Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-06-19
THE FIRST NAVAL FLAG.

For a Flag day story there Is moth
ing better than some account OF the
first flags ever hoisted over an indie
pendent American warship. You know,
Of course. that the founder Of the Uni
ted States navy was Admiral John
Paul Jones and that his remains were
not long ago brought to this country
from France and buried with great
honors and splendid ceremonies IN
beautiful new tomb at the national ma
val academy, Annapolis. President
Roosevelt and other distinguished
men made speeches on that notable oc-
casion.
But none Of the speakers had time to
say much about the boyhood of John
Paul Jones or the strange flag he hoist
ed at the masthead Of the first warsh1p
ever sent upon the seas by our coun-
| try.
\ John Paul Jones was born In Arbig-
Land, Scotland. July 6, 1S4S. His par
ients' name was not Jones however,
but Paul, and he was Just John Paul.
His mothers maiden name was Jennie
Macduff. He had four brothers, all
older than himself.
! John Paul was born with longing
for the sea. He never could slap
away from it long even after the
Revolutionary war was over. He did
not care, either, SO much for peaceful
marine pursuits as for sea fighting and
naval glory. When he was twelve
years old he was apprenticed to a
shipping merchant in White Haven.
Scotland and was soon sent to Ameri-
ca on trading vessel, small boy
though he was An older brother had
come to America before him and had
been adopted by wealthy family
named Jones, who had plantation on
the Rappahannock river in Virginia.
| John Paul stayed on the sea in the
merchant service till he was sixteen,
then he went and lived with his brother
in the Jones family and studied books
awhile. His brother died before long
and the rich Joneses adopted John
Paul In his brothers place. He took
their name and that is how he hap
pens to be called John Paul Jones. He
himself dropped the John in writing
his name and signed himself simply
Paul Jones. One queer fact about this
great sea hero is that he never talked
about his early history and did not
he could avoid it. Why this was no
body has ever found out.
But long before his brother died and
even while he was trying to make a
scholar of himself the old longing for
the sea came over him and he ran
away from Rappahannock, leaving a
letter telling his brother he had ship
ped on vessel for Liverpool All
through the years he was supposed to
be living at Rappahannock he had
spells of running away to sea and re-
naming away several years at time.
1t Is during these early manhood years
that most OF his personal history is
lost
| In ITS the American colonies were
beginning their life and death struggle
with Great Britain. One day in the
autumn of that year a man appeared
before the marine committee of the
Continental congress at Philadelphia
and asked for employment In the navy
which the colonies were trying to form
for defense The man was not tall and
he was quite slender, but his eyes were
very sharp and bright and he had a
forceful way with him that showed he
could do all he undertook to do, no
matter what it was His name was
Paul Jones, he said, and he had walked
all the way from Fredericksburg, Va,
to Philadelphia. He was very poor in
purse then, but exceedingly rich in
courage and military genius
Congress commissioned him as first
lieutenant of the first war vessel ever
Lated out in the. infant nation. It was