cruise to the jEt. 29.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 31 Marine Committee, " by his continued firing, at more than twice the proper distance, that when he rounded to, to give his broadside, I ordered my marine officer to return the salute with only a single musket." On the follow ing day he entered the harbour of Canso, where he broke up the fishery, and the day after sailed for the island of Madam. Here he made two descents, and destroyed the ship ping. After these successful enterprises he returned to Newport, having made sixteen pri zes, during a cruise of forty-seven days. At Jones's suggestion, an expedition was now fitted out, and placed under his com mand, to capture the coal fleet and break up the fishery at Cape Breton, as well as to liber ate about a hundred Americans, said to be confined at hard labor in the mines. Jones sailed on the 2d of November on this ser vice, in the Alfred, having the Providence also under his command. Off Louisburg he took a brig, with a valuable cargo of dry goods, a scow laden with fish, and an armed ship called the Mellish, bound to Canada, with a cargo of clothing for the troops. The 32 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1776". day after this capture, Jones says that his con sort, the Providence, Captain Hacker, ran away from him, and left him to prosecute the expedition. He remarks that the runaway made shift to get into Newport a day or two before it was taken. Touching again at Can- so, Jones destroyed a transport which was lying in the harbour, burnt a warehouse of oil, and buildings connected with the fisheries. Off Louisburg, during a fog, he captured three coal vessels, which were under convoy, and, two days later, a Liverpool letter of marque. Finding the harbour adjacent to the coal mines frozen up, having one hundred and fifty prisoners on board the Alfred, and being, moreover, short of water and provisions, he abandoned the further prosecution of his en terprise, and shaped his course homeward, with five prizes under convoy. On the 7th of December, he again fell in with the Mil ford, on St. George's Bank, which gave chase to him, and captured one of his prizes. Jones got into Boston on the 15th of De cember. The Mellish arrived safely at Dart mouth, and the clothing with which she was ./Et. 29.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 33 laden was of incalculable use to the army under Washington, which was at this incle ment season of the year in a very destitute condition. The reward which awaited Jones on his arrival, for these faithful and important servi ces, was, to be superseded in the command of the Alfred, by Captain Hinman, and be ordered back to the Providence. He was obliged not only to submit to this indignity, but to find himself placed eighteenth on the list of captains, whereas, in the original ap pointment of officers in the navy, he stood sixth from the head of the list ; he being then the senior lieutenant of the navy. He subse quently received a commission as captain, dated the 8th of August, 1776, and, on the 10th day of October following, a new list of captains was made out, many on the list hav ing been commissioned only on that day, and yet placed above him. This grievous in justice to Jones, which, notwithstanding the splendor of his subsequent achievements, was never redressed, was a perpetual source of an noyance to him. He was true to himself in VOL. I. 3 34 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1777. never acquiescing in it, and returned, after a lapse of years, to bring forward arguments in favor of his seniority, which could not be an swered, though they produced no effect. Long after the injustice had been done, he thus expresses himself on the subject. " I was superseded in favor of thirteen persons, two of whom were my junior lieutenants at the beginning ; the rest were only commis sioned into the Continental navy on that day,; and, if they had any superior abilities, these were not then known, nor have since been proved. I am the oldest sea-officer, except Captain Whipple, on the journal and under the commission of Congress, remaining in the service. In the year 1775, when the navy was established, some of the gentlemen by whom I was superseded were applied to, to embark in the first expedition ; but they de clined- Captain Whipple has often and lately told me, that they said to him, they did not choose to be hanged." He afterwards adds ; " It has been said, with a degree of contempt, by some of the gentlemen who came into the navy the second year of the war, that I was jEt. 29.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 35. only a lieutenant at the beginning ; and pray what were they, when I was out on the ocean in that character ? " He seems, indeed, to have clung with the feeling of a true hero to the sacredness of that "rank" which, in his own noble and comprehensive expression, " opens the door to glory." It was a simliar injustice to this, which, operating on the less honorable mind of Arnold, first excited that spirit of discontent, which, encouraged by other causes, at length ripened into treason. Jones was superseded in the command of the Alfred on the 14th of January, 1777, by an order from Commodore Hopkins, the com mander-in-chief of the navy, and in conse quence, probably, of his remonstrances on this account, and on account of being superseded in his rank, he received an order from the vice-president of the Marine Committee of Congress, dated the 5th of February follow ing, to undertake an expedition against Pensa- cola and other places, having under his com mand the Alfred, Columbus, Cabot, Hamp den, and Providence. Owing, however, to some want of formality, or the irregularity 36 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1777. with which every thing was conducted, and in some measure, perhaps, to the mean jeal ousy of the inefficient Commodore, he affected to disbelieve the reality of Jones's appoint ment, and refused to recognise it. In order to elucidate this strange transac tion, and to seek redress of the injustice which had been done him with regard to his rank, Jones taade a visit to Philadelphia. The only result of his exertions, with regard to the proposed expedition against Pensacola, was, that it was wholly abandoned ; and, with regard to the restoration of his rank, his efforts were equally unavailing. It seenied that, both as to the command of the best ships, and to a favorable position on the navy list, the recommendation of the provinces, especially those in which the new frigates were building, in favor of citizens of influential families, was -4 of far greater weight than the length, value, and priority of Jones's service. The circum stance of his having been born a foreigner probably operated against hitn. Still the Ma rine Committee did him the justice to express regret, that they had not a good ship vacant JEt.W.-] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 37 for him to command; and, soon after, three ships were ordered to be purchased in Boston, and Jones was specially authorized, by a reso lution of Congress, to choose the best of them, " until better provision could be made for him." He was now ordered to Boston, to make his selection and fit out his ship. Perhaps the Marine Coinmittee were not unwilling, while doing tardy justice to Paul Jones, to be also rid of his importunities ; for, in his strong de sire to be employed^ and in the road to honor^ able distinction, he followed every one in au thority closely up, both by correspondence and by personal solicitation. His letters of this period are full of enlight ened views on the subject of naval organiza tion ; and such of them as were not adopted at the time, a mature experience has forced upon the country, as necessary measures of improve ment. To Robert Morris, a member of the Marine Committee, and the early, steadfast, and enlightened friend of Jones, he thus, at various times, addressed himself. " As the regulations of the navy are of the utmost con sequence, you will not think it presumptuous, 38 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1777. if, with the utmost diffidence, I venture to communicate to you such hints as, in my judgment, will promote its honor and good government. I could heartily wish that every commissioned officer were to be previously examined ; for, to my certain knowledge, there are persons who have already crept into com mission without abilities or fit qualifications ; I am myself far from desiring to be excused. From 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 marine officers, is of more consequence to the harmo ny of the sea 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 briga dier-general, a captain with a colonel, a master and commander with a lieutenant-colonel, a lieutenant commanding with a major, and a lieutenant in thq navy with a captain of horse, foot, or marines. I propose not our enemies as an example for our general imitation ; yet, /Et. 29.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 39 as their navy is the best regulated of any in the world, we must, in some degree, imitate them, and aim at such further improvement eis may one day make ours vie with and exceed theirs." With regard to the difficulty of recruiting seamen, many of whom had entered the army at the breaking out of the war, and more had engaged in privateering, he says ; " It is to the last degree distressing to contemplate the state and establishment of our navy. The common class of mankind are actuated by no nobler principle than that of self-interest ; this, and this alone, sdetermines all adventurers in priva teers ; the owners, as well as those whom they employ. And while this is the case, unless the private emolument of individuals in our navy is made superior to that in privateers, it can never become respectable ; it never will become formidable. And without a respecta ble navy — alas ! America. In the present critical situation of affairs, human wisdom can suggest no more than one infallible expedient ; enlist the seamen during pleasure, and give them all the prizes. What is the paltry emol- 40 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1T77. ument of two thirds of prizes to the finances of this vast continent. If so poor a resource is essential to its independency, in sober sad ness we are involved in' a woful predicament, and our ruin is fast approaching. The situa tion 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 disregarded, as being, in the old vulgar proverb, penny wise and pound foolish. If our enemies, with the best establishment and most formidable navy in the universe, have found it expedient to assign all prizes to the captors, how much more is such policy essen tial to our infant fleet ; but I need use no ar guments to convince you of the necessity of making the emoluments of our navy equal, if not superior, to theirs. We have had proof that a navy may be officered on almost any terms, but we are not so sure that these offi cers 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 .(Et. 29.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 41 of their officers, and to superintend, regulate, and point out, all the motions and operations of the navy." In another letter, also to Robert Morris, he says, " There are no officers more immediate ly wanted in the marine department, than commissioners of dock-yards, to superintend the building and outfits of all ships of war ; with power to appoint deputies, to provide, and have in constant readiness, sufficient quantities Qf provisions, stores, and slops, so that the small number of ships we have may be con stantly employed, and not continue idle, as they do at present. Besides all the advanta ges that would arise from such appointments, the saving which would accrue to the conti nent is worth attending to. Had such men been appointed at the first, the new ships might have been at sea long ago. The diffi culty now lies in finding men who are deserv ing, and whio are fitly qualified for an office of such importance." These wise suggestions of Jones are the more creditable to him, from having been made when he was as yet a naval officer of 42 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1777. little more than a year's standing. They are characterized throughout by a sound and dis criminating judgment and practical good sense. The best commendation that can be passed upon them is the fact, that Congress soon after adopted most of them, by estab lishing a parity of rank between the navy and army, on the basis proposed by Jones, in which provision was made for the assimilated rank of admirals, vice-admirals, and reat-admi- rals, though, unfortunately for the efficiency of the service, no appointments to fill those grades have ever been made ; and by increas ing the portion of prizes to be assigned to cap tors, so as to give them one half of merchant men, transports, and store-ships, and the whole value of men-of-war and privateers, taken from the enemy. The other sugges tions of Jones, with regard to the organization of dock-yards, the examination of officers be fore promotion, and the increasetof the term of enlistment of seamen, have gradually been acted upon ; and the only matter of regret is, that these things should have been so long delayed. JEt. 29.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 43 About the same time, Paul Jones addressed a letter to a former friend in the island of To bago, which furnishes some insight into his private affairs, and is interesting, as it affords a gratifying evidence of his affectionate regard for his family. He forwarded a power of at torney to his friend, and a statement of some imsettled accounts which he had left, when he removed to Virginia, earnestly requesting him to transmit whatever balance should remain on closing his accounts, (and he apprehended there would be a considerable one,) to his mother in Scotland, for her support, and that of some of her orphan grandchildren. While Paul Jones was waiting at Boston, for the purchase of the three ships of which he was to have the choice, he received an honorable proof of the favorable opinion of Congress, in being ordered to proceed to France in the French merchant ship Amphi- trite, and tc^carry out officers and seamen, in order to take command of a heavy ship, to be purchased for him on his arrival in Europe. The following letter from the Marine Commit tee of Congress, to the American Commission- 44 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1777. ers at Paris, was transmitted to Jones, together with his order to take passage in the Amphitrite. « Philadelphia, 9 May, 1777. " Honorable Gentlemen, " This letter is intended to be delivered to you by John Paul Jones, Esquire, an active and brave commander in our navy, who has already performed signal services in vessels of little force ; and, in reward for his zeal, we have directed him to go on board the Amphi trite, a French ship of twenty guns, that brought in a valuable cargo of stores from Messrs. Hortalez & Co.,* and with her to re- palr to France. He takes with him his com mission, and some officers and men, so that we hope he will, under that sanction, make some good prizes with the Amphitrite ; but our de^ sign of sending him is, with the approbation of Congress, that you may purchase one of those fine frigates that Mr. Desyae writes us you can get, and invest him with the com mand thereof as soon as possible. We hope * A fictitious house, under the name of which the Commissioners sent out military stores; ^T. 29.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 45 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 officers and men towards manning her. You will assign him some good house or agent, to supply him with every thing necessary to get the ship speedily and well equipped and manned ; somebody that will bestir himself vigorously in the business, and never quit it until it is accomplished. " If you have any plan or service to be per formed in Europe by such a ship, that you think will be more for the interest and honor of the States, than sending her out directly. Captain Jones is instructed to obey your or ders ; 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 will be necessary for you to direct him in ; and whatever you do will be approved, as it will undoubtedly tend to promote the public service of this country. 46 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1777. "You see by this step, how much de pendence Congress places in your advices ; and you must make it a point not to disap point Captain Jones's wishes and expectations on this occasion." Owing to some difficulty made by the com mander of the Amphitrite, with regard to receiving Jones and his officers and men on board of his ship, this arrangement fell through ; and, in consequence. Congress, on the 14t.h of June, invested Jones with the com mand of the Ranger, a new ship, built for the service at Portsmouth. His appointment was contained in the following resolutions. " Re solved, that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white ; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constella tion. Resolved, that Captain John Paul Jones be appointed to command the ship Ranger. Resolved, that William Whipple, Esquire, member of Congress and of the Marine Com mittee, John Langdon, Esquire, Continental agent, and the said John Paul Jones, be au thorized to appoint lieutenants ^nd other com- jEt. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 47 missioned and warrant officers, necessary for the said ship ; and that blank commissions and warrants be sent them, to be filled up with the names of the persons they appoint, returns whereof to be made to the navy board in the eastern department." Jones immediately com missioned the Ranger at Portsmouth, and no doubt was the first to hoist the new flag of the republic on board that ship, as he did the original one, with his own hands, on board the Alfred, not quite two years before. Though great diligence was used by Jones in equipping the Ranger, for sea, she was not ready to proceed on her destination, until the middle of October. Twenty-six guns had been provided for the ship, but Jones exercis ed great judgment in mounting only eighteen on her, as he considered, from her size and slight construction, that she would be more serviceable with eighteen than with a greater number. The following extract from his letter to the Marine Committee, dated on the 29th of October, 1777, gives a lively idea of the difficulties he had to contend with, and of the poverty of our resources. " With all my in- 48 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1777. dustry I could not get the single suit of sails completed until the 20th current. Since that time the winds and weather have laid me un der 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 ex pect the wind from the northwest, and shall not fail to embrace it, although I have not now a spare sail, nor materials to make one, Some of those I have are made of hissings. I never before had so disagreeable service to perform, as that which I have now accom plished, 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." Thus imperfectly equipped, having a very good crew, but " only thirty gallons of rum," as Jones laments, for them to drink on the passage, the Ranger sailed from Portsmouth on the 1st of November, 1777. The ship proved exceedingly crank, and Jones, no doubt, had occasion to congratulate himself Et. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 49 on his judicious forethought in leaving eight of his guns on shore. He made two prizes on his passage, chased a fleet of ten sail, under a strong convoy, without being able to cut any of them out, and arrived safely at Nantes, on the 2d of December, 1777. He immediately forwarded to the Amer ican Commissioners at Paris, the letter from the Marine Committee, of which he was the bearer, and expressed at the same time his great desire to render useful services to the American cause. He gave it as an opinion he had long entertained, that our ships should be employed singly or in small squadrons, on de tached services, remote from each other. The field of cruising being thus extended, and per fect secrecy being observed with regard to our projects, he gave it as his opinion, that the enemy had many important places in such a defenceless state, that they might easily be surprised and taken by a small force. " We cannot," he says, "yet fight their navy; as their numbers and force are so far superior to ours. _ Therefore it seems to be our most nat ural province, to surprise their defenceless pla- VOL. I. 4 50 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1777. ces, and thereby divert their attention, and draw it from our own coasts." These suggestions contained the plan of annoyance, which was eventually adopted in Paul Jones's cruises in the European seas. While waiting for the instructions of the Commissioners, he employed himself in short ening the lower masts of the Ranger, and in altering the stowage of her ballast, so as to increase her stability. i iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 51 CHAPTER III. Jones visits Paris. — Transfer of the Indien to France. — Submits a Plan for employing the French Fleet. — Returns to Nantes. — Sails for Brest. — Receives the first Salute abroad to the American Flag. — Projects a Cruise. — Sails from Brest. — Enters the Irish Channel. — Makes various Prizes. — Appears off Carrickfergus. — Bold Attempt to board the Drake, at An chor. — Descent on Whitehaven. — Capture of the Forts. — Consternation of the Inhabitants. — Return to the Ranger. — Propriety of the Enterprise, generally, as undertaken by Jones. — Descent on St. Mary's Isle. — Removal of Lord Selkirk's Plate. — Alarm at Kirkcudbright. — Second Appearanpe off Car rickfergus. — Engagement with the Drake. — Arrest of Lieu tenant Simpson. — Arrival at Brest. — Letter to Lady Selkirk. — Restoration of the Plate. On the receipt of Paul Jones's letter, the American Commissioners invited him to re pair to Paris, for the purpose of consulting with them on the subject of his future em ployment. On his arrival there, he found that he should be obliged to relinquish the flattering prospect with which he had come to Europe, of being placed in command of the fine frigate Indien, then building at Amsterdam for the service of Congress. Owing to the opposition made to the equipment of this ship by the British minister at the Hague, who had dis covered the secret of her ownership and desti- 53 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. nation, the Commissioners had sold her to France. This was a real misfortune to Amer ica, as well as to Jones. He submitted, how ever, to the disappointment, with as good a grace as his irritability would permit, and re turned to Nantes, for the purpose of complet ing the equipment of the Ranger, and making a cruise in her for the annoyance of the Brit ish coasts, in conformity with the suggestion contained in his letter to the Commissioners. It is probable that, while in Paris, he was also consulted, at the request of the French ministry, with regard to the employment of the Count D'Estaing's fleet, France being then on the eve of commencing hostilities against England. At any rate, Jones submit ted a written plan for the employment of that fleet, in a letter to Mr. Silas Deane, one of the Commissioners, immediately after his return from Paris to Nantes ; which plan he repeat edly asserts to have been the one that was adopted. In his memoir to the King of France, whose recollection must have furnish ed him with the means of detecting any mis statement with regard to a matter with which jEt. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 53 he must necessarily have been acquainted, Jones distinctly says, while speaking of him self in the third person ; " On receiving agree able news of affairs in America, and the posi tion of Lord Howe's fleet, he wrote a letter to Mr. Deane, on^ of the Commissioners of Con gress, at Paris, containing the plan that was adopted ; which would have ended the war, had it been immediately pursued." In a sub sequent letter to the French Minister of Ma rine, who must also have been familiar with the facts, he thus repeats the claim ; " Had Count D'Estaing arrived in the Delaware a few days sooner, he might have made a most glorious and easy conquest. Many successful projects may be adopted from the hints which I had the honor to draw up ; and, if I can still furnish more, or execute any of those already furnished, so as to distress and humble the common enemy, it will afford me the truest pleasure." The plan for the employment of D'Estaing proposed that he should fall sud denly upon the British fleet under Lord Howe, which was of inferior force, and destroy it, or at least block it up in the Delaware, together 54 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. with the transports and victuallers under its convoy. Shortly before D'Estaing appeared, Lord Howe succeeded in placing the fleet in security. Nothing is more likely thaji.: that Jones should indeed have been the author. of this project. He was familiar with the situa tion of affairs in America, from which he had just arrived, and was moreover eminently fit ted by his qualities of mind and character to shape out a bold and ingenious plan of naval enterprise.* From Nantes, Jones proceeded in the Itan- ger to Q,uiberon bay, giving convoy to some American vessels which were desirous of join ing the convoy of the French fleet, command ed by Admiral La Motte Piquet, who had been ordered to keep the coast of France clear of British cruisers. From this admiral he succeeded, after some correspondence and the exhibition of considerable address, in ob taining the promise of having his salute re turned. Writing to the Marine Committee, on the 22d of February, 1778, he thus speaks of this affair. * See note at the end of Vol. II. Mt. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 55 " I am happy in having it in my power to congratulate you on my having seen the American flag, for the first time, .recognised in the fullest and completest manner, by the flag of France. I was off their bay the 13th instant, and sent my boat in the next day, to know if the admiral would return my salute. He answered, that he would return to me, as the senior American Continental officer in Eu rope, the same salute which he was authorized by his Court to return to an admiral of Hol land, or any other republic, which was four guns less than the salute given. I hesitated at this ; for I had demanded gun for gun. Therefore, I anchored in the entrance of the bay, at a distance from the French fleet ; but, after a very particular 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 American independence. The wind being contrary and blowing hard, it was after sun set before the Ranger got near enough to sa lute La Motte Piquet with thirteen guns, which he returned with nine. However, to put the matter beyond a doubt, I did not suf- 56 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. fer the Independence to salute till next morn ing, when I sent the admiral word that I would sail through his fleet in the brig, and would salute him in open day. He was ex ceedingly pleased, and he returned the com pliment also with nine guns." This brig Independence was probably a privateer, which had placed itself temporari ly under Jones's orders. His sailing in her through the French fleet was a very charac teristic trait. It was his plan to do every thing with proper ceremony. Nor was this interchange of courtesy a matter of inferior importance at that time ; though now Ameri ca, republic though she be, salutes no foreign flag, without receiving gun for gun. Paul Jones had thus the singular honor of being the first to hoist the original flag of liberty on board the Alfred, first, probably, to hoist the flag, which, after more than half a century, still waves in pride as our national emblem, and first to claim for it from foreigners the courtesy due to a sovereign state. In the sequel of the letter last quoted, Jones gives us the following insight into his views. jEt. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 57 " I have in contemplation several enterprises of some importance. When an enemy thinks a design against him improbable, he can al ways be surprised and attacked with advan tage. It is true, I must run great risk ; but no gallant action was ever performed without danger. Therefore, though I cannot insure success, I will endeavour to deserve it." In fulfilment of these views, he put to sea in the Ranger from Brest, on the 10th of April. On the 14th he took a brigantine between Scilly and Cape Clear. She had a cargo of flax seed, and was bound to Ireland. Having burned her, he ran into the Irish Channel. Oh the 17th he took a ship bound from Lon don to Dublin, with a cargo of porter and other goods ; this ship he manned and ordered to Brest. On the following evening, the Ranger was off the Isle of Man. The wind was fair for Whitehaven, and Jones determin ed to stand for that place, in order to execute a project, which he had formed, to attack the town and burn the shipping, and thus, as he said, " to put an end, by one good fire, in England, of shipping, to all the burnings in 58 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. America." At ten o'clock he was off the har bour, and had his boats ready to start ; but, before they had left the ship, the wind shifted and commenced blowing fresh directly on shore, accompanied by a heavy sea. The ex pedition was necessarily abandoned for the present, and Jones was even obliged to carry sail heavily on his ship, in order \o keep her clear of the land. On the morning of th§ 19th, being off the Mull of Galloway, he learned from a schoon er, which he captured and sunk, that there were ten or twelve sail of merchantmen, besides a king's tender with a number of im pressed seamen on board, at anchor in Loch- vyau, on the Scotch coast. He at once deter mined to enter and capture them, as the wind was fair both to enter and leave the loch ; but, as he was about to put his project into execu tion, the wind shifted suddenly in a squall, and blew directly in, with an appearance of bad weather, compelling him to give up the enterprise. On the 20th, the Ranger sunk a sloop, and on the following day, being off Carrickfergus, :/Et. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 59 a fishing boat boarded her, from the crew of which Jones learned that a ship which he saw at anchor in Belfast Loch, was the sloop of war Drake, of twenty guns. Jones immedi ately conceived the bold project of running into the harbour, and overlaying her cable, so as to drop foul of her bow, having her decks open to the Ranger^s musketry, to cover the boarders. As the night came on, the ship was cleared for action, the grapnels were triced up to the yard-arms, ready for falling on the ene my's decks, to secure her in case she should cut her cable, and the boarders prepared for service. One of the fishermen was compelled to act as pilot, and all lights were carefully con cealed, to prevent the discovery of the Ran ger's guns, and other evidences of her warlike character and intentions. It blew fresh, and, as the ship rounded to on the Drake's how, the anchor was not let go at the order, but hung for a minute or two. During this inter val, the Ranger drifted by the Drake,^ and brought up on her quarter, at half a cable's length distance, instead of on her bow. The enterprise of course failed ; but, as every thing 60 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. ' had been managed quietly, and as if the Ran ger had been a merchantman, no alarm was given on board of the Drake. Moreover, his Majesty's ships were not perhaps prepared for such hardihood in their own ports. Jones de termined, therefore, to cut immediately, mak ing it appear as if his cable had parted, and, after making a stretch or two out of the loch, to return and repeat his hardy enterprise. The wind, however, which so often interferes with projects of this nature, freshened rapidly, and soon blew a gale, so that the Ranger was barely able, by carrying a press of sail, to work out of the loch. The gale continuing afterwards to increase, and bringing on a heavy sea, Jones took shelter under the south coast of Scotland. The following morning, being the 22d, was fair and mild, though the whole extent of the three kingdoms was seen to be covered with -snow. Paul Jones determined now to make another effort to accomplish his projected at tack on Whitehaven. The lightness of the wind, however, prevented him from approach ing the town so as to leave his ship at so early ^T.30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 61 an hour as he had wished. It was only at midnight that he got away from the Ranger, with two boats, provided with combustibles, and containing thirty-one officers and men, all of them being volunteers. He commanded the first boat himself, and placed the other under the orders of Lieutenant Wallingsford. The tide was running ebb ; so that, by the time the boats reached the outer pier, the day had dawned. Nevertheless, Jones was deter mined' not to abandon the enterprise. He therefore directed Lieutenant Wallingsford to set fire to the ships on the north side of the harbour, while he charged himself with the task of destroying the rest. Jones estimated the number of ships on the north side of the port to amount to from sev enty to one hundred large ships, whilst as many as one hundred and fifty others, chiefly of from two to four hundred tons, lay on the other side. The two docks were only divid ed from each other by a stone pier. All the ships were aground, and there was no water alongside of them, to facilitate extinguishing the flames. The port was commanded by a 62 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. couple of batteries, mounting thirty pieces of artillery. Paul Jones personally charged him self with the task of securing these ; he scaled the breastwork of that which stood nearest to the pier, made prisoners of the soldiers whom he found, the sentry included, very snug in the guard-house, and spiked the guns ; and, having posted sentinels and left the bulk of his party to fire the shipping, he went, attended by a single follower, to a fort which lay a quarter of -a mile off, the guns of which he also spik ed. His object in doing this was to secure a harmless retreat for his party, when the in habitants should awake from their panic. As Paul Jones returned towards the port, he was disappointed at not seeing the fire from the ships on the north side of the port. At the pier Jones met Lieutenant Wallings ford, who had returned without setting fire to the ships in the north basin. He stated, that his light had gone out as he was about to use it ; and seemed, moreover, to dislike the ser vice on which he had been sent. He said, that "nothing could be gained by burning poor people's property." To Jones's great ^T. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 63 annoyance, he found that his own immediate party, which he had left with directions to fire the shipping in the south basin, had been equally inactive during his absence. In con sequence of the late hour to which the expe dition had been delayed, their candles had also burnt out. The day, moreover, was be ginning to dawn, and the inhabitants to assem ble in alarm. Still, Jones was unwilling to depart without effecting any thing, after all the most serious difficulties had been over come. He again posted the sentinels which he had called in, to be ready to depart, obtain ed a light from a neighbouring house, and de liberately kindled a fire in the steerage of a large ship, which was surrounded by many others, all lying high and dry ashore. The lateness of the hour, for the sun had now risen, and the assembling of the startled inhabitants, left no time to kindle fires in oth er ships, but Paul Jones was determined that the one which he had lighted, should not be easily extinguished. He caused search to be made among the vessels for a barrel of tar, which he emptied into the flames, which soon 64 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. blazed up the hatchway and spread to the spars and rigging. The inhabitants began now to appear in great numbers, and, attracted by the flames, to run towards the pier. Paul Jones stood between them and the ship on fire, with a pistol in his hand, and ordered them to retire, which he says they did, with precipitation. The sun was now an hour high, and it became necessary to bring this daring enterprise to a close. There being no spare space in the boats, the captured soldiers were released, with the exception of three, whom Jones said he " brought away for a sample," and the party reembarked. Jones stood for a moment alone on the pier, contem plating with no little pride and exultation the terror and awe with which he had impressed the inhabitants of this considerable town, who stood gazing on him, with stupid and panic- stricken wonder, from the surrounding emi nences. At length he entered his boat, and rowed quietly out of the harbour. The inhabitants were presently seen running in vast numbers to theif forts, and of course found no means of JEt. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 65 venting their rage, to the great amusement of Jones, who had himself spiked the guns. Not long after, however, they began to fixe, from what Jones supposed to be some ship guns. But the shot fell short, and the direction was so ridiculously wild, that the sailors amused themselves by firing back with their pistols.. Jones now discovered that one of his men had been left behind, and expressed a fear in his report, that he had fallen into the hands of the enemy. It afterwards appeared, that this man, who was borne on the Ranger's books as Da vid Smith, but who was known in Whiteha ven as David Freeman, had not only volunta- rily abandoned his party, but gave information,, in various houses in the neighbourhood of the piers, of the character and object of the expe dition. In consequence of the statement made by this man, whom the newspaper of the day pronounced the saviour of Whitehaven, the in habitants so far recovered their presence of mind, as to rally for the preservation of the shipping, of which only the ship fired by Paul Jones was probably destroyed. He was sadly disappointed at the result, after his plan had VOL. I. 5 66 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. been so well matured, and had so far succeed ed. He was well justified in drawing the conclusion, in his written report of what had happened, that, if he had got on shore a few hours sooner, his success would have been complete ; that not a single ship out of more than two hundred, nor even the town itself, could probably have escaped. He consoled himself as best he could, with the reflection, that enough had been done to show the Eng lish, " that not all their boasted navy could protect their own coasts, and that the scenes of distress, which they have occasioned in America, might soon be brought home to their own doors." Even with the disadvantage of having arrived at the pier of Whitehaven at so late an hour, Jones was under the impression that he should still have succeeded, but for the scruples of the " wise officer," to whom he had intrusted the service of firing the ships in the north basin, and who had entertained him with the ill-timed moralizing as to the inexpe diency of " burning poor people's property." As poor Wallingsford, the "wise officer" al luded to, fell in battle the following day, it .St. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 67 would have been generous in Jones to have spared his sarcasm, and, while dispensing mer ited censure for disobedience of orders, to have stated that Wallingsford's fault was nobly re deemed by his dying in defence of his coun try. It is creditable to Jones's humanity, that he mentions, as a gratifying circumstance, that in the course of this well contrived and most coolly executed service, not one of his own men or of the enemy was either killed or wounded. Few naval enterprises exhibit a character of greater daring and originality than this de scent on Whitehaven. The hardihood with which it was conceived, and the imperturba ble coolness with which it was executed, can not be surpassed. As to the propriety of at tempting to destroy such an amount of private property, it was amply justified, as it was pro voked and occasioned, by the burnings and de vastations of the British on our own coasts. Still the author cannot coincide with such of his countrymen as have commended Jones for volunteering to be the agent of this retribu tion. The scheme was wholly his own ; he 68 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. selected the scene, choosing for the purpose the familiar haunts of his boyhood and matur- er years. Had he succeeded in his wish of destroying the whole shipping of the port of Whitehaven, out of which he had so long sail ed, where he had obtained promotion, and ne cessarily received kindness, he must have in volved shipmates, employers, and benefactors in one common ruin. He had a mother and sisters living in security in the neighbourhood, whose position must have been prejudiced by such wholesale desolation, perpetrated by a son and brother. It cannot be forgotten, that Paul Jones had continued his associations with his home and family, until long after he ar rived at manhood ; his connexion with Amer ica was only of five years' standing, whilst it was less than three since he took up arms in behalf of the colonies. Under these cir cumstances, his boasted " principles of philEin- thropy," and desire to support " the dignity of human nature," hardly justify such rancorous hatred of his native land. It has been said, that Paul Jones alone, on account of his famil iarity with the localities, could have attempted iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 69 this project with any prospect of success. If so, it had better been omitted altogether. On reaching the Ranger, Jones stood over to the Scotch shore, every foot of which in this neighbourhood had been familiar to him from his earliest years. He had conceived the project of endeavouring to get possession of the person of the Earl of Selkirk, who had an estate near Kirkcudbright, on a beautiful wooded promontory, which makes out into the river Dee, about a mile below the town, and is known as St. Mary's Isle. Jones thought that the possession of this nobleman's person might be rendered useful in an exchange for some distinguished American prisoner, and in bringing about a general system of exchanges, to which England had hitherto shown a re luctance. With this motive Jones now stood bold ly into Kirkcudbright bay, and started with a single boat on this extraordinary errand. Landing on St. Mary's Isle, he was informed by some men whom he met as he was pro ceeding towards the house, that Lord Selkirk was absent from home. According to his own 70 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. account, he was about to return to his boat, on hearing this information, but some of his offi cers expressed a great desire to take away the family plate, in conformity with the universal custom of the English on our coast. Jones seems to have yielded reluctantly to the dis contented muttering of his officers, in giving them permission to seize the plate. He did not like the errand, as he did not go upon it himself; and he charged Simpson, his first lieutenant, who accompanied him on this oc casion, to perform the service with all possible delicacy. Paul Jones remained on the shore, while Simpson went to the house with the boat's crew, armed with cutlasses and pistols. On reaching the house, they were taken for a press gang, or the crew of a revenue cutter. Lady Selkirk, who happened to be at home, sent a servant to ask their business and offer them refreshment. The first thing, that ex cited suspicion, was the officers' rejecting the whiskey which was offered to them, and call ing for wine. Simpson now went into the house, accompanied by another officer, and stated his errand to Lady Selkirk. The break- jEt. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 71 fast things were not yet removed, and the tea pot was emptied and sent away, together with the rest of the plate, which the butler busied himself in collecting. No violence or incivil ity was offered to any one, and the party, hav ing fulfilled its errand, withdrew. Meanwhile Paul Jones strolled under the noble oaks and chestnuts, that adorn St. Mary's Isle, with re- ^ ¦ ¦¦ » flections, which his sudden return among scenes so attractive, where every object was so familiar to him, must have strangely blended with exultation and with pain. That he did not approve of the abstraction of this silver, was afterwards made evident by the earnest ness with which he labored for its restoration. When the party arrived at the boat, he re gained his ship, and stood out into the chan nel. As for the worthy burghers of Kirkcud bright, when they heard of the outrage that had been perpetrated in their immediate neigh bourhood, nothing could equal their conster nation. The town affords no eminence from which a view of the enemy could be obtained, and the danger became all the more terrifying 72 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. from being unseen. The people ran hither and thither in search of a place of safety for themselves and their valuables, and were com pletely at their wits' end. After the consterna tion had been abated by the arrival of intelli gence of the disappearance of the cruiser, the more heroic seized upon a venerable twenty- four pounder, and dragged it down to the beach of St. Mary's Isle. There they watched dur ing the night, until one of the number cried out that he saw the enemy's ship. The gun was pointed and fired, and so kept hotly exercised during the night. When the day dawned, the valiant burghers were overwhelmed with mor- tifieation at discovering, that they had been venting their prowess upon an invulnerable rock which stood at no great distance from the land. On the morning of the 24th of April, Paul Jones was again off Carrickfergus, on the look out for the Drake, which he had the extreme satisfaction to see coming out of the harbour. The wind being light, the Drake's boat was sent out ahead to obtain information concern ing the Ranger, intelligence of her proceed- Mt. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 73 ings at Whitehaven and Kirkcudbright having already been received at Belfast. The Ran ger's stern was kept towards the boat, so as to conceal her character, which so far suc ceeded, that the boat came within hail with out suspicion. On reaching the Ranger's deck, the officer of the boat found himself a prisoner. Paul Jones now learned, that, in telligence having been received the evening before from Whitehaven of the Ranger's pro ceedings, the Drake was coming in pursuit of her, with a lai'ge number of volunteers on board, making her crew amount in all to one hundred and sixty men. Alarm smokes were now seen rising from various points, on both sides of the Channel. The Drake had to encounter a strong tide setting into Belfast Lough, and worked out very slowly. She was accompanied by five small vessels, filled with people, who were desirous of beholding the approaching engage ment. As they got nearer the Ranger, and the day was closing, they wisely put back without satisfying their curiosity. To bring the matter sooner to an issue, the Ranger ran 74 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [IT^S. down towards her antagonist, and hauling up her courses, lay to with her main-topsail to her mast. At length the Drake made her last tack, and stretched out of the lough. The Ranger now filled away, and ran out into mid- channel, followed by the Drake, which now came within hail. Both ships wore their na tional colors. As the Drake came up astern of the Ranger, she hailed and asked what ship it was. Paul Jones directed his sailing-master to reply, " The American Continental ship Ranger! we are waiting for you! come on ! " At this time the sun was little more than an hour high. Paul Jones now ordered his helm put up, and sheering across the enemy's bow, poured in the first broadside ; the fire was returned with equal energy, so soon as the enemy could imitate the manosuvre, and, as the two ships rem broadside and broadside, was kept up ob stinately at close quarters for more than an hour, at the end of which time the Drake was very much cut u|p. Her fore and maintopsail ties were shot away, and the yards came down on the cap ; theloretop-gallant yard and miz- iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 75 zen gaft hung up and down the masts, her en sign towing overboard astern from the gaft, and her jib-stay was shot away so that the sail hung in the water. Her sails and rigging were much cut up, many of her spars badly wounded, and her hull much shattered. When the action had continued an hour and four minutes, the Captain of the Drake received a musket ball in his head, immediately after which the crew called for quarter, and the ac tion ceased. The Drake was found to have lost, in killed and wounded, no fewer than forty-two of her company. Captain Burden, her commander, lived, and continued sensible, a few moments after the Drake was boarded. The first lieutenant was also severely wound ed, and died on the second day after the ac tion. Both were subsequently buried with the honors of war. The loss of the Ranger was comparatively very inconsiderable. Lieutenant Wallingsford and one seaman being killed, and six wounded, one of whom afterwards died. The weather being moderate during the night and following day, the business of repairing damages was soon accomplished. Among the 76 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. trophies of the victory was the anchor which the Ranger had dropped in Belfast Lough, an^ which the Drake had taken up. In esti mating the brilliancy of this victory, it is necessary to take into consideration not only that the Drake was of superior force to the Ranger by two guns, and in a still greater proportion with regard to her crew, but also that the Drake belonged to a regularly estab lished navy, whose ships were everywhere ac customed to conquer, whilst the equipping of the Ranger was among the earliest efforts of a new and imperfectly organized service. The result was eminently due to the skill and courage of Jones, and his inflexible deter mination to conquer. This was first, though unsuccessfully, made manifest, in the dashing attentipt to carry the Drake while at anchor in Belfast Lough, than which few naval concep- tions could be more brilliant. It only failed through the anchor's not being let go at the proper instant. The result, however, was but the more glorious to the American arms; as the Drake was subsequently compelled to yield after a sanguinary engagement, which iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JOJNES. 77 she sought with every possible preparation and confidence of victory, in the presence, too, of the three kingdoms. Paul Jones had intended returning out of the Irish Sea by St. George's Channel ; but, the wind being ahead to run in that direction, he bore up and ran to the northward. In pas sing the Lough of Belfast he released the fish ermen, whom he had detained on his first ap pearance off the Lough five days before. As their boat had been swamped and lost while in tow of the Ranger, he gave them another to reach the shore in, and money to replace whatever they had lost. He also sent with them two infirm persons, taken in one of his prizes, to whom he gave his last guinea to de fray their travelling expenses to their home in Dublin. He says, that " the grateful Irishmen were enraptured, and expressed their joy in three huzzas as they passed the Ranger's quarter." The two ships now stood out of the Chan nel, and rounding the north coast of Ireland, ran down on the western side. Nothing of note happened, until the 5th of May, when. 78 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. the Ranger being off Ushant, and having the Drake in tow, a strange sail was seen, to which, having cut the hawser, Paul Jones gave chase. In the mean time. Lieutenant Simp son, who had been placed in command of the Drake, instead of continuing his course to wards Brest in Qonformity with his orders, steered off to the southward, so that when Paul Jones had overhauled the chase, the Drake was nearly out of sight. The same eccentric evolutions, having apparently for ob ject to part company with the Ranger, contin ued during the day, to Jones's great annoyance, as it prevented him from chasing many vessels that were seen standing into the Channel, from among which he hoped to have made some valuable prizes. When Jones was at length able to overtake his wandering lieutenant, he placed him under arrest, and conferred the command on Lieutenant Elijah Hall. From this circumstance, and the precise character of Simpson, Jones was yet destined to derive a great deal of trouble. On the 8th of May, both vessels arrived safely at Brest, on which very day, Paul Jones hastened to indite and iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 79 send off triplicate copies of the following ro mantic epistle to Lady Selkirk, which, as it tells its own tale, and is illustrative of his feel ings and character, we will introduce without further commentary. " Madam, — It cannot be too much lament ed, that, in the profession of arms, the officer of fine feelings and real sensibility 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 ap pearance, to countenance such actions by his authority. This hard case was mine, when, on the 33d of April last, I landed on St. Mary's Isle. Knowing Lord Selkirk's inter est with his King, and esteeming as I do his private character, I wished to make him the happy instrument of alleviating the horrors of hopeless captivity, when the brave are over powered 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 detained him until, through his means, a general and 80 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. 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, determined to leave the island. By the way, however, j^ome officers who weie 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 mov able property, setting fire not only to towns and to the houses of the rich, without distinc tion, but not even sparing the wretched ham lets and milch-cows of the poor and helpless, at the approach of an inclement winter. That party had been with me 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 officers to permit none of the sea men to enter the house, or to hurt any thing about it ; to treat you. Madam, with the ut most respect ; to accept of the plate which was offered, and to come away without mak- iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 81 ing a search, or demanding any thing 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 quantity expressed in the inventory which ac companied it. I have gratified my men ; and when the plate is sold, I shall become the pur chaser, and will gratify my own feelings, by restoring it to you by such conveyance as you shall please to direct. " Had the Earl been on board the Ranger the following evening, he would have seen the awful pomp and dreadful carnage of a sea engagement; 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 sufficiently execrate the vile promoters of this detestable war. ' For they, 't was they unsheathed the ruthless blade. And Heaven shall ask the havoc it has made.' " The British ship of war Drake, mount ing twenty guns, with more than her full com plement of officers and men, was our opponent. The ships met, and the advantage was disput- VOL. I. 6 82 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. ed with great fortitude on each side for an hour and four minutes, when the gallant com mander of the Drake fell, and victory declar- ,ed 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 reverses of fortune, which an hour can produce. I buried them in a spacious grave, with the honors due to the memory of the brave. " Though I have drawn my sword in the present generous struggle for the rights 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 enough to know that riches cannot secure 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 to philanthropy. Before this war was begun, I had, at an early time of life, withdrawn from sea service in favor of ' calm iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 83 contemplation and poetic ease.' I have sagjj^ ficed not only my favorite scheme of life, but the softer affections of the heart, and my pros- pects of domestic happiness, and I am ready to sacrifice my life also with cheerfulness, if that forfeiture could restore peace among man kind. " As the feelings of your gentle bosom can not but be congenial with mine, let me entreat you. Madam, to use your persuasive art with your husband, to endeavour to stop this cruel and destructive war, in which Britain can never succeed. Heaven can never countenance the barbarous and unmanly practice of the Britons in America, which savages would blush at, and which, if not discontinued, will soon be retaliated on Britain by a justly enraged people. Should you fail in this,4and I am persuaded you will attempt it, (and who can resist the power of such an advocate ?) your endeavours to effect a general exchange of prisoners will be an act of humanity, which will afford you golden feelings on your death-bed. " I hope this cruel contest will soon be clos ed ; but, should it continue, I wage no war 84 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778 with the fair. I acknowledge their force, and bend before it with submission. Let not, therefore, the amiable Countess of Selkirk re- gard me as an enemy ; I am ambitious of her esteem and friendship, and would do any thing, consistent with my duty, to merit it. The honor of a line from your hand, in answer to this, will lay me under a singular obliga tion ; and if I can render you any acceptable service in France or elsewhere, I hope you see into my character so far as to command me, without the least grain of reserve. I wish to know the exact behaviour of my people, as I am determined to punish them if they have exceeded their liberty." This is a very odd letter ; but even making all due allowance for the effort at effect, and the desire to touch the " gentle bosom " of his fair correspondent, it is still conceived in a generous and kindly spirit, creditable to the feelings of the writer. In the fulfilment of his promise to return the plate, Jones was des tined to encounter a due share of those diffi culties and annoyances, which, in small mat ters as in great, it was his fortune to meet iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 85 with, ,and his pleasure to overcome. The plate having passed into the hands of prize- agents on the arrival of the Ranger at Brest, it was rescued with infinite difficulty and de lay, and did not eventually reach England un til many years afterward, when it was all safe ly returned in the condition in which it was taken away, even the tea leaves remaining in the tea-pot. Jones made the return of this plate the fertile subject of a voluminous cor respondence, having written two more letters to his "amiable Countess," and several to Franklin, the Count of Vergennes, and others whom he found occasion to interest in the subject. He was naturally enough disappoint ed in the expected " honor of a line from the hand" of the Countess, who responded through her husband. The Earl at first consent ed to accept the plate, if it were restored by order of Congress, but scrupled to receive it if its restoration were due to the generosity of an individual. These scruples were eventual ly overcome ; the plate was recovered and re turned at Jones's expense, and accepted with thanks by the Earl, and a tardy acknowledg- 86 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. ment of the courteous behaviour of the Ran ger's crew when they landed on St. Mary's Isle. This whole matter is strikingly illustra tive of Jones's ingenuity in creating difficul ties in his own path, and his obstinate energy Sn. overcoming them. The plate was taken by Jones's order, as we see by the letter to the Countess of Selkirk, and not, as Mr. Cooper in his naval history intimates, by an inferior officer on his own responsibility. It was scarcely on board, however, before he began to busy himself about the task of returning it, and at the end of a fortnight we find him writing his letter to the Countess, the ultimate result of which was the restoration of the plate, after an interval of seven or eight years. iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 87 CHAPTER IV. Effect of Jones's Exploits. — His Letter of Credit dishonored. — Difficulties for Want of Money. — Contention with Simpson. — Simpson imprisoned. — Cause of Disagreement. — Care of Prisoners. — Franklin's Views for the Employment of the Ran ger. — Jones's Views in Reply. — Asks for the Indien. — Offer of the Indien by the French Government. — Joned proceeds to Paris. — Offers his Services to France. — Project for intercept ing the Baltic Fleet. — It fails. — Gives up the Command of the Ranger to Simpson. — Repents having done so. — The Ranger sails for America. The Ranger's arrival at Brest, from this daring cruise in the Irish Channel, with the Drake in company as her prize, and two hun dred prisoners, being nearly double the num ber of her own crew, was greeted with lively demonstrations of joy by the American Com missioners, to whom Paul Jones hastened to make the circumstances known in an able re port, in which the events of his cruise were most vividly described. The French Court, which was on the eve of joining our cause, shared heartily in the gratulation which the circumstances were so well suited to awaken. The exploits of Paul Jones had been conceiv- 88 LIFE- OF PAUL JONES. [1778. ed and executed in the highest spirit of naval enterprise, in sight of the three kingdoms, and within the very strong-hold of British power; England was thus taught the wholesome les son, that her burnings on our coast could be retaliated upon her at home, and that so far from being everywhere supreme upon the seas, her merchant ships were no longer safe within her docks, though protected by the presence of a large population and formidable batteries. Even her men-of-war were liable to be assailed within her own roadsteads, to owe their safety to accident, and finally to be obliged to yield in fair conflict with an infe rior force. For these brilliant results, Paul Jones received the commendations which he so richly merited, and to the value of which he was ever sensitively alive. Enviable, how ever, as his position at this moment might seem, he soon found himself involved in a se ries of annoying difficulties. Of these difficulties, the first was the dis- honoring of a draft for twenty-four thousand m "¦ I ¦ « q — -.. livres, which he had drawn on the Commis sioners, for the purpose of refitting and provis- .fiT. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 89 ioning the Ranger and the Drake, and sup plying the officers and crew with a portion of their arrears of pay. The principal motive of the Commissioners, in dishonoring this draft, was no doubt the straitened condition of the funds intrusted to them ; nor had they au thorized Jones to draw for so large an amount. He complained bitterly of this treatment, in asmuch as he had not made use of the letter of credit, given to him several months before, for half the sum which he now drew for. He also considered the grievance augmented by the fact of his being fifteen hundred pounds in advance to the government, for the payment of the crews of the Alfred and the Providence, before he left America. This fact was known to Mr. Arthur Lee, one of the Commissioners, but not to the other two. At any rate, they had no funds for' the payment of such a bal ance, and Jones would have done better to have first drawn for the sum which he had credit for, and then waited until the credit could be extended. He must have khown enough of the financial difficulties of Congress, and of the Commissioners, to have put him on his 90 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. guard against calling on them too suddenly for the payment of any considerable sum. Whether Jones were censurable or not in this transaction, it involved him in great trour ble. In speaking of his position at this mo ment, he said, " I was left, with two hun dred prisoners 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." In writing to the Commissioners, he thus de scribes the emergency in which he was placed; " I know not where to find to-morrow's dinner for the great number of mouths that depend on me for food. Are the Continental ships of war to depend on the sale of their prizes for a daily dinner to their men ? Publish it not in Gath ! " How he extricated himself from this painful dilemma may be gathered from the following passage of his Journal for the King ; " Yet during that time, by his personal credit with Count D'Orvilliers, the Duke de Char- tres, and the Intendant of Brest, he fed his iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 91 people and prisoners, cured his wounded, and refitted both the Ranger and Drake for sea." Owing to this want of funds to distribute among the sailors of the Ranger, and the de lay in realizing the proceeds of their prizes, they became exceedingly discontented. Their discontent, too, was artfully augmented by Lieutenant Simpson, who, as Jones states in his Journal for the King, while under arrest on board the Drake, had constant intercourse with the crew, and rendered them so insolent, that they refused duty, and went below re- peatedly before the Captain's face. Count D'Orvilliers had assured Paul Jones, that, un less he could get the Drake ready to transport the prisoners to America before orders arriv ed from Court, they would in all probability be given up without an exchange, to avoid immediate war with England. It thus be came impossible to suffer Simpson to remain any longer among the crew. He was there fore removed to a ship, in which the French confined their officers when under arrest. Here Simpson had good accommodations, and liberty to walk the deck. Nevertheless he 92 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. endeavoured to desert, and behaved so extrav agantly, that Count D'Orvilliers, without con sulting Jones, ordered him to prison. This Simpson was a very troublesome per- son, though it is difficult at this time to say whether the fault lay entirely with him or partly with Jones. It appears that there had been constant disagreement between the com mander and his first lieutenant, and the latter was charged with insubordination himself, and with exciting the crew to discontent. Jones relates in his Journal for the King, that when he was about to engage the Drake, " the lieu tenant having held up to the crew, that, being Americans fighting for liberty, the voice of the people should be taken before the Captain's or ders were obeyed, they rose in mutiny: and. Captain Jones was in the utmost danger of being killed or thrown overboard." This was an offence, Avhich would have justified the commander in putting Simpson to immediate death. Yet Jones nowhere states this circum stance in his report of the cruise for the Com missioners, though he mentions having arrest ed Lieutenant Simpson for the inferior, though iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 93 sufficient offence, of disobeying his orders for keeping company while in command of the Drake. It is highly probable that this cir cumstance never occurred, but was imagined by Jones upon some slight foundation, with the motive, so apparent in all his writings, of giving himself the greater credit for his achievements. He had a voice originally in the selection of all his officers, and was there fore in a measure responsible for the character of Simpson, whose insubordination was doubt less the consequence of injudicious manage ment. It is probable, that the whole difficulty had its origin in Jones's large promises, at the outset, of leaving Simpson in command of the Ranger on his arrival in Europe, when he should be transferred to the fine frigate which Congress had authorized the Commissioners in France to purchase for him. Upon the founda tion of this order to purchase a ship for him, of which order he was himself to be the bearer, he had addressed a letter to the person engaged to enter men to accompany him, in which he informs him, that the men " on their arrival in France are to be turned over to one of the 94 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. finest frigates of the French navy, she having been purchased for the United States by their Commissioners at the Court of Paris, and to be put under my command." Probably Jones made a similar promise to Simpson, of leaving him in command of the Ranger on his trans fer to the large frigate ; and, no doubt, when he made the promise, he had the fullest confi dence in his ability to perform it ; but a per son, who had seen as much of sailors as Jones had, should have known that nothing should ever be promised, either to officers or men, that by any possibility might not afterwards be fulfilled. There is no class of men who at tach so much importance to the fidelity of those who command them, in the fulfilment of their engagements, or who concede such un qualified respect to those who observe it. Perhaps we may attribute Jones's want of in fluence among his officers and crew to his apt ness to jump too quickly to results, to consider every project accomplished the moment that it was hinted to him, and, on the faith of these anticipations, to promise more than he was usually able to perform. Another source .ffiT. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 95 of dissatisfaction among his crew grew out of the difficulty of procuring money to make ad vances to them, and of realizing the proceeds of their prizes. Simpson artfully took advan tage of the discontent, occasioned by these causes, to direct the hatred of the men against Jones, by ascribing them to his artifices. Mr. Orthur Lee) one of the Commissioners, also increased the discontent by listening to the complaints of the crew. Jones was involved in another serious diffi culty, at this time, with regard to the safe keeping of his prisoners, from which he was relieved by the assistance of the authorities at Brest, whom he had interested in his behalf. Dr. Franklin was engaged at the time in ne gotiating for an exchange of prisoners, which he soon after effected. Jones greatly contrib uted by his captures to this result, which he had much at heart ; partly, no doubt, from those philanthropic views which he puts for ward, and partly because he was personally interested in establishing a settled system of exchanges, on account of his peculiar position as a native of the country he was making 96 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. war against, and his great liability to capture on account of the reckless intrepidity with which he exposed himself. The interest which he took in securing kind treatment to his prisoners, whilst he watched over their safe keeping,- is most cred itable to his feelings. In a letter addressed to Franklin, enclosing a memorial of the prison ers, he thus expresses himself, with character istic warmth, concerning the person who sup plied them. " The fellow who holds the rod over their wretched heads has menaced them if they dare to complain, and would have inter cepted their memorial, had I not prevented it. This Riou is the scoundrel, who, by his false hood, promoted discord in the Ranger, and got the deluded people to appoint him their particular agent. Before that time he never could call twenty louis his own, and now he is too rich for his former profession of King's interpreter. He does not deny that he is a scoundrel, for so I have called him more than once before witnesses, and so every person of sense thinks him at Brest." Late in May, Franklin wrote to Jones pro- iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 97 posing immediate employment for the Ran ger against the Jersey privateers, who did a great deal of mischief by intercepting supplies for America. Franklin said, that it had been intimated to him from high authority, that Jones's small vessel, commanded by so brave an officer, might render great service, by fol lowing the privateers where larger ships could not venture, and, being accompanied by some French frigates, following at a proper distance, might decoy them out. Franklin mentioned, that he had written to England about an ex change of prisoners, and concluded by con gratulating Jones most cordially on his late success, and wishing him an increase of the honor he had acquired. In reply to this letter, Jones began by ex pressing great readiness to perform any service that might be required of him, but expressed doubts as to his ability to lead his crew, "which," he said, "could only be done by the seldom-failing bait for sordid minds, great views of interest." He complained much of their homesickness, and proposed that those officers who were " most dangerously ill " of VOL. I. 7 98 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. that disease might have liberty to resign, that their commissions might be given to men of stronger nerves. He stated that the Ran ger was crank, slow, and of too trifling force to be a match for most of the enemy's cruisers, amd intimated his strong desire to be placed in command of the ship building at Amsterdam, which it had been the intention of Congress to give him, ^nd which he did not doubt his ability to man with American seamen. He said that if two or three fast sailing ships could he collected, there was a great choice of enterprises, some of which might succeed, and add more to the interest and honor of America than cruising with twice the force. " It appears to me," he said, " to be the prov ince of our infant navy to surprise and spread alarms with fast sailing ships. When we grow stronger, we can meet their fleets, arid dispute with them the sovereignty of the ocean." Among the various plans for expeditions sub mitted on this occasion by Jones, was one for entering the British Channel, and burning the shipping and town of Whitehaven, and there by interrupting the winter's supply of coal for iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 99 Ireland, chiefly shipped from that place ; an other to take the bank of Ayr in Scotland, and burn the town, also the towns of Green ock and Port Glasgow, and the shipping in the Clyde. He considered the fishery at Cam- bletown also an object worthy of attention, and thought that some very valuable prizes might be found in the Irish ports. While preparations were making for this enterprise, he suggested that the eastern coasts of Eng land and Scotland might be ravaged, the col liers of Newcastle burned, and several towns destroyed or laid under contribution. He had also a project for intercepting the Baltic or West India fleet, or the Hudson's Bay ships. It is quite painful to observe how many of these schemes for annoying the enemy had reference to his native country. Before this letter could be received, Dr. Franklin addressed a letter to him, well suit ed to flatter his pride, and gratify his ambi tion to be on the road to greater distinction ; for it proposed the very thing he had asked for, namely, the command of the Indien. Franklin stated, that she was the property 100 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. of the King of France, and, as he ha[d not yet declared war against England, it was proposed to place her under Paul Jpnes's command, with the commission and flag bf the States. The Prince de Nassau, who had already signalized his taste for romantic adventure, promised to make the cruise as a volunteer under Jones's command. The ship was to be brought to Brest as a French merchantman, and be there equipped and manned. Franklin mentioned, that the other Commissioners were not ac quainted with this proposition as yet, since it was necessary that it should be kept a secret until the vessel should arrive in France, for fear of difficulties in Holland, and interception. As the French ministry had desired that the affair should rest between Franklin and Jones, he suggested to the latter, that it might be best for him to come to Paris to mature the pro ject. After an interval of ten days, Franklin wrote again to Jones to say, that, in consider- ation of the disposition and uneasiness of the ^'Kanger's crew, the Commissioners felt an in clination to order her directly back to Amer- iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. IQl ica. He therefore suggested, whether it would not be advisable for Jones, in consideration of the proposal which had been made by the French ministry, that the ship should be sent back under some other commander. He mentioned, that in consequence of the high opinion the Minister of Marine had formed of , Jones's bravery, he had determined to give him the frigate in Holland, to be furnished with as many French seamen as he might desire ; but to act under the commission and flag of Congress ; and, as Jones might like to have a number of Americans, and his own were homesick, it was proposed to give him as many as he could engage out of two hun dred prisoners, which the ministry of Britain had at length agreed to exchange for those brought in by the Ranger. The English offered to make the exchange at Calais, where they were to bring the Americans. Nothing was wanting to complete the arrangement, but a list of the Ranger's prisoners, contain ing their names and rank ; immediately after the receipt of which, an equal number were to be prepared, and sent in a ship to Calais, 102 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. where the Ranger's prisoners were to meet them. Franklin suggested, that, if by these means Jones could get a good new crew, it would be best that he were quite free of the old ; for a mixture might introduce the infection of that sickness he had complained of. But this was to be left to his own dis cretion. Franklin added, that the Commis sioners might place under his orders the Prov idence, a new Continental ship of thirty guns, which, as the sage stated with great appar ent delight, " in coming out of the river of Providence, had given two frigates, that had been posted to intercept her, each of them so heavy a dose of her eighteen and twelve pounders, that they had not the courage or were not able to pursue her." He stated, that it was desired that Jones should come to Versailles, where one would meet him, in or der to such a settlement of plans with those who had the direction, as could not well be done by letter. He said, that the project of giving Jones the command of the Indien pleased him the more, as it was a probable opening to the higher preferment he so justly merited. iET. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 103 The intelligence thus communicated to Jones, was of the most gratifying character ; and, as the project gradually became matured, we find M. de Sartine, the Minister of Ma rine, signifying the desire of his sovereign to the American Commissioners, that they would relinquish to him the services of Captain Jones, to which they readily assented, with the assurance that they would be happy if his services should be in any respect useful in promoting the designs of the French govern ment. In accordance with the hint which he had received from Franklin, Jones proceeded to Paris, and on his arrival hastened to place his services at the disposal of M. de Sartine, while at the same time he very ingeniously gave it to be understood, that he was not dependent on his patronage, but was well satisfied with his present position and prospects. He wrote, that he should be ungrateful did he not return thanks for the Minister's kind and generous intentions in his favor : his greatest ambition would be to merit such approbation, by ser vices against the common enemy of France 104 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. and America. He stated, that he had now under his command a ship bound to Atijerica, and that, on his arrival there, from the former confidence of Congress he had reason to expect an immediate removal into one of the best American ships ; he had even reason to expect the chief command of the first squadron des tined for an expedition, as he had in his pos session several similar appointments; more over, when Congress should see fit to ap point admirals, he had assurance that his name would not be forgotten. These, he said, were flattering prospects to a man, who had drawn his swojd only upon principles of philanthropy, and in support of the dignity of human nature. But, as he preferred a solid to a shining reputation, a useful to a splendid command, he held himself ready, with the approbation of the Commissioners, to be gov erned by M. de Sartine in any measures that might tend to distress and humble the com mon enemy. The hope, h,owever, on the wings of which Jones had hastened to the Capital, and which had animated him while writing his grandilo- .^Et. 30.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 105 quent letter, having for object to magnify his own importance, and procure for him that of which he was so worthy, a formidable com mand, and the means of winning glory on a great scale, was destined soon to fade away. To be sure, he was kindly received, and hos pitably entertained, by many persons of dis tinction ; but, as the war, which about this time commenced between France and Eng land, enabled France to carry on hostilities under her own flag, she now required all her ships and seamen for her own armaments, so that Jones, in his subsequent efforts to obtain a better command than that of the Ranger, had to incur the jealousy and opposition of the whole French marine. Owing to this state of things, and to some difficulty which Holland is supposed to have thrown in the way of removing the Indien from Amsterdam, for fear of provoking the en mity of England, the project of conferring the command of that ship on Jones, which the Minister had made the pretext of inviting him to Court, fell through entirely. Instead of it, he was amused with another scheme for the 106 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. capture of the Baltic fleet. Three frigates and two cutters were destined to effect this object, under the command of Jones. One of the frigates lay at Brest, which he was to command in person ; the other two and the cutter were at St. Malo. Jones felt so sure that he should be appoint ed to this command, that he went so far as to make inquiries for a chaplain, in order to give greater dignity to his flag. Another previous step of more serious importance, which he took, was to give up the command of the Ranger to his former troublesome lieutenant. Finding Simpson more reasonable before he left Brest, Jones had released him from con finement, on his giving his parole in writing, that he would not serve again in the navy un til acquitted by a court-martial. Jones now addressed a letter to the Commissioners, in which he stated, that, at the time when he took Lieutenant Simpson's parole, he did not expect to have been long absent from Amer ica ; but, as circumstances had now rendered the time of his return less certain, he was wil ling to let the dispute between them drop for Mt. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 107 ever, by giving up his parole, which would en title him to command the Ranger. He said he had no malice towards him, and, if he had un consciously done him any injury, this would be making him all the satisfaction in his pow er. If, on the contrary, Simpson had injured him, he was willing to trust to that officer for a suitable acknowledgment. It was in virtue of this complete release of Lieutenant Simpson from the obligation not to serve until tried by a court-martial, whiclT Jones had imposed on him as the condition of his release from confinement, that the Com missioners probably made use of their authori ty to invest Lieutenant Simpson with the command of the Ranger, in order to return in her to the United States, her crew being ex ceedingly turbulent and discontented. Or else, he being the first lieutenant of the Ran ger, the command naturally rested in him, when Captain Jones was detached, at the re quest of the French Minister of Marine, with a view to more important employment. On his return to Brest, Paul Jones found that Count D'Orvilliers had already returned 108 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. from sea with the French fleet, and had given the command of Jones's proposed flag ship to one of his captains, who had lost his own ship in the course of the cruise. With regard to the two frigates and cutter, at St. Malo, that were to constitute the rest of Jones's squadron, M. de Sartine, finding himself harassed by abun- dant applications from French captains to be appointed to these very ships, found it con- venient to change his arrangements as soon as Jones had departed, and sent the ships off at once, with French commanders, to fulfil Jones's project for the interceptioh of the Baltic fleet, in which they met with no success. The result of these various events was, that Paul Jones found not only that his promised com mand of the expedition against the Baltic fleet had passed into other hands, but also that his late contumacious lieutenant, Simpson, was in command of the Ranger. Among the mul- tiplicity of prospects of honorable employment which had a few days before been held up to him, he now found himself without a ship. He was naturally full of irritability ; but his rage was unreasonably directed almost wholly yET.31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 109 at Simpson, who had only accepted the com- man^^hich Jones had promised to him before his departure from Portsmouth, and which he had now voluntarily relinquished to him. He wrote to the Commissioners on the 13th of August, that, since his arrival at Brest, five days before, he had neither seen nor heard from Lieutenant Simpson ; but had been cred ibly informed, that it was generally reported in the Ranger, throughout the French fleet, and on shore, that he was turned out of the ser vice ; that the Commissioners had given Simpson his place, with a captain's commis sion, and that his letter to the Commissioners in Simpson's behalf had been involuntary, and in obedience only to their orders. That these reports prevailed, Jones said, was not an idle conjecture, but a melancholy fact. He therefore sought, nay demanded redress, re- dress by a court-martial, to form Avhich he said that there was now a sufficient number of American officers in Brest and the neigh bouring ports. Among the claims which he urged why his wounded feelings should be considered, he said that he had "faithfully 110 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. and personally fought in the dignified cause of human nature, ever since the American banner first waved on the Delaware and on the ocean." The Commissioners very judiciously abstain ed from losing the time, and employing the services, of our officers in the French ports, by the investigation of this difficulty. Having determined to retain Jones in France, to carry out some projects of the French Ministry for the annoyance of the English coasts, and to despatch the Ranger to the United States un der the command of Lieutenant Simpson, both of which measures were settled with the ap probation of Jones, they ordered that vessel to return to Portsmouth, where she had been fitted out, and where she duly arrived, having made several prizes on the homeward passage. In order to put a stop to the injurious reports of which Jones complained, of his having been turned out of the Ranger, he not long after was furnished with an official letter from Franklin and Adams, stating that, as his re moval from the Ranger, and the appointment of Lieutenant Simpson to command, might be iET. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. HI liable to misinterpretation, they certified that it had been done by the Commissioners, at the request of the French Minister of Marine, who was desirous of employing Jones on important service ; and that Simpson had been appointed to command the Ranger with the consent of Jones, after he had released him from arrest. As an evidence that Jones's ill opinion of Simpson was not altogether prejudice, it may be well here to mention, that he was not again employed in the navy. 112 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. CHAPTER V. Season of Inactivity. — Jones's Impatience. — His Efforts to Ob tain a Command. — Writes to Prince of Nassau-Siegen. — Hia Letter is not answered. — Writes to the French Minister of Marine. — Recapitulation of Claims and Grievances. — Letter to the Duke of Rochefoucauld. — Denunciation of the Minister of Marine. — Letter to M. Chaumont. — Letter to the King. — Statement of Wrongs. — Appeal to the Magnanimity of the Sov ereign. — Determination of Government to buy a Ship for Jones. — Efforts of M. Chaumont. — Character of this Gentleman.— ¦Jones enters into a Contention with Mr. Arthur Lee. — Prolong ed Delay. — Advice of Poor Richard. — Jones adopts it. — Vis its Versailles. — ^.Receives Command of a Ship under the Amer ican Flag. — Calls her the Poor Richard. During the five following, months, Paul Jones was engaged in ineffectual efforts to se cure the fulfilment of that promise of honorable employment, by which the French Minister of Marine had induced him to abandon the Ranger, and the project of returning to the United States. The hopeless inactivity in which he was kept, during this period, was by no means of his own choosing, and he made amends for it, as best he could, by indefatiga ble correspondence with every one who could in any way forward his object of obtaining instant employment. ^ Among the personages .ffiT. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 113 whom he endeavoured to interest in this mat ter, was the Prince of Nassau-Siegen, who had entertained the intention of accompanying Jones in the Indien, in the character of a vol unteer. Jones wrote to him, to say that the honor which he had proposed to do him, by accompanying him on the ocean, had filled his heart with the warmest sentiments of gratitude. When the Prince's intentions were first communicated to him, he had under his command a ship bound with two frigates for America, where there were now two new ships of eighty guns each, and eight frigates of for ty guns each, nearly ready for sea. When he should arrive there, from the former confi dence of Congress, he had assurance of an im mediate removal into one of their best ships, and of being appointed to command the first squadron, destined for any private expedition. Before he came to Europe, Congress had hon ored him with several such appointments, and he was assured, that, when admirals were ap pointed, his name would be remembered. " These," he said, " were flattering pros pects to a man who had dra,wn his sword only VOL. L 8 114 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. from principles of philanthropy, and in support of the dignity of human nature ; " and these were the prospects he had voluntarily laid aside, that he might pursue glory in the Prince's company. " Suffer me not, therefore," he said, " I beseech you, to continue longer in this shameful inactivity ; such dishonor is worse to me than a thousand deaths. I have already lost the 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 one asks me what I purpose to do, I am unable to answer." He told the Prince, that he had been unac- customed to ask any favors, even from Con gress, as he was not in pursuit of interest ; but he besought him to represent his situa tion to the best of Kings, that they might together be forthwith enabled to pursue glory, and humble the common enemy of humanity. If the ship that was at first proposed, could not be got ready for sea at once, others might be obtained. He mentioned a fine and fast sailing frigate at L'Orient, built on the same construction with the Indien, and mounted iET. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 115 with eighteen-pounders ; and there were sever al others at St. Malo, to whom commanders had not yet been appointed. He avowed the greatest reliance on the generous intentions of that great minister, M. de Sartine, but ex pressed an unwillingness to intrude on him every day with letters, and, in the multiplicity and importance of his affairs, Jones found that his concerns might be forgotten. The Prince of Nassau, having abandoned the project of making the cruise with Jones, as capriciously as he had taken it up, lent him no further aid in procuring a ship, and had not even the ordinary courtesy to reply to the above letter. The generous intentions of that great minister M. de Sartine, whose delusive offers had alone occasioned Jones's remaining in France, were equally unproductive of any tangible results, and, in consequence, Jones ad dressed him, on the 13th of September, what - he called an " explicit letter." ( I^Mj^f l»»(n»* •> " Honored Sir, " When his Excellency, Dr. Franklin, inform ed me that you had condescended to think me 116 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. 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 hon or which you proposed for me, as well as 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 niy intended ship was in deep water, and ready for sea ; but, when the Prince de Nas sau returned, I received from him a different account. I was told that the Indien could not be got afloat within a shorter period than three months, at the approaching equinox. " To employ this interval usefully, I first offered to go from Brest with Count D'Orvil liers, as a volunteer, which you thought fit to reject. I had then the satisfaction to find '¦**tilM you* a'ppioved, 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 Messieurs de Chaumont and Baudonin, that three of the finest frigates .ffiT. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 117 in France, with two tenders and a number of troops, would be immediately put under my command ; and that I should have unlimited orders, and be at free 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 King's signature. " Another much inferior armament from L'Orient was proposed to be put ilnder 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 fail ed, 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 around to St. Malo, though I had received no written orders, and neither knew your intention respecting my destination or command, I obeyed with such haste, that although my curiosity led me to look at the armament at L'Orient, yet I was 118^ LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. 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 be ing precluded from embarking in pursuit of marine knowledge with Count D'Orvilliers, who did not sail till some days after my return. He is my friend, and expressed his wishes for my company. I accompanied him out of the road when the fleet sailed ; and he always la mented, that neither himself, nor any person in authority at Brest, had received from you any order that mentioned my name. I am as tonished, therefore, to be informed that you at tribute 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 philan thropy, I laid aside my enjoyments in private life, and embarked under the flag of America, when it was first displayed. Iri that line, my desire of fame is infinite, and I must not now so far forget my own honor, and what I owe iET.31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 119 to my friends and America, as to remain inac tive. My rank knows no superior in the American marine ; I have long since been ap pointed to command an expedition, 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 re turn ; and agreeably to your desire, as men tioned to me by M. 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, be cause they expected me to pay another visit with four ships. Therefore I trust, that, if the Indien 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 sail-. ing, to any of the enemy's cruising ships. " I do not wish to interfere with the har mony of the French marine ; but, if I am still thought worthy of your attention, I shall hope for a separate command, with liberal orders. If, on the contrary, you should now have no 120 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. further occasion for my services, the only fa vor I can ask is, that you will bestow on me the Alert, with a few seamen, and permit me to return, and carry with me your good opin ion 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'Estaing arrived in the Delaware a few days sooner, he might have made a most glorious and easy conquest. Many other suc cessful projects may be adopted from the hints I had the honor to draw up ; and if I can still furnish more, or execute any of those already furnished, so as to distress and humble the common enemy, it will afford me the truest satisfaction. I am ambitious to merit the hon or of your friendship and favor ; and am ful-, ly persuaded that I now address a noble mind^ ed man, who will not be offended with the honest freedom which has always marked my correspondence. ' ' Not too confident in the unassisted justice of his cause, Jones soon after sought the iET. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 121 friendly interest of the Duke de Rochefou cauld in a letter, in which he very injudicious ly launched forth into bitter invective against the Minister whom he had, the month before, so respectfully addressed. He pronounced the minister's behaviour towards him incompre hensible ; denied having sought the connex ion with the Court ; and said that he had giv en up absolute certainties, and far more flat tering prospects than any of those which had been held out to him. What inducement, Jones asked, could he have for this, but grati tude to France for having first recognised our independence ? And, having given his word to stay for some time in Europe, he had been unwilling to take it back, especially after hav ing communicated the circumstances to Con gress. The Minister, after possessing himself of his schemes and ideas, had treated him like a child five times successively, by leading him on from great to little, and frOm little to less. Does such conduct, he asked, do honor either to his head or to his heart ? Nor had he offered the least apology for any of these five deceptions ; nor assigned any good reason 122 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. to - that venerable and great character; Dr. Franklin, who had been made the instrument of entrapping Jones into this cruel state of in action and suspense. .. He complained, moreover, that M. de Sar tine had lately written a letter to Count D'Or villiers, proposing to send him home, ''dans une bonne voiture, — ^ in an easy coach." This he said, was absolutely adding insult to inju ry, and was, besides, the proposition of a man whose veracity he had not experienced on other occasions. He said that he might, dur ing the summer, with the Ranger, joined with two other American frigates, then in France, have given the enemy sufficient foun dation for its fears in Britain, as well as Ire land, and could since have been assisting Count D'Estaing, or acting separately with an American squadron. Instead of this, he had been chained down to ^shameful inactivity here, after having written to Congress, to re serve no command for him in America. Feel ing convinced that the noble and generous breast of his correspondent _ would feel foJ his unmerited treatment, Jones besought him to iET.31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 123 interest himself with the Duke de Chartres, that the King might be made acquainted with his situation, as he had been taught to believe that he had been detained in France with his Majesty's knowledge and approbation, and he felt sure he was too good a prince to de tain him for his disadvantage or dishonor. To M. le Ray de Chaumont, a rich and in fluential individual, who had taken a lively interest, from the first, in our revolutionary struggle, had made advances for the purchase of military stores to be shipped to America, and had exerted himself at court to procure Jones a suitable command, he a few days later addressed himself on the same subject, and with greater familiarity. M. de Chaumont had offered him, with many encomiums oh his valor, the command of a ship of his own, to be fitted out as a privateer, as so many difficul ties occurred to prevent his getting a ship of war. To this proposition he replied, with many thanks for 'the kindness intended to him, that he was not his own master ; and, as a ser vant of what he called the Imperial Republic of America, honored with the friendship and 124 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779, favor of Congress, he could not, of his own authority or inclination, serve either himself or even his best friends in any private line what ever. He held himself to be the servant of Amer ica, devoted wholly to her interest and honor. He said that he had believed the minister at the beginning, but now having been deceived so often, he would doubt him even though he were to swear again by the Styx; for it ?eems he had taken this oath in affirmation of one of his promises to Jones. Jones had written, to him several respectful letters, to none of which had he condescended an answer. Jones said that the secrecy, which he had been re quired to observe respecting the Minister's in tentions in his favor, had been inviolable ; and he had been so delicate with respect to his situation, that he had been, considered everywhere an officer disgraced and cast off for discreditable reasons^ This had been his situation ever since his return from Paris, more than two rrionths before ; and he had al ready lost nearly five months of his time, the best season of the year, and such opportunities of serving his country and acquiring honor, as iET.31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 125 he could not again expect during the war. Jones protested that his sensibility could not brook this unworthy situation, and if thejnin- isters did not make a direct written apology to him, suitable to the injury which he had sus tained, he would, in vindication of his sacred honor, painful as it would be, publish in the gazettes of Europe an account of his treatment. As the Minister had invited him to stay in Europe, by the laws of hospitality it was his duty to make offers. And, if he did confer the command of the Indien, as first proposed, Jones insisted that he could not in honor now offer less than an equivalent force. He said that he would accept of nothing that sailed slow or was of trifling force, and, finally, that he should expect a reply to his demands im mediately, and that it would afford him the truest satisfaction, if his honor should be made whole, and the misunderstanding happily re moved. Wearied with feeding his famished hopes upon no more substantial aliment then the de lusive promises of men in power, and half frantic with impatience at such prolonged in- 126 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. activity, Jones at length bethought himself of making a last appeal to the magnanimity of the sovereign. He accordingly drew up a succinct history of his wrongs in a letter to the King of France, which he enclosed to Dr. Franklin ,_to be placed in the King's hands by the Duke de Rochefoucauld or the Duchess of Chartres, if they were disposed to do him that kindness. He expressed the hope that Dr. Franklin would find the letter to the King entirely free from asperity or ill-nature. He had been, and was still, he said, in the eyes of Brest and the French marine, considered as having incurred the Doctor's displeasure^ and being consequently in disgrace. The Com missioners' refusal of his bill, his journey to Paris without any visible reason, the cabals and misrepresentations of Lieutenant Simpson, and his long inactivity, were held to be so many circumstantial proofs ; and his dishonor was now so firmly believed everywhere that it was in vain for him to attempt any defence of himself Such a situation, he said, destroyed his peace of mind, and was incompatible with his sensibility ; yet he was far more affected .St. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 127 by the indignity that had been thus cast up on Dr. Franklin and America, than on his account. His heart could not forgive the Min ister, until he should make whole his injured honor, by a direct apology and atonement for the past. The letter to the King is written with Jones's characteristic ability. It paid due hom- a.ge to the virtues of the sovereign, and forci bly set forth the services which he himself had rendered to the common cause, his claims to distinction, the promises which had been made to him of speedy employment, and the way in which those promises had been forfeit ed. He stated, that, after he had given up the command of the Ranger and remained in France at the express request of M. de Sartine, that Minister had not even condescended to answer his letters, also that the Prince of Nas sau had treated him with equal incivility. He begged the King to observe, that he was not an adventurer in search of fortune, of which he thanked God he had a sufficiency. When the American banner was first displayed, he had drawn his sword in support of the violated 128 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. dignity and rights of human nature; as the King, by espousing the cause of America, had become the protector of the rights of human nature, Jones hoped that he would not allow him to remain any longer in such insupporta ble inactivity. Owing to the advice of Franklin, and the more favorable aspect which Jones's prospects for employment began about this time to els- sume, this letter was not delivered. In con sequence of the influence of M. le Ray de Chaumont, M. de" Sartine had determined to purchase, at the King's expense, the best armed ship that could be found, to be fitted out under the American flag, and placed under the com mand of Jones. The gentleman who had been instrumental in effecting this favorable determination, and who was charged with carrying it into effect, had held the highly important public offices of Grand Maitre des Eaux et Forets and Ititendant of the Invalids. He took an early and enthusiastic interest in the success of our Revolution, and not only aided us by his influence at court,- but freely placed his large fortune at the disposal of our iET. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 129 government by furnishing large quantities of military stores, for which he only asked to be repaid when our independence should be fully established. He, moreover, courteously placed his magnificent hotel at Passy, with all its furniture, at the disposal of the American Commissioners, while they resided at the cap ital in secret relation with the government, but without being recognised. When subse quently called upon by John Adams, to state what rent the Commissioners were to pay, on the ground that it was not reasonable that the United States should be under so great an ob ligation to a private gentleman, he courteous ly replied, that, when he had consecrated his house to Dr. Franklin and his associates, he had made it to be fully understood that he should expect no compensation ; because he perceived that they had need of all their means to send to the succour of their country, or to relieve the distresses of their countrymen escaping from the chains of their enemies. He begged that this arrangement, which he had made when the fate of our country was doubtful, might be permitted to remain. When VOL. I. 9 130 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. she should enjoy all her splendor, such services on his part, would be superfluous and unwor thy of her ; but at present they might be use ful, and he felt most happy in offering them. There was no occasion, he said, for strangers to be informed of his proceeding in this re spect. It was so much the worse for those who would not do the same if they had the opportunity, and so much the better for him to have immortalized his house by receiving into it Dr. Franklin and his associates. Such was the character of the gentleman who was eharged with carrying the intentions of the government into effect with regard to Jones ; who wrote to him begging him to buy a frigate that sailed fast and was suffi ciently large to carry twenty-six or twenty- eight guns, not less then twelve-pounders, on one deck. " I wish," he says, "to have no connexion with any ship that does not sail feist, for I intend to go in harm's way." A vexatious delay, however, of three months still oontinued to annoy Jones, and make him al most beside himself with impatience. During this period of expectation, he wrote a letter to iET.31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 131 Mr. Arthur Lee, one of the Commissioners, in reply to a charge of disrespect made by that gentleman against Jones while transmitting some inquiries about the Ranger's prizes ; which letter no doubt served as a great relief to his irritation. It is remarkable, not only as throwing light upon this period of history, but also as showing that the tone of respectful en treaty in which he habitually addressed men in power, while soliciting to be placed in a position to meet danger and win glory, had not its origin in an over obsequious or servile spirit, and that he could occasionally, when offended by one of these, retort with bitter ness and sarcasm. After furnishing the information required of him, and referring to a letter to the Commis sioners, in which he had previously trans mitted a full report on the subject, he defend ed himself from the charge of disrespect, and then proceeded to active recrimination against Mr. Lee. He charged Mr. Lee with having concurred in dishonoring his draft on the Commissioners for funds to pay his crew, when he was aware of the obligation which 132 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. Jones had personally entered into with them at the time of their enlistment, of which fact the other Commissioners were ignorant. In consequence of this dishonor of his draft, he had found himself, for more than a month, destitute of funds, with a ship, disabled after a severe engagement, to be put in order, an al most naked crew to be clothed, and a large number of wounded, and two hundred pris oners of war, to be provided for. In reply to a second charge of disrespect brought against him by Mr. Lee, who had refused to furnish copies of some documents which Jones had asked for, he thus indignantly defends himself. " You objected to my receiving copies of some papers that concern me, because you thought that I had not made a respectful application. A copy of it is enclosed, which, though not in the form of an humble petition, I believe it will be difficult to construe into disrespect. True respect can nejrer be extorted ; and I will say of myself, that ' The tribute of respect to greatness due Not the bribed sycophant more freely pays.' " Jones's indulgence in this honest outbreak of iET.31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 133 indignation, and the doubtful compliment con veyed in his quotation, cost him very dear, as we shall see in the isequel. Months rolled on without producing any re sults from M. de Sartine's "final determina- tion " to furnish Paul Jones with a ship. He had been instructed to look out tor a suitable one ; but, though he saw several that might be purchased, some difficulty perpetually present- ed itself to the fulfilment of his wishes. Hav- ¦ing made a visit to L'Orient, he found there an uncommonly fine eighty-four gun ship, called the Marechal de Broglie, which was for sale, but he doubted his ability to man her ; there was also a small frigate, called the Alert, which had been taken from the English, and which he was willing to accept ; and an India- man, fourteen years old, called the Due de Duras, which he also thought might answer in the absence of a better one. Though ships were thus found, and a solemn promise had been made, still rio order had yet been is sued by M. de Sartine for the actual purchase of one. While in this weary state of suspense, a 134 LIFE OF PAU^ JONES. [1778. prey to impatience, anxiety, and mortification, Jones happened one day to be looking over an old number of Franklin's Pennsylvania Alma nac, when his attention was struck with the saying of Poor Richard ; "If you would have your business done, go ; if not, send." It immediately occurred to him, that the delay of his own business was in no slight degree owing to his having so long remained at a distance, sending letters to court, instead of going to attend to it in person. He set out forthwith for the capital, and made such good speed in his errand, that, ere many days had elapsed, he received from the reluctant M. de Sartine, the following conclusive letter, dated at Versailles, on the 4th of February, 1779. " To John Paul Jones, Esq., Commander of the American Navy in Europe. " Sir, ' I announce to you that, in conse quence of the exposition I have laid before the King, of the distinguished manner in which you have served the United States, and of the entire confidence which your conduct has merited from Congress, his Majesty has iET. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 135 thought proper to place you in command of the ship Duras of forty guns, at present at L'Orient. I am about, in consequence, to is sue the necessary orders for . the complete ar mament of that ship. The commission, which was given to you at your departure from America, will authorize you to hoist the flag of the United States, and you will likewise make use of the authority which has been vested in you to procure a crew of Americans ; but, as you may find difficulty in raising a suf ficient number, the King permits you to levy volunteers, until you obtain men enough in addition to those who will be necessary to sail the ship. It shall be my care to procure the necessary officers, and you may be assured that I shall contribute every aid in my power to promote the success of your enterprise. " As soon as you are prepared for sea, you will set sail without waiting for any ulterior orders ; and you will yourself select your own cruising ground, either in the European or American seas, observing always to render me an exact account of each event that may take place during your cruise, as often as you may 136 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1778. enter any port under the dominion of the King. So flattering a mark of the confidence with which you are honored, cannot but en courage you to use all your zeal in the com mon cause ; and I am persuaded that you will justify, on every occasion, my favorable opin ion of you. It only remains for me to recom mend to you to show to those prisoners, who may fall into your hands, those sentiments of humanity which the King professes towards his enemies, and to take the greatest care, not only of your own crew, but also of all the ships which may be placed under your or ders. According to your desire, I consent that the Duras take the name of the Bon Hom me Richard." Feeling that his final success in obtaining a command had been owing to his having adopt ed the good advice which he had met with in Dr. Franklin's Almanac, and out of compli ment to the sage, for whom his veneration was so unbounded, Paul Jones had asked leave, as appears by M. Sartine's letter, to give the ship of which the command was now confer- iET.31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 137 red upon him, the name of the Bon Homme Richard, the Poor Richard ; a name which his heroism was destined to render as enduring as his own. 138 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. CHAPTER VI. Object of the French Government in giving Jones a Command. — Arrival of the Alliance frigate in France. — She is added to the Expedition. — Lafayette proposes joining it. — Force and Char acter of the Squadron. — Advice of Franklin to Jones with Re gard to Cooperation. — Instructions for the Cruise. — Treatment of Prisoners. — Jones's Gratification with his Instructions. — Object of the Expedition changed. — Lafayette withdraws, to join in the Invasion of England. — The Squadron is employed in Convoys. — The Richard and the Alliance get foul. — The Richard is damaged. — The Squadron returns to refit. — Orders for a new Cruise. — Mutinous Spirit of the Richard's Crew. — Agreement entered into by all the Commanders. — Cause of fu ture Contention. — Mixed Character of the Expedition. The original object of the French govern ment in employing Jones, and furnishing him with a naval command, seems to have been to take advantage, not only of his brilliant cour age and seaman-like skill, but also of his com mission as an American officer, and of the American flag which he was entitled to dis play, to carry on a more harassing system of warfare on the British coasts than they would have been justified in doing under their own flag. Jones's favorite system, from the first, had been to retaliate for the burnings and de- iET. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 139 vastation with which the British had visited our shores ; and, as the observance hitherto of civilized rules of warfare had prevented them from enacting the same scenes on the coast of France, the coasts of England could be more effectually annoyed under the American flag. In addition to the Bon Homme Richard, four or five vessels of inferior force, two of them being fire-ships, were to be placed under the command of Jones, and a body of five hun dred picked men, taken from the Irish brigade, were to embark under the immediate orders of the Chevalier Fitz-Maurice. The object of this expedition was to destroy the shipping and town of Liverpool. M. le Ray de Chau mont was appointed the confidential agent of the French government for the equipment of the squadron, and had charge of all the pur chases. The moment that Jones received his ap pointment, releasing him from such long inac tivity, he bestirred himself in his preparations with characteristic zeal. He proceeded forth with to Nantes, to engage seamen from among the Americans captured on board of English 140 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. ships. The sailors were pleased with the name of the Poor Richard, and entered read ily. Jones, too, had a very persuasive way with sailors, and would walk for an hour on the pier with a single sailor whom he was de sirous of securing, and rarely failed of success. About this time Lafayette arrived from the United States in the Alliance, a new American frigate of thirty-six guns, which had been named out of compliment to the recent alli ance with France. With the same friendly motive towards that nation, the command of her was conferred on a Frenchman, by the name of Pierre Landais, who had recently ar rived in the United States, as master of a mer chant ship laden with military stores. Accord ing to a subsequent statement of Jones, Lan dais obtained the command by representing, that he had been a captain in the French na vy, had commanded a ship of the line, and held an important station in the arsenal at Brest ; moreover, that the estimation in which he was held in his own country would have enabled him to choose whatever honorable station he was willing to accept ; but his desire to serve iET.31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 141 America had induced him to abandon his country, and even to refuse the cross of St. Louis, that he might be free to abjure the re ligion of his forefathers. Landais had, in fact, belonged to the French navy ; but he forgot to mention the material circumstance of his having been dismissed from it on account of infirmity of temper. Congress, having thus received the impression that Landais was in favor at the Court of Versailles, thought to pay that court an additional compliment by appointing him to the command of the Alli ance. On the passage out, he had betrayed ut ter professional incompetence, coupled with a fitful irritability of temper which had thor oughly disgusted everybody. A mutiny was concerted among some Englishmen of the crew, who designed taking the ship into Eng land, and narrowly failed of success ; which the exertions of Lafayette greatly aided in preventing. Lafayette, having heard of the projected ex pedition under Paul Jones, immediately con ceived a desire to take part in it. His wish being encouraged by the Court, Jones was 142 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. summoned to Paris to consult on the projected change in the expedition, consequent upon the accession of Lafayette. It was decided that Lafayette should embark with a body of seven hundred picked men, assigned to him by the King. Franklin having received his creden tials as ambassador by the Alliance, Jones ap plied to him to add that fine and uncommonly fast frigate to his squadron, and, the French government having joined in the request, it was readily, though as it afterwards proved, in an evil hour, granted. Some idea of the character of this arma ment may be drawn from the following ex tract from Jones's Journal for the King^ though he doubtless exaggerates the real defects of his force in order to magnify the glory which he subsequently won with it. " The cannon had not arrived for the Bon Homme Richard, and she was in great haste mounted with a battery of indifferent twelve-pounders. Six old-fashioned long eighteen-pounders were mounted in the gun-room ; and ports were cut to fight them, six on one side. Thus, with the guns on the quarter-deck and fore- jEt. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 143 castle, the Bon Homme Richard mounted forty guns; and, with the Alliance of thirty- six, the Pallas of thirty-two, the Cerf of eighteen, and the Vengeance of twelve, com posed the little squadron. A crew was hasti ly procured for the Bon Homme Richard from among the English prisoners, and by en listing raw French peasants and volunteers. Captain Jones had not more than thirty Amer icans among the crew. In the Alliance there had been a mutiny on the passage from Amer ica, and the captain and officers were ready- to cut one another's throats. The first and second lieutenants deserted. The Pallas, a merchant ship, had been built for the King, and hastily fitted at Nantes. The Vengeance was bought by the Commissary, and fitted in the same manner. The Cerf, a fine cutter, was alone well fitted and manned." In the belief that Lafayette would take part with Jones in the expedition, Franklin ad dressed to the latter some admirable, advice, to regulate their conduct towards each other while acting together. He remarked, that it had been observed that joint expeditions of 144 LIFE, OF PAUL JONES. [1779. land and sea forces, often miscarry through jealousies and misunderstandings between the officers of the different corps. This, he said, must happen where there were little minds, actuated more by personal views of profit or honor to themselves, then by a sincere desire of good to their country. Knowing both La fayette and Jones as he did, he felt confident that nothing of the kind could happen be tween them, and that it was therefore unne cessary for him to recommend to either of them that condescension, mutual good will, and harmony, which contribute so much to success in such undertakings. He said, that he looked upon this expedition as an introduc tion to more extensive commands, and as a kind of trial of their abilities, and fitness in temper and dispositions for acting in concert with others, and therefore felt assured that nothing would happen that could give impres sions to their disadvantage, when greater af fairs should come under consideration. As the Marquis was a major-general in our ser vice, he of course was superior in rank, and must have the entire command of the land .«t. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 145 forces, committed by the King to his care ; but the command of the ships was to belong wholly to Jones, in which Franklin felt per suaded, that, whatever authority Lafayette's rank might in strictness give him, he would not have the least desire to interfere. There was honor enough, he said, to be got for both, if the expedition was conducted with a pru dent unanimity. The letter concerning Lafayette was accom panied by instructions most creditable to the heart of the sage, and to the country which he represented. After directing the manner in which the squadron was to cooperate with the land forces, he proceeded to give directions for the treatment of prisoners, and of captured towns, in honorable contrast with the pro ceedings of the enemy on our own coast. When they became known to the British pub lic, they called forth everywhere unmeasured commendation, and threw no little discredit on the ministry. " You are to bring to France all the Eng lishmen you may happen to take prisoners, in order to complete the good work you have VOL. I. 10 146 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779, already made such progress in, of delivering by an exchange the rest of our countrymen now languishing in the jails of Great Brit ain. As many of your officers and people have lately escaped from English prisons, either in Europe or America, you are to be particularly attentive to their conduct towards the prisoners, whom the fortune of war may throw into your hands, lest resentment of the more than barbarous usage by the English in many places towards the Americans should occasion a retaliation, and an imitation of what ought rather to be detested and avoided, for the sake of humanity and for the honor of our country. In the same view, although the English have wantonly burnt many de fenceless towns in America, you are not to follow this example, unless when a reasonable ransom is refused, in which case your own generQus feelings, as well as this instruction, will induce you to give timely notice of your intention, that siqk and ancient persons, wo men and children, may be first removed." Jones received this admirable counsel, and these enlightened orders, in the same high- .Et. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 147 minded spirit in which they were conceived. In replying to a letter from Lafayette, which had accompanied them, and in which he had announced his intention of taking part in the cruise, Jones professed his readiness to cooper ate heartily with him, and assured him that so flattering a proof of his esteem and friendship had made an impression on his mind that would attend him while he lived. And to Dr. Franklin, he wrote, that the letter he had re ceived from him, together with his liberal in structions, would make a coward brave. He told him that he had called up every senti ment of public virtue in his breast, and it should be his pride and ambition, in the pur suit of his instructions, to deserve success. Few prospects, he said, could afford him so true a satisfaction as that of rendering some acceptable service to the common cause, and at the same time of relieving from captivity his unfortunate fellow countrymen still in the hands of the enemy. At this conjuncture, Spain was on the point of joining in the alliance against England, and hopes were conceived of obtaining the mas- 148 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. tery of the seas by the junction of the French and Spanish fleets, so as to cover an invasion of England, for which preparations were made on a grand scale in the adjacent provinces of France. It was to take part in this meditated grand invasion, that Lafayette was withrawn from the humbler expedition of Jones's ; which was in reality more formidable, because it was more likely to take effect. The expedition being thus abandoned, it was desirable to find employment for this ex pensive armament, and, instead of the daring project of destroying Liverpool and its ship ping, Jones was assigned to the less congenial service of driving the enemy's cruisers out of the Bay of Biscay, and giving convoy to ves sels bound from port to port along the coast. He sailed from L'Orient on this service on the 19th of June. 'In the night of the 20th, the Bon Homme Richard and Alliance got foul of each other, by which accident, the former lost her head, cut- water, jib-boom, and spritsail- yard, and the latter her mizen-mast. The character of Captain Landais, which had ex hibited itself in a very odious light on the iET. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 149 passage out from America, and which in his new association had already begun to show the jealousy, insubordination, and braggart in solence which belonged to it, led to the im pression that the collision was not avoided by him. As, however, the lieutenant of the Bon Hommie Richard, who had the watch at the time, was subsequently broken for his conduct on this occasion, the blame could not have belonged wholly to Landais ; though he, it seemed, behaved infamously at the time ; for it was solemnly attested by the officers of the squadron, that, instead of giving the neces sary orders to prevent the collision, and after wards remaining on deck to assist in the ex trication of his ship, he went below to load his pistols. The base desertion of his station at a critical moment, when the fate of his ship was at hazard, showed a shrinking from duty and responsibility, and a want of presence of mind, whilst the search for his pistols, real or affected, to be used against his commanding officer, evinced a braggart disposition to shed blood, which was doubtless assumed to cover the timidity with which the jeopardy of his 160 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. ship had affected him. This anecdote will be found very characteristic of the man in after scenes of much greater peril. On the last day of June, Jones returned to L'Orient to repair the damages sustained in his collision with the Alliance. During this cruise, he transmitted a draft for thirty pounds for the use of his relations; It was sent cir- cuitously through a friend in Dublin, under a feigned name, but. from some accident or dis honesty, never reached its destination. Soon after his return to L'Orient, he received in structions from Dr. Franklin with regard to his future movements. He was directed to proceed, with the vessels under his command, to the west coast of Ireland, and cruise off the Orcades, the Cape of Derneus, and the Dogger Bank, in order to take the enemy's property in those seas. All prizes were to be sent to Dunkirk, Ostend, or Bergen in Norway, ac cording to the proximity of either of those ports, and be addressed to the persons M. de Chaumont should name. About the 15th of August, he was directed to proceed to the Texel, where he would find further orders. ^T. 31.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 151 In writing to Franklin on his return to L'Orient, Jones returned to the old theme, his desire to obtain the command of the Indien, and stated, that if the Court was still disposed to give him that ship, he thought he could make a useful cruise towards the Texel with the force now under his command, and after wards bring that ship out with the crew he now had. He found great fault with the dull sailing of the old Bon Hommie Richard, and her defects of every description. Franklin's reply betrays as much gentle impatience as the sage was probably capable of feeling. He said he had no other orders to give ; for, as the Court was at the chief expense, he thought they had the best right to direct. When a thing had been once determined on in Council, they do not care to resume the consideration of it, having much business on hand, and no time for reconsideration. By way of comfort, however, he mentioned in confidence that the cruise had been ordered to terminate at the Texel, with the view of getting out the In dien. During Jones!s short cruise in the Bay of 152 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. Biscay, a mutinous spirit had exhibited itself among the Englishmen of his crew, who had entered the service as Americans, in order to escape from prison, and in the hope, perhaps, of afterwards returning to the allegiance of their own flag. Two quarter-masters were implicated as ringleaders in a conspiracy to take the slyp. It was necessary to hold a court-martial for the trial of these offenders ; and a knowledge of these circumstances, thus reaching M. de Sartine, created a distrust with regard to the efficiency of the Bon Homme Richard, which gave Jones great annoyance. The result of the court-martial was, that the quarter-masters were severely whipped, instead of being condeirined to death, as Jones, from a letter written about this period, seems to have apprehended. As a cartel arrived at Nantes with one hundred and nineteen Amer ican prisoners at this conjuncture, and efforts were made to enter them for the Bon Homm,e Richard, it is probable that the character of her crew was much improved before she again put to sea. At the request of M. de Sartine, Lieutenant-Colonel de Chamillard de Warville .^T.32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 153 was received on board of the Richard as commander of marines, and the cruise was also extended so as to take in the whole of September. Before the squadron put to sea, M. le Ray de Chaumont produced an agreement for the signature of Jones, and the other commanders, in conformity with an intimation which he had mside to him two months previously, that such a document would be required. By this agreement, styled a concordat, the five cap tains, Jones, Landais, Cottineau, Varage, and Ricot, bound themselves, unless detached from the squadron by order of the Minister of Ma rine, to act together by virtue of the commis sion which they had received from the United States. In the event of the death of the commander-in-chief, the officer next in rank was to succeed' him. The division of prize- money to the crews was to be regulated by the American laws ; but the proportion of each vessel was to be decided by the French Minister of Marine and the American Ambas sador, under whose joint orders the squadron acted. A copy of the American laws was an- 154 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. nexed to the concordat. All prizes were to be consigned to M. le Ray de Chaumont, who furnished the expenses of the armament. He was not to pay the prize-money of any individual of the squadron except to his or der, and was to be personally responsible to each for the amount of his share. Armed vessels, whether French or American, could unite with the squadron by mutual consent. Though Jones signed this paper, he subse quently made it the subject of bitter com plaint. He ascribed to it most of the discord and insubordination which occurred during the cruise; and no doubt the novel feature, in a military expedition, of the inferior commanders becoming parties to an agreement, by which the commander-in-chief was also bound, in stead of being subject to his unconditional or ders, contributed to the disorder of which the discordant materials composing the expedition were likely to be in themselves sufficiently productive. In the Bon Homme Richard, whilst the commander was by birth a Scotch man, a part of his officers were American and a part French. Of his crew, one third might iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 155 be Americans, half of the remainder English men, and the rest French volunteers, to act as marines, and guard the doubtful fidelity of the English, who had entered to escape from prison. The captain of the Alliance was a Frenchman, by character jealous, irritable, in- competent, and treacherous, whilst his officers and crew were all Americans. Of the other vessels, the officers and crews were entirely French, though all bore equally the flag, and acted under the Commission, of the United States. As the squadron was about to put to sea, it was joined by two privateers, the Mon sieur of forty guns, and the Grandville of fourteen. The two privateers did not, how;- ever, enter into the concordat, but remained in company by voluntary agreement. 156 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. CHAPTER VII. Departure of the Squadron from L'Orient. — Incipient Insubordi nation. — A Privateer parts Company. — Makes the Coast of Ireland. — Desertion of the Richard's Barge. — Loss of another Boat. — Insolence of Landais of the Alliance. — Desertion"of two Vessels. — The Squadron encounters a severe Gale. — Sep aration of Ships. — The Richard passes between Scotland and the Western Isles. — Falls in with the Alliance off Cape Wrath. — Capture of two valuable Prizes. — They are sent to Norway. — Renewed Insolence of Landais. — The Alliance parts Com pany. — The Squadron off the Firth of Forth. — Project of a Descent upon Leith. — His Captains oppose the Enterprise. — They yield their Consent. — The Squadron enters the Firth. — Is taken for an English Force. — Request sent to Jones for Am munition. — Summons prepared for Leith. — Approach to Kirk aldy. —Prayer of Mr. Shirra. —Gale out of the Firth. — The Squadron driven off. — Project against Hull and New Castle. — Evils of the Concordat. Having issued general orders for the gov ernment of the different commanders, assigned to each vessel its station in the order of sail ing, and appointed two points of rendezvous in case of separation, Jones put to sea from L'Orient on the 14th of August, 1779. His squadron amounted, with the two privateers, to seven sail ; a force, he says, " which might have effected great services and done infinite injury to the enemy, had there been secrecy iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 157 and due subordination. Unfortunately there was neither. Captain Jones saw his danger ; ' but, his reputation being at stake, he put all to the hazard." On the 18th, the squadron recaptured a large Dutch ship which had been taken a few days before by an English privateer. The captain of the Monsieur, which was the boarding ves sel, took a number of articles out of this prize, and, then manning her, ordered her into port, without reference to the commander-in-chief, who was in sight. Jones, however, counter manded the orders, and despatched her for L'Orient, which doubtless gave offence to the captain of the Monsieur, as he disappeared that evening, and did not rejoin the squadron. On the 23d, the squadron made Cape Clear, the extreme southern point of Ireland, having taken several prizes on the passage. It being calm, Jones sent his boats in-shore to capture a brigantine. Soon after it became necessary to lower the barge, and send her ahead to tow, so as to keep the ship from drifting into a dan gerous bay. At dusk, the barge's crew cut the tow line and pulled for the shore. Sev- 158 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. eral shots were fired without effect, and Mr. Cutting Lunt, the master, went with another boat and several marines iri chase of them, , and, pursuing too far, a fog came on which prevented his return. On the following day Captain Landais came on board the Commo dore's ship, and reproached him in the most insulting, and disrespectful manner for losing his boats, telling him that he, Landais, was the only American in the squadron, that he should hereafter follow his own opinion with regard to chasing, notwithstanding Jones's orders, and, moreover, that, if Jones kept the squad ron three days longer in that situation, it would inevitably be taken. In a regular ser vice, suchlinsolencaand insubordination would be inconceivable. The disaffected character of Jones's crew, and the great proportion of Englishmen it contained, are also made man ifest by the desertion of the barge, which usually contains the best and most trusty men. He reports to the Ambassador, that, by the advice of Captain Cottineau, and with the'" free consent of Captain Varage, he had sent the Cerf in to reconnoitre the coast, and iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 159 endeavour to find the boats and people, the next day, while the squadron stood off and on in the southwest quarter, in the best possible situation to intercept the enemy's merchant ships. Thus, before giving orders of indis pensable necessity, as a superior officer, we find him taking the advice of one captain, and obtaining the free consent and approba tion of another. It is necessary, however, to take all these circumstances into consideration, in order to estimate the difficulties with which he was surrounded, and the glory which, in defiance of them, he was still able to achieve. The Cerf, on approaching the shore to re connoitre, was seen by Mr. Lunt in the ship's bpat ; but, as the Cer/'was under English col ors, he mistook her character, and attempting to escape towards the land, Avas made prison er. By this meanSi the Bon Homme Richard lost two of her boats, her master, and twenty of her crew. The Cerf was not again seen, she having returned to France, instead of pro ceeding to the rendezvous, which had been fixed upon. The Grandville, having made a prize, also lagged behind and parted company. There remained of the original squadron only 160 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. the Bon Homme Richard, the Alliance, the Pallas, and the Vengeance, As Jones, how ever, undoubtedly gained strength as he part ed with his insubordinate and faithless follow ers, it was rather to be regretted that the defection had not been greater ; especially would he have gained by parting with the treacherous Landais. On the night of the 26th of August, it came on to blow heavily from the southwest ; and Jones, yielding to the insolent and insub ordinate objections of Landais, against remain ing longer in that neighbourhood, bore up and ran to the northward along the coast of Ire land. Landais steered a course two points different from that which Jones had ordered by signal, the Pallas carried away her tiller in the night, and Jones found himself the next morning alone with the Vengeance. On the 31st, the Alliance, being off Cape Wrath, joined company with a valuable West India- man, called the Betsey, mounting twenty-two guns, which she had taken. As the Alliance came up with her prize, the Bon Homme Richard was in the act of capturing a twenty- iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 161 two gun ship, called the Union, bound for Canada with naval stores. Landais had the insolent folly to send a message to Jones, to ask whether he should man the ship, as, in that case, he would suffer no boat from the Richard to board her. " For the sake of peace," as he says, Jones yielded to these terms, and the prize was manned from the Al liance, while the prisoners were received on board the Richard. On the same day, Jones having made a signal to Landais to chase, in stead of obeying, he wore and laid his ship's head the other way. The next morning, a signal was made for him to come within hail of the Richard ; this he did not even answer ; and, on September 3d, he acted in direct vio lation of Jones's orders, by sending the two valuable prizes, recently taken, to Bergen in Norway, where they were subsequently given up to the English, by order of the Danish gov ernment. Their value was estimated to ex ceed forty thousand pounds sterling. On the evening of the 4th, the Commander made sig nal for all captains to repair on board, which Landais not only refused to do, but, when VOL. I. li 162 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. Captain Cottineau, who had joined company in the Pallas the day before, and M. Chamil lard went to persuade him, he used the most insulting language with regard to the Commo- dorej^ and said that he would see him on shore, when one of them must kill the other. After this amiable demonstration, he again parted company. On the 5th, it came on to blow heavily and continued boisterous for several days. In the mean time the squadron having doubled the north of Scotland, ran down on the eastern coast, and on the evening of the 13th, came in sight of the hills of Cheviot. On the follow ing day, being off the Firth of Forth, Jones captured several vessels from Leith, by which he learned that the only vessels of war lying in the roads were a twenty-gun ship and three or four cutters. He immediately conceived the daring and characteristic design of capture ing this force, and then landing his marines, and laying the town under contribution, un der the penalty of being immediately burn ed. Though much weakened, and embarrass ed with prisoners, he was anxious to teach the Mt.32.] LIFE of PAUL JONES. 163 enemy humanity by some exemplary stroke of retaliation, as well as to make a diversion in the north, to favor a formidable descent, which he expected would have been made about this time, on the south side of Great Britain, under cover of the combined fleet. The wind was favorable to run up the Firth ; but, the Pallas and Vengeance being at a distance in the of fing, he stood out to meet them, in order to concert the attack. On communicating his plan to his captains, they started many diffi culties and objections. " After spending the whole night," he says, " all his argument^ on the side of honor and humanity failed. He then spoke to their ruling passion, and showed them a large heap of gold at the end of the prospect. He was now heard with_attention.'' " They appeared to think better of the de sign," he elsewhere says, " after I had assured them that I hoped to raise a contribution of two hundred thousand pounds on Leith, and that there was no battery of cannon there to , oppose our landing. So much time, however, was unavoidably spent in pointed remarks and sage deliberation that night, that the wind be- 164 life of PAUL JONES. [1779. came contrary in the morning." Nevertheless, Jones did not abandon his design, but con tinued working to windward. On the 15th, they captured a small collier, called the Friendship of Kirkaldy, the master of which, Andrew Robertson, agreed, on con dition of his vessel being restored to him, to pilot the squadron into Leith. On the 16th, the ships being close in with the coast of Fife, under English colors, were taken for King's vessels in pursuit of Paul Jones, who was supposed to be on the coast ; for a large proprietor of that neighbourhood, who was a member of Parliament, sent off a boat to the Richard, to ask for powder and shot, that he might have the means of defending himself from the expected visit of the pirate Paul Jones. Jones returned a very polite message and sent a barrel of powder, but expressed his regret that he had no suitable shot. In order to make the favor reciprocal, and diminish the weight of obligation he was imposing on the honorable gentleman, he detained one of the boatmen as a pilot. Meantime, every preparation was made for iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 165 landing, and a summons was prepared with every prospect of its being not only delivered, but complied with. It was sufficiently tumid ; but perhaps not the less suited to terrify the worthy burghers. A blank capitulation was at the same time drawn up in readiness to be signed by the magistrates. The summons ran as follows. " The Honorable J. Paul Jones, Com mander-in-chief of the American Squadron, now in Europe, to the Worshipful Provost of Leith, or, in his absence, to the Chief Magis trate, who is now actually present, and in au thority there. " Sir ; The British marine force, that has been stationed here for the protection of your city and commerce, being now taken by the American arms under my command, I have the honor to send you this summons by my officer. Lieutenant Colonel de Chamillard, who commands the vanguard of my troops. I do not wish to distress the poor inhabitants ; my intention is only to demand your contribution towards the reimbursement which Britain owes 166 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. to the much injured citizens of the United States ; for savages would blush at the unman ly violation and rapacity that have marked the tracks of British tyranny in America, from which neither virgin innocence nor helpless age has been a plea of protection or pity. " Leith and its port now lie at our mercy ; and, did not our humanity stay the hand of just retaliation, I should, without advertise ment, lay it in ashes. Before I proceed to that stern duty as an officer, my duty as a man induces me to propose to you, by means of a reasonable ransom, to prevent such a scene of horror and distress. For this rea son, I have authorized Lieutenant Colonel de Chamillard to coiiclude and agree with you on the terms of ransom, allowing you exactly half an hour's reflection before you finally ac cept or reject the terms which he shall pro pose. If you accept the terms offered within the time limited, you may rest assured that no further debarkation of troops will be made, but the re embarkation of the vanguard will immediately follow, and the property of the citizens shall remain unmolested." .^T.32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 167 Late in the afternoon of the 16th, the squadron was distinctly seen from Edinburgh Castle, beating up the Firth. Its real charac ter was suspected. The alarm spread far and wide, and the audacity of Jones struck a panic terror far beyond what his force justified, and which was well suited to paralyze any effort at resistance ; arms, however, were distributed to the trades, and efforts hastily made to erect batteries at Leith. On the morning of the 17th, ill one of her tacks towards the north ern shore, the Richard stood boldly up within a mile of Kirkaldy, as if about to make a descent on the town. The simple inhabitants were in an awful consternation. It is related that the minister of the place, the, Rev. Mr. Shirra, who was very eccentric and remarka ble for the quaint and somewhat unseemly hardihood which often characterized his pray ers, joined his flock on the sandy beach which skirts the town, and commenced supplicating earnestly in the following odd strain. " Now deer Lord, dinna ye think it a shame for ye to send this vile piret to rob our folk o' Kirkaldy ; for ye ken they 're puir enow 168 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. already, and hae naething to spaire. The wa the ween blaws, he '11 be here in a jiffie, and wha kens what he may do ? He 's nae too guid for ony thing. Meickle 's the mischief he has dune already. He '11 burn thir hooses, tak their very claes and tirl them to the sark ; and wae 's me ! wha kens but the bluidy vil lain might take their lives ? The puir weemen are maist frightened out o' their wits, and the bairns skirling after them. I canna thol't it ! I canna thol't it ! I hae been lang a faithfu' servant to ye, Laird ; but gin ye dinna turn the ween about, and blaw the scoundrel out of our gate, I '11 na staur a fit, but will just sit here till the tide comes. Sae tak yere wuU o't." Such is said to have been the prayer of Mr. Shirra on this occasion, the extravagance of which may have grown in the hands of some waggish editor of the day. Be it as it may, a violent gale just then sprung up, which strand ed one of the prizes, and compelled Jones to bear up and run out of the Firth. Popular belief among the good people of Kirkaldy long continued to ascribe this gale to a direct iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 169 manifestation of divine interposition in their favor, brought on by the energetic supplica tions of their worthy minister. Nor did he altogether disclaim the honor ; for, when long after he used to be complimented on the sub ject, he was wont to say, " I prayed ; but the Lord sent the wind." Jones tells us in his official account, that he was nearly within gun-shot of Leith, having made every preparation to land, when the gale freshened to blow with great violence. He made an effort to withstand its force and reach his anchorage, now quite near ; but, after an ineffectual struggle, he was obliged to bear away and run out of the Firth. The gale abated in the evening ; but he was then far from the port ; and, thinking that the alarm had been effectually given far and near, and the proximity of Edinburgh would have ena bled the authorities to make formidable prepar ations to meet him at Leith, he was obliged, though reluctantly and with many regrets, to abandon his enterprise. Daring as it was, had he been so favored by the wind as to have reached Leith Avithout warning, which he 170 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. might have done had his coadjutors lent him hearty cooperation from the first, instead of enlightening him with their " pointed remarks and sage deliberation," the very suddenness of the attack would have doubtless secured its success. The exploit bears the same charac ter of hardihood as the descent on White haven. Had circumstances been more propi tious, it would doubtless have been successful. The conception, at any rate, belongs to the highest character of intrepidity. Two days after, Jones was already meditat ing another attempt to destroy one of the en emy's towns. It is supposed that his attention was now directed against Hull, or Newcastle, probably the latter, as it had been a favorite project of his to cut off the supply of coal for London, which the destruction of the shipping of that place would have temporarily effected, in addition to the great loss of property. He proposed this scheme to Captain Cottineau, of the Pallas. This officer objected to the pro ject, and warned Jones that a delay of two days more on the coast would inevitably lead to their capture. He intimated, moreover, to iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 171 Colonel de Chamillard, that, unless Jones left the coast the next day, the Pallas and Veji- geance would abandon him. It was an evil, that grew out of the concordat, and the infe rior commanders being made acquainted with the orders under which Jones acted, that they knew that the period fixed for the termination of the cruise at the Texel had arrived. They were, therefore, anxious to leave a neighbour hood, which they expected would soon be too hot for them.^ ^^Jones had thought of attempt ing the project alone, and protests that he would have done so, with every confidence of success, but for the reproach that would have been cast upon his character as a man of prudence, had the enterprise miscarried. It would have been said, " Was he not forewarn ed by Captain Cottineau and others ? " Jones was the last man to have others asso ciated with him, with the right to claim an explanation of his views and to pass judg ment upon them, as, owing to the nature of the agreement entered into by the various commanders, the distrust of the chief, and the indiscreet confidence reposed in the subordi- 172 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. nates, was the case on this ill-arranged expedi tion. The accuracy of the local knowledge of this coast which he obtained from his pris oners, and his ingenuity in combining it, above all, the freedom from vague apprehension of unseen dangers which left his Judgment un disturbed to study and appreciate the real dif ficulties of any undertaking, enabled him to estimate the chances of success with an accu racy convincing to himself, though not obvi ous to others, less ingenious, and less free from disturbance by the prospect of danger. Oth-- ers could not see with his eyes. It was an inherent vice in this armament, that its ill- assorted composition, and the principle upon which it was sent out, rendered it necessary they should do so. Jones was a man to be obeyed. Had he been at the head of a reg ular force of American ships, fitted out at home, imperfectly organized as our navy then was, there is scarcely a limit to the services that he might have effected. There was one service, however, that he did effect in defiance of all obstacles which surrounded him. In the decayed and ill-contrived old ship in which .St. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 173 he found himself cast forth upon the ocean, in a scarcely seaworthy condition from the first, and having under his orders a motley collec tion of officers and seamen of almost every country, he fought a battle, which, for stubborn and resolute courage, and triumphant success, 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 en couraging example, so long as we continue to have a name among the nations of the earth. 174 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. CHAPTER VIII. The Squadron off Flamborough Head. — Discovers the Baltic, Fleet. — Gives Chase. — The opposing Ships approach. — State of the Weather. — Spectators on Shore. — Eccentric Move ments of the Alliance. — The Action begins between the Rich ard and the Serapis. — Two Guns of the Richard burst. — The Serapis passes round the Richard. — Attempts to cross her Bow. — The two Ships get foul. — Jones attempts to board. — Is re pulsed. — The Ships separate. — The Richard lays the Serapis athwart Hawse. — The Ships swing Broadside and Broadside. — The Serapis anchors. — Terrible Cannonade from the Serapis. — The Alliance rakes the Richard. — Jones superintends the Quarter-deck Battery. — Effective Fire from the Richard's Tops. — Combustibles thrown on board the Serapis. — Explo sion on her Main Deck. — Alarm lest the Richard should sink. — Gunner cries for Quarter. — Prisoners released. — Desperate Situation of Jones. — He does not despair. — The Serapia strikes. — Her Captain delivers up his Sword. — Mangled Con dition of the Richard. — Both Ships on Fire. — Removal of the Wounded. — The Richard sinks. — Comparative Force of the Ships. — Victory due personally to Jones. — Conduct of Lan dais. — Jones's Heroism. The battle between the Bon Homme Rich ard and the Serapis is invested with an heroic interest of the highest stamp. From the day of his unsuccessful effort to attack Leith, Jones had been cruising off the mouth of the Hum- ber, and along the Yorkshire coast, intercept ing the colliers bound to London, many of which he destroyed. On the morning of the iET. 32.] LIFE. OF PAUL JONES. 175 23d of September, he fell in with the Alliance. This rencontre was a real misfortune ; as, in the battle which ensued, the disobedience and mad vagaries of Landais were about to be converted into absolute treason. The squad ron now consisted of the Richard, the Alli ance, the Pallas, and the Vengeance. About noon, Jones despatched his second lieutenant, Henry Lunt, with fifteen of his best men, to take possession of a brigantine, which he had chased ashore. Soon after, as the squadron was standing to the northward to wards Flamborough Head, with a light breeze from south-southwest, chasing a ship, which was seen doubling the cape, in opening the view beyond, they gradually came in sight of a fleet of forty-one sail running down the coast from the northward, very close in with the land. On questioning the pilot, the Commo dore discovered that this was the Baltic fleet, with which he had been so anxious to fall in, and that it was under convoy of the Sera pis, a new ship, of an improved construction, mounting forty-four guns, and the Countess of Scarborough, of twenty guns. 176 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. Signal was immediately made to form the line of battle, which the Alliance, as usual, disregarded. The Richard crossed her royal yards, and immediately gave chase to the northward, under all sail, to get between the enemy and the land. At the same time sig nal of recall was made to the pilot boat ; but she did not return until after the action. On discovering the American squadron, the head most ships of the convoy were seen to haul their wind suddenly, and go about so as to stretch back under the land, towards Scarbo rough, and place themselves under cover of the cruisers ; at the same time, they fired signal guns, let fly their top-gallant sheets, and showed every symptom of confusion and alarm. Soon afterward, the Serapis was seen stretching to windward, to get between the convoy and the American ships, which she soon effected. At four o'clock, the English cruisers were in sight from deck. The Count ess of Scarborough was standing out to join the Serapis, which Ajras lying to for her, whilst the convoy continued to run for the fort, in obedience to the signals displayed iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 177 from the Serapis, which was also seen to fire guns. At half past five, the two ships had joined company, when the Serapismade sail by the wind ; at six, both vessels tacked, heading up to the westward, across the bows of the Richard, so as to keep their position between her and the convoy. The opposing ships thus continued to ap proach each other slowly, under the light southwesterly air. The weather was beauti fully serene, and the breeze being off the land, which was now close on board, produced no ripple on the water, which lay still and peace ful, offering a fair field to the combatants about to grapple in such deadly strife. The decks of the opposing vessels were long since cleared for action, and ample leisure remained for reflection, as the ships glided toAvards each other at a rate but little in accordance with the impatience of the opponents. From the projecting promontory of Flamborough Head,. which was less than a league distant, thou sands of the inhabitants, whom the recent at tempt upon Leith had made aware of the character of the American ships, and the reck- VOL. I. 12 178 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. less daring of their leader, looked down upon the scene, awaiting the result with intense anxiety. The ships also were in sight from Scarborough, the inhabitants of which throng- 'cd the piers. The sun had already sunk be hind the land, before the ships were within ¦gun-shot of each other ; but a full harvest- •moon rising above the opposite horizon, light ed the combatants in their search for each other, and served to reveal the approaching scene to the spectators on the land with a vague indistinctness which rendered it only .the more terrible. We have seen, that the Alliance had utterly disregarded the signal to form the line of bat tle, when the Baltic fleet was first discover ed and our squadron bore down upon them. She stood for the enemy without reference to her station, and, greatly outsailing the other vessels, wa? much sooner in a condition to en gage. Captain Landais seemed, for once, to be actuated by a chivalrous motive, and likely ¦to do something to redeem the guilt of his dis obedience. The officers of the Richard were .watching this new instance of eccentricity, iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 179 for which Landais's past conduct-had. ..not prepared them, with no little surprise ; when, after getting near to where the Serapis lay, with her courses hauled up and St. George's ensign, the white cross of England, proudly displayed, he suddenly hauled his wind, leav ing the path of honor open to his commander. While the Pallas stood for the Countess of Scarborough, the Alliance sought a position in which she could contemplate the double engagement without risk, as though her com mander had been chosen umpire, instead of being a party interested in the approaching battle. Soon afteriva^d, the Serapis Avas seen to hoist the red ensigili instead of St. George's, and it was subsequently known that her cap tain had nailed it to the flag-staff with his own hand. About half past seven, the Bon Homme Richard hauled up her courses and rounded to on the weather or larboard quarter of the Serapis, within pistol-shot, and steered a near ly parallel course, though gradually edging down upon her. The Serapis now triced up 180 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. her lower deck ports, showing two complete batteries, besides her spar-deck, lighted up for action, 'and making a most formidable appear ance. At this moment. Captain Pearson, her commander, hailed the Bon Homme Richard, and demanded, " What ship is that ? " An swer was made, " I can't hear what you say." The hail was repeated ; " What ship is that ? answer immediately, or I shall be under the necessity of firing into you ! " A shot was fired in reply by the Bon Homme Richard, which was instantly followed by a broadside from each vessel. Two of the three old eighteen-pounders in the Richard's gun-room burst at the first fire, spreading around an aw ful scene of carnage. Jones immediately gave orders to close the lower deck ports, and aban don that battery during the rest of the action. The Richard, having kept her head-way, and becalmed the sails of the Serapis, passed across her forefoot, when the Serapis, luffing across the stern of the Richard, came up in turn on the weather or larboard quarter ; and, after an exchange of several broadsides from iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 181 the fresh batteries, which did great damage to the rotten sides of the Richard, and caused her to leak badly, the Serapis Ijkewise be calmed the sails of the Richard, passed ahead, and soon after bore up and attempted to cross her forefoot, so as to rake her from stem to stern. Finding, however, that he had not room for the evolution, and that the Richard would be on board of him. Captain Pearson put his helm a-lee Avhich brought the tAvo ships in a line ahead, and, the Serapis having lost her head- way by the attempted evolution, the Richard ran into her weather or larboard quarter. While in this position, neither ship being able to use her great guns, Jones at tempted to board the Serapis, but was re pulsed, when Captain Pearson hailed him, and asked, " Has your ship struck ? " To which he at once returned the discouraging answer, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Jones now backed his topsails, and the sails of the Serapis remaining full, the two ships separated. Immediately after, Pearson also laid his topsails aback, as he says in his offi- 182 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. cial report, to get square with the Richard again ; Jones, at the same instant, filled away, which brought the two ships once more broad side and broadside. As he had already suffer ed greatly from the superior force of the Se rapis, and from her being more manageable and a faster sailer than the Richard, which had. several times given her the advantage in position, Jones how determined to lay his ship athwart the enemy's hawse ; he accordingly put his helm up, but some of his braces being shot away, his sails had not their full power, and, the Serapis having stern-way, the Rich^ ard fell on board of her farther aft than Jones. had intended. The Serapis's jib-boom hung her for a few minutes, when, carrying away, the two ships swung broadside and broadside, the muzzles of the guns touching each other. Jones sent Mr. Stacy, the acting master, to pass up the end of a hawser to lash the two ships together ; and, while he was gone on this service, assisted with his own hand in making fast the jib-stay of the Serapis to the Rich ard's mizzen-mast. Accident, however, un- iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 183 knoAvn for the moment to either party, more effectually secured the two vessels together ; for, the anchor of the Serapis having hooked the quarter of the Richard, the two ships lay closely grappled. In order to escape from this close embrace, and recover the advantage of his superior sailing and force. Captain Pearson now let go an anchor, when the two ships tended round to the tide, which was setting towards Scarborough. The Richard being held by the anchor of the Serapis, and the yards being entangled fore and aft, they re mained firmly grappled. This happened about half past eight, the engagement having already continued an hour.* * As considerable diiference will be observable be tween the account of this battle, given in Mr. Cooper's "Naval History" and the above, it is proper to state, that Mr. Cooper has followed Mr. Dale's description of the manoeuvres antecedent to the ships' being grappled ; whilst, in the present account, more reliance has been, placed on those of the two commanders, who directed the evolutions. Mr. Dale was stationed on the Richard's main deck, in a comparatively unfavorable position for observing the manoeuvres. The evolution of boxhauling his ship, ascribed by Mr. Cooper to, Captain Pearson, would, under the circumstances, have been highly un- seamanlike. 184 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. 8th Position. The two ships foul fore and aft ; the Serapis's lar board anchor on the bottom, her starboard caught in the Richard's starboard quarter- port. So both ahipg remained until the close of the action. 7th Position. The Richard runs atl;iwart hawse of the Serapis, Gth Position. The Richard fills her topsails, and the Serapis backs hers, which brings the two ships broadside and broad side. 5th Position. The Richard backs clear of the Serapis. 4th Position. The Serapis, not having room to cross the Rich ard's bow, luffs up, and the Richard runs into her quarter. 3d Position. The Serapis rakes the Richard and attempts to cross her bow. 2d Position. The Serapis passes to windward of the Richard. 1st Position. Battle begins at 7.30 P.M. iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 185 Meantime the firing had recommenced with fresh fury from the starboard sides of both vessels. The guns of either ship actually touched the sides of the other, and some of them being opposite the ports, the rammers entered those of the opposite ship when in the act of loading, and the guns were discharged into the side or into the open decks. The effect of this cannonade was terrible to both ships, and wherever it could be kept up in one ship, it was silenced in the other. Occa sional skirmishing with pikes and pistols took place through the ports, but there does not appear to have been any concerted effort to board from the lower decks of the Serapis, which had the advantage below. The Richard had already received several eighteen-pound shot between wind and Avater, causing her to leak badly ; the main battery of twelve-pounders Avas silenced ; as for the gun-room battery of six eighteen-pounders, AVe have seen, that two out of the three star board ones burst at the first fire, killing most of their crews. During the whole action but eight shots were fired from this heavy battery. 186 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. the use of which was so much favored by the smoothness of the water. The bursting of these guns, and the destruction of the crew, with the partial blowing up of the deck above, so early in the action, were discouraging cir cumstances, which, with a less resolutely de termined commander, might well have been decisive of the fate of the battle. Colonel Chamillard', who was stationed on the poop, with a party of twenty marines, had already been driven from his post, with the loss of a number of his men, probably by the raking fire of the Alliance. This ship kept studiously aloof, and hovering about the Pal las and Countess of Scarborough, until the latter struck, after half an hour's action, when Landais endeavoured to get information as to the force of the Serapis. He now ran down, under easy sail, to where the Richard and Serapis lay grappled. At about half past nine, he ranged up on the larboard quarter of the Richard, of course having the Richard between him and the Serapis; though the brightness of the moonlight, the greater height of the Richard, especially about the poop, and .ffiT. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 187 the fact of her being painted entirely black, whilst the Serapis had a yellow streak, could have left no doubt as to her identity ; more over, the Richard displayed three lights, at the larboard bow, gangway, and stern, which was an appointed signal of recognition. Landais now deliberately fired into the Richard's quarter, killing many of her men. Standing on, he ranged past her larboard bow, where he renewed his raking fire, with like fatal effect. To remove the chance of mis conception, many voices cried out, that the Alliance was firing into the wrong ship ; still the raking fire continued from her. Captain Pearson also suffered from this fire, as he states in his report to the Admiralty, but necessarily in a much less degree than the Richard, which lay between them. There is ample evidence of Landais having returned there several times to fire on the Richard, and always qu the larboard side, or the op posite one to that on which the Richard was grappled with the Serapis. While the fire of the Serapis Avas continued without intermission from the whole of her 188 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. lower-deck battery, the only guns that were still fired from the Richard were two nine- pounders on the quarter-deck, commanded by Mr. Mease, the purser. This officer having received a dangerous wound in the head, Jones took his place, and, having collected a few men, succeeded in shifting over one of the larboard guns ; so that three guns Avere now kept playing on the enemy, and these were all that were fired from the Richard during the remainder of the action. One of these guns was served with double-headed shot and di rected at the main mast, by Jones's command, whilst the other two were loaded with grape and canister, to clear the enemy's deck. In this service, great aid was rendered by the men stationed in the tops of the Richard, who, having cleared the tops of the Serapis, com mitted great havoc among the officers and crew upon her upper deck. Thus, while the action was carried on with decided advantage to the enemy on the lower decks, from which they might have boarded with a good prospect of success, as nearly the whole crew of the Richard had been driven from below by the iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 189 fire of the Serapis, and had collected on the upper deck, — above, it was equal,l.y„.in- our favor. In addition to the destructive fire from the tops of the Richard, great damage was done by the hand-grenades thrown from her tops and yard-arms. The Serapis was set on fife"^ often as ten or twelve times in vari ous parts, and the conflagration Avas only with the greatest exertions kept from becoming general. About a quarter before ten, a hand-grenade, thrown by one of the Richard's men from the main-top of the Serapis, struck the combing of the main hatch, and, glancing inward upon the main deck, set fire to a cartridge of powder. Owing to mismanagement and defective train ing, the powder boys on this deck had bi:ought up the cartridges from the magazine faster than they were used, and, instead of waiting for the loaders to receive and charge ' them, had laid them on the deck, where some of them were broken. The cartridge fired by the grenade now communicated to these, and the explosion spread from the main-mast aft on the starboard side, killing tAventy men and 190 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. disabling every man there stationed at the guns, those who were not killed outright be ing left stripped of their clothes and scorched frightfully. At this conjuncture, being about ten o'clock, the gunner and the carpenter of the Rich ard, who had been slightly wounded, became alarmed at the quantity of water which entered the ship through the shot-holes, which she had received between wind and water, and which, by her settling, had got below the surface. The carpenter expressed an apprehension that she would speedily sink, which the gunner mistaking for an assertion that she was actual ly sinking, ran aft on the poop to haul down the colors. Finding that the ensign was al ready down, in consequence of the staff hav ing been shot away, the gunner set up the cry, " Q,uarter ! for God's sake, quarter ! Our ship is sinking ! " which he continued until si lenced by Jones, who threw at the recreant a pistol he had just discharged at the eneiny, which fractured his skull, and sent him head long down the hatchway. Captain Pearson, hearing the gunner's cry, asked Jones if he iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. , 191 called for quarter, to which, according to his own Avords, he replied " in the most deter mined negative." Captain Pearson now called away his boarders and sent them on board the Richard, but, Avhen they reached her rail, they were met by Jones himself, at the head of a party of pikemen, and driven back. They immediately returned to their ship, followed by some of the Richard's men, all of whom were cut off. About the same time that the gunner set up his cry for quarter, the master-at-arms, who had been in consultation with the gunner and the carpenter, in regard to the sinking con dition of the ship, hearing the cry for quar ter, proceeded, without orders from Jones, and either from treachery or the prompting of hu mane feelings, to release all the prisoners, amounting to more than a hundred. One of these, being the commander of the letter-of- marque Union, taken on the 31st of August, passed, with generous self-devotion, through the lower ports of the Richard and the Se rapis, and, having reached the quarter-deck of the latter, informed Captain Pearson, that. 192 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. if he would hold out a little longer, the Rich ard must either strike or sink. He, moreover, informed him of the large number of prison ers who had been released with himself, in order to save their lives. Thus encouraged, the battle was renewed from the Serapis with fresh ardor. [ The situation of Jones, at this moment, was indeed hopeless, beyond any thing that is re corded in the annals of naval warfare. In a sinking ship, with a battery silenced every where, except where he himself fought, more than a hundred prisoners at large in his ship, his consort, -the Alliance, sailing round and raking him deliberately, his superior officers counselling surrender, whilst the inferior ones were setting up disheartening cries of fire and sinking, and calling loudly for quarter ; the chieftain still stood undismayed. He imme diately ordered the prisoners to the pumps, and took advantage of the panic they were in, with regard to the reported sinking of the ship, to keep them from conspiring to over come the few efficient hands that remained of his crew. Meanwhile, the action was contin- iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 193 ued with the three light quarter-deck guns, under Jones's immediate inspection. In the moonlight, blended with the flames that as cended the rigging of the Serapis, the yellow main-mast presented a palpable mark, against which the guns were directed with double- headed shot. Soon after ten o'clock, the fire of the Serapis began to slacken, and at half past ten she struck. •Mr. Dale, the first lieutenant of the Richard, was now ordered on board the Serapis, to take charge of her. He was accompanied by Midshipman Mayrant and a party of boarders. Mr. Mayrant was run through the thigh ivith a wounding-pike, as he touched the deck of the Serapis, and three of the Ridhard's crew were killed after the Serapis had struck, by some of the crew of the latter who were igno rant of the surrender of their ship. Lieutenant Dale found Captain Pearson on the quarter deck, and told him he was ordered to send him on board the Richard. It is a remarka ble evidence of the strange character of this engagement, and the doubt which attended its result, that the first lieutenant of the Se- VOL. I. 13 194 LIFE OF PAUL JONI^S. [1779. rapis, who came upon deck at this moment, should have asked his commander, whether the ship alongside had struck. Lieutenant Dale immediately answered, "No, Sir ! on the contrary, he has struck to us." The Brit ish lieutenant, like a true officer, repeated the question to his commander, "Have you struck. Sir ? " Captain Pearson replied, " Yes, I have." The lieutenant replied, " I have nothing more to say," and was about to re turn below, when Mr. Dale informed him, that he must accompany Captain Pearson on board the Richard. The lieutenant rejoined, " If you will permit me to go below, I will silence the firing of the lower- deck guns." This offer Mr. Dale very properly declined, and the two officers went on board the Rich ard, and surrendered themselves to Jones. Pearson, who had risen, like Jones, from an humble station by his own bravery, but who was as inferior to Jones in courtesy, as he had proved himself in obstinacy of resistance, evinced from the first a characteristic surliness, which he maintained throughout the whole of his intercourse with his victor. In surrender- iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 195 ing he said, that it was painful for him to de liver up his sword to a man, who had fought with a halter round his neck. Jones did not forget himself, but replied, with a compliment, which, though addressed to Pearson, neces sarily reverted to himself, " Sir ! you ' have fought like a hero, and I make no doubt but your sovereign will reward you in a most ample manner." As another evidence of the strange meUe which attended this engagement, and of the discouraging circumstances under Avhich the Richard fought, it may be mentioned, that eight or ten of her crew, who were of course Englishmen, got into a boat, which was tow ing astern of the Serapis, and escaped to Scar borough during the height of the engagement. This defection, together with the absence of the second lieutenant with fifteen of the best men, the loss of twenty-four men on the coast of Ireland, added to the number Avho had been sent away in prizes, reduced Jones's crew to a very small number, and greatly diminished his chance of success, which was due at length solely to his own indomitable courage. 196 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. Meantime, the fire, which was still kept up from the lower-deck guns of the Serapis, where the seamen were ignorant of the scene of surrender which had taken place above, was arrested by an order from Lieutenant Dale. The action had continued without cessation for three hours and a half When it at length ceased, Jones got his ship clear of the Serapis, and made sail. As the two sep arated, after being so long locked in deadly struggle, the main-mast of the Serapis, which had been for some time tottering, and which had only been sustained by the interlocking of her yards with those of the Richard, went over the side with a tremendous crash, carry ing the mizzen-topmast with it. Soon after, the Serapis cut her cable and followed the Richard. The exertions of captors and captives were now necessary to extinguish the flames, which were raging furiously in both vessels. Its violence was greatest in the Richard, where it had been communicated below from the lower-deck guns of the Serapis. Every ef fort to subdue the flames seemed for a time iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 197 to be unavailing. In one place they were raging very near the magazine, and Jones, at length, had all the_j)owder taken out and brought_oirjieck,_in readiness to be thrown overboard. In this work the officers of the Serapis voluntarily assisted. While the fire was raging in so terrifying a manner, the water Avas entering the ship in many places. The rudder had been cut ep- tirely through, the transoms were driven in, and the rotten timbers of the old ship, from the main-mast aft, were shattered and almost entirely separated, as if the ship had been sawn through by ice ; so much so, that Jones says, that, towards the close of the action, the shot of the Serapis passed completely through the Richard; and the stern-post and a few timbers alone prevented the stern from falling down on the gun-room deck. The water rushed in through all these apertures, so that, at the close of the action, there were already five feet of water in the hold. The spectacle, which the old ship presented the following morning, was dreadful beyond description. Jones says, in his official report, that " a per- 198 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. son must have been an eyewitness to form a just idea of the tremendous scene of carnage, wreck, and ruin, that everywhere appeared. Humanity cannot but recoil from the pros pect of such finished horror, and lament that war should produce such fatal consequences." Captain Pearson also notices, in his official letter to the Admiralty, the dreadful spectacle the Richard presented. He says, " On my going on board the Bon Homme Richard, I found her to be in the greatest distress ; her counters and quarters on the lower deck en tirely drove in, and the whole of her lower- deck guns dismounted ; she was also on fire in two places, and six or seven feet water in her hold, which kept increasing upon thera all night and the next day, till they were obliged to quit her, and she sunk with a great number of her wounded people on board her." * The regret which he must, at any rate, have felt in surrendering, must have been much augment- * This was a mistake. Jones says, in his official let ter; " No lives were lost with the ship, but it was impossi ble to save the stores of any sort whatever. I lost even the best pa!rt of my clothes, books, and papers ; and sev eral of my officers lost all their clothes and effects." iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 199 ed by these observations, and by what he must have seen of the motley composition of the Richard's crew. • On the morning after the action, a survey was held upon the Poor Richard, which was now, more than ever, entitled to her name. After a deliberate examination, the carpenters and other surveying officers were unanimous ly of opinion, that the ship could not be kept afloat, so as to reach a port, if the wind should increase. The task of removing the wounded was now commenced, and completed in the course of the night and following morning. The prisoners who had been taken in mer chant ships were left until the wounded were all removed. Taking advantage of the confu sion, and of their superiority of numbers, they took possession of the ship, and got her head in for the land, towards which the wind was now blowing. A contest ensued, and, as the Englishmen had few arms, they were speedily overcome. Two of them were shot dead, sev eral wounded and driven overboard, and thir teen of them got possession, of a boat and escaped to the shore. •' ' ., 200 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. Jones was very anxious to keep the Rich ard afloat, and, if possible, to bring her into port, doubtless from the very justifiable vanity of showing how desperately he had fought her. In order to effect this object, he kept the first rieutenaht of the Pallas on board of her, with a party of men to work the pumps, having boats in waiting to remove them, in the event of her sinking. During the night of the 34th, the wind had freshened, and still con tinued to freshen on the morning of the 25th, when all further efforts to save her were found unavailing. The water was running in and out of her ports, and swashing up her hatch ways. About nine o'clock, it became necessa ry to abandon her, the water then being up to the lowQr deck ; an hour later, she rolled as if losing her balance, and, settling forAvard, went down bows first, her stern and mizzen-mast be ing last seen. " A little after ten," says Jones in his report, " I saw, with inexpressible grief, the last glimpse of the Bon Homme Rich ard." The grief was a natural one, but far from being destitute of consolation ; the clos ing scene of the Poor Richard, like the death iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 201 of Nelson on. board the Victory, in the mo ment of winning a new title to the name, was indeed a glorious one. Her shattered shell afforded an honorable receptacle for the re mains of the Americans, who had fallen dur ing the action. The best commentary that we can offer on the battle between the Richard and the >S'e- rapis, is to be found in the faithful narrative in which we have embodied all the facts that have been related with regard to it, from whatever source they can be derived. It is strongly corroborative of the truth of the va rious statements, that they do not, in any re spect, differ materially from each other. In Sherburne's " Life of Paul Jones," we find a detailed statement of the relative force of the Richard and the Serapis, which, from its par ticularity, is doubtless correct. It, moreover, agrees with the relative rates of the two ves sels, as given by their respective commanders. The Richard is called by Captain Pearson a forty-gun ship, while the Serapis is stated by the pilot, who described her to Jones when she was first made, to have been a forty-four. 203 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. Jones and Dale also give her the saine rate. The Richard, as we have seen, mounted six eighteen-pounders in her gun-room, on her berth-deck, where port-holes had been opened near the Avater ; fourteen twelve and fourteen nine-pounders on her main deck, and eight six-pounders on the quarter-deck, gangways, and forecastle. The weight of shot thrown by her, at a single broadside, would thus be two hundred and twenty-five pounds. With regard to her crew, she started from L'Orient with three hundred and eighty men. She had manned several prizes, which, with the deser tion of the barge's crew on the coast of Ire land, and the absence of those who went in pursuit under the master, and never returned, together with the fifteen men sent away in the pilot boat, under the second lieutenant, just before the action, and who did not return until after it was over, reduced the crew, ac cording to Jones's statement, to three hundred and forty men at its commencement. This calculation seems a very fair one ; for, by tak ing the statement of those who had landed on the coast of Ireland, as given in a contempo- iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 203 rary English paper, at twenty-four, those who were absent in the pilot boat, being sixteen in number, and allowing five of the nine prizes taken by the Richard, to have been manned from her, with average crews of five men each, the total reduction from her original crew may be computed to be seventy men. Eight or ten more escaped, during the action, in a boat towing astern of the Serapis. To have had three hundred and forty men at the commencement of the action, as Jones states he had, he must have obtained recruits from the crews of his prizes. In the muster-roll of the Richard's crew in the battle, as given by Mr. Sherburne, from an official source, we find only two hundred and twenty-seven names. This can hardly have been complete ; still the document is interest ing, inasmuch as it enumerates the killed and wounded by name, there being forty-two killed and forty wounded. It also states the coun try of most of the crew ; by which it appears that there were seventy-one Americans, fifty- seven acknowledged Englishmen, twenty-one Portuguese, and the rest of the motley collec- 204 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. tion was made up of Swedes, Norwegians, Irish, and East-Indians. Many of those not named in this imperfect muster-roll, were prob ably Americans. With regard to the Serapis, her battery consisted of twenty eighteens on the lower gun-deck, twenty nines on the upper gun- deck, and ten sixes on the quarter-deck and forecastle. She had two complete batteries, and her construction was, in all respects, that of a line-of-battle ship. The Aveight of shot thrown by her single broadside was three hundred pounds, being seventy-five pounds more than that of the Richard. Her crew consisted of three hundred and twenty; all Englishmen, except fifteen Lascars, and, as such, superior to the motley and partially dis affected assemblage of the Richard. The su periority of the Serapis, in size and weight, as well as efficiency of battery, was, moreover, greatly increased by the strength of her con struction. She was a new ship, built express ly for a man-of-war, and equipped in the most complete manner by the first of naval powers. The Richard was originally a merchantman, T./32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 205 worn out by long use and rotten from age. She was fitted, in a make-ghift manner, with whatever refuse guns and materials could be hastily procured, at a small expense, from the limited means appropriated to her armament. The overwhelming superiority thus possess ed by the Serapis, was evident in the action. Two of the three lower-deck guns of the Richard burst at the first fire, scattering death on every side, whilst the guns of the Serapis remained serviceable during the whole action, and their effect on the decayed sides of the Richard was literally to tear her to pieces. On the contrary, the few light guns which continued to be used in the Richard, under the immediate direction of her commander, produced little impression on the hull of the Serapis. They were usefully directed to de stroy her masts and clear her upper deck, which, with the aid of the destructive and well-sustained fire from the tops, was eventu ally effected. The achievement of the victory was, however, wholly and solely due to the immovable courage of Paul Jones. The Rich ard AVas beaten more than once ; but the spirit of Jones could not be overcome. Captain 206 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. Pearson was a brave man, and well deserved the honor of knighthood, which awaited him on his arrival in England; but Paul Jones had a nature which never could have yielded. Had Pearson been equally indomitable, the Richard, if not boarded from below, Avould, at last, have gone down with her colors still flying in proud defiance. The wounded of the Serapis appear, by the Surgeon's report, accompanying Captain Pear son's letter to the Admiralty, to have amount ed to seventy-five men, eight of Avhom died of their wounds. Of the wounded, thirty- three are stated to have been " miserably scorched," doubtless by the explosion of the cartridges on the main deck. Captain Pear son states, that there were many more, both killed and wounded, than appeared on the list, but that he had been unable to ascertain their names ; the list of killed on board the Serapis does not appear in the account published by Mr. Sherburne. Jones states the number of wounded on board the Serapis as more than a hundred, and that the killed were probably as numerous. The surviving prisoners, tak en from the Serapis and the Countess of Scar- iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 207 borough, amounted to three hundred and fif ty ; the whole number of prisoners, including those previously taken from captured merchant vessels, amounted to near five, hundred. Duriog the engagement between the Rich ard and the Serapis, the Pallas, commanded by Captain Cottineau, seems to have done her duty. She engaged the Countess of Scarbor ough, and captured her after an hour's close action. The Pallas was a frigate of thirty- two guns, and the Countess of Scarborough a single-decked ship, mounting twenty six- pounders. The Alliance, in the course of the night, also fired into the Pallas and the Count ess of Scarborough, while engaged, and killed several of the P alias's men. Subsequently to the engagement, it was attested by the mass of officers in the squadron, that about eight o'clock- the Alliance raked the Bon Homme Richard with grape and cross-bar, killing a number of men, and dismounting several guns. He afterwards made sail for where the Pallas and the Scarborough were engaged, and, after hovering about until the latter struck, communicated by hailing with both vessels, and then stood back to the Rich- 208 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. ard, and, coming up on her larboard quar ter, about half past nine, fired again into her ; passing along her larboard beam, he then luffed up on her lee bow, and renewed his raking fire. It was proved, that the Alli ance never passed on the larboard side of the Serapis, but always kept the Richard be tween her and the enemy. The officers of the Richard were of opinion that Landais's object was to kill Jones and disable his ship, so as afterwards to have himself an easy victo ry over the Serapis. As it was, he subse quently claimed the credit of the victory, on the plea of having raked the Serapis. There can be little doubt that he was actuated by jealous and treacherous feelings towards Jones, and by base timidity.* The Vengeance also behaved badly ; neither she nor the Alliance made any prizes from among the fleet of mer chantmen, and the whole escaped under cover of Flamborough head, and the adjacent har bours. Lieutenant Henry Lunt, Avho was ab- * Several of these circumstances have a strange simi larity to what has occurred in our own times, in the bat tle on Lake Erie, of which the writer proposes to treat at large, in a life of Commodore Perry. iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 209 sent in the pilot boat with fifteen of the Rich ard's best men, lay in sight of the Richard, during the action, but " thought it not prudent to go along side in time of action." His con duct at least involved a great error of judg ment, which no doubt he lived to repent. The conduct of Jones throughout this bat tle displayed great skill and the noblest hero ism. He carried his ship into action in the most gallant style, and, while he commanded with ability, excited his followers by his per sonal example. We find him, in the course of the action, himself assisting to lash the ships together, aiding in the service of the on ly 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 as sailants. No difficulties or perplexities seemed to appall him or disturb his judgment, and his courage and skill were equalled by his im movable self-composure. The achievement of this victory was solely due to his brilliant display of all the qualities essential to the for mation of a great naval commander. VOL. I. 14 210 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. CHAPTER IX. Damages of the Serapis repaired. — The Squadron steers for Dun kirk. — Jones's Colleagues run for the Texel. — The Serapis fol lows. — Arrival in the Texel. — The English Squadron appears off the Port. — The Squadron refits. — Jones visits Amsterdam. — His enthusiastic Reception. — Shows Himself on the Ex change. — His Appearance. — Sympathy of the Dutch for Amer ica. — The British Minister demands a Surrender of Jones and ¦his Prizes. — Not complied with. — The Squadron allowed to refit. — Jones takes Possession of a Fort on the Texel, as a ¦Hospital for the Wounded. — Agreement for an Exchange of Prisoners. — Franklin's Opinion of the Victory. — Arrest of Landais. — Charges against him. — Fights Captain Cottineau. — ¦Challenges Jones. — Escapes to Paris. — Jones's Perplexities. — The Squadron ordered to depart. — The Prizes and French Ships hoist French Colors. — Jones removes to the Alliance^ — Renewed Orders to depart. — Prisoners reembarked. — Part of them delivered to France. When Jones took command of the Serapis, he hastened to erect a jury main-mast and re pair her damages. Having beheld the melan choly spectacle of the sinking of the Poor Richard, he shaped his course for Dunkirk, which port he was desirous of making, as the most favorable point for exchanging his pris oners, on account of its proximity to England. The squadron encountered contrary winds for ten days subsequent to the action. At length. iET.32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 211 Jones's " colleagues," as he styles the captains under his command, insisted upon proceeding to the Texel, instead of beating up for Dun kirk, and actually bore away and left him to windward, which obhged him to follow. Jones ascribes this and all the other insub ordination, of which he was the victim, to the unfortunate " concordat," which M. Chau- ' mont had induced him to sign in common with the other captains, and which substituted a species of joint agency for the principle of unquestioning obedience. The inferior com manders were, moreover, as Jones alleges, made acquainted, by M. Chaumont, with the destination, object, and proposed duration of the cruise. From this they learned that Jones had been ordered to terminate his cruise in the Texel, and were indisposed to allow him the exercise of his discretion in seeking first another port, for reasons which seemed good to him, but were not foreseen by Franklin, when the orders were given. Submitting to this affront with the best grace that he was able, which Avas not a very good one, Jones bore away in pursuit of his 212 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. disorderly followers, and anchored 09 the 3d of October, in the Texel. As he entered the roads, an English squadron, consisting of a sixty-four and three frigates, which had ar rived off Flamborough Head the day after he left it, and which had been ever since in pur suit of him, hove in sight. The Dutch com mander in the roads objected to the entry of the squadron ; but Jones insisted on running into the harbour and anchoring, pleading the necessities of his situation, as an excuse for taking the hospitality which was not volunta rily tendered to him. The British ships re mained in the offing, blockading the port. Having made arrangements for the immedi ate refittal of the Serapis, which required new spars and rigging nearly throughout, and for preparing the Countess of Scarborough to pro ceed to Dunkirk with the prisoners, if it should become necessary, Jones went to Amsterdam to take part in the negotiation likely to grow out of his entry into the port of a country in alliance with England, and to meet the remon strances which the British Minister was sure to make against his claims to a hospitable reception. iET.32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 213 The fame of his achievement, which had preceded him, and which spread far and wide throughout the civilized world, wherever he roism had admirers and England enemies, se cured him a brilliant welcome to the commer cial capital of Holland. The dismay and rage felt in England at finding her coasts again in vaded by the ships of her former colonies, in defiance of her invincible fleets, and at the capture of one of her finest ships by an ene my of greatly inferior force, after an action unsurpassed for its sanguinary and desperate character, was only equalled by the exultation and sympathy everywhere felt among those who had so long quailed before British mari time power, and the despotic spirit with which it was exercised. If then the press of Eng land gave way to unmeasured vituperation of the " pirate " who had defied her power, hum bled her pride, and broken the charm of her invincibility on the ocean, that of Europe generally was as unmeasured in the eulogy, with which it welcomed the triumphant chief tain. On the 7th of October, Jones arrived at 214 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. Amsterdam, and with characteristic and par donable vanity, made his appearance at the Exchange. In a contemporary letter, published in a London newspaper of the day, he is de scribed as being of middling stature, with a stern countenance, and swarthy, weather-worn complexion. He wore the continental uni form, picturesquely set off by a Scotch bonnet edged with gold, to give him more the air of a hero of romance. His reception was most enthusiastic ; business is represented to have given way to lively interest and curiosity, and the crowd pressed round him with cheers and compliments, until he Avas compelled to with draw to a room, fronting the public square, whence the anxiety of the multitude could be gratified by a sight of his person. On the following day, the Commodore made a flying visit to the Hague, from which he re turned the day after. Nor does it appear that he again visited the Court, though pressingly invited to do so by many distinguished per sons, who Avere desirous of hospitably enter taining him, and offering him the homage of their admiration. " Duty," he replied to the .^T.32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 215 correspondent who had forwarded to him some invitations, " must take the precedence of pleasure. I must wait a more favorable op portunity to kiss the hands of the fair." The enthusiasm awakened by the heroism of Jones was not merely gratifying to his own vanity. It rendered essential service to the country of his adoption, and the cause in which he was so heartily engaged. Holland was bound by treaties with England, some what compulsory perhaps, on her part, to make common cause with her against every enemy. The memory of her former naval, and her still existing commercial rivalry, must have made her hail with pleasure the discomfiture of her powerful ally. Naval stores and muni tions of Avar, for the assistance of the United States, in their struggle for independence, had already been covertly shipped from Holland. She was already meditating an accession to the armed neutrality, against the blockades and naval assumptions of England, then maturing under the influence of Russia, and to which Holland became a party in the course of the following year. The citizens of Holland were 316 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. openly, and her government secretly, desirous of our success ; from enmity to England, no less than from enthusiasm in favor of the gen erous cause in which we fought. A treaty had already been secretly negotiat ed between Mr. Laurens and the Grand Pen sionary of Amsterdam, the knowledge of which reached the British cabinet by the capture of Mr. Lam'ens. Among papers thrown over board by him, previous to his capture, but re covered from the water, was a copy of the treaty. This awakened the attention of the British government to what was passing in Holland. Its able minister at the Hague, Sir Joseph Yorke, was instructed to watch the movements of the court narrowly, and exact the rigorous fulfilment of its treaties. With this view, he addressed the government on the 9th of October, communicating the fact, that two of the King's ships, the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough had arrived in the Texel a few days before, " having been attacked and taken by force, by a certain Paul Jones, a subject of the King, who, according to treaties and the laws of war, can only be iET.32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 217 considered as a rebel and a pirate." Sir Jo seph Yorke accordingly demanded that imme diate orders should be given for the arrest of the ships, with their officers and crews. He also solicited that the wounded Englishmen might be landed, to be cured at the expense of England. ? The government of Holland was of course greatly embarrassed by this demand, and by the conflict which it occasioned between their treaty obligations to England, and their strong sympathies in the success of our cause. Frank lin is said to have had a double object in or dering Jones to terminate his cruise at the Texel : in the first place, to get out the In dien, the command of which he still hoped to secure for Jones ; and, in the second, to in volve Holland in a difficulty with Ejggland, growing out of the hospitality to be afforded to our flag, and thus to increase the chances of an open declaration in our favor. The result showed his characteristic sagacity. When war was eventually declared by England against Holland, the chief complaint against Holland, set forth in the manifesto, was the hospitality 218 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. which she had extended to the American squadron and its prizes ; suffering " an Amer ican pirate to remain, several weeks, in one of her ports, and even permitting part of his crew to mount guard in a fort on the Texel." It was not until the 25th, that the Dutch gov ernment replied to Sir Joseph, informing him that Holland had, for a century, strictly ab stained from deciding as to the legality of the captures of vessels brought into her ports. She simply opened her ports to give shelter to captors and their prizes, from storms or disas ters, and obliged them to put to sea without unlading. The government declined passing any judgment either upon Paul Jones or the legality of his captures. It had, however, al ready evinced its willingness to discharge the offices of humanity, by the orders it had given with regard to the wounded prisoners. The States-General had previously deliberated on the subject, and, after consultation with the courts of Admiralty, decided to suffer the ships to make such repairs as were actually necessary for their putting to sea ; also to land the wounded for their recovery. They de- iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 219 clined all responsibility for the escape of the prisoners, the care of whom was thus relin quished to the captors, instead of their being placed in the hands of Sir Joseph Yorke, in conformity with his demand. By virtue of an order from the Prince of Orange, the Commodore now removed his wounded to a fort on the Texel. He had authority to place sentinels to guard his prison ers, and to raise the drawbridge over the ditch, at his pleasure, for their greater security. He completed his arrangements for their safe keep ing, by appointing Lieutenant-Colonel Wei- bert to the command of the hospital, and of the troops stationed for the care of the prison ers. About the same time, he secured him self still further against the chances of deser tion among his prisoners, aild set wholly at rest the question of his property in them, hith erto contested by Sir Joseph Yorke, by enter ing into an agreement with Captain Pearson, for the exchange of all his prisoners, amount ing to five hundred and four, for an equal number of Americans ; and it was agreed be tween the contracting parties, that all the pris- 220 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. oners landed in the fort should be considered as such until their regular exchange ; so that in the event of any of them deserting, an equal number of Americans should be released in England, and sent to France by the first cartel. Of all the sympathy and admiration which Jones's achievement excited far and Avide, and among all the congratulatory epistles which it called forth, the dearest to his heart, as well as the most honorable to his reputation, was that of Franklin. The sage wrote to him as folloA^^s ; " For some days after the arrival of your express, scarce any thing was talked of at Paris and Versailles, but your cool conduct, and persevering bravery during that terrible conflict. You may believe that the impres sion on my mind was not less strong than that of others ; but I do not choose to say in a letter to yourself all I think on such an oc casion." He subsequently adds ; "I am uneasy about your prisoners ; I wish they were safe in France. You will then have completed the glorious work of giving liberty to all the iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JQNES. 221 Americans that have so long languished for it, in the British prisons ; for there are not so many there, as you have now taken." This passage must have been peculiarly gratifying to Jones. From the outset of his cruise in the Ranger, it had been a favorite object with him to procure the release of all the American prisoners in England, by capturing Englishmen. It was this, which suggested the project of seizing the person of Lord Sel kirk ; and which was the source of the great est gratification to him, in the capture of the Drake. By his last cruise, he had, at length, prepared the completion of the humane task which he had assigned to himself, and Frank lin's letter gave him the gratifying assurance that " the glorious work " was about to be accomplished. Many of his letters of this period evinced a lively interest in the fate of a Captain Cun ningham, whom he supposed to be a conti nental officer, but who was probably the cap tain of a privateer, at that time a prisoner in England. Jones was desirous of exchanging Captain Pearson for him, and this he had the 232 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. satisfaction eventually to effect. Some com plaint had been made by Captain Pearson to Jones, of a want of attention to the comforts of his men, and of courtesy to himself In the course of his reply, Jones, after having vindicated himself from the charges, goes on to say ; "I knoAv not what difference of re spect is due to rank, between your service and ours ; I suppose, however, the difference must be very great in England, since I am informed that Captain Cunningham, who bears a senior rank, in the service of America, to yours in the service of England, is now confined at Plym outh, in a dungeon and in fetters." The in terest taken by Jones in the fate of Captain Cunningham, and of the American prisoners in England generally, the whole of whom it was his proud work to have been the means of releasing, is conclusive as to the eminent ly humane feelings by which he was charac terized. His bravery was both equalled and adorned by his sympathetic humanity for the sufferings of his fellow-men. With regard to Captain Pearson, so far from having any just motive of complaint against iET.32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 233 the Commodore for failing in courtesy to him, he was himself grossly rude to Jones through out the whole of his intercourse with him, and invariably repelled all his efforts to soothe his irritation, and treat him with civility. Cap tain Pearson had a large quantity of plate on board the Serapis, of which Jones, having lost all his own in the Richard, necessarily made use until he could replace his furniture. Pearson had been allowed to go on parole to the Holder with his officers. Jones now had all the plate, arms, and effects of every descrip tion, belonging to Captain Pearson, packed and sent to him by a lieutenant, with his po lite compliments. Pearson rudely replied that he could receive nothing from the hands of a rebel. He intimated, however, that if his plate were offered to him by 'Captain Cotti neau, who was an officer of the French King, it would be received. Jones magnanimously overlooked this intolerable insolence and ca price, and sent the plate in the form which had been pointed out. It was received with out one word of thanks or compliments to the generous victor. 224 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779^ In reply to the complaint which Paul Jones had made, in his official report, of the conduct of Landais, during the cruise generally, and especially during the engagement with the Serapis, Franklin testified his strongest dis pleasure, as well as that of the French court, at the behaviour of this miserajile man. He directed that he should be sent to Paris, in reality to get him out of the way, but ostensi bly with the view of furnishing him an op portunity of offering what he had to say in his justification, as it was not then convenient to order a court for his trial. Jones was in structed, at the same time, to furnish a list of the charges alleged against him, together with the evidence in support of them, that Frank lin might be able to give a just account of his conduct to Congress. In the event of his fail ing to obey Franklin's order to repair to Paris, Jo^nes was directed to arrest him. In the mean time, Landais, instead of being overwhelmed with shame at his own baseness, put himself forward as the hero of the engage ment with the Serapis, and insisted that his raking fire had caused her to surrender, though .St. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 225 ample evidence existed, that it could only have reached her through the sides of the Richard. He, moreover, affected a perfect in dependence of Jones, and made requisitions for supplies, Avithout consulting him. After figuring as a hero, at Amsterdam, he made his appearance at the Hague, with the same ob ject of self-glorification, when he was arrested in mid-career, by Franklin's summons to Par is. The charges against him, required by Franklin, were presently forwarded. They were not drawn up in the name of Jones, but began as follows ; " We, the officers of the American squadron, now at the Texel, this thirtieth day of October, 1779, do attest and declare upon our words of honor, as gentle men, that all the following articles, which we subscribe, respecting the conduct of Peter Lan dais, Captain of the Frigate Alliance, are real ly and truly matters of fact. In witness whereof we hereunto sign our names and qualities ; and will, at any time hereafter, be ready to prove the same upon oath if re quired." The charges stated, among other things, that VOL. I. 15 226 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. Landais had behaved with disrespect and im pertinence to the commander-in-chief of the squadron, on many occasions ; that he had dis obeyed the signals ; that he very seldom an swered them ; that he purposely separated from the squadron on two occasions ; that when the Bon Homme Richard came in sight of the Alliance and Pallas, off Flamborough Head, Landais told Captain Cottineau, that if the sail proved a fifty-gun ship, they must run away, though he must have been sure that the Pallas, from her dull sailing, would be captured ; that, though a long way ahead, when running down for the Baltic fleet, Lan dais lay out of gun-shot to windward, and al lowed the Richard to pass into action ; that, an hour after the action between the Richard and the Serapis had commenced, the Alliance raked the Richard Avith cross-bar and grape shot, and killed a number of her men; that, after an absence of two hours, she returned again, and fired a whole broadside into the Richard's quarter, being then not more than three points abaft the Richard's beam ; and .that, soon after, the Alliance crossed the iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 227 Richard's bow and repeated a third time her fire upon the Richard ) that the Alliance nev er passed on the off-side of the Serapis, and that the Serapis could not bring a single gun to bear on the Alliance during the engage ment ; and that Captain Landais had acknowl edged, since the battle, that he would have thought it no harm if the Richard had struck, for it would have given him an opportunity to retake her, and to take the Serapis. This fearful amount of testimony, and more to the same effect, was subscribed by no few er than nineteen officers of the different ships, each testifying to the truth of the particular facts which had fallen under his observation, and many of them accompanied their affida vits with detailed statements of what they had individually seen. The first lieutenant, master, and master's mate of the Alliance tes tified to the conclusive fact, that the Alliance had never been on any other side of the Se rapis than that on which the Richard lay, or once in a situation to be fired on by the Serapis ; and also, that the crew of the Alliance repeatedly told Captain Landais that 238 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. he was firing on the wrong ship ; and some of them refused to fire. Several of the offi cers expressed the firm conviction that Lan dais's object must have been to kill Jones, and distress the Richard, so as to compel her to strike, and afterwards recapture her and take the Serapis ; others attributed his conduct either to the same motive or to cowardice. Mr. Mease sums up his evidence by saying, " The behaviour of our consorts upon this day was very mysterious ; but that of Captain Landais was of such a cast, as, in my opinion, must unavoidably announce him to the public as a man devoid of conduct, a man of infa mous principles, or a rank coward." Before Landais disappeared from the scene, he con trived to vary his eccentricities, and vindicate his claim to one sort of courage, by a duel with Captain Cottineau. They had disagreed on the cruise, and Landais doubtless found cause of offence in Cottineau's testimony against him. Landais was the challenger. They met on the Holder island, with small swords. Landais was a thorough master of his weapon, and succeeded in badly wounding iEx. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 229 his far worthier antagonist. Being in the mood, he now sent a similar invitation to the Commodore, who replied by sending officers to arrest him. Upon this Landais made his escape, and proceeded to Paris in fulfilment of Dr. Franklin's order. Having thus, for the present, got rid of the traitorous coadjutor who had so long harassed him, and so sensibly impeded his services in the cause of his country, the situation of Jones was still surrounded with annoyance and difficulty. The combined French and Spanish fleets had now returned to Brest, and the British cruisers were at liberty to blockade Jones in the Texel, and beset his track in every direction, even if he should succeed in eluding the blockade. The Dutch govern ment was unceasing in its demands upon him to hasten to sea, and the Prince of Orange, who was under the influence of the British minister, and who did not share the sympathy of the Dutch people on behalf of Jones, con tinued toharass him with constant injunc tions to depart. Finding that the officer, who commanded the Dutch ships in the Texel 230 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. roads, was disposed to be too indulgent, the Prince of Orange superseded him, and appoint ed Vice-Admiral Reynst to take his place, and use every exertion in driving the Americans to sea ; thirteen men-of-war, anchored in the Texel, were placed under his orders for this purpose. To increase the obstacles in the way of the equipment of the ships, the weather proved very bad, and repeated gales of wind prevented them from communicating with the shore. On the 4th of November, Jones wrote to the Due de Vauguyon, French minister at the Hague, who, being the agent of the French King, as owner of all the ships except the Al liance, took an interest in, and exercised, in connexion with Franklin, a control over, all his proceedings, that he had been waiting a fort night for the water which was to have been sent to him from Amsterdam in tanks, and that at the end of that time he was informed, that it could only be procured by his sending up his own casks ; the provisions, too, that had been ordered on the 9th of October, had not yet arrived, the spars sent from Amsterdam JEt. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 231 had been spoiled in the making, and none of the iron work for the Serapis had been yet corhpleted, so that he was how without hinges to hang the lower-deck ports. The bread which was sent twice a week from Am sterdam, he said, was of so bad a quality that his men were absolutely falling ill from the use of it. Most of his officers and men had lost their clothes and bedding in the Bon Homme Richard, and these articles had not yet been replaced. In. addition to so many motives for discontent among the men, he was unable to assure them that their property in the prizesj would be made good, should they be lost or captured in proceeding to France before their sale. He begged the minister to authorize him to assure the men, that, at all hazards, they should not lose their prize mon ey, and that they should soon receive a supply of clothes and bedding, or money to purchase them, in which case he hoped to be able to restore them to good humor. In the mean time. Sir Joseph Yorke, having failed in his efforts to induce the Dutch gov ernment to detain the Serapis and Countess 232 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. of Scarborough, together with their creAvs, as illegal captures, for want of being made by vessels having proper commissions granted by a sovereign power ; and having equally failed in his attempt to get possession of the person of the pirate Paul Jones, which last purpose he is said to have attempted to effect, after failing with the government, by instigating the magistrates of Amsterdam and even pri vate individuals to lay hands on him; en deavoured by every means, to force the Amer ican squadron at once to sea, that it might fall into the hands of the blockaders. By his unremitting exertions, aided by the influence of the court, he procured a resolution to be passed by the States-General, on the 19th of November, in which they disavowed any in tention of recognising the independence of the American Colonies, thereby disavowing the treaty which had been signed by the author ities of the city of Amsterdam ; whilst they still refused to pass upon the legality of the captures of the ships brought into their port by the American squadron, they insisted that they had proved their unwillingness to render .aET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 233 aid to the captors, by ordering that they should be furnished with no munitions of ,war, nor other articles, except such as were indispensa ble to their putting to sea ; they expressed their readiness even to compel them to sail, so soon as they could keep the sea, and the wind should permit, and, in consequence, di rected the Admiralty college of Amsterdam to advise the American commander, that, as the approaching season of winter would make his departure inconvenient, it was necessary that he should seize the first opportunity of sailing. They stated that such was their se rious intention, and required the Prince of Orange to order the officer, commanding in the Texel, to permit no delay, and even to use force, if necessary, to compel the departure of the squadron. The French government, having knowl edge of the turn that the affair was likely to take, had prepared, in the mean time, to save the King's property from almost certain cap ture, by covering it Avith its own recognised flag, to which Holland could not refuse a more prolonged hospitality. In order to be 234 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. beforehand with this measure when it was seen to be unavoidable, the French Minister of Marine had addressed a letter to Dr. Franklin, informing him that "circumstances require that the expedition of the squadron, under the orders of Mr. Jones, should termi nate in the Texel. It seems indispensable to give a new destination to the different ships which compose it. You are at liberty. Sir, to dispose of the American frigate, the Alliance, according to the views you may entertain in relation to the service of the United States. I pray you only to observe to Mr. Jones, or any other officer to whom you may intrust the command, that he must not have any subject of the King on board that frigate." The French Ambassador at the Hague re ceived instructions with regard to this meas ure on the 13th of November, and immedi ately sent orders to Jones through Mr. Dumas, the American agent, to suspend the sailing of the squadron, but to lose no time in com pleting the preparations for departure. It does not appear from this message that Jones was immediately made aware of the sudden JEt. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 235 reduction of his command, which had been determined on, and of his contemplated re moval from the noble ship which his courage had won. He could not, howeveT; have been long kept in ignorance of it, as Franklin's or der, dated the 15th, to. deliver up to the Am bassador, all the ships belonging to the French King, together with his prizes and the prison ers taken in them, must soon have arrived. In obedience to this order, Jones assumed the command of the Alliance, whilst that of the Serapis was conferred on Captain Cottineau of the Pallas. The exchange was effected silently, in the dead of night. Jones parted with the Serapis with infinite reluctance. He considered her the finest ship of her class that he had ever seen ; she was, moreover, a proud trophy of his valor, and as such he felt that he was abandoning what was eminently his own. The change to the Alliance, too, in the state in which she then was, he represents as "most disagreeable and mortifying." She was, in point of model and construction, an admirable ship, being of perfect beauty, and unsurpassed 236 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. for her sailing qualities. But the madness and imbecility of Landais, had reduced her to a miserable condition. Whilst Jones's exertions had resulted in the complete equipment of the Serapis, he found the Alliance in a wretched state of disorganization. Her sails and cables had been destroyed by negligence ; the officers and men were lazy, intemperate, and insubor dinate, and epidemical diseases, brought on by want of cleanliness and order, prevailed among the crew ; her battery and small arms were out of order, and the powder had be come damaged by leakage or want of turning. From the stores and armament of the Serapis, Jones was, however, able to supply the princi pal deficiencies, and was soon in a condition to put to sea. While these preparations were going on, our hero was not even allowed the seaman's comfort of a growl at the hardship of his case, and the little ceremony with which he had been treated. It was. probably the policy of the French court to prolong the stay of the squadron as much as possible under the Amer ican flag, which the ships must . have contin- iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 237 ued for some time to wear ; for we find the Dutch Admiral still unremitting in his urgent demands for the sailing of the squadron, ac companied by threats of appealing to force to compel it. On one occasion he sent his flag- captain to the ships of the squadron, to read aloud a proclamation for them to depart, and in a few days after, with a still more urgent message. Jones now announced his readiness to depart, whenever he should have a leading breeze. On this last occasion, when the flag- ca,ptain visited the Serapis, to go through the formula of his warning to depart, he was in formed that she was no longer under the com mand of Paul Jones ; but that Captain de Cot tineau de Kloguene had taken possession of her in the name of the King of France. The French flag was also displayed on board of the prizes, and of all the ships of the squadron except the Alliance, which alone continued to wear the American flag. The Dutch Admiral being somewhat astounded at this unexpected intelligence, appealed to the Prince of Orange for fresh instructions, and was directed by him not to proceed any farther with regard to 238 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. those of the vessels whose commanders exhib ited French commissions, but to carry out his previous instructions, so far as the Alli ance was concerned. He, at the same time, charged him not to allow any of the prisoners still in the fort to be carried on board the Al liance. Notwithstanding this order, Jones persisted in embarking all his surviving wounded pris oners from the fort, and withdrew his garri son. His motive for doing so, notwithstand ing the instructions of Franklin, consequent upon an agreement between him and the French Minister, was the convention that he had entered into with Captain Pearson, for the exchange of these particular prisoners. He had effected the exchange of Captain Pearson for Captain Cunningham, whom he now had the pleasure to receive on board his ship, and had still one hundred prisoners, whom he was determined to keep to be exchanged for the Americans, whom Captain Pearson had stipulated to have liberated. The rest of his prisoners, confined on board the prizes, he, with great regret, relinquished to the French iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 239 Ambassador ; for his (humane desire to be the means of liberating Americans made him val ue his prisoners more even than his prizes. The result was, that the prisoners delivered to the French Ambassador were exchanged at the Texel for Frenchmen, France agreeing to return an equal number of Englishmen, at a more convenient point, to be exchanged for Americans. The British government did not sanction the convention entered into between Jones and Pearson, for an exchange of prisoners; because they hoped to recapture them on the passage of the squadron to France. Out of this danger of recapture grew the expediency of transferring the prisoners to France. Jones does not seem, by his correspondence, to have been entirely aware of the object of the trans fer, or he would scarcely have insisted upon carrying away so many as a hundred prisoners, including the wounded who had been landed, notwithstanding the agreement made between the French government and Dr. Franklin, and the express orders of the latter. He seems, on this and other occasions, to have disliked 340 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. his instructions, and to have obeyed them un- Aivillingly, from a want of clearly appreciating the motives for which they were given. His self-will was, however, fortunate on this occa sion, as France never completely fulfilled her engagement to return an equal number of prisoners. JEt. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 241 CHAPTER X. Dissatisfaction of Paul Jones. — Contemplates returning to Amer ica. — Is offered a French Privateer's Commission. — Rejects it with Disdain. — Is ready for Sea. — Refuses to hoist French Colors. — Receives a soothing Letter from the French Ambas sador. — His Anger appeased. — The Alliance sails. — Finds the Coast clear of Blockaders. — Passes the Downs and Straits of Dover. — New Year's Day. — Verses to a Lady. — The Alliance sails badly. — Singular Arrangement of Ballast. — Goes into Corunna. — Mutinous Disposition of the Crew. — Makes a short Cruise. — Enters L'Orient. — Jones's Health impaired. On the 1st of December, the Alliance was ready for sea, whenever the wind should be come favorable. It continued, however, ahead, with heavy gales, until nearly the close of the month, and Jones, deprived of his squadron, his prizes, and most of his prisoners, lying un der the guns of the Dutch fleet, drawn up in battle array to drive him out of the port, whilst twelve sail' of British cruisers lay in the offing ready to capture him, was in a fit mood to dwell on whatever was painful in the history of his life, and to siim up" all the disappointments and mortifications of which his ardent spirit had been the victim. Dis gusted with the court of France, wearied with VOL. I. 16 343 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. the way in which it had so long deluded him with the prospect of a formidable com mand, after it had formally invited him to give up the Ranger, and seeing in its recent withdrawal of his squadron and prizes, less a motive of state policy than a studied injury to himself, he began to look with satisfaction to the prospect of returning to the United States. In a letter, of the 5th of December, to Robert Morris, he says, " I am persuaded you will observe with pleasure, that my con nexion with a court is at an end, and that my prospect of returning to America ap proaches. The great seem to wish only to be concerned with tools, who dare not speak or write truth. I am not sorry that my connex ion with them i& at an end. In the course of that connexion, I ran ten chances of ruin and dishonor, for one of reputation; and all the honors or profit, that France could bestow, should not tempt me again to undertake the same service with an armament equally ill- composed, and with powers equally limited." With this letter he forwarded a memorial to Congress, termed by him a "refreshing me- iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 343 morial," recapitulating the nature of his ser vices in the cause of Independence, and com plaining of the imperfect manner in which those services had been requited. He dwelt particularly, and with reason, upon the injus tice which had been done to him by the line of rank established on the 10th of October, 1776. The detention of the Alliance in the Tex el not only afforded Jones time to brood over his disgusts, and aggravate them by his mor bid sensibility to neglect, whether real or imaginary, but also exposed him to an affront, which he felt more deeply and resented more indignantly, than any that he had yet received. This was the offer from M. de Sartine, through the Duke de la Vauguyon, of a French com mission to command the Alliance, as a letter- of-marque. In disdainfully rejecting this in sulting proposition, Jones expressed himself in such unmeasured language as, doubtless, greatly relieved him. The following passages are taken from his reply to the Duke; "Per haps there are many men in the world who would esteem as an honor the commission that I have this day refused. My rank, from 244 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. the beginning, kncAV no juperior in the marine of America ; how then must I be hmnBled were I to accept a letter-of -marque ! I should, my lord, esteem myself inexcusable, were I to accept even a commission of equal or superior denomination to that I bear, unless I were previously authorized by Congress, or some other competent authority in Europe." ". It is a matter of the highest astonishment to me, that, after so many compliments and fair professions, the court should offer the present insult to my understanding, and sup pose me "capable of "disgracing my present commission. I confess that I never merited all the praise bestowed on my past conduct, but I also feel that I have far less merited such a reward. Where profession and practice are so opposite, I am no longer weak enough to form a wrong conclusion. They may think as they please of me ; for where I cannot con tinue my esteem, praise or censure from any man is to me a matter of indifference. I am much obliged to them, however, for having, at leist, fairly opened my eyes, and enabled me to discover truth from falsehood. While I re- iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 245 mained eight months, seemingly forgot by the Court at Brest, many commissions, such as that in question, were offered to me ; and I believe when I am in pursuit of plunder, I can still obtain such an one without application to court." Jones immediately enclosed a copy of this letter to Franklin, to whom he always un bosomed himself in his troubles ; and wrote to him in the following strain, expressing himself in no very elegant terms of the time-serving, promise-making, and promise-breaking M. de Sartine : " I hope the within copy of my letter to the Duke de la Vauguyon will meet your approbation ; for I am persuaded that it never could be your intention or wish that I should be made the tool of any great rascal whatever ; or that the commission of America should be overlaid by the dirty piece of parch ment which I have this day rejected ! They have played upon my good humor too long already ; but the spell is at last dissolved. They would play me off Avith assurances of the 'personal and particular esteem of the King, to induce me to do what would render 246 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. me contemptible, even in the eyes of my own servants. Accustoined to speak untruths "th~ern- selves, they would also have me to give under my hand that I am a liar and a scoundrel. They are mistaken, and I would tell them what you did to your naughty servant ; ' We have too contemptible an opinion of each oth er's understanding to live together.' " In the same letter, Jones announced his determination to depart with the first wind, notwithstanding the presence of the British Squadron off the Texel. He expressed the hope that he had recovered the trim of the Alliance, which had been entirely lost by Landais, and that the length of the nights at that season, in those h^gh latitudes, would en able him to elude all pursuit ; at any rate, he promised that the Alliance should not be giv en away. She was well manned, having four hundred and twenty-seven souls on board, nearly all Americans, and he had every confi dence, not only that he should keep her, but that he should make some prizes and add to the number of his prisoners, before his arrival at L'Orient. At this time he constantly im- JEt. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 247 pressed on his officers and crew, that the Al liance was a match for any British ship, not mounting more than fifty guns. While still wind-bound, the Dutch Admiral sent Jones a message, on the 16th of Decem ber, requesting him to come on board of his ship; which he declined doing. On the fol lowing day the Admiral wrote to him, asking to be informed whether the Alliance was a French or an American vessel ; if the first, the Admiral expected him to show his com mission, and display the French ensign and pendant, announcing it by firing a gun ; if an American, that he should lose no occasion to depart. At the same time, the Chevalier de Lironcourt, the French Commissary of Marine at Amsterdam, urged Jones to satisfy all parties by hoisting French colors, and assured him that the commission that had been offered him was only intended for the exigency, and was not offered him with any idea of wounding him. Jones, however, stillTeiused to wear any other than the American flag, and sent word to the Admiral, that under that flag he should pro ceed to sea, Avhenever the pilot would under- 248 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. take to carry the ship out. At the same time he took occasion to express to the Admiral's flag-captain, his indignant sense of the daily threats and annoyances of every sort to which he had been subjected, and begged him to say to his chief, that though the ship which bore his flag was a sixty-four, if she and the Alli ance were at sea together, the Admiral's in sults and menaces would not be for a moment tolerated. From this time until the Alliance's departure, no further messages were received from the Admiral. Before the wind became fair, Jones received from the Duke de la Vauguyon, in answer to his abrupt epistle, the following mollifying communication, filled with abundance of cheap promises, which were never performed, but which had, at least, the effect to send him away in a somewhat better humor. " I per ceive with pain, my dear Commodore, that you do not view your situation in the right light. I can assure you that the ministers of the King have no intention to cause you the least disagreeable feelings, as the honorable testimonials of the esteem of his majesty. JEt. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 349 which I send you, ought to convince you. I hope you will not doubt the sincere desire with which you have inspired me to procure you every satisfaction you merit. It cannot fail to excite you to give new proofs of your zeal for the common cause of France and America. I flatter myself that I shall be able, before long, to provide you the means of increasing, still more, the glory you have already acquired. I am already exerting all the interest I promised you ; and if my views are realized, as I have every reason to hope, you will have reason to be perfectly content, but I must beseech you not to impede my efforts, by indulging in the expression of those strong sensations to which you appear to give way, and for which there is really no foundation. You appear to pos sess full confidence in the justice and kindness of the King ; rely upon the same sentiments on the part of his ministers." That Jones was softened by this communi cation is evident from the first sentence of his reply ; " I have not a heart of stone, but ain duly sensible of the obligations conferred on me by the very kind and affectionate letter 250 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1779. that you have done me the honor to write to me." He, however, did not retract his com plaints of the treatment which he had re ceived, but repeated them. He mentioned, moreover, that the Chevalier de Lironcourt had recently reproached him with the expense that France had been at to give him reputa tion in preference to twenty captains of the French navy, far better qualified, who had so licited the command which had been confer red upon him. The fact is indicative of the jealousy which Jones's position had awakened among the French officers, and accounts very satisfactorily for the insubordinate spirit of his " colleagues," while it shows how much bet ter would have been his chance for achieving fame, had he sought it in a single well-equip ped American ship. At length, on the morning of the 27th of December, Jones had the satisfaction of announcing himself at sea in the Alliance ; whence he wrote to Mr. Dumas, by the pilot; as follows ; " I am here, my dear Sir, with a good wind at east, and under my best Amer ican colors ; so far you have your wish. iET.32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 251 What may be the event of this critical move ment, I know not ; I am not, hoAvever, with out good hopes. Through the ignorance or drunkenness of the old pilot, the Alliance last night got foul of a Dutch merchant ship, and I believe the Dutchmen cut our cable. We lost the best bower anchor, and the ship was brought up with the sheet anchor, so near the shore, that this morning I have been obliged to cut the cable in order to get clear of the shore, and that I might not lose this opportunity of escaping from purgatory." Shortly before the departure of Jones, there had been eight British ships cruising off the southern entrance of the Texel, and four more off the northern. It appears from a despatch of Jones to Congress, that no fewer than forty sail, consisting of ships of the line and frig ates, had been stationed to intercept him. Two out of the number, he says, were wreck ed. The number is doubtless exaggerated ; though it is known from the English papers, that sixteen sail of men-of-war were already in pursuit of him, previous to his capture of the Serapis. In one of his interviews with 253 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1780. the Dutch Admiral, in which he had been urged to depart, Jones had told him, with something of the boasting which belonged to his character, that he was unable to fight more than three tirnes his force, though he was ready to depart whenever there was a possibil ity of getting clear. Fortunately for him, he was not called upon to encounter even the mod est allowance of enemies, for which he profess ed his willingness to compound. The gales which he experienced immediately before his departure, and which had even endangered the Alliance, at her moorings in the Texel roads, probably drove the blockaders to a dis tance. At any rate, he was able to dash out under his " best American colors," which the effort that had been made to compel him to substitute French colors for them, made him still prouder to display. The Alliance bore away along the coast, the moment she was clear of the mouth of the harbour ; and, keep ing as close in with the Flemish banks, which formed the Aveather shore, as safety would al low, she thus got to windward of the British fleet, stationed in the North sea for her inter- iET.32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 353 ception. Favored by the strong east wind, she the next day passed through the Straits of Do ver, with her colors set, running close to the Goodwin Sands, in full view of the^ fleet an chored in the Downs, only three or four miles to leeward. On the following day, being the 39th, she ran past the Isle of Wight, near enough to reconnoitre the fleet at Spithead, still showing her colors. On the 1st of Janu ary, 1780, she was fairly out of the channel, having passed in sight to windward of several British two-deckers, which were doubtless on the look out for her, but which she had the good fortune to evade. Having thus escaped from the " purgatory " of his tortures in the Texel, and the manifold dangers from capture which seemed to him so much less formidable, and finding himself once more on the open ocean of adventure, with a staggering breeze, in the beautiful Al liance, Jones was in a mood to welcome the new year with cheerful exultation, and the delusive hope that it would be freer from an noyance and perplexity than the last, though it could not be more glorious. His feelings 254 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1780. broke forth into poetry, a mode of expression in which, in his moments of leisure, when addressing the fair, he sometimes indulged. While in the Texel, the daughter of Mr. Du mas, partaking of the enthusiasm of her father and of society generally, had offered the hom age of her muse to the victorious chieftain. It had occasioned him much self-reproach that his unremitting occupations, in fitting out his ships and maintaining his stand against the pretensions of Sir Joseph Yorke, the threats of the Dutch Admiral, and the mortifications inflicted upon him by his French friends, had prevented him from responding in fit terms to the compliment of his gentle correspondent. Remembering that it was better for him to ac quit himself, at this late period, of his obliga tion as a man of gallantry, than to omit doing so altogether, he now perpetrated the follow ing verses, which, though not the best that are found among his papers, are far from being discreditable to a rude " sea king," as the lady seems, in her verses, to have styled him. They are dated off Ushant, on the 1st of Jan-, uary, 1780. iET.32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 256 " Were I, Paul Jones, dear maid, 'the king of sea,' I find such merit in thy virgin song, A coral crown with bays I 'd give to thee, A car which on the waves should smoothly glide along ; The Nereides all about thy side should wait. And gladly sing in triumph of thy state, ' Vivat ! vivat ! the happy virgin muse ! Of liberty the friend, who tyrant power pursues ! ' " Or, happier lot ! were fair Columbia free From British tyranny, and youth still mine, I 'd tell a tender tale to one like thee With artless looks and breast as pure as thine. If she approved my flame, distrust apart. Like faithful turtles, we 'd have but one heart; Together then, we 'd tune the silver lyre, As love or sacred freedom should our lays inspire. " But since, alas ! the rage of war prevails, And cruel Britons desolate our land. For freedom still I spread my willing sails, My unsheath'd sword my injured country shall command. Go on, bright maid ! the Muses all attend Genius like thine, and wish to be its friend. Trust me, although conveyed through this poor shift, My new year's thoughts are grateful for thy gift." Shaping his course to the southward, Jones cruised off Cape Finisterre, in the hope of making some prizes. He found, however, that there was little hope of this, on account of the defective sailing of the Alliance. He had been mistaken in supposing that he had recov- 256 LIFj; OF PAUL JONES. [1780. ered the trim of this ship, as this had been ef- fectually destroyed by an arrangement of the ballast which Landais had made at L'Ori ent, on his arrival from America, and which Jones had not probably before discovered. This arrangement corresponded with the. mad imbecility and ignorance which Landais be trayed in all his acts. It consisted in extend ing the ballast along the ceiling, from the sternpost to the stem ; a considerable portion of it being stowed in the fore and after peaks, and even laid on the breast-hooks and tran soms at the very extremities of the ship ; "an idea," Jones remarked, "which Landais might, without vanity, call his own." The conse quence of this arrangement was, that she strained and pitched violently, losing her head way at every sea. There is no axiom of seamanship better established than that the ballast should be stowed as nearly amidships as possible. It then occupies the fullest part of the ship, where there is greatest buoyancy, and its weight is sustained by the upward pressure of the water which is displaced. The bow iET. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 257 and stern have comparatively little buoyancy, and axe chiefly sustained by the strength of the materials connecting them Avith the rest of the ship. Hence the removal of weight to the extremities, besides unduly straining a ship, al so increases her vibrations in a seaway ; there by fatiguing the spars, upon which less sail can be carried, and tending, moreover, to arrest and diminish her headway. This defect of the Alliance could only be remedied in port, by breaking out the hold. Moreover, her sail ing Avas much diminished by her canvass be ing old and thin. Under these circumstances, Jones saw little motive in prolonging his cruise, and, being threatened with a gale, he put into Corunna, on the 16th of January. Here the Alliance was hospitably received by the Spanish au thorities. Having scrubbed the ship as low as she could be reached, by slightly careening her, and procured an additional anchor, Paul Jones prepared to put to sea on the 38th of January. At this time, so much discontent existed among the crew, that they absolutely refused VOL. I. 17 258 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1780. to weigh the anchor, unless they should first receive a portion of their pay or prize-money. The officers and crew of the Poor Richard were particularly destitute, as most of them had lost every thing when she went down. At Amsterdam Jones had received some mon ey, from which he had advanced five ducats to each of the officers, and one to each of the men. This sum was so ridiculous Avhen com pared with their wants, that many of them instantly threw overboard what they received. The credit of the confederation was very bad, both at home and abroad ; and the sum which Jones had received at Amsterdam, besides what had been advanced by France for the expense of the ships, was probably a very small one. The officers and crew took up the opinion, that, small as it was, Jones had re served a large portion of it for himself. Hence, and from their destitution of clothes, the causes of their discontent. Fanning states, that Jones prevailed upon the men to return to their duty, and get the ship under weigh, by promises of running di rectly for L'Orient, where they were to receive JEt. 32.] LIFE OF PAUL JONES. 359 their prize-money. When the ship, however, Avas fairly at sea, he summoned his officers in to the cabin and acquainted them with his wish to cruise two or three weeks before putting into L'Orient ; he touched, in an eloquent strain, upon all the topics which were likely to ex cite them, and concluded by telling them that if by cruising a few days they could carry in a British frigate, of their own or of superior force, it would add to the lustre of their former victories, and be the means of handing their names down honorably to the latest posterity. The officers withdrew his imagination from these visions of glory, by representing the mu tinous condition of the crew, and the unroman- tic fact, that they had no clothes but those they stood^ in. At this, Jones lost all patience. " I do not want your advice," he said, with a contemptuous sneer, " neither did I send for you to comply with your wishes, but only by Avay of paying you a compliment, which was more than you deserve by your opposition. Therefore you know my mind, go to your du ty, each one of you, and let me hear no more grumbling ! " He concluded his harangue 360 LIFE OF PAUL JONES. [1780. with an emphatic stamp of the foot, and so broke up the assembly. The Alliance accordingly cruised for a few days to the westward of Cape Finisterre, but, so much discord occurred among the original officers of the Alliance and those who had come from the Richard, who were continually quarrelling about the relative merits and cour age of Jones and Landais, and so much dis content existed among the crew, that there was little likelihood of their effecting any bril liant service. Having fallen in with an Amer ican ship, called the Livingston, laden with a valuable cargo of tobacco, Jones convoyed her into L'Orient, where he arrived on the 10th of February. His health had suffered severely from exposure to winter gales and constant watching ; and his eyes were almost blind with' inflamm.ation. He, therefore, went im mediately on shore in search of necessary repose. END OF VOL. I. YALE UNIVERSITY a39002 0039836itlb K-?'/