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<div style="float:right; margin-left:1em; text-align:center; ">[[Image:John_barry_stamp.JPG]]</div>
He soon made a reputation
The year following he became captain of the [[sloop]] [[USS Providence|USS ''Providence'']]. In his first adventure aboard the ''Providence'' he destroyed the British fisheries in [[Nova Scotia]] and captured 16 British prize [[ship]]s. In [[1777]] he took command of the sloop ''Ranger''. 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]]. 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,
The Bonhomme Richard, Pallas and Alliance engaged the British warships. The 28 gun Serapis engaged the larger 42 gun Bonhomme Richard. The 32 gun Alliance counter-engaged the Serapis. 6) The Serapis twice raked the Bonhomme Richard with broadsides which cut its mainmast and holed her below the waterline taking individual hits in return. John Jones struck Bonhomme Richard colours and surrendered.
Meanwhile the 22 gun Countess of Scarborough engaged the 40 gun Pallas and was eventually captured both ships taking extensive damage.
This may seem like one sided battle with matching 50 guns on British ships against 106 on the US ships. The British crews where veterans and as such could out shoot the combined French/US Crews by two or three to one. The battle lines where about even, perhaps even slight favouring the British ships.
Once John Jones had struck the Bonhomme Richard colours, a sign of surrender, the Serapis came along side to capture Bonhomme Richard and take on survivors. Once the Serapis was along side, John Jones broken truce and used his larger crew to attack and capture the Serapis crew, a war crime. Once captured he locked the Serapis crew into the hold of the sinking Bonhomme Richard and deserted them to die.
The Serapis is usually reported in US sources has being a 44 Gun ship, however this disagrees with British naval records which record 28 guns, the likely cause of this discrepancy is that John Jones transfered a number of guns from the sinking Bonhomme Richard to the Serapis.
In [[1792]] Jones was appointed U.S. Consul to [[Algiers]], but on [[July 18]] he died before the commission arrived. He was buried in [[Paris, France]], but in [[1905]] his remains were removed from his long-forgotton grave and brought to the [[United States]] where, in [[1913]], he was interred in the Chapel of the [[United States Naval Academy]] at [[Annapolis]], [[Maryland]].
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