Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-09-24
4 Silent Centennial.


Yesterday, the huudredth anniversary
OF a famous sea fight, saw no public cele.
bration of the occasion. The scene of th,
conflict was off Marlborough Head. oil
the east colst of England. where it is said
that in the moonlight night the inhabitants
of Scarborough and vicinity watched the
desperate cantest.
John Paul, Scotch boy, left his native
shores when twelve years old, and after q
seafaring life of questionable character
was at the beginning of the revolution
living in Virginia. He was then twenty
eight years of age, and had taken for
some reason the name Of Jones. Why he
had done this the stories of his early
career as a smuggler or those of his hav-
ing been engaged in affairs that bordered
on piracy are no sufficient explanation, for
he kept his old name with the new and
took service in the American navy under
the name of John Paul Jones.
Prior to his great exploit in 1879 Jones
had been in command of several vessels
in succession with each of which he had
greatly harmed the English. his ravages
along the coast of Great Britain being of
the most daring kind. In 1779 he had by
the aid of Franklin obtained command of
n wretched old ship in France which was
named the Bon Homme Richard and had
set sail in her accompanied by smaller
ship.
Not only was the Good man Richard ~
a rickety old tub but his crew was con.
glomeralion of many nationalities, Amer-
cans, Frenchmen and Malays forming a
portion of the number on board. With
this poor stock he went forth to seek the
rulers of the kings navy.
OFF Marlborough Head he found the
Scraps and another British war vessel
conveying fleet Of merchantmen. About
in the evening of the 23d of September,
1779, the Scraps, which was commanded
by Capt. Pearson brave officer, and the
Bon Homme Richard began fighting. For
the first hour the Scraps which WAS supe-
rior to Jones ship had the advantage and
had pounded the poor Richard badly when
the ships ut s o'clock came together and
Jones at once had them dashed to each
other. The two smaller vessels were after
this of no great use to either side.
It was about this time that the English
asked Jones if he had struck and received
from him the famous answer, :" have not
yet begun to fight" For two hours and
half the fight ragged, one ship in a sinking
condition, both ut times on fire and terri
hle slaughter among the crew Of each.
When it was nearly II o'clock the En-
glishtnan surrendered his ship and Jones
took possession.
1t is long since we read in Cooper
the story of the dreadful evening and the
details and the part borne by the two
assisting ships are largely out of mind,
but if anybody has bit Of the centennial
spirit left over from the days Of '76 he
cannot better indulge it than by reading
the tale as told by almost any of the
writers who have undertaken to tell it,
from Cooper to Walt Whitman.
The day after the fight Jones had to
leave his own ship and 60 on board the
Scraps, which he took to France while
the old hulk on which he won the battle
went to the bottom of the sea. Jones
himself fourished during the rest of the
revolution, went afterwards into the Rus
sian navy and died in poverty at Paris in
1892, when forty-five years old.