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July 17, 2018 by Alexander Meldrum
Scottish sailor John Paul Jones was born on 6 July 1747 in Kirkbean, south-west Scotland.
Jones is regarded as one of the founding figures of the US navy and became a hero to the Americans for his a...Scottish sailor John Paul Jones was born on 6 July 1747 in Kirkbean, south-west Scotland.
Jones is regarded as one of the founding figures of the US navy and became a hero to the Americans for his actions during the War of Independence, helping the nation to victory against the British.
Jones first went to sea at the age of thirteen and as a teenager, made frequent voyages to America, where his brother lived.
He was given command of his own ship and crew at the age of 21 after successfully bringing a ship back to port when its captain died suddenly.
However, his reputation was tarnished after the death of a sailor he had punished and his involvement in a sword duel in which his opponent was killed.
He made many friends and enemies—who accused him of piracy—among America's political elites, and his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to this day.
As such, he is sometimes referred to as the "Father of the American Navy" (a sobriquet he shares with John Barry and John Adams.
Jones grew up in Scotland, became a sailor, and served as commander of several British merchant ships.
After having killed one of his crew members with a sword, he fled to the Colony of Virginia and around 1775 joined the newly founded Continental Navy in their fight against Britain in the American Revolutionary War.
He commanded U.S. Navy ships stationed in France and led several assaults on England and Ireland. Left without a command in 1787, he joined the Imperial Russian Navy and obtained the rank of rear admiral.
John Paul (he added "Jones" in later life to hide from law enforcement) was born on the estate of Arbigland near Kirkbean in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright on the southwest coast of Scotland.
His father John Paul, Sr. was a gardener at Arbigland, and his mother was Jean McDuff (1708–1767). His parents married on November 29, 1733 in New Abbey, Kirkcudbright.
Living at Arbigland at the time was Helen Craik (1751–1825), later a novelist.
John Paul started his maritime career at the age of 13, sailing out of Whitehaven in the northern English county of Cumberland as apprentice aboard Friendship under Captain Benson.
Paul's older brother William Paul had married and settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Virginia was the destination of many of the younger Jones' voyages.
For several years, John sailed aboard a number of British merchant and slave ships, including King George in 1764 as third mate and Two Friends as first mate in 1766.
In 1768, he abandoned his prestigious position on the profitable Two Friends while docked in Jamaica. He found his own passage back to Scotland, and eventually obtained another position.
John Paul's career was quickly and unexpectedly advanced during his next voyage aboard the brig John, which sailed from port in 1768, when both the captain and a ranking mate suddenly died of yellow fever.
Paul managed to navigate the ship back to a safe port and, in reward for this feat, the vessel's grateful Scottish owners made him master of the ship and its crew, giving him 10 percent of the cargo.
He then led two voyages to the West Indies before running into difficulty.
During his second voyage in 1770, John Paul had one of his crew flogged, leading to accusations that his discipline was "unnecessarily cruel."
These claims initially were dismissed, but his favorable reputation was destroyed when the sailor died a few weeks later.
John Paul was arrested for his involvement in the man's death, and was imprisoned in Kirkcudbright Tolbooth, but later released on bail.
The negative effect of this episode on his reputation is indisputable, although the man's death has been linked to yellow fever.
The man who died of his injuries was not a usual sailor but an adventurer from a very influential Scottish family.
Leaving Scotland, John Paul commanded a London-registered vessel named Betsy, a West Indiaman mounting 22 guns, engaging in commercial speculation in Tobago for about 18 months.
This came to an end, however, when John killed a mutinous crew member named Blackton with a sword in a dispute over wages.
He claimed that it was in self-defense, years later in a letter to Benjamin Franklin describing this incident, but was not willing to be tried in an Admiral's Court, where the family of his first victim had been influential.
He felt compelled to flee to Fredericksburg, leaving his fortune behind, with the additional purpose of arranging the affairs of his brother, who had died there without leaving any immediate family.
About this time he assumed the surname of Jones, in addition to his original surname. There is a long-held tradition in the state of North Carolina that John Paul adopted the name "Jones" in honor of Willie Jones of Halifax, North Carolina.
From that period, America became "the country of his fond election," as he afterwards expressed himself to Baron Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol.
It was not long afterward that John Paul "Jones" joined the American navy to fight against Britain.
The American colonies
Sources struggle with this period of Jones' life, especially the specifics of his family situation, making it difficult to pinpoint historically Jones' exact motivations for emigrating to America.
It is not known whether his plans were not developing as expected for the plantation, or if he was inspired by a revolutionary spirit.
What is clearly known is that Jones left for Philadelphia shortly after settling in North America to volunteer his services around 1775 to the newly founded Continental Navy, precursor to the United States Navy.
During this time, the Navy and Marines were being formally established, and suitable ship's officers and captains were in great demand.
Jones's potential would likely have gone unrecognized were it not for the endorsement of Richard Henry Lee, who knew of his abilities.
With help from influential members of the Continental Congress, Jones was appointed as a 1st Lieutenant of the newly converted 24-gun frigate Alfred in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775.
Later life and death
John Paul Jones Memorial in Washington, D.C.
In May 1790 Jones arrived in Paris. He still possessed his position as Russian rear admiral with a corresponding pension, which allowed him to remain in retirement until his death two years later,
although he made a number of attempts to re-enter the service in the Russian navy. By this time his memoirs had been published in Edinburgh. Inspired by them,
James Fenimore Cooper and Alexandre Dumas later wrote their own adventure novels. John Paul Jones also appeared as a cameo in Herman Melville's book "Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile".
In June 1792, Jones was appointed U.S. Consul to treat with the Dey of Algiers for the release of American captives. Before Jones was able to fulfill his appointment,
he was found dead (aged 45) lying face-down on his bed in his third-floor Paris apartment, No. 19 Rue de Tournon, on July 18, 1792. The cause of death was interstitial nephritis.
A small procession of servants, friends and loyal family walked his body the four miles (6.4 km) for burial. He was buried in Paris at the Saint Louis Cemetery, which belonged to the French royal family.
Four years later, France's revolutionary government sold the property and the cemetery was forgotten. The area was later used as a garden, a place to dispose of dead animals and where gamblers bet on animal fights.
For more Details go to Wikipedia.
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