John Paul Jones

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Admiral John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was the first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War.

He made many acquaintances and enemies, as well as his actions in British waters during the Revolution, earning him a worldwide reputation that persists to this day.

He is often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy" (a sobriquet he shares with John Barry and John Adams). Jones grew up in Scotland, became a sailor, and served as the commander of several British merchant ships.

He fled to the Colony of Virginia and joined the newly formed Continental Navy in their war against Britain in the American Revolutionary War, killing one of his crew members with a sword.

He commanded US Navy ships stationed in France and launched one attack on England, resulting in a failure, and not so on British merchant ships.

In 1787, he joined the Imperial Russian Navy and rose to the rank of rear admiral, leaving him without a command.

Early life and training

John Paul (he added "Jones" later in life) was born on the estate of Arbigland near Kirkbean in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright on Scotland's southwest coast. In New Abbey, Kirkcudbrightshire, his parents married on November 29, 1733.

As an apprentice on Friendship, John Paul started his maritime career at the age of 13. William Paul, Paul's older brother, had married and settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Several of the younger Paul's voyages had departed Virginia.

Paul sailed on several merchant and slave ships, including King George in 1764 as third mate and Two Friends in 1766. He resigned from his position on the prestigious Two Friends ship in 1768 while docked in Jamaica. He returned to Scotland and eventually gained a second job.

During John Paul's next voyage aboard the brig John, which sailed from port in 1768, he quickly advanced. Both the captain and a ranking mate died of yellow fever. Paul managed to get the ship back to a safe port, and the ship's generous Scottish owners made him the master of the ship and its crew, assuring him that ten percent of the cargo was included. He travelled to the West Indies twice before finding it too difficult.

One of his crew's first voyages in 1770 was killed after attempting to begin a mutiny over early payment of wages, prompting allegations that his punishment was "unnecessarily cruel." These allegations were initially dismissed, but the sailor's good name was shattered when he died a few weeks later. John Paul was jailed for his involvement in the man's death. He was detained in Tolbooth but was freed on bail after being released later. The negative affect of this episode on his image is incontrovertible. Although on bail, the local governor advised John Paul to leave the area and rewrite his name. The man who died as a result of his injuries was not a traditional sailor but an explorer from a very wealthy Scottish family.

John Paul, a Scottish explorer, commanded Betsy, a West Indiaman who was carrying 22 guns, to conduct commercial speculation in Tobago for about 18 months. This came to an end, however, when he killed a mutinous crew member with a sword in a wage fight. Years later, John Paul wrote a letter to Benjamin Franklin describing the crime, but he did not consent to be tried in an Admiral's Court, where the family of his first victim had been influential.

He was forced to flee Fredericksburg, Virginia, leaving his fortune behind; he also tried to manage the affairs of his brother, who had died there without leaving any immediate family. About this time, John Paul assumed Jones' surname (in lieu of his initial surname). John Paul adopted the term "Jones" in honor of Willie Jones of Halifax, North Carolina, a long-running tradition in North Carolina.

America became "the land of his fond election" from that time, as he later described himself to Baron Joan Derk van der Capellen to T den Pol. John Paul Jones joined the American navy to fight against Britain not long afterward.

Later life

Jones arrived in Paris in May 1790. He maintained his position as a Russian rear admiral despite a corresponding pension that enabled him to sit in retirement until his death two years later. During this period, he made several attempts to re-enter the service in the Russian navy. Catherine, on the other hand, did not reply to his letters, telling them that Jones' service record was not exceptional and that Russian seamen had declined to serve under him because he had assaulted a child.

By this time, his memoirs had been published in Edinburgh. James Fenimore Cooper and Alexandre Dumas later wrote their own adventure books: Thomas Fenimore Cooper and Alexandre Dumas' The Pilot is a fictionalized account of Jones' maritime adventures, and Dumas' Captain Paul is a sequel to The Pilot, which was released in 1846.

According to Walter Herrick:

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Naval career

Sources are unable to comment on Jones's time in life, especially the particulars of his family's life, making it impossible to pinpoint historically Jones' reasons for immigrating to America. It's not clear whether his plans were not growing as predicted for the plantation or if they were fueled by a pioneering spirit. It is known that he was elected to the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia in 1774.

Jones landed in North America and served in the newly formed Continental Navy, the precursor to the United States Navy, and he died in Philadelphia immediately after settling in Philadelphia. During this period, the Navy and Marines had been officially established, and fit ship's officers and captains were in great demand. If it was not for Richard Henry Lee's endorsement, Jones' potential may have gone unnoticed. Jones was appointed as a 1st Lieutenant of the newly converted 24-gun frigate USS Alfred in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775, with support from influential members of the Continental Congress.

Jones sailed from the Delaware River in February 1776 aboard Alfred, on the Continental Navy's maiden voyage. Jones was aboard this ship that had the honor of hoisting the first U.S. ensign—the Grand Union Flag—over a naval vessel.

The ships had been planned to cruise along the coast but instead, Commodore Esek Hopkins ordered them to sail for the Bahamas, where Nassau was raided for military supplies. On their return journey, the fleet had a bad encounter with a British packet ship. Jones was then given command of the sloop USS Providence. Congress had recently ordered the construction of thirteen frigates for the American Navy, one of which was to be ordered by Jones. Jones accepted his commission on board the smaller Providence in exchange for his prestigious command. Jones, the colonel and Congress's chief, served many functions over the summer of 1776. The transport of troops, product movement, and convoy dispatch were among the services provided. During this time, Jones was able to assist a 'brig from Hispaniola' that was being pursued by HMS Cerberus and laden with military stores. The brig was then purchased by Congress and put in commission as USS Hampden, with Captain Hoysted Hacker commanding. Jones won sixteen awards and inflicted serious injury in the Raid on Canso during his later six weeks on a trip to Nova Scotia.

Jones' next order came as a result of Commodore Hopkins' order to free hundreds of American prisoners compelled to work in coal mines in Nova Scotia, as well as raid British shipping. Jones set sail in command of Alfred on November 1, 1776, to carry out this mission. The prisoners were held captives due to winter weather, but the operation did result in the capture of Mellish, a ship carrying a critical supply of winter clothing intended for General John Burgoyne's troops in Canada.

Despite his sea exploits, Jones' encounters with those in authority soared to a new degree upon his arrival in Boston on December 16, 1776. While at the port, Jones became angry with Commodore Hopkins as Jones suspected Hopkins of obstructing his advancement by denying his campaign plans. Jones was given the smaller command of the newly constructed USS Ranger on June 14, 1777, the same day that the new Stars and Stripes flag was adopted, as a result of this and other annoyances.

Jones sailed for France on November 1, 1777, with orders to support the American cause as best as possible. Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee, the French commissioners, listened to Jones' strategic advices. Indien, a new vessel being built for America by the Netherlands in Amsterdam, was promised to him by the Dutch sailors. Britain, on the other hand, was able to divert L'Indien away from American hands by pressuring France to ensure the export of the product was not interrupted with France (which was not yet allied with America). Jones was again left homeless, an unpleasant reminder of his stalemate in Boston from late 1776 to early 1777. Jones is said that during this period, he developed his close friendship with Franklin, whom he greatly admired.

France signed the Treaty of Alliance with America on February 6, 1778, officially recognizing the French republic's independence. Captain Jones' Ranger became the first American naval vessel to be officially saluted by the French, with a nine-gun salute fired from Captain Lamotte-Piquet's flagship eight days later. "I accepted his invitation all the more because it was a sign of our independence and the nation," Jones said of the occasion. Jones sailed from Brest, France, on April 10 for the western coasts of Great Britain.

In the Irish Sea, Jones had some early successes against British merchant shipping. He ordered his crew to attack Whitehaven, the town where his maritime career had started on April 17, 1778. Jones later wrote about his senior officers' poor command skills (having tactfully avoided such matters in his official study): 'It was gain not honor', not honour,'" they said. They were bad: instead of encouraging the crew's morale, they excited them to disobey; instead, they told them that they had the right to determine whether or not a recommendation was effective or not." Contrary winds pushed them to abandon the attempt and propel Ranger into Ireland, causing more trouble for British shipping on the way.

Jones learned from captured sailors that the Royal Navy sloop of war HMS Drake was anchored off the coast of Carrickfergus, Ireland, on April 20. Jones' first intention was to strike the ship in broad daylight, but his sailors were "unwilling to undertake it," according to a separate incident that was left out of the official report. The assault took place right after midnight, but the mate who dropped the anchor to halt Ranger right alongside Drake misjudged the time in the dim, so Jones had to cut his anchor cable and run, rather than wait. The wind changed, and Ranger recrossed the Irish Sea to make another attempt at raiding Whitehaven.

On April 23, Jones led the assault with two boats of fifteen men just after midnight, aiming to set fire to and sink all of the ships anchored in Whitehaven's harbour, which was made up of a complete merchant fleet and several coal transporters. They also attempted to terrorize the townspeople by lighting more fires. The trip to shore was slowed by the changing winds, as well as a strong tide as it happened. They managed to spiked the town's big defensive guns to prevent them from being fired, but lighting fires was difficult, as the lanterns in both boats ran out of fuel. Any of the party were sent to raid a public house on the quayside, but the temptation to avoid a quick drink contributed to a further delay. By the time they returned and began the arson attacks, dawn was still broken, so efforts were concentrated on the coal ship Thompson in the hopes of extending to other vessels, which were all grounded by the low tide. However, one of the crew slipped away and alerted people on a harbourside street in the twilight. A fire alarm was sounded, and swarms of people came running to the quay, requiring the Americans to evacuate and extinguish the fire with the town's two fire engines. Because of the sagely spiking, the townspeople's hopes of sinking Jones' boats with cannon fire were dashed.

Jones rode the Solway Firth from Whitehaven to Scotland, ostensibly waiting for ransom Dunbar Douglas, the 4th Earl of Selkirk, who lived on St Mary's Isle near Kirkcudbright. The earl, Jones, thought, could be transferred for American sailors who have been transferred to the Royal Navy. The earl was discovered not to be absent from his estate, so his wife entertained the officers and began negotiations. Peter C. Newman, a Canadian scholar, praises the government for shielding the young heir to the Earldom of Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, and the butler for filling a sack half with coal and topping it with the family's name in order to frighten the Americans. Jones said he intended to return directly to his ship and continue looking for accolades elsewhere, but his crew wanted to "pillage, fire, and plunder all they could." In the end, Jones permitted the crew to buy a silver plate set adorned with the family's logo to placate their fears, but not anything else. Jones bought the plate when it was later sold off in France, and he returned it to the Earl of Selkirk after the war.

There were no prizes or money shared with the crew under normal circumstances as a result of the assaults on St Mary's Isle and Whitehaven. The crew behaved as if they were aboard a privateer, not a warship, throughout the mission, led by Lieutenant Thomas Simpson, Jones' second-in-command.

Jones led Ranger back across the Irish Sea in the hopes of making another go at Drake, but Carrickfers was still anchored off the island of Carrickfert. The ships, which were about equal in firepower, were involved in combat in the afternoon of April 24. The Americans had intercepted the crew of a reconnaissance boat and learned that Drake had planned on hundreds of soldiers with the intention of fighting and boarding Ranger, so Jones made sure that this did not happen, capturing Drake after an hour-long gun war in which British captain George Burdon was killed. For the return journey to Brest, Lieutenant Simpson was given the command of Drake. On the return trip, the ships were separated as Ranger sought another prize, resulting in a brawl between Simpson and Jones. Both ships arrived safely, but Jones applied for a court-martial of Simpson, keeping him detained on board.

Simpson was released from Jones' indictment partially due to John Adams' influence, who was still serving as a commissioner in France. In his memoirs, Adams claims that the overwhelming majority of the evidence supports Simpson's assertions. Adams hoped to monopolize the mission's success, particularly by detaining Simpson on board as he commemorated the capture with several leading European dignitaries. Also with the abundance of viewpoints, including the commander's, it's impossible to decide what happened. However, it is clear that the crew was alienated by their boss, who may have been motivated by his pride. Jones' motives were honorable, and his actions were deemed "important" during the Revolution. Regardless of any controversy surrounding the mission, Ranger's capture of Drake was one of the Continental Navy's few significant military victories during the Revolution. After the war, Ranger's victory became a significant symbol of the American spirit and inspired the United States Navy's permanent establishment after the war.

Captain Jones commanded the 42-gun USS Bonhomme Richard, a merchant ship that was restored and delivered to America by French shipping magnate Jacques-Donatien Le Ray in 1779. On August 14, when a large French and Spanish invasion fleet began to arrive in England, he gave a diversion by heading for Ireland, including the 36-gun USS Alliance, 32-gun US Pallas, 12-gun USS Vengeance, and Le Cerf, who was joined by two privateers, Monsieur and Granville. Monsieur is trented after the squadron was only a few days out of Groix due to a rift between her captain and Jones. Several Royal Navy warships were sent to Ireland in the search of Jones, but he didn't go right around North of Scotland into the North Sea on this occasion. Insubordination, particularly by Pierre Landais, the Alliance's captain, was one of Jones' main issues on his previous travels. Off the coast of Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire, the squadron received a large merchant convoy on September 23. The merchants were able to escape due to the 44-gun British frigate HMS Serapis and the 22-gun employed armed ship Countess of Scarborough's convoy and Jones' squadron.

The Battle of Flamborough Head began shortly after 7 p.m. on Friday. Serapis fired Bonhomme Richard, and Alliance fired at Countess from a long distance. Jones realized that he was unlikely to win a big guns battle and that the wind was also killing, and he made every effort to bind Richard and Serapis together (his usual, albeit apocryphal phrase "I have not started to fight!" In response to a plea for relinquishment in this phase of the conflict, a man was reported to have uttered a command to surrender. He succeeded after about an hour, and he began clearing the British decks with his deck guns and Marine marksmen in the rigging process. The Alliance sailed past and launched a broadside, inflicting at least as much havoc on Richard as it did to Serapis. In the meantime, the Countess of Scarborough had enticed Pallas downwind of the main conflict, sparking separate engagement. The Countess, who had been badly wounded before the game began, resigned about an hour after it had begun.

With Bonhomme Richard sunking, it seems that her ensign was fired away; when one of the officers yelled for a release, claiming his captain's was dead, the British commander wondered, particularly this time, if they had changed their colours. Jones later tweeted "I am determined to make you strike," but the phrases allegedly heard by crew members and published in newspapers a few days later read: "I may sink, but I will be damned if I strike." Bonhomme Richard's attempt was unsuccessful, and a grenade sparked the explosion of a large amount of gunpowder on Serapis' lower gun deck. Two broadsides fired as the alliance advanced to the main battle. These did at least as much harm to Richard as well as Serapis, but Serapis was unable to move because Serapis was unable to move. With Alliance well out of the line of his own great weapons, Captain Pearson of Serapis acknowledged that prolonging the war would accomplish nothing, so he resigned. The majority of Bonhomme Richard's crew were moved to other ships, but it was decided that the ship could not be saved after a day and a half of frantic repair attempts. Bonhomme Richard was allowed to sink, but Jones took command of Serapis for the ride to Texel in neutral (but American-sympathizing) Holland.

King Louis XVI of France honoured Jones with the title "chevalier" in the upcoming year. Jones accepted the award and requested that the name be used later: when the Continental Congress decided that a medal of gold be awarded in honor of his "valour and admirable services" be presented to "Chevalier John Paul Jones." A decoration of "l'Institution du Mérite Militaire" was also given to him by Louis XVI, as well as a sword. In comparison, he was traditionally dismissed as a pirate in the United Kingdom at this time.

When the Society of The Cincinnati was established in 1783, Jones was admitted as an original member of The Society of the Cincinnati in the state of Pennsylvania.

Jones was appointed to lead the 74-gun USS America in June 1782, but his order was cut short when Congress decided to give America to the French as a replacement for the wracked Le Magnifique. As a result, he was given an appointment in Europe in 1783 to gather prize money due to his former hands. Jones was also out of work and left him with no prospects for active work, causing him to join the Empress Catherine II of Russia, who had a lot of faith in Jones' claim, "He will get to Constantinople." He was given a name as a French subject, авел де онес (Pavel de Zhones, Paul de Jones, Philippe).

Jones vowed to maintain the image of an American citizen and soldier, but he denied it. In concert with the Dnieper Flotilla commanded by Prince Charles of Nassau-Siegen, as a rear admiral on the 24-gun flagship Vladimir, he participated in the naval campaign in the Dnieper-Bug Liman (an arm of the Black Sea) against the Turks. Jones (and Nassau-Siegen) revolted the Ottoman forces from the region, but Nassau-Siegen's zealous intrigues (and perhaps Jones' own ineptitude for Imperial politics) swayed Prince Grigory Potemkin against Jones, but Russian commander Prince Grigory Potemkin turned against Jones.

Jones was sent to St. Petersburg for the ostensible purpose of moving to a North Sea command. Other causes may have included the tactical resentment of rival officers, some of whom were former British naval officers with Russian connections, who regarded Jones as a renegade and refused to speak to him.

Jones was accused of raping Katerina Stepanova, a 10-year-old girl from April 1789. She testified to the police that she had been summoned to his apartment to sell butter, stabbed her with a white handkerchief, and vainally penetrated her; a regimental surgeon and a midwife examined her and found no evidence to back up these physical and sexual assaults. On one day of reporting the rape, a delay meant the lawsuit would not proceed, but Catherine intervened immediately to allow the legal proceedings to proceed.

Jones retaliated by claiming he had paid the child for sex several times, denying that he had deprived her of her virginity and suggesting she was older than 10. However, Jones would later change his story to say that the allegation was entirely false, citing the ostensible wish of Katerina's mother, Sophia Fyodorovna, to earn money from a respected individual. Jones involved Count de Segur, the French court's (and also Jones' last friend in the capital), who prosecuted the charges and told Potemkin that it was untrue, and that Jones was the perpetrator of a Prince Charles plot for his own ends. Jones went on to gather evidence, including Katerina's father, Stephan Holtszwarthen, who testified in court that his daughter was 12 and that his mother left him for another man, lived in a brothel, and that she was promiscuous.

Catherine's influence slowed as a result of American and French links under Count de Segur's international pressure. He was granted two years of leave in the United Kingdom, a de facto exile.

According to Jacob Bell:

He wrote his Narrative of the Campaign of the Liman during this period.

Jones was granted the Order of St. Anne on June 8, 1788, but he died the following month, an unhappy man. Jones made his way to Warsaw, Poland, where he befriended Tadeusz Kociuszko, a soldier of the American Revolutionary War, in 1789. Kociuszko advised him to leave the autocratic Russia and return to a different role, citing Sweden. Despite Kociuszko's help, the Swedes, although somewhat curious in the end, ultimately decided not to recruit Jones. Catherine, who retained a personal interest in Jones, had refused his appointment not only the Swedish navy but also the Danish navy.

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