The Irish standard., 1905-04-22

made John Paul Jones out tn no .
pirate" must ever remain obscure r.
lie was a sea pirate then George Wash,
lngton was land pirate. Jones com.
manded American men of arms on the
nlgn seas and George Washington com.
manded them on land. Both wera
lighting the same enemy and under
the same flag. Jones in his warfare
did Just what any other naval COM
mander today would do If he had the
daredevil bravery and the masterfu,
skill to do 1T. He harrled the enemy's
coasts, he chased the enemy's mer-
chantmen and he fought the enemy's
nag wherever he found it flying. Jones
fought and Won. He was q terror and
scourge all along the British coast,
he descended on ports, spiked guns
ana burned shipping. He fought one
OF the most desperate actions known
III naval history with rotten hulk If
vessel under him, kept afloat only by
iashing 1t to the powerful enemy he
was nghting. He won the fight, cap.
tured the enemy and made the enc.
my's ship his flagship when his own
ship went down. All this, for some
occult reason, has ever been "piracy"
IN the eyes of the Briton.
Why John Paul changed his name tn
John Paul Jones has never been clear.
~ revealed. He did it when he came
into possession of his brothers large
plantation down in Virginia He was
already wealthy man at the time his
brother died intestate and the vir.
ginla property came to him by inherit
lance. His father had been a poor
mana gardener in Kirkcudbright-
shire, Scotland. At 12 years of age
'ohn Paul was apprenticed to Scot
tish merchant who was engaged in
the American trade. This took him
out to his brothers plantations in Vir.
ginia. On return trip to Scotland
he took brigantine in on which he
sailed, the captain and mate having
dled on the voyage. For this he was
rewarded by the owners with the cap.
taincy of vessel trading to the West
Indies. In this trade he prospered
and gained an independence.
1t was In 1878, when John Paul was
"a years old, tnat the brother died and
John Paul inherited his estates. For
two years he led the staid life of q
Virginia planter. But the fires of the
Revolution were beginning to blaze.
John Paul Jones sympathies were
where Washington's, Jefferson's and
all the great leaders of those days
were. He offered his services and
was commissioned to purchase vessels
for the navy-the first American navy.
In 177G, in command of the Alfred,
he raided the Nova Scotia coast, cap
tured vessels and tuned loose over
100 American prisoners. In 1777 he
commanded the Ranger and was the
first naval commander to sail under
the American flag on the high seas.
With the Ranger he raided the British
coast, swooped down on Whitehaven,
smashing defence batteries and burn
ing the shipping. The next year he
captured the English man-of-war
Drake, of 20 guns, taking 100 prisoners
The year 1879 witnessed his memor.
able fight with the Scraps, which he
captured with his own vessel, the Bon
Homme Richard. His ship was in
sinking condition and on fire in two
places when the British frigate struck
her colors. Louis XVI Of France gave
Jones gold mounted sword and deco
rated him with the cross of the Order
of Military Merit for this action. Con-
| gress voted him gold medal and
| passed glowing resolutions in his
honor.
! When the Revolution was over Jones
took service under Empress Catherine
ii of Russia for time, with the rank
of rear admiral, but soon became dis
gusted and quit He had been appoint
ed American consul to Algiers and
was waiting in Paris for his COM
mission when he died. His death oc-
Cured July 1S, 1892.