FreightWaves explores the archives of American Shipper’s nearly 70-year-old collection of shipping and maritime publications to showcase interesting freight stories of way back.
On this edition, from the December 1975 issue of American Shipper, FreightWaves shares the exciting story of a person considered a naval hero in the USA but a pirate in the UK. That is the second a part of two recounting the lifetime of John Paul Jones. You may read the primary part here.
Fast ship
Unfortunately for Jones and his seniority rating, he omitted two ships offered to him before he took over the Sloop “Windfall,” formerly owned by John Brown of Windfall and the pride of the Rhode Island Navy. She was an excellent vessel and possibly the fastest of any ship he commanded. In her, he had an excellent crew, captured many prizes and increased his fame as a Fighting Man of the Sea.
Jones, ever the Dandy, convened a bunch of naval officers in Boston to debate uniforms. They got here up with a dark blue coat with white linings and lapels, a stand-up collar; white breeches, waistcoat and stockings. One gold epaulet was added for the coat. It was quite just like the British uniform. His officers aboard the “Bon Homme Richard” wore this uniform and his sailors, unlike another ship’s crew, were “clean drest” in “brown jacket and round hat.” Long baggy trousers accomplished the apparel. His collection of uniform later stood him in good stead. A British ship thought he was one in every of their very own!
Robert Morris, in Philadelphia, received a letter from John Hancock requesting that Jones proceed his nice work on the seas. “I like the spirited conduct of little Jones: pray push him out again.” Push him out the Marine Committee did — giving him orders to command ALFRED, COLUMBUS, CABOT, HAMDEN and the sloop, PROVIDENCE. But, lack of communication caused Commodore Hopkins to separate up the ships and Jones never did get the possibility to take a strategic cruise that might have caught British slavers certain for the West Indies or English sloops with the much needed brass cannon. They were also to “give them an alarm at St. Augustine,” … “— show the flag in Georgia and the Carolinas.” It was a typical foul-up.
The ‘Ranger’
The identical day that Congress deemed that the Flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen alternate red and white stripes with thirteen white stars in a blue field, Captain Jones was appointed to the command of the “Ranger,” a ship of the USA Navy — not the Continental Navy.
The “Ranger” was one in every of the few ships that proved to be able to sail, yet Jones found her to not be “ship-shape and Bristol fashion.” His ship was oversparred and too light for her guns. But, Jones, the perfectionist, soon put her to rights. Indeed, Admiral Morison in his “John Paul Jones — A Sailor’s Biography” comments, “Jones enjoyed fitting out greater than anything except fighting and making love.”
“Bon Homme Richard.” It was after the “Ranger” that he was given the command of a ship that made history respect Jones as an important leader, an intrepid foe and a world famous Naval hero. The ship was the “Bon Homme Richard,” formerly the French “Due de Duras.” Jones renamed the ship after his friend, Benjamin Franklin. The vessel was a French East Indiaman, about 900 tons bought for Jones by the King of France and outfitted at His Majesty’s Expense. It was Lafayette who induced the King to place this extra effort into aiding the American cause.
Jones, now with the courtesy rank of Commodore, had a task force that was comprised of “Bon Homme Richard,” two other frigates, “Alliance” and “La Pallas,” and a cutter, “Vengeance.” After several successful forays upon enemy shipping, Jones’ squadron stood off Flamborough Head.
Jones’ ship was flying British colours when the “Serapis,” under the command of Captain Richard Pearson, got here inside hailing distance. Pearson shouted “what ship is that?” Then the British colours were struck and Jones ordered a giant red, white and blue striped American ensign to be run up.
Each ships fired almost at the identical time. The “Serapis’” cannon blew up two of Jones’ 18-pound guns, causing many gunners and loaders to perish.
The “Serapis” was a brand new copper-bottomed frigate that carried 20 eighteen-pounders to Jones’ 6; 20 nine-pounders to Jones’ 28 12-pounders, and 10 six-pounders on the quarterdeck where the “BHR” had 6 nine-pounders.
After an exchange of broadside, Jones estimated that he had enough of that and that he must board the “Serapis.”
Jones ran BHR’s bow into the stem of his opponent. It was then that Captain Pearson asked “Has your ship struck?” And, the immortal words of John Paul Jones got here back, “I even have not yet begun to fight.”
More maneuvering and the rigging of each ships change into entangled, causing the BHR and “Serapis” to have interaction in a merry-go-round dance within the North Sea with “Alliance” sailing around them and firing broadsides, mostly hitting her Commodore’s ship, the “Bon Homme Richard!”
For 2 hours they were locked in mortal embrace — sails of each ships were ablaze — fighting would stop while the crews battled the flames after which resumed motion on deck.
The battle continued and the plight of the BHR seemed hopeless to a lot of Jones’ officers. Then the mainmast of “Serapis” began to fall and Captain Pearson decided to give up. He crossed to the BHR, gave his sword to Jones who promptly returned it. The “Serapis” had suffered greatly but, in appearance BHR was an object of horror. Jones wrote of the battle, “and an individual will need to have been a Eye Witness to form a Just idea of this tremendous scene of Carneg, Wreck and spoil that Every Where appeared. Humanity cannot but recoil from the prospect of such finished horror, and Lament that War needs to be capable of manufacturing such fatal Consequences.”
His victory over the “Serapis” was the one essential Allied success at sea in 1779. The French King, Louis XVI, invested him with the Order of Military Merit, and bestowed a fair greater honor, by presenting to the valiant Captain Jones a gold-hilted sword and calling him the “Vindicator of the Freedom of the Seas.” (It’s presently near his Tomb on the U.S. Naval Academy.)
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Catherine of Russia
Catherine of Russia was a lovely woman of 62, German by birth, with the remarkable vitality of a lady a few years her junior and a sexual appetite that was controlled, partially, by the Royal Palace Guards.
Whether Her Imperial Majesty wanted the sendees of John Paul Jones, because the Admiral of her Fleet to drag together the various foreign officers in her service, or whether she desired to add one other star in her diadem of conquest has left many historians doubtful, but not Admiral Morison.
Catherine was an able ruler but her morals left so much to be desired. Married to Emperor Peter III, she had him killed and proclaimed herself Empress Catherine II.
Jones will need to have thought so much about this “liberated woman.” He wrote, “with the character of a really great man, she is going to at all times be adored as essentially the most amiable and charming of the fair sex.”
Catherine’s lover was Count Potemkin and from the beginning Potemkin was the fly in Jones’ Russian ointment. Morison claims it was the flag rank that attracted Jones, not the beguiling Catherine. Having scanned a few of Jones’ past performances within the boudoirs of many French ladies, it is sort of easy to side with Potemkin on this jealousy bit. But, accept the position of Rear Admiral within the Imperial Russian Navy is what Jones did. The title of Admiral was Jones’ biggest desire.
If the transplanted Scotsman thought he had trouble within the American colonies, those matters were insignificant in comparison with his problems in Russia.
The British officers within the Russian Navy hated Jones — a Greek officer, who expected to have Jones’ job, was one other, Potemkin had three Rear Admirals within the Black Sea and because the overall military commander tossed Jones in with the remaining. Prince Nassau-Siegen, a Hollander, was most unfriendly.
The campaign on the Liman against the Turkish fleet was a case of getting other officers working against and never with Jones. He wrote “in my whole life, I even have never suffered a lot vexation as on this Campaign of the Liman which was nearly the death of me.”
One thing that stands out from Jones’ Russian service is that not one Russian officer could be counted amongst those that participated in an overall conspiracy against this famous sailor. The Russians who served under him had nothing but respect and loyalty for him. But not Potemkin.
Kontradmiral Pavel Ivanovich Jones subsequently was relieved of his command and departed the Flagship “Vladimir.” It was on a 3 day journey to Kherson that Jones got here down with pneumonia.
The illness was not Jones’ only trouble within the Land of the Steppes. A charge of rape was made against him that was obviously a frame.
Scandal
A young girl got here to Jones’ apartment selling butter or asking if he had lace or linen that needed mending. As soon as she left his front door, the girl tore her sleeves and screamed “rape.” Her mother happened to be conveniently nearby. Who framed Jones? Was it Potemkin? Was it Prince Nassau-Siegen? It actually wasn’t the British officers. They might never resort to such a tool.
The scandal was enough to cause Jones to be a social outcast. Even the Empress, removed from being an example of virtue, took a dim view of the Admiral who had served her so well.
En path to Paris, Jones stopped at an Inn in Harwich, attired in his uniform of a Russian admiral. The people of the town surrounded the place and Jones fearing bodily harm, retreated to London. Whether it was because he raided the English seacoast or the charge of rape that raised their ire is just not known.
His death
In May of 1790, he returned to Paris, a city much loved by Jones. Here he became serious about the plight of the American seamen captured by the Barbary Coast pirates. With out a Navy to guard them, merchant ships were fair game for the pirates.
Thomas Jefferson saw eye to eye with Jones on the imprisonment of the American seamen. At the moment, the Congress of the USA didn’t care concerning the seamen, very like the liberal representatives in Washington today.
Finally, President Washington acted. On June 1, 1792, he appointed John Paul Jones “a commissioner with full powers to barter with the Dey of Algiers in regards to the ransom of Americans in captivity, and to conclude and sign a Convention thereupon.”
Jefferson gave the documents and a few $27,000 to Thomas Pinckney, who was going to London because the American minister. He sailed for England in mid July and again Jones lost. The gallant skipper died of pneumonia, July 18. Jones was buried two days later with French grenadiers leading the cortege to a grave that was lost to America for nearly 100 years.
On April 7, 1905, the grave of Jones was present in an ancient Paris cemetery. The corpse was remarkably well-preserved in alcohol. Probably brandy for which France is so rightly famous.
President Teddy Roosevelt, a supporter of a robust Navy, ordered 4 cruisers to return the body of Jones back to America. The person who was a merchant skipper and an important Naval hero was finally within the type of a squadron he hoped America might someday have.
His final resting place was the U.S. Naval Academy where young Americans prepare to be gallant skippers like Jones. They are going to at all times have his words to encourage them — “I even have not yet begun to fight.”
Click here to read the remaining of the December 1975 issue.
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