Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-04-15
PAUL JONES'S FLAG.

| lHose were Hyely days when Paul
Jones and his flying squadron of four
ships were hanging of the mouth Of
the Humber in the autumn Of l7T9, and
when, after one of the most terrific
duels ever fought between brace of
ships at sea, the Bonhomme Richard,
commanded 10y Captain Jones, forced
her much heavier English antagonist,
the Scraps, 10 haul down her flag.
Everything connected with Paul Jones
has, indeed, such a spell of romance
thrown around it by American enthu.
siasts that il is hard to explain why
among ourselves he is little more than
name. That he is still regarded in
this country as r pirate may be inferred
from the fact that not many years ago a
race. horse called Paul Jones won the
Chester Cup, and that he bore this name
! because he was the son of Buccaneer.
! AT the commencement of one of his
novels Sir Walter Scott alludes TO the
unseemly scare which took posses.
sion Of Edinburgh and of Leith, its
port, when, in IT'S, Paul Jones and his
! little squadron, carrying altogether less
! than thousand men, threatened Leith
from the sea, with the avowed intention
OF levying from the little town a contri.
1 button of 600 600. AT the moment
there were not fewer than 30 600 SOL
! diers, some OF them being regulars and
| the rest militia and volunteers in Edin.
! burgh alone but the terror excited in
| the breasts Of our fathers by Paul Jones
| proves beyond question that his fame
as a man of unusually intrepid courage,
of singular GOODNESS in danger and of
ready resources had spread far and
wide, which makes 1t strange that more
should not now be known as TO the
chief incidents of his history than is
ordinarily current in England, even
among what are called well.informed
men.
| John Paul-for this was his real name
first saw the light at Arbigland, in
| Kirkcudbrightshire, npon the edge OF
/ the Solway Firth, in the year lTiT.
/ His father was respectable gardner,
who was said in England TO have once
been in the employ OF the Earl of
Selkirk-an allegation which is indig.
nantly denied by the American biogra.
pliers of Paul Jones. BE this as it may,
/ the boy showed from the first passion.
ate partiality for sailors life. He
was therefore bound apprentice by his
| father to merchant engaged in the
! American trade, and made his first
voyage to Virginia when lad of twelve.
| He was delighted with the country, and
at once became an American rather
than an Englishman in feeling. He
made many other voyages, but his
heart was in Virginia, and thither he
returned in 1913. Great events were
on the eve Of happening, and, sympa.
thizing eagerly with the American reb.
els. John Paul, who had by this time
added Jones TO his name. placed his
services IS a sailor Of experience at the
disposition of the colonists in l775. He
was twenty.eight years old, full of
bodily vigor and mental energy, and
with the advantage OF having before he
went TO sea received a Scotch education
which was far better than that picked
up by most of the naval officers who
had joined the American rebellion. On
December 22. l77j, he was appointed
frat lieutenant of the Alfred, lying off
Philadelphia, and ii was on board this
little vessel that Paul Jones hoistcd
with his own hands the flag of indie
pendent America for the first time that
it was ever displayed. This flag con-
sisted at first of thirteen alternate red
and blue stripes upon a white ground,
and not until many months later were
the stars added to the stripes. The
Alfred, in company with the Hornet
sloop and the Wasp schooner, both
from Maryland, put to see in February,
lT16, and after many a brush with
English vessels, in none of which was
the Alfred worsted. Paul Jones returned
| a hn l. n l. ii
in command of the Ranger. How ii
came TO pass that in the Ranger he
swooped down upon Lord Selkirks
beautiful country seat upon the coast
of Galloway, and. finaing its owner
away from home, carried off the plate,
which he subsequently returned with
very chivalrous letter to the Countess OF
Selkirk, is well known to Scotchmen.
But the action by which his fame was
indestructibly established was fought
on q French vessel-the Bonhomme
Richard-and it Ii in connection with
this action that attention has been
called anew to strange and eventful
history. Mr.. Walter Stafford North
cote, son and private secretary TO the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, has just
written to contemporary to say that
there now exists ilag-being none
other than the first star.spangled ban.
ner ever sent to sea by the United
States-which was preserved from cap.
ture by Lieutenau; James Bayard Stat
ford in the action between the Scraps
and the Bonhomme Richard of Scar.
borough in l779. We fear, as we shall
presently show, that Mr.. Northcote will |
have some difficulty In establishing the |
authenticity of the flag in question, but
there can be no doubt that If authentic
1t would be most valuable and inter |
esting relic. No sharper action was |
ever fought at sea than that in which |
the Scraps, carrying forty.one guns OF
heavier calibre, tried conclusions with |
the Bonhomme Richard with forty guns,
Of which only ak were eighteen pound. |