John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones was one of America's first great naval heroes. Born in Scotland in 1747, his original name was John Paul. He first sailed to the American Colonies as a cabin boy at the age of twelve, visiting Fredericksburg, VA. His love of the sea never died, and within seven years he had become a first mate. While sailing to the West Indies he flogged a crewman, who later died. He was arrested, but proven innocent. A few years later his crew mutinied, and to put down the insurrection he killed the leader. Knowing what it was like to stand trial for this sort of thing, he decided to go into hiding to avoid the trouble. He added the surname Jones to protect his identity and stayed away from Britain when he could.

At the outbreak of the American Revolution Jones went to Philadelphia and enlisted in the new Continental Navy. He was immediately given the rank of lieutenant and put aboard the first American flagship, Alfred. In about a year he was promoted to Captain and moved to the sloop Providence. During his first cruise he eliminated the British fisheries in Nova Scotia and captured sixteen British prize ships. In 1777 he was moved to the sloop Ranger and sailed to France, and then to Britain sinking many British vessels during the voyage.

After this successful trip he was promoted to Commodore and placed in command of a fleet of American and French craft. On his flagship, Bonhomme Richard, Jones destroyed the British man-of-war Serapis on September 23, 1779 off the coast of Britain. This is one of the greatest naval engagements in American history.

When he returned to the young nation he was assigned to supervise the construction of the America, the largest craft in the U.S. Navy. He was later going to command the great ship, but it was given away as a gift to France. He last visited the United States in 1787. In this visit he was given a gold medal by Congress, the only naval officer so honored.

The following year Jones entered the Russian navy. He played a prominent role in various campaigns against the Ottoman Turks, but jealousy and intrigue hampered him, and within two years he retired to Paris.