Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-05-02
JOHN PAUL JONES.
Career Of the Founder Of the Ameri.
can Navy.


Out of the mass of prejudice. which
has never been justified, surrounding
his name has sprung a desire for
knowledge of Paul Jones' life, which
has steadily grown. until vague facts
have been either strengthened and In
corporated: In histories or else, with
an added shadow, woven into romance.
James Fennimore Cooper worked
some of the man into his novel, "The
Pilot" and that was the beginning.
Had he, died In 1779 he would still
have lived In the memory Of every
schoolboy Ias the hero Of the most ter
rible hand-to -hand naval fight In
American history.
What schoolboy. reciting his Friday
afternoon defamation, has not fan
cied the school room platform the
deck Of the rotten Bonhomme Richard
and the pupils before him the Scraps
boarders. as he piped forth:
"I have not yet begun to fight!
cried the 'lion-hearted commodore"
At the outset the historian Is met
with a moot point. Paul Jones' birth
place. however, Is generally given as
Kircudbrightshire. Scotland, and the
date as July 6, 1747. His father was
John Paul, a gardener. and the name
Jones was not assumed until 1773, and
why at all has never been explained.
Paul Jones went to sea at twelve as
an apprentice and made his first voy-
age from Whitehaven to Virginia,
where he settled for time In Fred
ricksburg. with brother. During the
next eight years he made two voyages
as a mate on a SLAYER, but, finding
even his love Of adventure quenched
by the reyolting nature of the trade,
left the colonies in disgust in 176S as
passenger on a brigantine bound for
Scotland. Master and mate died dur
ing the voyage and Jones experience
was a godsend. He took the vessel
into port and was rewarded by the
owners with the captaincy of West
Indian trader.
Continuing In the trade, he had ac-
cumulated a considerable fortune by
personal commercial speculation, when
in 1878 he took charge Of the Virginia.
plantation on his brothers death. 1t
was at this time that he strangely
added Jones to his name, although he
continued to correspond with his fam
i!y. The nonotony of a planters life
wore on him and at the outbreak Of
hostilities with England In 1776 he
offered his services, and after aiding
the naval committee Of congress with
his advice and serving on commits
sion for the purchase of naval vessels
for the new government, was made
first lieutenant Of the Alfred, flagship
Of the first American squadron which
rendezvoused in Philadelphia harbor
for an attack on New Providence. On
the day of sailing Jones raised on the
Alfred what is said to have been the
first American flag unfurled on man
of-war. It's background was white,
bearing pine tree with a rattlesnake
coiled at its foot.
After q successful attack on New
Providence and the capture Of Brit
ish squadron, Jones was made captain
Of the sloop Providence, armed only
with four Founders, on which he made
a dare-deyil voyage through West In
dian waters in forty-seven days, TAX
ing sixteen prizes and destroying the
fishery at Isle Madame. Transferred
kto the Alfred in 1776, he swung to the
north, destroyed the Cape Breton fish,
cries, captured a number Of British
transports and liberated 100 Ameri-
cans who were confined by the Eng
lish at hard labor in the coal mines.
When, early in 1777, congress estab-
lished the relative rank Of naval Of
ficers, Jones felt that he had been un-
Justly dealt with and demonstrated
somewhat arrogantly. His services to
the newborn republic were too valu-
able to be thrown away, even for rea-
sons political. and he received COM
mand OF one Of the new ships, the
Ranger. and general instructions to
distress the enemies Of the United
States by sea or land" This was the
sort OF commission for a fighter OF
Jones' temperament, and he set sail
for the English channel late In 1777,
stopping in France to deliver to the
American commissioners the official
announcement Of Burgoyne's surren-
der. And now with his one vessel he
began a series Of exploits which the
English have never forgiven his MEM
ory. Harrying the channel coast so
that signal fires were kept alight ev-
cry night. telling the presence Of the
little Ranger he captured prizes,
swooped into Whitehaven, where he
tried to burn the shipping, made an
attempt to capture the Earl Of Sell
kirk, and capped everything when of
Carrickfergus he fell in with the
Drake, British man-of-war, Of twenty
guns, which he captured after hand
to-hand fight. Most Of the Rangers
men were put to man the prize, and
on this account Jones was forced to
drop down to Brest.
The French government, as pleased
at his exploits as the Americans.
showed its gratitude by fitting out for
him a squadron Of four vessels, the
flagship OF which. the Bonhomme
Richard. which he had named In hon.
or of DR.. Franklin. was a rotten East
Indian, which would have shivered be-
fore a good hard gale. His officers
were either Americans without expe-
rience, or Frenchmen, who in the hour
of need deserted him. His crew was
motley crowd, many Of then foreign
ers. It was the best he could do,
however and off he sailed on daring
mission to destroy the shipping at
Leith, which was abandoned on ac-
count Of a gale.
On September %, Jones sighted the
two British warships Scraps, forty
four guns, and the Countess Of Scar
borough, twenty eight guns, with
convoy Of forty merchantmen.