Smyrna times., 1893-11-08
Commodore Jones's Portrait.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE MAN WHOSE
PICTURE HANGS IN THE GOVERNORS
ROOM AT DOVER.

Hanging over the desk of Governor
Reynolds in the State House at Dover
is the oil portrait of a middle-aged
man with strong firm features. The
nose is sharp. the mouth rather large
but the lips thin. The eyes are pierce
ing. The hair is unkempt. The uni
form of the man is that of commodore
of the United States Navy. Perhaps it
is not to the credit of Delawareans,
but not more than one person out of
ten who enter the room could tell who
the painting is a portrait of. If it had
not been for the late Chief Justice
Comegys the state would have been
without this picture of the man whom
all Delawareans should honor and be
proud of.
The portrait is that of Commodore
Jacob Jones, the brave Delawarean
who in the war of 1912 commanded the
famous sloop-of-war Wasp, which so
badly defeated the British sloop Frolic
and almost destroyed her. The details
OF the is fight are we'll known to every
student of American history, but the
fact that Commodore Jones, her Com
mander, was born in Delaware and ap-
pointed to the navy from this state, is
not. Commodore Jones was born near
Smyrna in 1853. He studied medicine,
but left that profession to become clerk
of the Supreme Court. But he was
a fighter and so he entered the navy as
a midshipman. He was on board the
frigate Philadelphia when she was
captured at TripOli Later in the war
OF 1872 he was placed in command of
the Wasp which will never be forgotten.
After the Wasp captured the Frolic
and was proceeding with her prize the
British ship of war Poictiers captured
both of the boats. The American
prisoners were exchanged.
On his return to this country Com
modore Jones was greeted with the
greatest enthusiasm. The Legislature
of Delaware extended him thanks, ex-
pressed their pride and pleasure at his
being Delawarean and presented him
with a handsome sword. Congress
gave the commodore a gold medal and
appropriated $25, 900 to him and his
companions to compensate them for
loss of prize money on account of the
Frolic being recaptured. Commodore
Jones afterWard commanded the frigate
Macedonian, aud at the close of the
war commanded the Mediterranean
and Pacific squadrOns. He died in
Philadelphia in 1850. A good story is
told of the portrait which hangs in the
governors room. Some years ago,
when the State House was being re-
modelled, the portrait was torn down
and the chairman of the building COM
mittee, not knowing the value of the
portrait, gave it to one of the men.
While earring it home he passed the
house of the late Chief Justice Come
gys, who saw it and said to the man
What have you there ?"
"Oh picture" replied the workman, as
he unrOlled it and showed it to the
chief justice.
The chief justice was angry. "Where
did you get this ?' he asked.
wins, Mr.. - gave it to me-" replied
the man.
why, confound his dumbness !'' ex-
claimed the chief justic angrily' "this
is Commodore Jones. He had no more
right to give you this than he had to
give you the State House."
The workman was not anxious to
keep the picture and so he sold it to
the chief justic for IS. He had it sent
away, repaired and reframed and pre-
sented it again to the state and it was
hung in its present position. Near it
hangs the portrait of that other famous
Delaware hero Of the same war-Com-
modore McDonOugh.-MOrRing NetUs. |