Los Angeles herald., 1905-07-23
who desires to confirm his opin-
RI ion of John Paul Jones, Americas


RI ion of John Paul Jones, Americas
distinguished naval commander,
can do so in the library of the navy
department at Washington, be that
opinion unfavorable or favorable to
the sea captain whose remains under
escort of a naval squadron are on
their way for final interment at the
United States Naval academy at An
napolis. In a score of old prints gath
aered during past decades from various
sources, John Paul Jones is depicted
as bloodthirsty pirate, which was the
view taken of him by the British,
whose coasts he secured in the gall
liant Ranger; as a bluff sea captain,
which is the opinion most schoolboys
have gained from reading the account
of his plucky victory over the Scraps,
and as the cultured gentleman and ac-
complished naval officer, which is the
opinion held of him by practically the
entire American naval service today.
Charles w. Stewart, superintendent
OF the naval war records Office and
library, has arranged these old prints
in a highly interesting collection. Many
of them purport to be engravings from
pictures made during the lifetime of
Jones. All that is known of the man
confirms the opinion that, not unlike
some fighting men of his day and since,
John Paul Jones was something of
dandy. Certainly he was a favorite in
pa ric N, that oir-cla of innariaI sociatv
which gave frequent employment to
artists and sculptors. That the skull
Of the body recently recovered from an
abandoned graveyard in Paris by Gen.
Horace Porter, American ambassador
to France, corresponded to the precise
Paul Jones was accepted as the final
proof of Identification. Houdin was an
exceptionally painstaking sculptor and
a copy of his bust of Jones which
stands in the Office of the secretary
of the navy at Washington is consid-
One of the best pictures in the coll
lection is an engraving by Carl Gutten-
burg from a drawing by c. j. Notte,
a French artist. This rather reflects
the favorable opinion which the French
had of Commodore Jones, for it depicts
a fairly young but determined looking
officer, standing behind the shot-rid-
died rail of the Bon Homme Richard,
with sword swinging easily in his
right hand, while his left rests upon
the butt of one of half dozen pistols
in his belt. The legend of this picture
says:
John Paul Jones, commodore in the
service of the United States of Amer
lea, as he appeared in the engagement
Of the twenty-third of September 1879,
against Commodore Pearson. His yes
sci mounted forty guns The English
ship Serapis, forty-four guns, had,
moreover. the advantage in caliber and
range. Commodore p. Jones entangled |
his ship with the bowsprit of the en-
emy and continued the engagement
side by side for two hours and three |
quarters. The action lasted three
hours and one-quarter. The Bon Homme
Richard sank the next day."
Tom Ochiltree, of mellow memory,
during one Of his sojourns in Paris, in
1888, picked up an old print of John
Paul Jones which is now much prized
in the collection at the navy DEPART
ment 1t portrays a bluff sea captain
type, far removed from either concep-
tion that he was desperate buccaneer
on naval dandy The figure is that of
a man probably forty-five years old.
which is somewhat further advanced
II age than Jones was at the time he
commanded the Bon Homme. Richard
attired in seafaring dress, including
wide, loose, flowing trousers. He rests
the point Of a cutlass upon the rail OF
The ship and the legend under this pic
ture tells us that 1t is captain Paul
Jones, from an original drawing taken
from the life on board the serapis, pub
'ished London, October %. 1770." This
date is less than a month after he
captured the Scraps and ii it was
really drawn on that ship may be