Jones, John Paul

John Paul (1747-1792), a naturalized American sailor. He was born at Kirkbean, Scotland, the son of a gardener. At twelve he was a sailor lad on board a merchantman bound for Virginia, where he visited an elder brother, who was established as a planter. He was engaged for a time in the slave trade, but is said to have abandoned the business in disgust. In 1773 he again visited Virginia to settle up the affairs of his brother who had died. His original name was John Paul. About this time, being out of sympathy with his own family, he added the name of Jones.

At the outbreak of the American Revolution he offered his services to Congress, and was given the command of a ship. His masthead is said to have been the first that ever carried the stars and stripes. His ship carried to France the news of Burgoyne's surrender. He cruised along the French and British coast, capturing British merchantmen and taking them into French ports for sale. He sailed into the harbor of Whitehaven, England, captured the fort, and burned some of the ships lying at anchor. In 1779 the French government fitted him out a larger ship to which he gave the name Bonhomme Richard. He got together a small squadron of five ships, including his own, and was accompanied by two French privateers. With this naval force he cruised around Britain and Ireland, capturing no less than twenty-six merchantmen. September 23d he fell in with a fleet of British ships under convoy of the warship Serapis. Jones brought his ship into close quarters, lashed the Bonhomme to the Serapis, and succeeded finally in capturing the British vessel. Jones' ship went to the bottom, but he succeeded in reaching port with the Serapis. This naval action was fought gallantly on both sides, and was regarded a remarkable victory for the American commander. On his appearance in France he was toasted, feasted, and made much of.

At the close of the war Congress passed a resolution complimenting Paul Jones on his naval skill and courage and voting him a gold medal. He became dissatisfied, however, with the command which Congress proposed to give him, and went to Paris to live. He was for a short time in the service of the Russians. He died in poverty in Paris. The place of his burial was for a long time unknown. In 1899 an investigation was begun. Records were finally discovered showing that he was buried in a small cemetery set apart for foreign Protestants. The cemetery was abandoned the year after his burial and is now covered with small buildings. General Horace Porter, the American ambassador, kept up a persistent tunneling, until, in 1905, a lead coffin was found bearing a plate marked with Jones' name. As a scientific fact, it is worth stating that the remains had been placed in alcohol in 1792, and that they were still in a reasonable state of preservation. The body was sent home on an American warship and reinterred in the naval ground at Annapolis, where a statue has been proposed in his honor.

Paul Jones appears to have been a man of peculiar temper, but that he was an able commander and a courageous fighter there is no doubt. He is held in high respect in naval circles as the founder of the American navy--the earliest of American fighters at sea.