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[[Image:432px-Cpt John Paul Jones.jpeg|250px|thumb|John Paul Jones]]

[[Image:432px-Cpt John Paul Jones.jpeg|250px|thumb|John Paul Jones]]

'''John Paul Jones''' (1747 - 1792) served as an officer in the Continental Navy during the [[American Revolution]] and is known as the "Father of the American Navy."

'''John Paul Jones''' (1747 - 1792) served as an officer in the Continental Navy during the [[American Revolution]]. His spectacular exploits in naval battles gave him the sobriquet "Father of the American Navy."

==Early life==

==Early life==

John Paul Jones was born John Paul in Kirkbean, Kirkcudbright, [[Scotland]].  From a young age he dreamed of joining the Royal Navy, and at the age of 13 he sailed out of the British port of Whitehaven on the merchant vessel ''Friendship'' on which he found an apprenticeship.  In 1764, the ship was sold and he was released from his apprenticeship, which led him to take the job of third mate on the slave ship ''King George''.  After two years, he transferred to another slave ship, the ''Two Friends'', and served as first mate.  In 1767, he left the ''Two Friends'' in [[Jamaica]] and met a captain who was sailing close to Paul's hometown.  The ship was called the ''John'' and during it's passage back to Scotland, both the captain and the first mate died.  Paul was the only one on board who knew how to navigate, and upon arriving back in Scotland the owners gave him command of the ''John''.

John Paul Jones was born John Paul in Kirkbean, Kirkcudbright, [[Scotland]].  From a young age he dreamed of joining the Royal Navy, and at the age of 13 he sailed out of the British port of Whitehaven on the merchant vessel ''Friendship'' on which he found an apprenticeship.  In 1764, he became third mate on the slave ship ''King George''.  After two years, he transferred to another slave ship, the ''Two Friends'', and served as first mate.  In 1767, became captain of the ''John''.

In 1770, Jones ordered the flogging of one of his crew members who was shirking his duties, a prominent carpenter's son named Mungo Maxwell.  When the ''John'' arrived in [[Tobago]] that summer, Maxwell sued Paul but the case was dismissed by the Admiralty Court.  Maxwell left the crew and found his own voyage home, but died at sea.  His family used their social influence to bring charges against Paul, believing that the flogging was overly brutal and led to Maxwell's death.  John Paul was able to clear his name and realized he needed to climb the social ladder to protect himself, which led him to join the [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]] on November 22, 1770.

In 1770, Jones ordered the flogging of one of his crew members who was shirking his duties.  When the ''John'' arrived in [[Tobago]] that summer, the seaman--who had family connections--sued Paul but the case was dismissed by the Admiralty Court.   

 

==American Revolution==

==American Revolution==

Using his connections with the Freemasons, Jones was able to secure a commission as First Lieutenant aboard the ''Alfred'', one of the first ships of the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775.  After participating in several encounters, he was awarded command of the ''Providence'' on May 10, 1776 following the court-martial of it's captain.  He spent the next several months capturing British merchant vessels and harassing the British Navy. However, due to personality conflicts with members of Congress, he spent a good part of 1777 without a ship before being sent to France.

Jones was commissioned as First Lieutenant aboard the ''Alfred'', one of the first ships of the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775.  After participating in several encounters, he was assigned command of the ''Providence'' on May 10, 1776.  He spent the next several months as a privateer, capturing British merchant vessels and harassing the British Navy. However, due to personality conflicts with members of Congress, he spent a good part of 1777 without a ship.

Jones was given command of the sloop ''Ranger'' and proceeded to France where he was promised command of a new frigate.  In 1778, Jones sailed the ''Ranger'' to raid the British coast and captured the British sloop ''Drake''.  After losing the ''Ranger'' in a legal dispute, the French gave Jones an armed merchant vessel named ''Duc de Duras'', which he would rename ''Bonhomme Richard'' (Good Man Richard) in honor of [[Benjamin Franklin]] and his ''Poor Richard's Almanack''.

In 1777 Jones was given command of the sloop ''Ranger'' and proceeded to France where he was promised command of a new, fast, well-armed frigate.  In 1778, Jones sailed the ''Ranger'' to raid the British coast and captured the British sloop ''Drake''.  After losing the ''Ranger'' in a legal dispute, the French gave Jones an armed merchant vessel which he named ''Bonhomme Richard'' (Good Man Richard) in honor of [[Benjamin Franklin]].

On 23 September, 1779, a Franco-American squadron under [[John Paul Jones]] was off Flamborough Head, England, looking for British merchant ships to capture, when the British frigates ''Countess of Scarborough'' and ''Serapis'' bore down on it. The American frigate, "Bonhomme Richard" engaged the "Serapis".  In a  particularly bloody, destructive fight, the English captain called out  to inquire if the "Bonhomme Richard" had struck its colors.  Jones cried out, "I have not yet begun to fight!"  Upon raking the "Serapis", the crew of the ''Bonhomme Richard'' led by Jones boarded the English ship and captured her. Likewise, the French frigate ''Pallas'' captured her prize the ''Countess of Scarborough''. The action stuck out as an embarrassing defeat for the Royal Navy, who suffered the capture of two of her vessels in her own home waters, but goes down in history as the most memorable ship-on-ship gun battle in history.<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=qT5MGeLzr3cC&pg=PA187&dq=bonhomme+serapis&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1  Edward Shippen, ''Naval Battles, Ancient and Modern'' (1883)  p 187ff]</ref>  

On 23 September, 1779, a Franco-American squadron under [[John Paul Jones]] was off Flamborough Head, England, looking for British merchant ships to capture, when the British frigates ''Countess of Scarborough'' and ''Serapis'' bore down on it. The American frigate, "Bonhomme Richard" engaged the "Serapis".  In a  particularly bloody, destructive fight, the English captain called out  to inquire if the "Bonhomme Richard" had struck its colors.  Jones cried out, "I have not yet begun to fight!"  Upon raking the "Serapis", the crew of the ''Bonhomme Richard'' led by Jones boarded the English ship and captured her. Likewise, the French frigate ''Pallas'' captured her prize the ''Countess of Scarborough''. The action stuck out as an embarrassing defeat for the Royal Navy, who suffered the capture of two of her vessels in her own home waters, but goes down in history as the most memorable ship-on-ship gun battle in history.<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=qT5MGeLzr3cC&pg=PA187&dq=bonhomme+serapis&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1  Edward Shippen, ''Naval Battles, Ancient and Modern'' (1883)  p 187ff]</ref>