# The Story of John Paul Jones/Chapter 5

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CHAPTER V THE GALLANT “RANGER”
You may well suppose that the English were amazed at the gallant little captain’s audacity. They had ravaged the American shores to their hearts’ content, supposing that their own beloved and well-protected water fronts were safe from harm, and ever after this event they spoke of Paul Jones as a wicked pirate, and mothers frightened their disobedient children with his name, and told them of the fiery-tailed comet, ​disguised as a man, which dashed along the rocky shores at night.
But John Paul Jones had done nothing that the English did not try to do in America. He had the authority of his country for everything he did, and the real reason that he was so despised was because he was so successful.
It was now morning—the bright sun shone on the little “Ranger” as she bounded merrily over the waves until she sailed into the well-known bay where John Paul had seen the ships anchored when he was a little boy. He visited the old home, and for a few short hours trod once again the well-known grounds which once had been so dear. How strangely familiar these ancient haunts and landmarks must have seemed to the little boy who played among them twenty years before—so many things had happened since he went forth into the great world.
But time was precious, and he did not tarry long at the old place. He made a visit to the
In CONGRESS.
John Paul Jones, Esquire
WE, reposing especial Trust and Confidence in your Patriotism, Valour, Conduct and Fidelity, DO, by these Presents, constitute and appoint you to beCaptain of the(illegible text)———— called the ———————— in the NavyService of the United States of North·America, fitted out for the Defence of American Liberty, and for repelling every hostile Invasion thereof. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the Duty of Captainby doing and performing all manner of Things thereunto belonging. And we do strictly charge and require all Officers, Marines and Seamen under your Command, to be obedient to your Orders as CaptainAnd you are to observe and follow such Orders and Directions from Time to Time as you shall receive them from this or a future Congress of the United States, or Committee of Congress for that Purpose appointed, or Commander in Chief for the Time being of the Navy of the United States, or any other your superior Officer, according to the Rules and Discipline of War, the Usage of the Sea, and the Instructions herewith given you, in Pursuance of the Trust reposed in you. This Commission to continue in Force until revoked by this or a future Congress: Dated at Philadelphia October (illegible text) 1776.
By Order of the Congress
​Earl of Selkirk’s place nearby, and it was very fortunate that the old earl was not at home or he would have been taken away as a prisoner.
Some time before these events, Capt. Jones had tried to surprise and capture a British man-of-war named the “Drake” in the Irish harbor of Carrickfergus. Everything had gone wrong, his cable had broken, the plan had been discovered and the bold project given up. But now the “Drake” was instructed to sail out, and find the wicked “Ranger,” and punish her as she deserved for her recent little excursion along the British shore. Now it happened that at the same time, the “Ranger” was searching for the “Drake,” for Capt. Jones was anxious to have the fight which he bad promised himself a month or two before. They met off Carrickfergus, and, as usual, the British vessel was larger and better fitted than the one in which Capt. Jones sailed. He never fought a battle in all his life where he had any advantage to begin with. When the two ​boats came in range of each other they hoisted colors, and at the same time the “Drake” hailed:
“What ship is that?”
And Jones answered:
“The American Continental ship ‘Ranger.’ We are waiting for you—come on—its getting late and time to begin.”
So the “Drake” opened fire, and all her crew laughed merrily at the impudence of the little American craft. But in those days it was the captain, and not the craft, that counted, as we shall soon see. In a moment, the heaven was lurid with the wild fire of conflicting guns. Amid the din and uproar of that fierce and bitter hour, the little captain ran about his vessel, issuing commands, and filling his men with the wildest enthusiasm. Not for one moment did the flag of the United Colonies cease to wave above her brave defender, to give her men new courage and fresh hope. For more than an hour this fear
The fight between the “Bon Homme Richard” and the “Serapis.”— Page 63.
​ful battle went on; for more than an hour the gallant little “Ranger” held her own and poured her well-aimed shots into the haughty man-of-war. Finally the “Drake,” whose crew had sneered at the little “Ranger,” ceased firing, and surrendered to John Paul Jones. It was a fearful conflict, and a grand victory. It carried fear into the English navy, powerful as it was, and when the news of it reached the colonies, where Gen. Washington was fighting so bravely, vast multitudes sent up three cheers for their peerless hero of the sea. The “Drake” lost forty of her crew, and was in a very bad condition. With his prize, Capt. Jones sailed around Ireland, taking other prizes, and finally put into the harbor of Brest in France. On his way there, he met the large French fleet that he had helped to procure for the Colonies. It was on its way to the Delaware, and Jones was hailed as a hero by all her officers and crew. He was a very famous man now—loaded with glory and honors. When ​he reached France, all were anxious to see the wonderful fighter—the hero of the Colonial navy—the conqueror of the “Drake.” But Jones was there for a purpose which it took him a year to accomplish, but which had great results, as we shall see in the next chapter.
Meanwhile he enjoyed himself as people are apt to do in care-free and merry France, and his agreeable manners and charming personality took him into the most polite and cultivated society of that polite and cultivated land. He became a “lion,” which is a name that people give to men who are very much sought after, though why a man who is thus honored should be called a lion in preference to a tiger or a giraffe, I am sure I do not know. However this may be, I am glad to tell you that John Paul Jones was not spoiled in the least by all these flatteries and attentions, though I am equally sorry to have to tell you that he remained an old bachelor all his life.