John Paul Jones, the Patriarch of the U.S. Army Essay

Abstract

John Paul Jones was born and raised in Scotland but founded the U.S. Navy. Jones became a sailor at the young age of thirteen years. The seafarer was seen as an excellent example to other officers because of the sailor’s courageousness in facing enemies. The commander exercised different leadership qualities and was granted different positions in many states. This paper will discuss Jones’ leadership in different states, the challenges faced, and the respect granted until death.

Introduction

John Paul Jones was born in 1747, raised in Scotland, and founded the U.S. Navy. Jones was the first famous naval commander in the American Revolutionary war.¹ He began a naval career at the early age of thirteen years. The commander sailed on board for so many years with several enslaved people and merchant ships, including King George in 1764 as the third mate and Two Friends as the first mate in 1766. The sailor abandoned the prominent position assigned in Two Friends in 1776.² The commander went back to Scotland and was assigned a new position.

Jones’ career advanced more rapidly than expected during the next journey in the brig John ship that sailed from the port in 1768 when both the captain and a standing colleague abruptly perished of yellow fever. Jones traversed the ship to a secure harbor in Scotland.³ The vessel’s owners made Jones the master of the ship and the crew, giving the commander ten percent of the cargo in reward for the work well done.

Jones led two trips to the West Indies before facing difficulties. During the second journey in 1770, one of the captain’s crew was flogged after starting a rebellion about early salary payments, which led to claims that Jones’ discipline was unreasonably unpleasant.⁴ The accusations were primarily terminated, but the captain’s fortunate prominence was smashed when a seafarer perished after a short while. Jones was arrested in claims of being involved in the man’s death, imprisoned in Kirkcudbright Tolbooth but later freed on bail. The local administration urged Jones to leave and change name while on bail.⁵ Later, people noticed that the man who died of injuries was not a sailor but an adventurer from a prominent Scottish family.

The War Life

In 1775, Jones delivered the best to the New Continental Navy after fights in Lexington and Concord. The commander and colleagues captured the prize ships, including valued trade ships, and devastated the shore batteries.⁶ George Washington and the freezing troops at Valley Forge appreciated the Mellish’s captured cargo of 11,000 complete white uniforms and other equipment before the troops crossed to Delaware for a secretive attack at Trenton.

Jones was confident with the personal tactics used to attack enemies. In February 1779, the commander was instructed to command large ships that were used to carry heavy armaments.⁷ To honor Benjamin Franklin, Jones changed the ship’s name from Duc de Duras to Bonhomme Richard, the center of troops that sailed on June 12, 1779. The French constructed Bonhomme Richard, a luxurious ship with exquisite carvings and a roomy captain’s cabin that rode above the sea.⁸ The squad entailed Dr. Laurence Brooke, Spotsylvania’s native, and sailors from countries like France and Portugal, among others.⁹ On September 23^rd, the crew came across HMS Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough, who was accompanying a fleet carrying 41 male merchants.

The two groups got involved in a fight that lasted for many hours, leaving Richard sinking gently, and making Jones make the first announcements. Bill Hamilton, a Scottish man, crept across Richard’s key yard with a sack full of grenades. Following Jones’ command, he threw the explosives in the Serapis’ core entrance, touching off a blast of powder casings. After the damage, the Serapis’ Captain Pearson submitted the defeat and was not ready for continued destruction.¹⁰ Jones’ French allies were motivated by the sailor’s victory and the small state entangled by many terrestrial scandals. The commander was highly credited and was given many martial respects, together with a distinctive gold medal to celebrate his success.¹¹ One side of the medal showed Jones’ handsome face, and the other resembled the triumphant but ruined Richard.

Jones’ Leadership

Jones was a well-known leader in the United States and globally. The sailor showed concern about improving and protecting the situation of American citizens and officers.¹² In 1782, the sailor was chosen to command the 74-gun USS in America but was unsuccessful when America was given out to the French to replace the wrecked le Magnifique. In return, Europe observed and acknowledged the excellent leadership of Jones, and the commander was assigned to gather prize money in 1783. After some time, the assignment ended, whereby the sailor had no other employment projections and was forced to work with Empress Catherine, the second of Russia, in 1787.¹³ The Empress was confident with Jones and mentioned giving the commander Constantinople.

Jones was then fully trusted and was given the French name Paul de Jones. Jones participated in the naval campaign in the arm of the Black Sea against the Turks.¹⁴ The sailor and a few individuals like Nassau-Siegen rejected the Ottoman forces, but some envious conspiracies of Siegen made the Russian commander Prince Gregory Potemkin hate Jones. Due to hatred by some natives, the commander was accused of raping a ten-year-old girl in 1789.¹⁵ Due to the scandal, Jones was exiled for two years left by Catherine.

The sailor later traveled to Warsaw in Poland and made friends with American Revolutionary War veteran Tadeusz Kosciuszko. The sailor was advised by Kosciuszko to stop serving monocratic Russia but instead join another power like Sweden. Despite the suggestions, the veteran did not recruit Jones to Sweden.¹⁶ Jones failed to be hired in the Sweden navy because Catherine had blocked the appointment together with the Danish navy.

Jones’ Death

In June 1792, Jones was selected as the U.S. Ambassador to help in setting free the American detainees. Before the sailor started working in the newly assigned position, Jones’ body was found lying on the bed in the third-floor Paris apartment on July 1792.¹⁷ The sailor died at the age of forty-five years due to interstitial nephritis. Jones’s body was carried by a convoy of employees, friends, and loyal family four miles away from the residence for burial. The sailor was buried in Paris at the Saint Louis Cemetery, owned by the French royal family.¹⁸ After four years, the French innovatory regime sold the property, and the cemetery was forgotten.

Exhumation and Burial

The United States Ambassador to France, General Horace Porter, identified Jones’ remains in 1905 after a six years search for tracking the body using defective copies of the sailor’s burial record. After the death, Pierrot Francois of France donated over four hundred and sixty francs to preserve Jones’ body.¹⁹ The body was conserved in alcohol and entombed in a lead coffin for easy identification in case the United States government decided to claim the remains.

Using an old map of Paris helped identify the former St. Louis Cemetery for Alien Protestants. Sound analyses were used to look for lead coffins, whereby five were disclosed.²⁰ The third coffin, uncovered in April 1905, was identified as that of Jones after Georges Papillault did a postmortem. The sailor’s body was taken to America on board using USS Brooklyn and three other vessels. Upon nearing the American coastline, the escorting crew was joined by seven U.S. Navy warships.²¹ In April 1906, the commander’s coffin was fitted in Bancroft Hall at the U.S Naval Academy after a ceremony in Dahlgren Hall. During the body installation, President Theodore Roosevelt presided over the function. Roosevelt gave a speech praising Jones and pleading with other Navy officers to follow Jones’ leadership steps, commitment, and courage to serve the nation.²² The sailor’s remains were finally buried in a bronze granite casket at the Naval Academy Chapel in January 1913.

Posthumous Pardon at Whitehaven

In 1999, Jones was given a respectful pardon by the Whitehaven port. This was because the sailor raided the town in the presence of Lieutenant Steve Lyons, representing the U.S. Naval Attaché. Additionally, the American Navy was given freedom of the port of Whitehaven, which had never before occurred in the port’s 400-year history.²³ Gerard Richardson had made the pardoning and freedom arrangements as part of initiating the sequence of the Maritime Festival. Richardson’s Whitehaven, a wine and coffee dealer in the city, became the symbolic embassy to the U.S. Navy for the Port and town of Whitehaven up to date.²⁴ Jones is still remembered as one of the hardworking and courageous officers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Jones was born and raised in Scotland and was the founder and commander of the U.S. Navy, which is famous internationally. The commander served well to ensure that the citizens and the government were at peace. The sailor was essential to ensuring peace until he died in 1792, leaving a good leadership quality to other officers. Jones was given positions as a Navy commander in countries like Russia and France and was trusted for good leadership. The captain later died in Paris in 1792 and was buried in a Cemetery, but later the body was transported on board to the U.S. and finally buried in 1913 at the Naval Academy Chapel.

Bibliography

Buell, Augustus C. Paul Jones: Founder of the American Navy. New York: Routledge, 2018.

Martin, Andrew R. “Dream along with the US Navy Steel Band.” Chap. 4 in Steelpan Ambassadors. Jackson: University Press of Mississipi, 2017. Web.

“Birth of the U.S. Navy.” Naval History and Heritage Command. Web.

Footnotes

1. Buell, Paul Jones.
2. Buell, Paul Jones.
3. Buell, Paul Jones.
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8. Martin, “Dream along with the US Navy Steel Band.”
9. Buell, Paul Jones.
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19. Buell, Paul Jones.
20. Martin, “Dream along with the US Navy Steel Band.”
21. Buell, Paul Jones.
22. Buell, Paul Jones.
23. “Birth of the U.S. Navy.”
24. Martin, “Dream along with the US Navy Steel Band.”