John Paul Jones: Difference between revisions

'''John Paul Jones''' was born on ([[July 6]], [[1747]] - [[July 18]], [[1792]]) was born in [[Kirkcudbright]], [[Scotland]]. He was the son of a Scottish [[gardening|gardener]]. At the age of 12 he entered the British [[merchant marine]] and went to [[sea]] for the first time, as a cabin boy. In [[1773]], as the commander of a merchant vessel, he killed a mutinous crewman at [[Tobago]] in the [[West Indies]] and, rather than stay in [[prison]] and wait for [[trial]], he fled to [[North America]]. At the outbreak of [[war]] between the US[[United States]] and [[Britain]] in [[1775]], John Paul Jones went to [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], and, with the help of two friendly members of the [[Continental Congress]], obtained a lieutenantLieutenant's commission in the [[Continental Navy]].

In [[17791777]] Captain Joneshe took command of the sloop ''URanger''.S Sailing to [[France]] in [[1778]], Jones received from the French the first salute given to the new [[Stars and Stripes|American flag]] by a foreign [[warship]].S During the spring he terrorized the coastal population of Scotland and England by making daring raids ashore and destroying many British vessels.

In [[1779]] Captain Jones took command of the [[USS Bonhomme Richard (frigate)|USS ''Bonhomme Richard'']], a merchant ship rebuilt and gifted to America by French shipping magnate, [[Jacques-Donatien Le Ray]]. On [[September 23]] of that year, Jones encountered the British frigate [[HMS Serapis|HMS ''Serapis'']] in the [[North Sea]]. Sailing in close, Captain Jones had his men lash the ''Bonhomme Richard'' to the British ship, fighting the battle at point-blank range. During the fight, two of his cannon exploded, and the British captain demanded to know from Jones if he was then ready to surrender. John Paul Jones' now famous response was: "''Sir, I have not yet begun to fight''." The American crew eventually boarded and took control of the ''Serapis'' and from its deck they watched the USS ''U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard'' sink to the bottom of the North Sea.