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DECATUR AND SOMERS LITTLE JARVIS PAUL JONES

PAUL JONES

BY MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL

D. APPLETON-CENTURY COMPANY INCORPORATED NEW YORK LONDON 1936

Printed in the United States of America.

INTRODUCTION.

The writer feels the most sincere diffidence in making use of the mighty name and personality of Paul Jones, who, as Cooper justly says, was not only a great seaman but a great man. An excuse, however, is not wanting. It is justifiable and profitable to bring before the eyes of American youth this heroic figure, and if it be done inadequately, the fault is not in the intention. It is not too much to say that the achievements of Paul Jones, the ranking officer in the Continental marine, had much to do with placing the American navy upon that lofty plane of skill and intrepidity which can only be matched by England, the Mistress of the Seas.

He served without pay or allowance, and made advances out of his private fortune to the cause of independence. He was wounded many times in his "twenty-three battles and solemn rencounters by sea," as he expressed it. Yet there is not one word of his wounds in any line of his official correspondence, although the wounds of others are frequently called to the attention of the Congress. He fought whenever he had a chance, and he was never defeated. The two British war-ships he captured were taken in the face of enormous odds and within sight of the three kingdoms, when both seas and shores were swarming with his enemies. The captain who surrendered to him was made a baronet for the defense of the British ship. What, then, must have been the splendor of the attack! Truly, Paul Jones deserved well of his country, and he was not without proof of its gratitude. He was unanimously elected the ranking officer of the American navy by the Continental Congress, which also gave him a gold medal and the thanks of Congress. France showed her appreciation of his services by awarding him the cross of the order of Military Merit, never before given a foreigner, and a gold sword. Thus was the splendid roll of American sea officers made lustrous from the beginning by the name of Paul Jones.

The words of Lamartine about the great profession in which Paul Jones served gloriously, and the language of Cooper regarding Paul Jones himself, may be quoted. Lamartine says: "Among the illustrious men who have filled the foremost ranks in great contests, men have always been most dazzled and interested by the heroes of the sea.... The variety and extent of natural and acquired faculties which must of necessity be united in one individual to constitute a great seaman, astonish the mind and raise the perfect sailor beyond all comparison above all other warriors."

Cooper says: "In battle, Paul Jones was brave; in enterprise, hardy and original; in victory, mild and generous; in motives, much disposed to disinterestedness, although ambitious of renown and covetous of distinction; in his pecuniary relations, liberal; in his affections, natural and sincere; and in his temper, except in those cases which assailed his reputation, just and forgiving." Moreover, he was a true and patriotic American, and, except Columbus, the Admiral of the Ocean Seas, Paul Jones was the very boldest man who ever sailed blue water.

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