COMMODORE JACOB JONES, of the United States Navy, died in Philadelphia
on the 6th inst. He was born in Smyrna, Kent county, Delaware, in
the year 1770, and was therefore, eighty years of age. He was of
an eminently respectable family, and commenced life as a physician,
having studied the profession at the University of Pennsylvania. He
afterward became clerk of the Supreme Court of Delaware for his native
county. When about twenty-nine years old he entered the navy, and made
his first cruises under Commodore Barry. He was a midshipman on board
the frigate United States, when she bore to France Chief Justice
Ellsworth and General Davie, as envoys extraordinary to the French
Republic. He was next appointed to the Ganges as midshipman. On the
breaking out of the war with Tripoli, he was stationed on the frigate
Philadelphia, under Commodore Bainbridge. The disaster which befell
that ship and her crew before Tripoli, forms a solemn page in our
naval history; atoned, however, by the brilliant achievements to which
it gave rise. Twenty months of severe captivity among a barbarous
people, and in a noxious climate, neither broke the spirit nor
impaired the constitution of Jones. Blest by nature with vigorous
health and an invincible resolution, when relieved from bondage by the
bravery of his countrymen, he returned home full of life and ardor.
He was soon after promoted to a lieutenancy. He was now for some time
employed on the Orleans station, where he conducted himself with
his usual judgment and propriety, and was a favorite in the polite
circles of the Orleans and Mississippi territories. He was shortly
after appointed to the command of the brig Argus, stationed for the
protection of our commerce on the southern maritime frontier. In this
situation he acted with vigilance and fidelity, and though there were
at one time insidious suggestions to the contrary, it has appeared
that he conformed to his instructions, promoted the public interest,
and gave entire satisfaction to the government. In 1811, he was
transferred to the command of the sloop-of-war Wasp, mounting eighteen
twenty-four pound carronades, and dispatched, in the spring of 1812,
with communications to the courts of St. Cloud and St. James. Before
he returned, war had been declared against Great Britain. He refitted
his ship with all possible dispatch, and repaired to sea, but met with
no other good fortune than the capture of an inconsiderable prize. He
next sailed from Philadelphia on the 13th of October, and on the 18th
of the same month encountered a heavy gale, during which the Wasp
lost her jibboom and two seamen. On the following night, the watch
discovered five strange sail steering eastward. The Wasp hauled to
the windward and closely watched their movements until daylight next
morning, when it was found that they were six large merchant vessels
under convoy of a sloop of war. The former were well manned, two
of them mounting sixteen guns each. Notwithstanding the apparent
disparity of force. Captain Jones determined to hazard an attack;
and as the weather was boisterous, and the swell of the sea unusually
high, he ordered down top-gallant yards, closely reefed the top-sails,
and prepared for action. We cannot give a detail of this brilliant
engagement, which resulted in the capture of the Frolic. It was one of
the most daring and determined actions in our naval history. The force
of the Frolic consisted of sixteen thirty-two pound carronades, four
twelve-pounders on the maindeck, and two twelve-pound carronades.
Both vessels had more men than was essential to their efficiency; but
while there was an equality of strength in the crews, there was an
inequality in the number of guns and weight of metal--the Frolic
having four twelve-pounders more than the Wasp. The exact number of
killed and wounded on board the Frolic could not be ascertained with
any degree of precision; but, from the admissions of the British
officers, it was supposed that their loss in killed was about thirty,
including two officers, and in wounded, between forty and fifty. The
captain and every other officer on board were more or less severely
wounded. The Wasp sustained a loss of only five men killed, and five
wounded.
While erecting jurymasts on board the Frolic, soon after, a suspicious
sail was seen to windward, upon which Captain Jones directed
Lieutenant Biddle to shape her course for Charleston, or any other
port of the United States, while the Wasp should continue upon
her cruise. The sail coming down rapidly, both vessels prepared
for action, but it was soon discovered, to the mortification of
the victors in this well-fought action, that the new enemy was a
seventy-four, which proved to be the Poictiers, commanded by Admiral
Beresford. Firing a shot over the Frolic, she passed her, and soon
overhauled the Wasp, which, in her crippled state, was unable to
escape. Both vessels were thus captured, and carried into Bermuda.
After a few weeks, a cartel was proposed by which the officers
and crew of the Wasp were conveyed to New York. On the return of
Captain Jones to the United States, he was everywhere received with
demonstrations of respect for the skill and gallantry displayed in his
combat with the enemy. The legislature of Delaware gave him a vote
of thanks, and a piece of plate. On the motion of James A. Bayard,
of Delaware, Congress appropriated twenty-five thousand dollars, as
a compensation to the commander, his officers, and crew, for the loss
they had sustained by the recapture of the Frolic. They also voted
a gold medal to the Captain, and a silver medal to each of his
commissioned officers. As a farther evidence of the confidence of
government, Captain Jones was ordered to the command of the frigate
Macedonian, recently captured from the British by Decatur. She was
rapidly fitted out under his direction, in the harbor of New York,
and proposed for one of Decatur's squadron, which was about to sail on
another expedition. In May 1811, the squadron attempted to put to
sea, but, in sailing up Long Island Sound, encountered a large British
force, which compelled the United States vessels to retreat into
New London. In this situation the enemy continued an uninterrupted
blockade during the war. Finding it impossible to avoid the vigilance
of Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded the blockading fleet, the
government ordered Captain Jones to proceed with his officers and crew
to Sackett's Harbor, and report to Commodore Chauncey, as commander of
the frigate Mohawk, on lake Ontario. There the Americans maintained
an ascendency, and continued to cruise until October, when the British
squadron, under Sir James Yeo, left Kingston, with a greatly superior
force, which caused the United States squadron to return to Sackett's
Harbor. It seemed, indeed, that the contest now depended on the
exertions of the ship carpenters. Two line of battle ships were placed
on the stocks, and were advancing rapidly to completion, when, in
February 1815, the news of peace arrived, with orders to suspend
further operations on these vessels. A few weeks after the peace was
announced, Captain Jones with his officers and crew was ordered to
repair to the seaboard, and again to take command of the Macedonian,
to form part of the force against the Algerines, then depredating on
our commerce in the Mediterranean. As soon as the Algerian Regency was
informed that war existed between the United States and Great Britain,
the Dey dispatched his cruisers to capture all American merchant
vessels. To punish these freebooters, nine or ten vessels were fitted
out and placed under Decatur. This armament sailed from New York in
May, 1815, and when off Cadiz was informed that the Algerines were
along the southern coast of Spain. Two days after reaching the
Mediterranean, the United States squadron fell in with and captured
the Algerine frigate Messuado, mounting forty-six guns, and the next
day captured a large brig of war, both of which were carried into the
port of Carthagena, in Spain. The American squadron then proceeded to
the bay of Algiers, where its sudden and unexpected appearance excited
no slight surprise and alarm in the Regency. The Dey reluctantly
yielded to every demand to him; he restored the value of the property
belonging to American merchants which he had seized, released all the
prisoners he had captured, and relinquished forever all claims on the
annual tribute which he had received. After having thus terminated
the war with Algiers, and formed an advantageous treaty, the
squadron proceeded to other Barbary capitals, and adjusted some minor
difficulties, which, however, were of importance to our merchants.
After touching at several of the islands in the Mediterranean, at
Naples, and at Malaga, the entire force came back to the United States
early in December. From this period till his death, no event of
much importance distinguished the career of Commodore Jones. He was,
however, almost constantly employed in various responsible positions,
his appointment to which evinced the confidence government placed
in his talents and discretion. In 1821, he took the command of a
squadron, for the protection of our trade in the Mediterranean, in
which he continued for three years. On his return he was offered a
seat in the Board of Navy Commissioners, but, finding bureau duties
irksome, he accepted, in 1826, the command of our navy in the
Pacific, where he also continued three years, Afterward he was placed
in command of the Baltimore station, where he remained, with the
exception of a short interval, until transferred to the harbor of
New York. Since 1847, he had held the place of Governor of the United
States Naval Asylum, on the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia.
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