Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-07-24
PAUL JONES, PRINCE OF NAVAL
WARFARE.

for victory, Dub IL may De Justly SalQ
that the mott brilliant, the most
dramatic, the most soul stirring of all
sea fights was that in which the
inimitabIe John Paul Jones, from the
deck of his rotting old hulk, the 'sBon
Homme Richard fought to a finish
his battle with one of the best of
England's frigates, and snatched
victory out of the very jaws of defeat.
We still seem to hear, out of the
portals of the past, the trumpet call
of defiance of the gallant Jones from
the deck of his riddled and burning
ship when asked by the English cap
tain if he had struck his colors: ST
have not yet begun to fightln This
should fly as motto from the mast
head of every American ship-of war
in the battles din.
Paul Jones has another claim to
honor in American history besides
that won in his famous fight. His
hand was the first to fling to the
breeze on an American ship the star
spangled banner, and he was the first
to have this flag saluted by a foreign
power.
Paul Jones was Scotch by birth, but
he was a thorough republican in
spirit, despising the abuses of royalty
and an ardent believer in the rights
of man. He even discarded his old
name when coming to America to his
patronymic of John Paul the name of
Jones, which he was to make famous.
Becoming the heir of his brother, in
Virginia, in 1773, he was one of the
first to enlist in the navy of the new
republic in December, 1878. He had
his earliest opportunity to show the
kind of man he was in 1777, when in
command of the "Alfred,1 with which
he inflicted serious injury on the
enemy's ships. But his notable career
began when, as captain of the
Ranger" he sailed for British waters
| to meet the enemy on his own shores.
In this he was eminently successful,
confusing and alarming the British
! government with series of unex-
pected blows, including his daring
attempt to. burn the shipping in the
port of Whitehaven and the effort to
seize the Earl of Stirling in his own
castle. The most striking of these
preliminary exploits was his fight
with the "Drake,n off the Irish coast,
and the capture of this well-appointed
and we'll ship almost without
loss to his own ship and crew.
This victory was hailed with acclaim
in France, then our ally. Jones was
greeted as lion of the sea, and after
much delay and anxiety he was pro-
vided with small squadron of which
the flagship, named by him the SBon
Homme Richard" was half ecayed
old tub of an East Indianian, as unit
a craft for war cruise as could well
have been devised. ri
We shall not report in detail the
oft told tale, how on September ~,
1879, the small .fotilla came in sight
of the frigate ''Serapis," with a
smaller consort, and how, after a
terrific struggle of three and halt
hours, the Briton hauled down his
flag. The "Serapis" was better
armed. was a better sailer and had
much better crew than the "Bor
7 Homme Richard; +. two of the Ameri.
cans heaviest guns burst and blew uE
the deck at the first fire; the "Alli
ance," her principal consort, gave he
no help, but on the contrary fired sew
eral broadsides into her. When TIT
fight ended she was on fire in tw'
places, and had six feet of water il
her hold; but Jones fought on wit
grim and indomitable resolution until
as he would not acknowledge defeat
the captain of the 'Serapis" wa
forced to do so, and hauled down hi
colors. Some hours later the terribl
crippled s'Bon Homme Richardn wer
to the depths, but the victor sale
Is into French port in command of tt
"Serapis," the acknowledged hero
/ the ocean waves.
This ended the most brilliant e.
! plot in the history of the America
navy. Tt is fitting homage to Jof
Paul Jones that his adopted countr
having recently discovered his lon
forgotten place of burial, is bringi,
home his honored remains, to bul
them in state at it's naval academ
as an inspiration TO future gener
tions of naval students.-The Scare
Light.
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