Birth of the American Navy--The Privateers--Capture of New Providence,
in the Bahamas--Paul Jones--A Clever Exploit--A Skilful Escape--Fine
Seamanship--An Audacious Scheme.
When, on April 19, 1775, the battle of Lexington opened the Revolution
the Colonies did not possess a single ship with which to form the
beginning of a navy. They had for many years been actively engaged in
the coasting trade and some of their vessels did valiant service on the
side of England in the wars against France and Spain. We had a good many
hardy, skilled seamen, who formed the best material from which to man a
navy, and before long Congress undertook the work of building one. That
body ordered the construction of thirteen frigates--one for each
State--and some of these did noble work, but by the close of the war few
of them were left; nearly all had been captured or destroyed.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN JOHN PAUL JONES.]
It was far different with the privateers, which were vessels fitted out
by private parties, under the authority of Congress, to cruise the seas
wherever they chose and capture English vessels wherever they could.
When a prize was taken the lucky officers and crews divided the plunder.
It was a very tempting field for the brave and enterprising Americans
and when, in March, 1776, Congress gave them permission to fit out and
sail privateers, they were quick to use the chance of securing prize
money as it was called. Those swift sailing vessels and their daring
crews sailed out of Salem, Cape Ann, Newburyport, Bristol and other
seacoast towns, and they did not have to hunt long before they found the
richest sort of prizes. In the single year 1776 these privateers
captured 342 British vessels and wrought great havoc among the English
shipping.
In January, 1778, one of these privateers entered the harbor of New
Providence, in the Bahamas, and captured the fort and a sixteen-gun
man-of-war. Many other valiant exploits were performed and before long
some of the more daring privateers boldly crossed the Atlantic and by
their deeds threw the coast of Great Britain into consternation.
Among the most remarkable of these naval heroes was a young Scotchman,
not quite thirty years old.
[Illustration]
He had been trained in the merchant service and had become a skilful
sailor before he removed to Virginia, where he made his home. He
devotedly loved his adopted country, and, when the war broke out between
the colonies and Great Britain, and the long, hard struggle for
independence began, he was among the very first to offer his services on
the side of liberty. His character was so well known and appreciated
that he was appointed a first lieutenant. I am sure you have all heard
of him, for his name was John Paul Jones, though since, for some reason
or other, he dropped his first name and is generally referred to simply
as Paul Jones.
His first service was on the _Alfred_, which helped in the capture of
the fort at New Providence, already spoken of. Jones with his own hands
hoisted the first flag displayed on an American man-of-war. It was of
yellow silk, with the device of a rattlesnake, and bore the motto,
"Don't tread on me."
Jones attracted such favorable attention during this enterprise that on
his return he was made commander of the twelve-ton brig _Providence_ and
was employed for a time in carrying troops from Rhode Island to New
York. Since he was by birth a citizen of Great Britain, which then
insisted that "once a British subject always a British subject," the
English cruisers made determined efforts to capture him. Many of the
officers declared that if they could lay hands on the audacious
freebooter, as they called him, they would hang him at the yard arm.
But, before doing so, they had to catch him, and that proved a harder
task than they suspected. He was chased many times and often fired into,
but the _Providence_ was always swift enough to show a clean pair of
heels to her pursuers and Jones himself was such a fine sailor that he
laughed at their efforts to take him prisoner.
One of the cleverest exploits of Jones was performed in the autumn of
1776. He saw an American brig returning from the West Indies, heavily
laden with supplies for Washington's army, which was badly in need of
them. A British frigate was in hot pursuit of the American, which was
straining every nerve to escape, but would not have been able to do so
except for Jones, who ran in between the two, and, firing into the
frigate, induced her to let the American go and chase him. Taking
advantage of the chance thus offered, the brig got safely away and then
Jones himself dodged away from the frigate, which thus lost both.
In the month of October, 1776, Jones was promoted to the rank of captain
and ordered to cruise between Boston and the Delaware. I must tell you
an anecdote which illustrates his wonderful seamanship.
Some weeks before he was made a captain, and while cruising off Bermuda,
he saw five sail far to the windward and he beat up, doing so carefully
and with the purpose of finding out whether there was a chance for him
to strike an effective blow. He picked out what looked like a large
merchant ship and gave chase. He gained fast, but to his dismay, when he
was quite close, he discovered that instead of a merchant ship he had
almost run into a twenty-eight gun frigate of the enemy.
Finding he had caught a Tartar, Jones did the only thing left to him. He
hauled off and put on every stitch of sail and the frigate did the same.
She proved the better sailer, and, though she gained slowly, it was
surely, and in the course of a few hours she had approached within
musket shot of the brig's lee quarter. There seemed no possible escape
for Jones, knowing which, he did a remarkable thing. He veered off until
the frigate was almost astern, when he put about dead before the wind,
with every yard of canvas set.
The Englishman was dumfounded by the daring manoeuvre, which brought
the American within pistol shot, for he did not fire a gun until Jones
was beyond reach of his grape. The pursuit was continued hour after
hour, but the brig was now at her best and finally left her pursuer
hopelessly astern. When the _Providence_ ran into Newport in October she
had captured or destroyed fifteen prizes.
Jones's bold and skilful seamanship drew attention to him and he was now
given command of the 24-gun ship _Alfred_, while Captain Hacker took
charge of the _Providence_. The two vessels started on a cruise in
company and some days later the _Alfred_ fell in with three British
vessels, and, after a brisk action, captured them all. One proved to be
a transport with 150 men and a large amount of supplies for Burgoyne's
army, which was at that time organizing in Montreal for its notable
campaign through New York, where it was captured by General Gates, at
Saratoga.
This transport was so valuable that Jones, instead of putting a prize
crew on board, determined to take her into port, and, if in danger of
capture from pursuit, he meant to sink her. It began snowing the
following night and the _Providence_ and _Alfred_ were obliged to
separate.
Jones was making for Boston when he was discovered by the frigate that
he had outwitted two months before, when the _Providence_ narrowly
escaped capture. Night was closing in and the frigate being to windward,
her outlines were indistinct. Captain Jones ordered his prizes to steer
southward and to pay no attention to the signals displayed on his own
vessel. At midnight he hoisted a toplight and tacked to the west,
knowing the others would continue to the southward as he had directed.
The strategem was successful, for at daylight the frigate was pressing
hard after the _Alfred_, while the prizes had disappeared. The _Alfred_
eluded her enemy as before, and, upon reaching Boston, Jones found his
captives awaiting him.
An idea of the effectiveness of the privateers may be gained by the
statement that during the year 1777 nearly 500 vessels were captured by
them. By that time Paul Jones had proven himself to be the finest
officer in the American Navy. He had every quality to make him such. No
one could surpass him in seamanship. He was cool and daring and was
animated by the highest patriotism for his adopted country. Such a man
was sure to be heard of again, as Great Britain learned to her cost.
France had shown a strong liking for the American colonies from the
first. No doubt this liking was influenced by her hatred of England, for
the nations had been bitter rivals for years. We had sent several
commissioners to Paris, and they did a good deal for our country. The
commissioners had a heavy, single-decked frigate built in Holland, which
was named the _South Carolinian_ and was intended for Paul Jones, but
some difficulties occurred and he was sent to sea in the 18-gun ship
_Ranger_, which left Portsmouth, N.H., at the beginning of November. She
was so poorly equipped that Jones complained, though he did not hesitate
on that account.
On the way to Nantes, in France, the _Ranger_ captured two prizes,
refitted at Brest, and in April, 1778, sailed for the British coast.
Having made several captures, Captain Jones headed for the Isle of Man,
his intention being to make a descent upon Whitehaven. A violent wind
that night baffled him, and, hoping to prevent his presence in the
section from being discovered, he kept his vessel disguised as a
merchantman. Sailing hither and thither, generally capturing all vessels
that he sighted, he finally turned across to the Irish coast and in the
latter part of the month was off Carrickfergus, where he learned from
some fishermen that the British sloop-of-war _Drake_ was at anchor in
the roads. Jones was exceedingly anxious to attack her, and planned a
night surprise, but again the violent wind interfered and he was forced
to give up the scheme, so well suited to his daring nature.
This brave man now set out to execute one of the most startling schemes
that can be imagined. Whitehaven at that time was a city of 50,000
inhabitants and the harbor was filled with shipping. His plan was to
sail in among the craft and burn them all. It seemed like the idea of a
man bereft of his senses, but there was not the slightest hesitation on
his part. Such enterprises often succeed through their very boldness,
and his belief was that by acting quickly he could accomplish his
purpose and strike a blow at England that would carry consternation to
the people and the government.
Captain Jones had in mind the many outrages committed by British vessels
along our seacoast, for, describing his purpose in a memorial to
Congress, he said his intention was, by one good fire in England of
British shipping, "to put an end to all burnings in America."