Jones, John Paul, 1747–92, American naval hero, b. near Kirkcudbright, Scotland. His name was originally simply John Paul.

Early Life

John Paul went to sea when he was 12, and his youth was adventure-filled. He was chief mate on a slave ship in 1766 but, disgusted with the work, soon quit. In 1769 he obtained command of the John, a merchantman that he captained until 1770. In 1773, while Jones was in command of the Betsy off Tobago, members of his crew mutinied and he killed one of the sailors in self-defense. To avoid trial he fled. In 1775 he was in Philadelphia, with the Jones added to his name; Joseph Hewes Hewes, Joseph (hy
..... Click the link for more information. of Edenton, N.C., obtained for him a commission in the Continental navy.

Revolutionary War Hero

In 1777, Jones was given command of the Ranger, fresh from the Portsmouth shipyard. He sailed to France, then daringly took the war to the very shores of the British Isles on raids. In 1778, he captured the Drake, a British warship.

It was, however, only after long delay that he was given another ship, an old French merchantman, which he rebuilt and named the Bon Homme Richard ("Poor Richard"), to honor Benjamin Franklin. He set out with a small fleet but was disappointed in the hope of meeting a British fleet returning from the Baltic until the projected cruise was nearly finished. On Sept. 23, 1779, he did encounter the British merchantmen, convoyed by the frigate Serapis and a smaller warship. Despite the superiority of the Serapis, Jones did not hesitate.

The battle, which began at sunset and ended more than three and a half hours later by moonlight, was one of the most memorable in naval history. Jones sailed close in, to cut the advantage of the Serapis, and finally in the battle lashed the Bon Homme Richard to the British ship. Both ships were heavily damaged. The Serapis was afire in at least 12 different places. The hull of the Bon Homme Richard was pierced, her decks were ripped, her hold was filling with water, and fires were destroying her, unchecked; yet when the British captain asked if Jones was ready to surrender, the answer came proudly, "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight." When the Serapis surrendered, Jones and his men boarded her while his own vessel sank. He was much honored in France for the victory but received little recognition in the United States.

Later Life

After the Revolution Jones was sent to Europe to collect the prize money due the United States. In 1788 he was asked by Catherine the Great to join the Russian navy; he accepted on the condition that he become a rear admiral. His command against the Turks in the Black Sea was successful, but political intrigue prevented his getting due credit. In 1789 he was discharged from the Russian navy and returned to Paris. There in the midst of the French Revolution he died, without receiving the commission that Jefferson had procured for him to negotiate with the dey of Algiers concerning American prisoners.

Although he is today generally considered among the greatest of American naval heroes and the founder of the American naval tradition, his grave was forgotten until the ambassador to France, Horace E. Porter, discovered it in 1905 after the expenditure of much of his own time and money. The remains were removed to Annapolis and since 1913 have been enshrined in a crypt at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Bibliography

See his memoirs (1830, repr. 1972); A. De Koven, Life and Letters of John Paul Jones (1913); F. A. Golder, John Paul Jones in Russia (1927); L. Lorenz, John Paul Jones (1943, repr. 1969); G. W. Johnson, The First Captain (1947); S. E. Morison, John Paul Jones: A Sailor's Biography (1959, repr. 1964); E. Thomas, John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy (2003).

Jones, John Paul

orig. John Paul

John Paul Jones, portrait by Charles Willson Peale, 1781.

(credit: Courtesy of the Independence National Historical Park Collection, Philadelphia)

(born July 6, 1747, Kirkbean, Kirkcudbright, Scot.—died July 18, 1792, Paris, France) American naval hero. He went to sea at age 12 and became a ship's master at age 21. He joined his brother in Virginia in 1775. When the American Revolution began, he joined the new Continental Navy under Esek Hopkins. In 1776 he sailed the Providence along the Atlantic coast, capturing eight British ships and sinking eight more. Appointed by Congress to the newly built Ranger, he made a spectacular cruise through St. George's Channel and the Irish Sea (1777–78), where he took a number of prizes. In 1779 he commanded the Bonhomme Richard and intercepted a merchant fleet. Though outgunned by an escort ship, the Serapis, he forced its surrender after a fierce battle, answering its challenge to surrender with “I have not yet begun to fight!” His ship sank soon after, and he sailed two British prizes to the Netherlands. In 1790 he retired, in ill health, to France.

Jones, John Paul (b. John Paul) (1747–92) naval officer, Revolutionary hero; born in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He went to sea at age 12 and commanded merchant ships in the West Indies. No saint, he engaged in the slave trade and added "Jones" to his name to avoid pursuit after the death of two sailors he had flogged. He went to Philadelphia at the start of the American Revolution and became a senior lieutenant in the Continental navy (1775). Successful in capturing ships while in command of the Providence, he was given command of the Ranger. He sailed to France in 1777 and captured the British Drake (1778), the first enemy warship to surrender to an American vessel. Sailing from France in the Bonhomme Richard (1779), a refitted merchant ship, he fought the British Serapis off Flamborough Head, England, in a legendary battle that included his defiant cry, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Following his victory, he was made a chevalier of France and received the thanks of Congress (1781). He fought no more battles for America but he did go to France and Denmark to negotiate for the return of U.S. ships. He visited the United States for the last time in 1787 and served as a Russian rear admiral (1788–89) before returning to Paris. His remains were returned to the United States in 1905 and placed in a chapel crypt at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Jones, John Paul

(1747–1792) Revolutionary War naval hero; remembered for saying; “I have not yet begun to fight!” [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 260–261]

See : Determination