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LIFE
OP
REAR-ADMIRAL
JOHN PAUL JONES,
CHEVALIER OF THE MILITAIU ORDER OF MERIT, AND OF THE
RUSSIAN ORDER OF S'"^. ANNE, &c. &c.
COMPILED FROM HIS ORIGINAL JOURNALS AM) CORRESPONDENCE : INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT Of
HIS SERVICES IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, AND IN THE WAR BETWEEN
iHE RUSSIANS AND TURFiS EW THE BLACK SEA.
ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS,
From Original Drawings
BY JAMES HAMILTON.
PHILADELPHIA:
LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.,
SUCCESSORS TO
GRIGG, ELLIOT & CO.,
No. 14, NORTH FOURTH STREET.
1851.
■ Jy Til
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1845, by
BENJ. WALKER,
in the office of the clerk of the District Court of the United States in and for tha
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. '
•/
Printed by T. K. & P. G. Collins.
4
PREFACE
The following Life of Rear- Admiral Paul Jones, is formed
on the basis of the Edinburgh " Memoirs," published under
the sanction of his family connexions. Some alterations and
additions have been made by the American editor, and all
the naval embellishments are from original drawings, by Mr.
.Hamilton, the portraits by Mr. Croome and others.
The following extract from the Preface to the Edinburgh
" Memoirs," will show the sources from which this biography
has been compiled. So much of the work was written by
Jones's own hand, that the American editor has felt reluctant
to make changes.
The papers from which the present work is compiled may
now be enumerated : — it is, however, in the first place, worthy
of notice, that though Paul Jones acted a prominent part in
the American war, a very small portion of his public life
was spent in America. His field of enterprise was Europe.
iv PREFACE.
Though he had made two visits to the United States be
tween the years 1780 and 1792, when he died in Paris, he
spent but a short time in America, and that in comparative
inactivity.
By his^will, dated at Paris on the day of his death, Paul
Jones left his property and effects of all kinds to his sisters in
Scotland and their children. Immediately on his decease a
regular, or rather an official inventory was made of his volu-
minous papers, which were sealed up with his other effects,
till brought to Scotland by his eldest sister, Mrs. Taylor, a
few months after his death. They have ever since remained
m the custody of his family ; and are now, by inheritance,
become the property of his niece. Miss Taylor of Dumfries.
They consist of several bound folio volumes of letters and
documents, which are officially authenticated, so far as they
are public papers; numerous s(^-olls and copies of letters;
and many private communications, originating in his widely-
diffused correspondence in France, Holland, America, and
other quarters. There is, jn addition to these, a collection of
writings of the miscellaneous kind likely to be accumulated
by a man of active habits, who had for many years mingled
both in the political and fashionable circles, wherever he
chanced to be thrown.
The Journal of the Campaign of 1788 against the Turks,
forms of itself a thick MS. bound volume. This Journal was
drawn up by Paul Jones for (he perusal of the Empress
PREFACE. V
Catherine II.; and was intended for publication if the Russian
government failed to do him justice. He felt that it totally
failed ; but death anticipated his long-contemplated purpose.
To this Journal, Mr. Eton, in his Survey of the Turkish Em-
pire, refers, as having been seen by him. It was, however
only the official report, transmitted by Paul Jones to the Ad-
miralty of the Black Sea, that this gentleman could have
seen. This singular narrative, which so confidently gives
the lie to all the Russian statements of that momentous cam-
paign, is written in French. In the following work the
language of the original is as closely adhered to as is ad-
missible even in the most literal translation. Several pas-
sages have been omitted, and others curtailed, as they
refer merely to technical details, which might have unduly
swelled this work, without adding much to its interest. Much
of the voluminous official correspondence which passed be-
tween Paul Jones and the other commanders during the cam-
paign is also omitted. These pieces justijicatives were only
intended to corroborate, or elucidate, the narrative; tbey
are, save in a few instances which are cited, not particularly
interesting.
Besides the above papers and documents, the editor has
been furnished with the letters written by Paul Jones to his
relations in Scotland, from the time that he was a ship-boy
at Whitehaven till he died an Admiral in the Russian service,
and the wearer of several Orders. Trom these materials an
vi PREFACE.
attempt has been made to exhibit, for the first time, the real
character of this remarkable and distinguished individual,
fairly, but liberally ,-^keeping clear of hyperbole and exag-
geration on the one hand, and of prejudice and misrepresen-
tation on the other. Of each of these, the reputation, and
true character of Paul Jones, have long been the alternate
sport or victim.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
P&OE
Early Life of Paul Jones. Goes to Sea. Settles in Virginia 11
CHAPTER II.
Commencement of the Revolution. Jones enters the Naval service of the
United States. Expedition to Providence under Commodore Hopkins.
Expedition to Newfoundland. Organization of the Navy. Intercourse
with Congress. Jones goes to Europe in the Ranger \ 22
CHAPTER III.
In Paris. Plan of Naval Campaign. Goes to Quiberon. Obtains the first
Salute. Cruise on the British coast. Capture of the Drake. Letter to
Lady Selkirk. Correspondence with Lord Selkirk 49
CHAPTER IV.
Jones in France. Prisoners and Prize Agents. New plans. Correspon-
dence with Dr. Franklin and the Commissioners and the French Minis-
ters. Letter to the King of France 76
CHAPTER V.
Jones declines the Privateer service. The Bon Homme Richard and a
Squadron placed under his command. Sails on a Cruise. The Cruise.
Operations on the British coast 101
CHAPTER VI.
Engagement of the Bon Homme Richard and Serapis. Capture of the '
Serapis. Transactions at the Texel and L'Orient 120
(vii^
viii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
Jones at Versailles. The gold Sword. Order of Merit. Landais and
Arthur Lee. Mutiny. Refitting- of the Scrapis. Sailing of the AlUance.
Sailing of the Ariel. Ariel dismasted. .Tones and Delia. M. de Sar-
tine's letter to the President 156
CHAPTER VIII.
Jones in the United States. His Narrative of the Voyage. Trial and dis-
missal of Landais. Complimentary report of the American Board of
Admiralty. Thanks of Congress. Letter from Washington. Appointed
to the command of the America. Disappointed. Return of peace. Jones
goes to Paris. Returns to America. Receives gold medal from Con-
gress. Returns to Europe. Enters tlie Russian service. Goes to St.
Petersburgh 175
CHAPTER IX.
Jones's Journal of his Campaign in the Liman 214
CHAPTER X.
State of affairs in Russia. Character of Prince Potemkiu 287
CHAPTER XL
Jones returns to St. Petersburgh. Unpleasant affair. Leaves Russia. Cor-
respondence 301
CHAPTER XII.
Jones and Kosciusko. Correspondence 325
CHAPTER XIII.
Jones's domestic and literary character. Correspondence with Ladies.
Residence m Paris. Death. Will. Character 351
Appendix 397
LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS.
PORTRAIT OF PAUL JONES. FRONTISPIECE.
TITLE PAGE. MEDALLION FROM THE CONGRESS MEDAL.
TAIL PIECE Page 6
INITIAL LETTER 11
TAIL PIECE 21
INITIAL LETTER 22
HOISTING THE AMERICAN FLAG 28
SAILING OF JONES'S SQUADRON 30
ESCAPE FROM THE SOLEBAY 34
ACTION WITH THE MILFORD ., 34
WRECK OF THE HAMPDEN 35
DESTRUCTION OF THE TRANSPORT 37
TAILPIECE. 48
INITIAL LETTER 49
THE FIRST SALUTE 52
SINKING OF THE BRIGANTINE 54
ESCAPE OF THE REVENUE WHERRY 55
EXPEDITION TO WHITEHAVEN 57
DESCENT ON WHITEHAVEN 60
DESCENT ON ST. MARY'S ISLE 62
ACTION BETWEEN THE RANGER AND THE DRAKE 64
RELEASE OF THE IRISHMEN .66
TAIL PIECE 75
INITIAL LETTER 76
TAIL PIECE . .:, 100
INITIAL LETTER 101
PORTRAIT— LA FAYETTE 104
STORM OFF THE COAST OF SCOTLAND 113
ADVENTURE ON THE COAST OF FIFE 117
TAIL PIECE 119
INITIAL LETTER 120
MEETING OF THE FLEETS 121
ADVENTURE OFF THE HUMBER 122
THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. Beginning of the action 124
THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS. Close action 125
ACTION BETWEEN THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS 128
SINKING OF THE BON HOMME RICHARD 131
PORTRAIT— COMMODORE DALE 133
PORTRAIT— ROBERT MORRIS 151
ESCAPE OF THE ALLIANCE 153
X LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS.
TAIL PIECE 1 55
INITIAL LETTER 156
PORTRAIT— SILAS DEANE 169
THE ARIEL RIDING OUT THE STORM 170
TAIL PIECE 174
INITIAL LETTER 175
VICTORY OF THE ARIEL 177
PORTRAIT— JOHN ADAMS 192
PORTRAIT— THOMAS JEFFERSON 200
TAIL PIECE / 213
INITIAL LETTER 214
CROSSING THE BALTIC 219
GOING ON BOARD THE WOLODIMER 221
JONES HOISTS HIS FLAG ON BOARD THE WOLODIMER 223
AFFAIR OF JUNE 6th 227
COMBAT WITH THE TURKS 229
ACTION BETWEEN THE TURKS AND RUSSIAN SQUADRON.. . 232
BURNING OF THE TURKISH VESSELS 234
JONES TAKING SOUNDINGS OFF OCZAKOW 235
ATTACK ON THE SHIPS AGROUND 237
BURNING OF THE TURKISH FLEET 239
FLOTILLA ACTION 240
BURNING OF A FRIGATE 241
BURNING OF THE CAPITAN PACHA'S GALLEY 243
ACTION OF THE 28th OF JUNE 243
CAPTURE OF THE TURKISH CHALOUPES 249
JONES CUTTING OUT A TURKISH VESSEL 253
THE CAPITAN PACHA SOUNDING. 255
CAPTURE OF THE LODKA 257
RUSSIAN ATTACK ON OCZAKOW 263
FLOTILLA ACTION 265
JONES'S NIGHT EXPEDITION 267
BURNING OF A TURKISH VESSEL 268
TAIL PIECE 286
INITIAL LETTER. 287
INITIAL LETTER 301
PORTRAIT—CATHERINE II 310
TAIL PIECE 324
INITIAL LETTER 325
PORTRAIT— KOSCIUSKO 326
PORTRAIT— WASHINGTON 330
TAILPIECE 350
INITIAL LETTER 351
TAIL PIECE 396
TAIL PIECE—JONES SAVING THE BOATS 399
LIFE
OP
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES,
CHAPTER I.
OHN PAUL JONES wa^
born on the 6th of July, 1747.
at Arbigland, in the parish of
Kirkbean, and stewartry of
^ Kirckudbright, in Scotland.
The family of the Pauls was
originally from Fife; but the
grandfather of John Paul, — the
name of Jones being long affer-
wards assumed, — kept a public, or as it was then called, a
mail-garden in Leith, on a spot long since covered with
buildings. His son, the father of John Paul Jones, followed
the same profession; and, on finishing his apprenticeship,
entered into the employment of Mr. Craik of Arbigland, in
which he remained till his death, in 1767.
A gardener at that period was understood to be a person
of better education than a common operative mechanic in
ordinary handicrafts. The father of Paul Jones must have
been a man both of intelligence and worth. The garden of
(11)
12 EARLY LIFE.
Arbigland was laid out by him ; and he planted the trees thai
now embellish the mansion. The period of his service, and
the interest which his employer took in his orphan family,
established the general worth and respectability of his
character.
Shortly after entering into the employment of Mr. Craik,
John Paul married Jean Macduff, the daughter of a small
farmer in the neighbouring parish of New- Abl >y. The Mac-
duffs were a respectable rural race in their own district;
and some of them had-been small landed pDprietors in the
parish of Kirkbean, for an immemorial period. Of this mar-
riage there were seven children, of whom John — afterwards
known as John Paul Jones — was the fifth ; he may indeed be
called the youngest, as two children born after him died in
infancy.* The first-born of the family, William Paul, went
abroad early in life, and finally settled and married in Fred-
ericksburgh, in Virginia. He appears to have been a man
of enterprise and judgment. Beyond his early education and
virtuous habits he could have derived no advantage from his
family; and, in 1772 or 1773, when he died, still a young
man, he left a considerable fortune. Of the daughters, the
eldest, Elizabeth, died unmarried, — Janet, the second, married
Mr. Taylor, a watchmaker in Dumfries, — and the third,
Mary Ann, was twice married, first to a Mr. Young, and
afterwards to Mr. Louden. Of the relations of Admiral
Jones, several nieces, and a grand-nephew, now in the
United States, still survive.
* Among the many calumnies by which tlie meniory of Admiral Paul
Jones has been loaded, and the numerous vulgar traditions that hang about
his reputation, and conceal his genuine character, is an absurd story of his
having been the son of cither Mr. Craik, his father's employer, of one of the
Earls of Selkirk, or of some other great personage, name unknown ; as if it
were impossible that a man so distinguished by gallantry and enterprise,
could be, in very deed, merely the fifth child of Mr. John Paul, the gardener.
His correspondence in the farther progress of his narrative will sufficiently
refute an obsolete slander which was perhaps scarcely worth notice.
APPRENTICESHIP. 13
The residence of his father, near the shores of the Solvvay,
in one of the most beautiful points of the Frith, must have
been favourable to the genius of one who was destined to
play the part of John Paul Jones — to have, —
" His march upon the mountain wave,
His home upon the deep."
In the traditions of his family, young Paul is described as
launching, while a mere child, his mimic-ship, hoisting his
flag, and issuing his mandates to his imaginary crew with all
the firmness and dignity of one born to lead and to command
his fellows.
Among the numerous unfounded slanders and rumours of
which this brave and misrepresented man has been the
object, is the assertion, that he ran off to sea against the will
of his relations. Even this transgression might have been
atoned by his after life; but it was not committed. His
inclination for the bold and hardy mode of life which he
adopted, appears, as it often does in boyhood, to have been
a strong passion, fostered by his childish pastimes, and en-
couraged by much that he saw and heard in his daily inter-
course with ships and seamen. Man or boy, Paul Jones was
not moulded in the stamp of character which shrinks from
facing out what is once firmly resolved. A sailor's life was
his decided choice ; and at the age of twelve he was sent
across the Solway by his relations, and bound apprentice to
Mr. Younger, of Whitehaven. This gentleman, who was
then a respectable merchant in the American trade, he found
a kind and liberal master.
Though Paul Jones was thus early estranged from his
family, and was afterwards prevented from much personal
intercourse with them, this narrative will afford aDundant
evidence that, like almost every other young Scottish adven-
turer— to the national honour be it told — he continued a most
affectionate son and brother, even when at the highest eleva-
2
14 FIRST VOYAGE.
tion of his fortune ; giving constant proof, not merely of his
readiness to minister to the comforts of his relations, but of
his anxiety for the union, respectability, and prosperity of his
sisters and their families. — To them he at last bequeathed
the whole of his fortune.
The education which young Paul received at the parish-
school of Kirkbean, must have terminated when he went to
sea. His after acquirements — and they were considerable —
were the fruits of private study, and of such casual oppor-
tunities as in boyhood he had the forethought and good sense
to improve as often as his ship came into port. His first
voyage was made to America, the country of his after adop-
tion. He sailed in the Friendship, of Whitehaven ; and, before
he was thirteen, landed on the shores of Rappahannock.
While the Friendship remained in port, young Paul hved in
the house of his brother WiUiam, and assiduously studied
navigation and other branches of learning, either connected
with his profession or of general utility.
In the course of a short time, his good conduct, intelligence,
and knowledge of his profession, procured him the confidence
and friendship of his master, who promised him his future
protection and favour. From the subsequent embarrassment
of his own affairs, Mr. Younger was unable to fulfil this
promise ; but, in giving the young seaman up his indentures,
he did all he could then perform. Thus honourably released
from his early engagements, Paul Jones, while still a mere
boy, obtained the appointment of third mate of the King
George of Whitehaven, a vessel engaged in the slave-trade.
From this ship he went about the year 1766, being now nine-
teen years of age, into the brigantine Two Friends, of King-
ston, Jamaica, as chief mate. This ship was engaged in the
same nefarious traffic. It is stated by his relatives, the only
source of information on the early period of his fife that is
either accessible or to be relied on, that he quitted this
abominable trade in disgust at its enormities ; and, in conse-
APPOINTED MASTER. 15
quence of abandoning it, returned to Scotland in 1768, as a
passenger in the brigantine John of Kirkcudbright, Captain
Macadam, commander. On this voyage the captain and
mate both died of fever ; and there being no one on board so
capable of navigating the ship, Paul assumed the command,
and brought her safe into port. For this well-timed piece
of service he vv^as appointed by the ow^ners, Currie, Beck,
& Co., master and supercargo. This was almost the last
time that young Paul had an opportunity of seeing his re-
lations. He only met them once again, about the middle of
the year 1771.
While Paul Jones was on board thi's vessel, a circumstance
occurred which afterwards, in times of violent prejudice and
party-feeling, was eagerly laid hold of to traduce and blacken
his character, and to represent him as a cruel and lawless
brigand, eager for plunder and thirsting for blood,* guilty of
a thousand enormities, though of what precise kind no one
could specify. It was confidently stated — and is still indeed
very generally believed — that while in the command of the
John he punished a man named Mungo Maxwell, the carpen-
ter of that vessel, so severely, that he died in consequence of
the stripes he received. The affidavitsf given below clearly
* It is not a little remarkable, that many of his own intelligent countrymen
do to this day know of Paul Jones only as a wild reckless adventurer, a sort of
modern buccaneer, possessed of no redeeming quality save great personal cour-
age and intrepidity, — or as the subject of vulgar ballads and marvellous legends,
daring impossible and acting horrible deeds, among which was the one above
alluded to.
" Tobago.
t" Before the Honourable Lieutenant-Governor, William Young, Esq., ot
the island aforesaid, personally appeared James Simpson, Esq., who, being
duly sworn upon the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, deposeth and saith.
That some time about the beginning of May, in the year of our Lord one
thousand seven hundred and seventy, a person in the habit of a sailor came to
this deponent (who was at that time Judge Surrogate of the Court of Vice-
Admiralty for the island aforesaid) with a complaint against John Paul, (com
mander of a brigantine then lying in Rockley Bay of the said island,) for
16 CALUMNY.
refute this calumny, which probably originated among those
of his contemporaries who envied the place and influence his
superior intelligence and energy had so early acquired for
him. So tenacious of life is slander, however false and
liavirig beat the then complainant, (who belonged to the said John Paul's ves-
sel,) at the same time showing this deponent his shoulders, which had thereon
the marks of several stripes, but none that were either mortal or dangerous, to
the best of this deponent's opinion and belief. And this deponent further saith,
that he did summon the said John Paul before him, who, in his vindication,
alleged that the said complainant had on all occasions proved very ill qualified
for, as well as very negligent in, his duty; and also, that he was very lazy and
inactive in the execution of his (the said John Paul's) lawful commands, at the
same time declaring his sorrow for having corrected the complainant. And
this deponent further saith, that having dismissed the complaint as frivolous,
the complainant, as this deponent believes, returned to his duty. And this
deponent further saith, that he has since understood that the said complainant
died afterwards on board of a different vessel, on her passage to some of the
Leeward Islands, and that the said John Paul (as this deponent is informed)
has been accused in Great Britain as the immediate author of the said com-
plainant's death, by means of the said stripes herein before mentioned, which
accusation this deponent, for the sake of justice and humanity, in the most
solemn manner declares, and believes to be, in his judgment, without any just
foundation, so far as relates to the stripes before mentioned, which this depo-
nent very particularly examined. And further this deponent saith not.
"James Simpson.
"Sworn before me, this 30th day of
June, 1772, William Young."
"James Eastment, mariner, and late master of the Barcelona packet, maketh
oath, and saith. That Mungo Maxwell, carpenter, formerly on board the John,
Captain John Paul, master, came in good health on board his, this deponent's
said vessel, then lying in Great Rockley Bay, in the island of Tobago, about
the middle of the month of June, in the year one thousand seven hundred and
seventy, in the capacity of a carpenter, aforesaid; that he acted as such in
every respect in perfect health for some days after he came on board this depo-
nent's said vessel, the Barcelona packet; after which he was taken ill of a
fever and lowness of spirits, which continued for four or five days, when he
died on board the said vessel, during her passage from Tobago to Antigua.
And this deponent further saith, that he never heard the said Mungo Maxwell
complain of having received any ill usage from the said Captain John Paul;
!)ut that he, this deponent, verily believes the said Mungo Maxwell's death was
6ALUMNY. 17
groundless, that twenty years afterwards, when Paul Jones
was a rear-admiral in the Russian service, the same calum-
nious story was revived, though Maxwell the carpenter was
then transformed into Jones's own nephew. This was done
to injure him with the Empress Catherine, and when, instead
of his ancient school-fellows of Kirkbean, or ship-mates of
Kirkcudbright, his rivals were the Princes Potemkin and De
Nassau.
One of the earliest letters of Jones now extant relates to
this unfortunate affair, which was calculated to make a deep
impression on a young and ingenuous mind, and gave much
uneasiness and pain to him. The letter is addressed to his
mother and sisters, and gives a better and fairer view of his
youthful character than could be given by the most laboured
panegyric of a biographer : —
" London, 24th September, 1772.
" My dear Mother and Sisters,
" I only arrived here last night from the Grenadas. I have
had but poor health during the voyage ; and my success in it
not having equalled my first sanguine expectations, has added
very much to the asperity of my misfortunes, and, I am well
assured, was the cause of my loss of health. I am now,
occasioned by a fever and lowness of spirits, as aforesaid, and not by or
through any other cause or causes whatsoever.
"James Eastment.
" Sworn at the Mansion House, London,
this 30th of January, 1773, before me,
James Townsend, Mayor."
"These do certify to whom it may concern, that the bearer, Captain John
Paul, was two voyages master of a vessel called the John, in our employ in
the West India trade, during which time he approved himself every way
qualified both as a navigator and supercargo; but as our present firm is dis-
solved, the vessel was sold, and of course he is out of our employ, all accounts
between him and the owners being amicably adjusted. Certified at Kirkcud-
bright this 1st April, 1771.
"CuRRiK, Beck &. Co."
2*
18 LETTER TO HIS FAMILY.
however, better, and I trust Providence will soon put me in
a way to get bread, and (which is by far my greatest happi-
ness) be serviceable to my poor but much valued friends. I
am able to give you no account of my future proceedings,
as they depend upon circumstances which are not fully
determined.
" I have enclosed you a copy of an affidavit made before
Governor Young, by the Judge of the Court of Vice- Admi-
ralty of Tobago, by which you will see with how little reason
my life has been thirsted after, and, which is much dearer to
me, my honour^ by maliciously loading my fair character
with obloquy and vile aspersions. I believe there are few
who are hard-hearted enough to think I have not long since
given the world every satisfaction in my power, being con-
scious of my innocence before Heaven, who will one day
judge even my judges. I staked my honour, life, and fortune
for six long months on the verdict of a British jury, notwith-
standing I was sensible of the general prejudices which ran
against me ; but, after all, none of my accusers had the cour-
age to confront me. Yet I am willing to convince the world, if
reason and facts will do it, that they have had no foundation
for their harsh treatment. I mean to send Mr. Craik a copy
properly proved, as his nice feelings will not perhaps be
otherways satisfied ;* in the mean time, if you please, you
may show him that enclosed. His ungracious conduct to me
before I left Scotland I have not yet been able to get the
better of Every person of feeling must think meanly of add-
ing to the load of the afflicted. It is true I bore it with
seeming unconcern, but Heaven can witness for me that I
suffered the more on that very account. But enough of
this. And now a word or two in the family way, and I
have done."
*****
* Mr. Craik was perfectly convinced of his innocence, but they never either
met or corresponded afterwards.
MR. CRAIK. 19
As the employer and patron of his deceased father, young
Paul naturally looked to Mr. Craik for advice and counte-
nance to himself, and for protection and kindness to his help-
less female relatives. The following letter illustrates the true
nature of his connexion vi^ith that gentleman, the fetters of
whose cautious kindness do not appear to have sat very
easily upon him. It also throws an incidental Hght on his
energetic and self-depending character, even at this early
period of his life : —
" St. George's, Grenada, 5th August, 1770.
** Sir,
" Common report here says that my owners are going to
finish their connexions in the West Indies as fast as possible.
How far this is true I shall not pretend to judge ; but should
that really prove the case, you know the disadvantages I
must of course labour under.
" These, however, would not have been so great had I
been acquainted with the matter sooner, as in that case I
believe I could have made interest with some gentleman here
to have been concerned with me in a large ship out of Lon-
don; and as these gentlemen have estates in this and the
adjacent islands, I should have been able to make two
voyages every year, and c^lways had a full ship out and
home, &c. &c. &c.
" However, I by no means repine, as it is a maxim with
me to do my best, and leave the rest to Providence. I shall
take no step whatever without your knowledge and appro-
bation.
" I have had several very severe fevers lately, which
have reduced me a good deal, though I am now perfectly
recovered.
20 IN THE INDIA TRADE.
" I must beg you to supply my mother should she want
anything, as I well know your readiness.
" I hope yourself and family enjoy health and happiness.
I am, most sincerely,
" Sir, yours always,
" John Paul."
It has been alleged, that about this time young Paul was
engaged in the contraband trade, then very generally prac-
tised among the self-named fair-dealers of the towns along
both shores of the Solway. Without entering into the ques-
tion of how far at that period the act of smuggling might
otherwise affect a man's moral character or estimation in
society, it is certain that Jones long afterwards decidedly
and indignantly repelled this degrading charge, and that the
first entry of goods from England to the Isle of Man, after
that nest of smugglers and centre of the contraband trade
had been annexed to the crown, stands in his name in the
Custom-house books of Douglas.
Soon after this period Paul obtained command of the
Betsy of London, a West India ship, and remained for a time
in the islands engaged in commercial speculations, to which
his subsequent letters refer. He appears to have left consi-
derable funds in Tobago; and in 1773 we find him in Virginia
arranging the affairs of his brother William, who had died
intestate, and without leaving children. About this time he
assumed the name of Jones.
The American Revolution, of the progress of which Paul
Jones could not have been an indifferent spectator, found him
living in deep retirement, unoccupied, and for the time in a
state of great privation, occasioned by the dilatoriness or
misconduct of his agents. At this time he had subsisted for
twenty months on the sum of fifty pounds. It is to this
period that Jones refers in his celebrated letter to the Count-
RETIREMENT. 21
ess of Selkirk, when he says, " Before this war began I had
at the early time of life withdrawn from the sea-service, in
favour of * calm contemplation and poetic ease' I have sacri-
ficed not only my favourite scheme of life, but the softer
affections of the heart, and my prospects of domestic happi-
ness, and am ready to sacrifice my life also with cheerful-
ness, if that forfeiture could restore peace and good-will
among mankind."
22
ENTERS THE AMERICAN SERVICE.
CHAPTER II.
UT Jones, whatever he might think,
was not of the temperament to
which the cultivation of maize and
tobacco — which in America about
that period must have compre-
hended " the rural life in all its joy
and elegance" — could long remain
the favourite scheme. He was
now twenty-eight — the very prime
of active existence — full of talent and enterprise, ardent and
ambitious, and quite of the mind in which he seems to have
held through life, that though it might be shame to be on any
side but one, it was greater shame to he idle when blows
were going. Many causes combined to make him believe th$>
cause of the colonies the right one — the cause of liberty,
justice, and humanity. A man who from the age of twelve
had been a wanderer on the deep, must have been as much
at home in America as in Britain. Both countries must have
appeared integral portions of the same state; and in its civil
dissensions, circumstances determined the part he should take.
Thus right or wrong as to the side he took, Jones stood clear
in his motives to his own conscience. To him indeed the
cause of America — the country, as he afterwards terms it,
of his " fond election" — ^was the elevating source of his most
brilhant actions. It is but fair to allow him to be the inter-
preter of his own motives : — of his deeds every man is at
liberty to judge. Four years after he had volunteered in the
cause of America, it is thus he addresses the Baron Vander
ENTERS THE AMERICAN SERVICE. 23
Capellan, having, it must be owned, a favourite object to
carry at Amsterdam : —
" I was indeed born in Britain ; but I do not inherit the
degenerate spirit of that fallen nation, which I at once lament
and despise. It is far beneath me to reply to their hireling
invectives. They are strangers to the inward approbation
that greatly animates and rewards the man who draws his
sword only in support of the dignity of freedom. America
has been the country of my fond election from the age of
thirteen, when I first saw it. I had the honour to hoist with m}
own hands the flag of freedom, the first time it was displayed,
on the Delaware ; and I have attended it with veneration
ever since on the ocean."
Though in the he^^t of a struggle, which, from its very na-
ture, was, like the feuds of the nearest relatives, singularly ran-
corous and bitter, Jones was branded as a traitor and a felon,
and after his most brilliant action, the capture of the Serapis,
formally denounced by the British ambassador at the Hague
as a rebel and a pirate according to the laws of war,* it
must be remembered that he bore this stigma in common with
the best and greatest of his contemporaries — with Franklin
and Washington ; which last had actually borne arms in the
service of the King of England. The memory of Paul Jones
now needs little vindication for this important step. Aftei
the peace he enjoyed the esteem and private friendship of
EngHshmen who might have forgiven the most imbittered
political hostility, but never could have overlooked a taint on
personal honour. Of this number was the Earl oY Wemyss,
who after the peace endeavoured to promote the views of
Jones on various occasions. He himself, however, discovers
a lurking consciousness of having incurred, if not of meriting,
suspicion on this deHcate ground. This is chiefly displayed
* Memorial of Sir Joseph York to the States-General, dated the Hague.
ath October, 1779.
24 CHARACTER.
by his eloquent though rather frequent assertions of purity of
motive, superiority to objects of sordid interest, and disinte-
rested zeal for the cause, now of America, now of human
nature, as was best adapted to the supposed incUnations of
his correspondents. In ordinary circumstances much of this
might have appeared uncalled for ; but the situation of Jones
was in many respects peculiar both as a native-born Briton,
and as a man of obscure origin, jealous — and pardonably so
— of his independence and dignity of character. Somewhat
of the heroic vaunting which marks other parts of his corre-
spondence appears incident to the enthusiastic temperament
of many great naval commanders. How would Nelson's
tone of confident prediction, and boasts of prowess, have
sounded from the lips of an inferior man ? — In any other than
himself the customary language of Drake would have been
reckoned that of an insolent braggart.
Besides the public spirit and love of liberty which in Jones
were both warm and sincere, other motives of that mixed
nature, by which every human being, how disinterested and
devoted soever, must at times be influenced, were not want-
ing to enlist him on the side of the colonies. He was living at
the most active period of life in penury and neglect. His
friendships, his interests, his gratitude, all inclined him to the
part of America. In a letter addressed to Mr. Stuart Mawey
of Tobago, written immediately before he went to Europe
in open hostility as an officer of the United States, a letter
which does as much honour to the clearness of his head as
to the integrity and fiHal kindness of his heart, these circum-
stances are distinctly explained.
"Boston, 4th May, 1777.
« Dear Sir,
" After an unprofitable suspense of twenty months, (having
subsisted on ffty 'pounds only during that time,) when my
hopes of relief were entirely cut off', and there remained no
LETTER TO MR. MAWEV. 2
possibility of my receiving wherewithal to subsist upon from
my effects in your island, or in England, I at last had recourse
to strangers for that aid and comfort which was denied me
by those friends whom I had entrusted with my all. The
good offices which are rendered to persons in their extreme
need, ought to make deep impressions on grateful minds ; in
my case I feel the truth of that sentiment, and am bound by
gratitude, as well as honour, to follow the fortunes of my late
benefactors.
" I have lately seen Nr. Sicaton, (late manager on the
estates of Arch. Stuart, Esq.) w^ho informed me that Mr.
Ferguson had quitted Orange Valley, on being charged with
the unjust application of the property of his employers. I
have been, and am extremely concerned at this account; I
wish to disbelieve it, although it seems too much of a piece
with the unfair advantage • which, to all appearance, he took
of me, \yhen he left me in exile for twenty months, a prey to
melancholy and want, and withheld my property, without
writing a word in excuse for his conduct. Thus circum-
stanced, I have taken the liberty of sending you a letter of
attorney by Captain Cleaveland, who undertakes to deliver
it himself, as he goes for Tobago via Martinico. You have
enclosed a copy of a hst of debts acknowledged, which I re
ceived from Mr. Ferguson w^hen I saw you last at Orange
Valley. You have also a list of debts contracted with me.
together with Ferguson's receipt. And there remained a
considerable property unsold, besides some best Madeira
wine which he had shipped for London. By the state of ac-
counts which I sent to England on my arrival on this conti-
nent, there was a balance due to me from the ship Betsy of
909Z. 15s. 3d sterUng ; and in my account with Robert
Young, Esq., 29th January, 1773, there appeared a balance
in my favour of 28 IZ. Is. Sd. sterhng. These sums exceed
my drafts and just debts together ; so that, if I am fairly dealt
with, I ought to receive a considerable remittance from that
3
26 LETTER TO MR. MAWEY.
quarter. You will please to observe, that there were nine
pieces of coarse camblets shipped at Cork, over and above the
quantity expressed in the bill of lading. It seems the ship-
pers, finding their mistake, applied for their goods ; and, as I
have been informed from Grenada, Mr. Ferguson laid hold
of this opportunity to propagate a report that all the goods
which I put into his hands were the property of that house in
Cork. If this base suggestion hath gained belief, it accounts
for all the neglect which I have experienced. But however
my connexions are changed, my principles as an honest man
of candour and integrity are the same ; therefore, should there
not be a sufficiency of my property in England to answer my
just debts, I declare that it is my first wish to make up such
deficiency from my property in Tobago ; and were even that
also to fall short, I am ready and willing to make full and
ample remittances from hence upon hearing from you the true
state of my affairs. As I hope my dear mother is still alive,
I must inform you that I wish my property in Tobago, or in
England, after paying my just debts, to be applied for her
support. Your own feelings, my dear sir, make it unneces-
sary for me to use arguments to prevail with you on this
tender point. Any remittances which you may be enabled
to make through the hands of my good friend Captain John
Plainer of Cork, will be faithfully put into her hands ; she hath
several orphan grandchildren to provide for. I have made
no apology for giving you this trouble : My situation will, I
trust, obtain your free pardon.
I am always, with perfect esteem,
Dear Sir,
Your very obliged, very obedient,
And most humble servant,
" J. Paul Jones.
•' Stuart Mawey, Esquire,
Tobago."
APPOINTED SENIOR LIEUTENANT. 27
Among the friends whose fortunes Jones conceived himself
bound to follow by gratitude as well as honour, was probably
Mr. Joseph Hewes of the Marine Commitee of the infant
Repubhc. Under the united influence of so many powerful
motives he entered the American service.
Though Paul Jones had not received his maritime educa-
tion in ships of war, he had frequently sailed in armed vessels
and had been early trained into an excellent practical seaman
completely realizing the merchant sailor's adage, " Aft the
more honour — forward the better man." His nautical skill,
as well as his boldness and capacity, were thus of incalculable
value to the infant navy of America; and in 1775, when the
combustibles of revolution, so long smouldering, burst into an
open irrepressible flame, his services were as readily accepted
as they were heartily tendered. From this date Paul Jones
owned no country save America.
In organizing the maritime service of the young Republic,
three classes of lieutenants were appointed by Congress; and of
the first class Jones was appointed senior lieutenant. The first
commission he received from Congress bears date the 7th of
December, 1775. He was appointed to the Alfred, a name
of good omen to an infant state sprung from England ; and on
board of that vessel, then lying before Philadelphia, he, in a
few days afterwards, first hoisted that starry flag which he so
bravely followed in many seas.
The American navy at this time consisted of only two ships,
two brigantines, and one sloop. Even these it was not easy
to oflicer with persons properly qualified. Thirteen frigates
were, however, about the same time ordered to be built.
Of this first period of his service three different accounts,
drawn up by himself, remain among the papers of Captain
Jones, — one contained in a refreshing memorial addressed to
Congress while he lay in the Texel, dated December, 1779,
• — another addressed to Robert Morris, the minister of the
marine, in 1783, when Jones had just reason to think his
28
JONES'S JOURNAL.
Hoisting the American Flag.
former services neglected, if 'not forgotton, — and a- third in a
lournal of his campaigns drawn up for the private information
of the King of France, and read by that unfortunate prince
while a close prisoner. This last document contains the
following clear and succinct account of his early operations,
written in the third person : —
" When Congress thought fit to equip a naval force towards
the conclusion of the year 1775, \for the defence of American
liberty, and for repelling every hostile invasion thereaf,'' it was
a very difficult matter to find men fitly quahfied for officers,
and willing to embark in the ships and vessels that were then
put into commission. The American navy at first was no
more than the ships x41fred and Columbus, the brigantines
Andrew Doria, and Cabot, and the sloop Providence. A
commander-in-chief of the fleet was appointed; and Cap-
tains Saltonstall, Whipple, Biddle, and Hopkins, were named
HOISTS THE AMERICAN FLAG.
for the ships and brigantines. A captain's commission for the
Providence, (bought, or to be bought, about the time, from
Captain Whipple,) which Mr. Joseph Hewes of the Mar me
Committee offered to his friend Mr. John Paul Jones, was not
accepted, because Mr. Jones had never sailed in a sloop, and
had then no idea of the Declaration of Independence that took
place the next year. It was his early wish to do his best for
the cause of America, which he considered as the cause of
human nature. He could have no object of self-interest ; and
having then no prospect that the American navy would soon
become an established service, that rank was the most ac-
ceptable to him by which he could be the most useful in that
moment of pubUc calamity. There were three classes of
lieutenants appointed, and Mr. Jones was appointed the first
of the first-lieutenants, which placed him next in command
to the four captains already mentioned. This commission is
dated the 7th day of December, 1775, as first-lieutenant of
the Alfred. On board of that ship, before Philadelphia, Mr.
Jones hoisted the flag of America with his own hands, the
first time it was ever displayed. All the commissions for the
Alfred were dated before the commissions for the Columbus,
&c. All the time this little squadron was fitting and man-
ning, Mr. Jones superintended the affairs of the Alfred ; and
as Captain Saltonstall did not appear at Philadelphia, the
commander-in-chief told Mr. Jones he should command that
ship. A day or two before the squadron sailed from Phila-
delphia, manned and fit for sea, Captain Saltonstall appeared,
and took command of the Alfred. The object of the first ex-
pedition was against Lord Duncan, in Virginia. But instead
of proceeding immediately on that service, the squadron was
hauled to the wharfs at Reedy Island, and lay there for six
weeks frozen up. Here Mr. Jones and the other lieutenants
stood the deck, watch and watch, night and day, to prevent
desertion : and they lost no man from the Alfred. On the
17th of February, 1776, the squadron sailed from the bay of
3*
30
SAILING OF THE SQUADRON.
Sailing of the Squadron.
Delaware. On the first of March the squadron anchored at
Abaco, one of the Bahama Islands, and carried in there two
sloops belonghig to New Providence. Some persons on board
the sloops, informed that a quantity of powder and warlike
stores might be taken in the forts of New Providence. An
expedition was determined on against that island. It was
resolved to embark the marines on board the two sloops.
They were to remain below deck until the sloops had an-
chored in the harbour close to the forts, and they were then
to land and take possession. There was not a single soldier
in the island to oppose them ; therefore the plan would have
succeeded, and not only the public stores might have been
secured, but a considerable contribution might have been ob-
tained as a ransom for the town and island, had not the whole
squadron appeared off the harbour in the morning, instead of
remaining out of sight till after the sloops had entered and
the marines secured the forts. On the appearance of the
squadron the signal of alarm was fired, so that it was impos-
THE PROVIDEN^CE EXPEDITION^ 31
sible to think of crossing the bar. The commander-in-chief
proposed to go round the west end of the island, and endea-
vour to march tlie marines up and get behind the town ; but
this could never have been effected. The islanders would
have had time to collect ; there w^as no lit anchorage for the
squadron, nor road from that part of the island tcJ the town.
Mr. Jones finding by the Providence pilots that the squadron
might anchor under a key three leagues to windward of the
harbour, gave this account to the commander-in-chief, who
objecting to the dependence on the pilots, Mr. Jones under-
took to carry the Alfred safe in. He took the pilot with him
to the foretopmast head, from whence they could clearly see
every danger, and the squadron anchored safe. The marines,
with two vessels to cover their landing, were immediately
sent in by the east passage. The commander-in-chief pro-
mised to touch no private property. The inhabitants aban-
doned the forts, and the governor, finding he must surrender
the island, embarked all the powder in two vessels, and sent
them away in the night. This was foreseen, and might have
been prevented, by sending the two brigantines to lie off the
bar. The squadron entered the harbour of New Providence,
and sailed from thence the 17th of March, having embarked
the cannon, &c., that was found in the fort. In the night of
the 9th of April, on the return of the squadron from the Pro-
vidence expedition, the American arms by sea were first tried
in the affair with the Glasgow, off Block Island. Both the
Alfred and Columbus mounted two batteries. The Alfred
mounted 30, the Columbus 28 guns. The first battery was so
near the water as to be fit for nothing except in a harbour or
a very smooth sea. The sea w^as at the time perfectly smooth.
Mr. Jones was stationed below deck to command the Alfred's
first battery, which was well served whenever the guns could
be brought to bear on the enemy, as appears by the official
letter of the commander-in-chief giving an account of that
action. Mr. .Tones therefore did his duty; and as he had no
32 COMMANDS THE PROVIDENCE.
direction whatever, either of the general disposition of the
squadron, or the sails and helm of the Alfred, he can stand
charged with no part of the disgrace of that night. The
squadron steered directly for New London, and entered that
port two days after the action. Here General Washington
lent the squadron 200 men, as was thought, for some enter-
prise. The squadron, however, stole quietly round to Rhode
Island, and up the river to Providence. Here a court-martial
was held for the trial of Captain Whipple, for not assisting in
the action with the Glasgow. Another court-martial was
held for the trial of Captain Hazard, who had been appointed
captain of the sloop Providence at Philadelphia, some time
after Mr. Jones had refused that command. Captain Hazard
was broke, and rendered incapable of serving in the navy.
The next day, the 10th of May, 1776, Mr. Jones was ordered
by the commander-in-chief to take command ' as captain of
the Providence.^ This proves that Mr. Jones did his duty
on the Providence expedition. As the commander-in-chief
had in his hands no blank-commission, he had this appoint-
ment written on the back of the commission that Mr. Jones
had received at Philadelphia, the 7th of December, 1775.
Captain Jones had orders to receive on board the Providence
the soldiers that had been borrowed from General Washing-
ton, and carry them to New York, — there enlist as many
seamen as he could, and then return to New London, to take
in from the hospital all the seamen that had been left there
by the squadron, and were recovered, and ^arry them to
Providence. Captain Jones soon performed these services ;
and having hove down the sloop and partly fitted her for war
at Providence, he received orders from the commander-in-
chief, dated Rhode Island, June 10th, 1776, to come imme-
diately down to take a sloop then in sight, armed for war,
belonging to the enemy's navy. Captain Jones obeyed orders
with alacrity; but the enem}^ had disappeared before he
reached Newport. On the 18th of June, 1776, Captain Jones
CRUISE OF THE PROVIDENCE. 33
received orders, dated that day at Newport, Rhode Island
from the commander-in-chief, to proceed to Newbury Port to
take under convoy some vessels bound for Philadelphia ; but
first to convoy Lieutenant Hacker in the Fly, with a cargo
of cannon, into the sound for New York, and to convoy some
vessels back from Stonington to the entrance of New^port.
In performing these last services. Captain Jones found great
difficulty from the enemy's frigates, then cruising round
Block Island, with which he had several rencontres ; in one
of which he saved a brigantine that w^as a stranger, from
Hispaniola, closely pursued by the Cerberus, and laden with
pubHc stores. That brigantine was afterwards purchased by
the Continent, and called the Hampden. Captain Jones re-
ceived orders from the commander-in-chief to proceed for
Boston instead of Newbury Port. At Boston he was detained
a considerable time by the backwardness of the agent. He
arrived with his convoy from Boston, safe in the Delaware,
the 1st of August, 1776. This service was performed while
the enemy were arriving at Sandy Hook from Halifax and
England, and Captain Jones saw several of their ships ol
war.
"Captain Jones received a captain's commission from the
President of Congress, the 8th of August. It was pro-
posed to Captain Jones by the Marine Committee to go to
Connecticut, to command the brigantine Hampden ; but he
choosing rather to remain in the sloop Providence, had orders
to go out on a cruise against the enemy *for six weeks, (or)
two or three months.' He was not hmited to any particular
station or service. He left the Delaw^are on the 21st of
August, and arrived at Rhode Island on the 7th of October,
1776.
"Captain Jones had only 70 men when he sailed from the
Delaware, and the Providence mounted only 12 four-pounders.
Near the latitude of Bermudas he had a very narrov/ escape
from the enemy's frigate the Solebay, after a chase of siy
34
ACTION WITH THE MILFORD.
Escape from the Solebay.
hours within cannon-shot, and part of that time within pistol-
shot. Afterwards, near the Isle of Sable, Captain Jones had
an affair with the enemy's frigate the Milford ; and the firing
between them lasted from ten in the morning till after sunset.
Action with the Milford.
The day after this rencontre, Captain Jones entered the
harbour of Canso, where he recruited several men, took the
Tories' flags, destroyed the fishing, &c., and sailed again the
next morning on an expedition against the Island of Madame.
He made two descents on the principal forts of that island at
WRECK OF THE HAMPDEN. 35
the same time ; surprised all their shipping, though the place
abounded with men, and they had arms. All this, from the
Delaware to Rhode Island, was performed in six weeks and
five days ; in which time Captain Jones made sixteen prizes,
besides small craft. He manned eight of them, and sunk,
burnt, or destroyed the rest. The commander-in-chief was
at Rhode Island, who, in consequence of the information
given him by Captain Jones, adopted an expedition against
the coal-fleet of Cape Breton and the fishery, as well as to
relieve a number of Americans from the coal-mines, where
they were compelled to labour by the enemy. The Alfred
had remained idle ever since the Providence expedition, and
was without men. It was proposed to employ that ship, the
brigantine Hampden, and sloop Providence, on this expedition,
under the command of Captain Jones, who had orders given
him for that purpose on the 22d October, 1776, and then re-
moved from the sloop Providence to the ^lip Alfred. Find-
ing he could not enlist a sufficient number of men for the
three sail before the season would be lost, Captain Jones de-
Wreck of the Hampden.
termined to leave the sloop Providence behind ; but Captain
Hacker ran the Hampden upon a ledge of rocks on the 27th,
and knocked off her keel, which obliged Captain Jones to re-
36 EXPEDITION AGAINST CAPE BRETON.
move him into the sloop Providence. The Alfred and Pro
vidence sailed on this expedition the 2d of November,
Captain Jones having only 140 men on his muster-roll for the
Alfred, though that ship had 235 men when she left the
Delaware. Captain Jones anchored for the night at Tar-
pawling Cove, near Nantucket, and, finding there a privateer
schooner belonging to Rhode Island inward-bound, he sent
his boat to search for deserters from the navy, and finding
four deserters carefully concealed on board, they were taken
on board the Alfred, with a few other seamen, agreeably to
orders from the commander-in-chief. The concerned in the
privateer brought an action against Captain Jones for 10,000/.
damages, and the commander-in-chief had the politeness not
to support him. Captain Jones proceeded on his expedition.
Off Louisbourg he took a brig with a rich cargo of dry goods,
a snow with a cargo of fish, and a ship called the Mellish,
bound for Canada, armed for war, and laden with soldiers'
clothing. The day after taking these prizes (the 18th) the
snow fell, and the wind blew fresh ofT Cape Breton. To
prevent separation, and not from the violence of the weather.
Captain Jones made the signal to lay to, which was obeyed ;
but as soon as the night began. Captain Hacker bore away.
He made shift to arrive at Rhode Island a day or two before
the place was taken by the enemy. Captain Jones ordered
the brigantine and snow to steer for our ports ; but determined
not to lose sight of the MelUsh, unless in case of necessity.
Captain Jones, after that little gale and contrary winds, fell
in with Canso, and sent his boats in to destroy a fine trans-
port that lay aground in the entrance,- laden wiA Irish provi-
sion. The party burnt also the oil-warehouse, and destroyed
the materials for the fishery. Off Louisbourg, on the 24th,
he took three fine ships out of five, the coal-fleet, then bound
for New York, under the command of the Flora, that would
have been in sight had the fog been dispersed. Two days
after this. Captain Jones took a letter-of-marque ship from
ARRIVAL AT BOSTON. 39
Liverpool. He had now a hundred and fifty prisoners on
board the Alfred, and a great part of his water and provision
was consumed. He found the harbour at the coal-mines was
frozen up, and necessity obliged him to seek a hospitable port
with the five prize-ships under convoy. No separation took
place till the 7th of December, on the edge of St. George's
Bank, where Captain Jones again fell in with the Milford
frigate. Captain Jones had the address to save all his prizes
except one, (the letter-of-marque from liverpool,) and that one
would not have been taken, had not the prize-master foolishly
run down under the Milford's lee, from being three leagues
to windward. The Mellish arrived safe with the clothing at
Dartmouth, and Captain Jones arrived at Boston the 15th
December, 1776, having only two days' water and provision
left. The news of the clothing reached General Washing-
ton's army just before he recrossed the Delaware. By a
letter from the commander-in-chief, on board the Warren, at
Providence, January the 14th, 1777, Captain Jones was su-
perseded in the command of the Alfred, in favour of Captain
Hinman, who said he brought a commission from Congress
to supersede that of Captain Jones. The 21st of January,
1777, this drew from Captain Jones a letter to the Marine
Committee, stating his hopes that Congress would not so far
overlook his early and faithful services as to supersede him
by any man who was at first his junior officer, far less by
any man who declined to serve in the Alfred, &c., at the be-
ginning. Captain Jones paid off* the crews of the Alfred and
Providence, for which he has never been reimbursed. On
the 18th of February, Captain Jones received an appointment
by order of Congress from the Vice-President of the Marine
Committee, dated Philadelphia, February the 5th, 1777, to
command private expeditions against Pensacola and other
places, with the Alfred, Columbus, Cabot, Hampden, and
sloop Providence. Many important schemes were pointed
out ; but Captain Jones was left at free liberty to adopt what-
40 LETTER OF EXPOSTULATION.
ever he thought best. This appointment fell to nothing ; for
the commander-in-chief would not assist Captain Jones, but
affected to disbeheve his appointment. Captain Jones under-
took a journey from Boston to Philadelphia, in order to ex-
plain matters to Congress in person."
This attempt to supersede him was the first occasion on
which Jones decidedly showed the firmness and tenacity of
his character, and his determination to assert his rights.
Even then, unknown and unfriended, he was quite equal to
their protection.
The remainder of this statement is more copiously and
energetically given in the letter referred to in the prefixed ex-
tract, as addressed by him to the Marine Board, Philadelphia.
It will show the neglect and heart-burning to which this brave
man was exposed from the first hour of his entering the
American navy. Three-fourths of his subsequent life was a
struggle to overcome the prejudices, defeat the cabals, or
quicken the tardy justice of his temporary official superiors.
" I am now to inform you, that by a letter from Commo-
dore Hopkins, dated on board the Warren, January 14th,
1777, which came to my hands a day or two ago, I am
superseded in the command of the Alfred, in favour of Cap-
tain Hinman, and ordered back to the sloop in Providence
river. Whether this order doth or doth not supersede also
your orders to me of the 10th ult., you can best determine;
however, as I undertook the late expedition at his (Commo-
dore Hopkins's) request, from a principle of humanity, T
mean not now to make a difficulty about trifles, especially
wnen the good of the service is to be consulted. As I am
unconscious of any neglect of duty, or misconduct, since my
appointment at the first as eldest lieutenant of the navy, I
cannot suppose that you can have intended to set me aside,
in favour of any man who did not at that time bear a cap-
tain's commission, unless, indeed, that man, by exerting his
superior abilities, hath rendered, or can render, more impor-
LETTER OF EXPOSTULATION. 41
tant services to America. Those who stepped forth at the
first, in ships altogether unfit for war, were generally con-
sidered rather as frantic than as wise men ; for it must be
remembered, that almost everything then made against them.
And although the success in the affair with the Glasgow was
not equal to what it might have been, yet the blame ought
not to be general. The principal or principals in command
alone are culpable ; and the other officers, while they stand
unimpeached, have their full merit. There were, it is true,
divers persons, from misrepresentation, put into commission
at the beginning, without fit qualification, and perhaps the
number may have been increased by later appointments ; but
it follows not that the gentleman or man of merit should be
neglected or overlooked on their account. None other than
a gentleman, as well as a seaman both in theory and practice,
is qualified to support the character of a commission officer
in the navy; nor is any man fit to command a ship of war
who is not also capable of communicating his ideas on paper,
in languacre that becomes his rank. If this be admitted, the
foregoing operations vv^ill be sufl[iciently clear ; but if further
proof is required it can easily be produced.
" When I entered into the service, I was not actuated by
motives of self-interest. I stept forth as a free citizen of the
world, in defence of the violated rights of mankind, and not
in search of riches, whereof^ I thank God, I inherit a suffi-
ciency ; but I should prove my degeneracy were I not in the
highest degree tenacious of my rank and seniority. As a
gentleman, I can yield this point up only to persons of supe-
rior abilities and superior merit ; and under such persons it
would be my highest ambition to learn. As this is the first
time of my having expressed the least anxiety on my own
account, I must entreat your patience until I account to you
for the reason which hath given me this freedom of senti-
ment. It seems that Captain Hinman's commission is No. 1,
and that, in consequence, he who was at first my junior
.4*
42 xMEMORIAL TO CONGRlUSS.
officer by eight, hath expressed himself gs my senior officer in
a manner which doth himself no honour, and which doth me
signal injury. There are also in the navy, persons who have
not shown me fair play after the service I have rendered
them. I have even been blamed for the civilities which I
have shown to my prisoners ; at the request of one of whom
I herein enclose an appeal, which I must beg leave to lay
before Congress. Could you see the appellant's accomplished
lady, and the innocents their children, arguments in their
behalf would be unnecessary. As the base-minded only are
capable of inconsistencies, you will not blame my free soul,
which can never stoop where I cannot also esteem. Could
I, which I never can, bear to be superseded, I should indeed
deserve your contempt and total neglect. I am, therefore, to
entreat you to employ me in the most enterprising and active
service, — accountable to your honourable board only, for my
conduct, and connected as much as possible with gentlemen
and men of good sense."
" My conduct hitherto," he says, in the memorial ad-
dressed to Congress from the Texel, " was so much approv-
ed of by Congress, that on the 5th February, 1777, I was
appointed, with unlimited orders, to command a little squadron
of the Alfred, Columbus, Cabot, Hampden, and sloop Provi-
dence. Various important services were pointed out, but I
was left at free liberty to make my election. That service,
however, did not take place ; for the commodore, who had
three of the squadron blocked in at Providence, affected to
disbelieve my appointment, and would not at last give me
the necessary assistance. Finding that he trifled with my
applications as well as the orders of Congress, I undertook
a journey from Boston to Philadelphia, in order to explain
matters to Congress in person. I took this step also, because
Captain Hinman had succeeded me in the command of the
Alfred, and, of course, the service could not suffer through
my absence. I arrived at Philadelphia in the beginning of
HIS Views of maritime policy. 45
April. But what was my surprise to find, that, by a new
line of navy-rank, which had taken place on the 10th day of
October, 1776, all the officers that had stepped forth at the
beginning were superseded ! I was myself superseded by
thirteen men, not one of whom dM (and perhaps some of
them durst not) take the sea against the British flag at the
first ; for several of them who were then applied to refused
to venture, — and none of them have since been very happy
in proving their superior abihties. x\mong these thirteen
there are individuals who can neither pretend to parts nor
education, and with whom, as a private gentleman, I would
disdain to associate.
" I leave your excellency and the Congress to judge how
this must affect a man of honour and sensibility."
In the organization of the navy Jones took a paramount
interest. He had himself been trained in a good school.
He knew the importance of proper subordination, and of the
strict enforcement of a rigid system of discipline, which,
how^ever unpleasant to the turbulent, fierce spirit of republi-
cans, is especially indispensable in the sea-service. His
views of maritime pohcy discover much soundness, and,
considering that he was still a young man, and a very young
oflicer, very great ripeness of understanding. " As the res^u-
lations of the navy," he says, " are of the utmost conse-
quence, you w^ill not think it presumptive if, with the utmost
diffidence, I venture to communicate to you such hints as, in
my judgment, will promote its honour and good government.
1 could heartily wish that every commissioned officer were
to be previously examined ; for, to my certain knowledge,
there are persons who have already crept into commission
without abilities or fit qualifications : — I am myself far from
desiring to be excused." In other letters on this subject, he
eloquently recommends a liberal policy towards the private
seamen, and a general S3^stem worthy of a great and enlight-
ened nation.
44 HIS VIEWS OF MARITIME POLICY.
" It is," he says, " to the last degree distressing to con-
template the state and establishment of our navy. The
common class of mankind are actuated by no nobler prin-
ciple than that of self-interest. This, and this only, deter-
mines all adventures in privateers, — the owners, as well as
those they employ ; and while this is the case, unless the
private emolument of individuals in our navy is made supe-
rior to that in privateers, it never can become respectable, —
it never will become formidable; and, without a respectable
navy, alas America ! — In the present critical situation of
human affairs, wisdom can suggest no more than one infalli-
ble expedient, — enlist the seamen during pleasure, and give
them all the prizes. What is the paltry emolument of two-
thirds of prizes to the finances of this vast continent ? If so
poor a resource is essential to its independency, in sober sad-
ness we are involved in a woful predicament, and our ruin is
fast approaching. The situation of America is new in the
annals of mankind : her affairs cry haste! and speed must
answer them. Trifles, therefore, ought to be wholly disre-
garded, as being, in the old vulgar proverb, ' penny wise
and pound foolish.' If our enemies, with the best established
and most formidable navy in the universe, have found it
expedient to assign all prizes to the captors, how much more
is such policy essential to our infant fleet ? But I need use
no arguments to convince you of the necessity of making
the emoluments of our navy equal, if not superior, to theirs.
We have had proof, that a navy may be ofiicered almost
upon any terms, but we are not so sure that these oflicers
are equal to their commissions; nor will the Congress ever
obtain such certainty until they, in their wisdom, see proper
to appoint a Board of Admiralty, competent to determine
impartially the respective merits and abilities of their oflScers,
and to superintend, regulate, and point out all the motions
and operations of the navy."
EFFECT OF HIS REMONSTRANCES. 45
The appearance of Jones at Congress at this time, his ap-
peals to their justice, his animated remonstrances, and the
capacity displayed in the hints and projects he threw out,
had a good effect. They inspired esteem for his character,
and gave confidence in his ability. This became apparent
in the immediate proceedings of that body. " Congress," h*G
says, " saw fit to drop the expedition that had been proposed ;
and the Marine Committee appeared very sorry that there
was not then vacant a good ship for my command. Three
ships were ordered to be purchased in the eastern department,
and by a resolve of Congress, which did me great honour, I
was authorized to take my choice of these three ships, * until
Congress could provide for me a better command.' I returned
to Boston ; and before this last plan was carried into execu-
tion, I received a new and honourable proof of the good
opinion of Congress, by being ordered, on the 9ih of May,
1777, to proceed to France from Portsmouth, in the Am-
phitrite, with a positive order to the Commissioners at Paris
* to invest me with the command of a fine ship,' — ' as a reward
of my zeal and the signal services I had performed in vessels
of httle force.' This was generous indeed ! and I shall feel
the whole force of the 'obligation to the last moment of
my fife."
The letter he brought to Europe, addressed to the Com-
missioners in Paris, confirms the sincerity of the purpose of
Congress. It also puts to rest — were such refutation neces-
sary— the charge of Jones being nothing more than the com-
mander of a privateer, winked at, or perhaps secretly aided
by Congress, but never recognized as a regularly-appointed
commander in the American service during his cruises on the
British coasts.
46 LETTER FROM CONGRESS.
"Philadelphia, 9th May, 1777
" Honourable Gentlemen,
" This letter is intended to be delivered to you by John
Paul Jones, Esq., an active and brave commander in our
navy, v^^ho has already performed signal services in vessels
of little force ; and in reward for his zeal we have directed
him to go on board the Amphitrite, a French ship of tv^enty
guns, that brought in a valuable cargo of stores from Mons.
Hostalez & Co., and with her to repair to France. He takes
with him his commission, some officers and men, so that we
hope he will, under that sanction, make some good prizes with
the Amphitrite ; but our design of sending him is, (with the ap-
probation of Congress,) that you may purchase one of those
fine frigates that Mr. Dean writes us you can get, and invest
him with the command thereof as soon as possible. We
hope you may not delay this business one moment, but pur-
chase, in such port or place in Europe as it can be done with
most convenience and despatch, a fine fast-sailing frigate or
larger ship. Direct Captain Jones where he must repair to,
and he will take with him his officers and men towards man-
ning her. You will assign him some good house or agent to
supply him with everything necessary to get the ship speedily
and well equipped and manned, — somebody that will bestir
themselves vigorously in the business, and never quit it until
it is accomphshed.
" If you have any plan or service to be performed in Europe
by such a ship, that you think will be more for the interest
and honour of the States than sending her out directly. Captain
Jones is instructed to obey your orders ; and, to save repeti-
tion, let him lay before you the instructions we have given
him, and furnish you with a copy thereof. You can then
judge what will be necessary for you to direct him in, — and
whatever you do will be approved, as it will undoubtedly
tend to promote the public service of this country.
INSTRUCTIONS FROM CONGRESS. 4-
" You see by this step how much dependence Congress
place in your advices ; and you must make it a point not to
disappoint Captain Jones's wishes and expectations on this
occasion.
"We are, &c.
(Signed) " Robert Morris.
" Richard Henry Lee.
" Wm. Whipple.
" Phil. Livingston.
"The Honourable
" Benjamin Franklin,
" Silas Deane, and
" Arthur Lke, Esquires,
Commissioners," «Sce.
In Marine Com7nittee.
"Philadelphia, May 9th, 1777.
"John Paul Jones, Esq.
" Sir,
" Congress have thought proper to authorize the Secret
Committee to employ you on a voyage in the Amphitrite,
from Portsmouth to Carolina and France, where it is exj^ected
you will be provided with a fine frigate ; and as your present
commission is for the command of a particular ship, we now
send you a new one, v/hereby you are appointed a captam
in our navy, and of course may command any ship in the
service to which you are particularly ordered. You are
to obey the orders of the Secret Committee, and we are,
Sir, &c.
(Signed) " John Hancock.
*' Rob. Morris.
" Wm. Whipple."
48 INSTRUCTIONS FROM CONGRESS.
In Marine Committee,
"Philadelphia, September 6th, 1777.
" Sir,
'" As soon as these instructions get to hand, you are to make
immediate application to the proper persons to get your ves-
sel victualled and fitted for sea with all expedition. When
this is done*, you are to proceed on a voyage to some conve-
nient port in France; on your arrival there, apply to the agent,
if any, in or near said port, for such supplies as you may
stand in need of. You are at the same time to give immedi-
ate notice, by letter, to the Honourable Benjamin Franklin,
Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee, Esquires, or any of them at
Paris, of your arrival, requesting their instructions as to your
ftiriher destination ; which instructions you are to obey as far
as it shall be in your power.
" You are to take particular notice, that whilst on the coast
of France, or in a French port, you are, as much as you
conveniently can, to keep your guns covered and concealed,
and to make as little warlike appearance as possible. Wish-
ing you," &c. &c.
With these credentials and instructions, Jones sailed for
Europe in command of the Ranger, in high spirits, expecting
to be the first messenger of what he calls " the joyful and
important news of Burgoyne's surrender." He reached
Nantes early in December, having captured two brigantines
on the voyage, laden with fruit and wine.
JONES AND THE COMMISSIONERS. 49
CHAPTER III.
T must be owned that Capcain
Jones at no time slipped any
opportunity of bringing imn-
^^B self forward, and placing his
services in a fair light. Though
he indeed claimed no more
than was his due, he never,
1 through false delicacy, with-
drew his merits into the shade.
" It is civil cowardice," says the Spectator's modest friend,
Captain Sentry, " to be backward in asserting what you
ought to expect, as it is military fear to be slow in attacking
when it is your duty." His first act, on reaching France,
was to write to the Commissioners, to whom he w^as now to
look for orders, and also for patronage. " I yesterday," he
says, " enclosed you copies of two letters which I wrote you
previous to my departure from Portsmouth, together with a
plan which I drew up at Philadelphia, on the regulation and
equipment of our infant navy. It is my first and favourite
wish to be employed in active and enterprising services,
when there is a prospect of rendering acceptable services
to America. The singular honour which Congress have
done me by their generous acknowledgment of my past ser-
vices, hath inspired me with sentiments of gratitude which I
shall cany with me to my graVe ; and if a life of services
devoted to America can be made instrumental in securing its
independence, I shall regard the continuance of such appro-
bation as an honour far superior to what kings even could
bestow."
50 PLAN OF OPERATIONS DEFEATED.
Captain Jones was immediately summoned to Paris by the
commissioners of Congress, Franklin, Silas Deane, and
Arthur Lee. They had not yet assumed the name of ple-
nipotentiaries, nor was war declared between Great Britain
and France ; for though these countries were in a state of
understood, if not avowed, hostility, in his private orders
from the marine committee of Congress, Jones was directed
to keep his guns covered and concealed as much as possible
while on the coasts or in the ports of France, and as much
as possible to avoid a warlike appearance. The object ot
summoning him to Paris was to concert, in conjunction with
the commissioners, a plan of operations for the powerful
naaritime force under the command of the Count d'Estaing,
which — a treaty being now concluded between France and
the new states — was destined to harass the British, and sup-
port the cause of the republic on the shores of America.
, The bold and sagacious plan of that campaign, which,
if carried into effect as projected, must, in all probability, at
once have ended the war, Jones repeatedly and openly claims
the merit of having formed ;* and there can be no doubt that
his knowledge of the actual state of the British land and naval
force then acting in America, and his practical nautical ac-
quaintance with the scene of operation, enabled him to give
most important advice. Those delays, and the baffling cir-
cumstances to which naval armaments are ever exposed,
together, as has been alleged, with the timidity or irresolution
of the French Commander, the promptitude and courage dis-
played by Lord Howe, and the excellent spirit of the whole
British fleet on that memorable occasion, disconcerted this
well-imagined scheme. In claiming the plan of that expedi-
tion, Jones says, in a letter addressed to the French Minister
* In tlie memorial to the King of France, Jones states that tlie plan adopted
for D'Estain^'s expedition was sent by him to the Commissioners from Nantes,
nn tlu! lOth February, 1778, ailer he liad returned from Paris, and immediately
f>ii he iriii'i- some anTceahK! nr\v< from America.
THE INDIEN. 51
of Marine, M. de Sartine, — " Had Count d'Estaing arrived
in the Delaware a few days sooner, he might have made a
most glorious and easy conquest. Many successful projects
may be adopted from the hints which I had the honour to
draw up ; and if I can still furnish more, or execute any of
these already furnished, so as to distress and humble the com-
mon enemy, it will afford me the truest pleasure." Before
D'Estaing appeared, however, Lord Howe, as has been noticed,
had been able to place the fleet and the transports in safety ;
and the plan on which the American Commissioners justly
prided themselves of blocking up the British ships, transports,
and victuallers, in the Delaware, thus fell to the ground.
When Jones went to Paris to attend the Commissioners, he
left the Ranger, which had been damaged in her voyage,
refitting at Nantes. To the Commissioners he imparted plans
of various enterprises to be undertaken in the bold predatory
spirit of the private instructions of Morris, and he induced
them to hold out to his crew, in the name of Congress, the
hope or promise of some particular gratuity in reward of the
" good, gallant behaviour and punctual obedience,'* so essen-
tial to the furtherance of his daring projects. In coming to
Europe he expected to obtain command of the Indien, a large
frigate, then building at Amsterdam, for the service of the
United States. This vessel the Commissioners thought fit to
present to the King of France. Jones felt the disappointment,
and even complained of it to Congress, making it an argu-
ment for obtaining at least an equivalent command.
On the 16th January, 1778, Jones received his orders
from the Commissioners. They were such as ever proved
the most agreeable to him — unlimited — implying full confi-
dence in his zeal and ability. The only caution he received,
was, not to return immediately to the ports of France after
making an attempt on the coast of Britain, as the French court
wished to shuffle a little longer.
52
THE FIRST SALUTE.
The first Salute.
The Ranger being now refitted, Jones sailed to Qaiberon,
and at that place displayed considerable professional address
and characteristic firmness, in compelling the French Admi-
ral to give the American flag — which Jones had been the
first to hoist — the first salute it ever received. It was thus
he wrote on this occasion :
«* February, 1 4th, 1778.
" Dear Sir,
" I am extremely sorry to give you fresh trouble, but 1
think the Admiral's answer of yesterday requires an explana
tion. The haughty English return gun for gun to foreign
officers of equal rank, and two less only to captains by flag-
officers. It is true, my command at present is not important,
yet, as the senior American officer at present in Europe, it is
my duty to claim an equal return of respect to the flag of
the United States that would be shown to any other flag
whatever.
" I therefore take the liberty of enclosing an appointment,
JONES SAILS FROM BREST. 53
perhaps as respectable as any which the French Admiral can
produce — besides which I have others in my possession.
" If, however, he persists in refusing to return an equal
salute, I will accept of two guns less, as I have not the rank
of Admiral.
" It is my opinion, that he would return four less to a pri-
vateer or a merchant ship ; therefore, as I have been honoured
oftener than once with a chief command of ships of war, I
cannot in honour accept of the same terms of respect. ''
" You will singularly oblige me by waiting upon the Admi-
ral ; and I ardently hope you will succeed in the application,
else I shall be under a necessity of departing without coming
into the bay. I have the honour to be, &c. &c.
" To William Carmichael, Esq."
" N. B. — Though thirteen guns is your greatest salute in
America, yet if the French Admiral should prefer a greater
number, he has his choice, on conditlonsJ^
Of the triumphant recognition of the American flag obtained
in the first instance by him, Jones was naturally very proud.
" I am happy," he says addressing the Marine Committee at
home, " in having it in my power to congratulate you on my
having seen the American flag recognized in the fullest and
completest manner by the flag of France." And he relates
how he accomphshed this object.
On the 10th of April, Jones sailed from Brest on that cruise
which the assault on Whitehaven, the landing at the Earl of
Selkirk's, and the capture of the Drake, afterwards rendered
so celebrated. The account of that expedition will be best
given in his own words. It is, how^ever, worthy of notice,
that the original log-book of the Ranger, and of his more
famous ship, the Bon Homme Richard, which are now acci-
dentally in the hands of gentlemen in Scotland, wholly uncon-
nected with Captain Jones, generally corroborate all his
5*
54
SINKING OF THE BRIGANTINE.
Statements to the most minute particulars. It is thus his ac-
count commences : —
" I have now to fulfil the promise made in my last, by giv
ing you an account of my late expedition.
" I sailed from Brest the 10th of April ; my plan was ex-
tensive, I therefore did not at the beginning wish to encumber
myself with prisoners. On the 14th, I took a brigantine, be-
tween Scilly and Cape Clear, bound for Ostend, with a cargo
of flax-seed for Ireland — sunk her, and proceeded into St.
George's Channel.
M-^^^T^^^.^^^
Sinking of the Brigantine.
" On the 17th I took the ship Lord Chatham, bound from
London to Dublin, with a cargo consisting of porter, and a
variety of merchandise, and almost within sight of her port ;
this ship I manned and ordered for Brest.
" Towards the evening of the day following the weather
nad a promising appearance, and, the wind being favourable,
I stood over from the Isle of Man, with an intention to make
a descent at Whitehaven ; at ten I was off the harbour with
a party of volunteers, and had everything in readiness to
land; but before eleven the wdnd greatly increased and shifted,
so as to blow directly upon the shore ; the sea increased, of
course, and it became impossible to effect a landing. This
obliged me to carry all possible sail so as to clear the land,
and to await a more favourable opportunity.
THE REVENUE WHERRY. 55
" On the 18th, in Glentinebay, on the south coast of Scot-
land, I met with a revenue wherry ; it being the common
practice of these vessels to board merchant ships, the Ranger
then having no external appearance of war, it was expected
that this rover would have come alongside; I was, however,
mistaken, for though the men were at their quarters, yet this
vessel out-sailed the Ranger, and got clear in spite of a severe
cannonade.
Escape of the Revenue Wherry.
" The next morning, off the Mull of Galloway, I found my
self so near a Scotch coasting schooner, loaded with barley
that I could not avoid sinking her. Understanding that there
were ten or twelve sail of merchant ships, besides a Tender
brigantine, with a number of impressed men on board, at
anchor in Lochryan, in Scotland, I thought this an enterprise
worthy my attention ; but the wind, which at the first would
have served equally well to have sailed in or out of the Loch,
shifted in a hard squall, so as to blow almost directly in, with
an appearance of bad weather. I was therefore obliged to
abandon my project.
" Seeing a cutter off the lee-bow steering for the Clyde, I
gave chase, in hopes of cutting her off, but finding my
endeavours ineffectual. I pursued no farther than the Rock of
56 THE DRAKE.
Ailsa. In the evening I fell in with a sloop from Dublin,
which I sunk, to prevent intelligence.
"The next day, 21st, being near Carrickfergus, a fishing-
boat came off, which I detained. I saw a ship at anchor in
the road, which I was informed by the fishermen was the
British ship-of-war Drake, of twenty guns. I determined to
attack her in the night ; my plan was to overlay her cable,
and to fall upon her bow, so as to have all her decks open
and exposed to our musketry, &c. ; at the same time, it was
my intention to have secured the enemy by grapplings, so
that, had they cut their cables, they would not thereby have
attained an advantage. The wind was high, and unfortunately
the anchor was not let go so soon as the order was given, so
that the Ranger was brought to upon the enemy's quarter
at the distance of half a cable's length. We had made no
warlike appearance, of course had given no alarm ; this deter-
mined me to cut immediately, which might appear as if the
cable had parted, and at the same time enable me, after mak-
ing XI tack out of the Loch, to return with the same prospect
of advantage which I had at the first. I was, however, pre-
vented from returning, as I with difficulty weathered the
light-house on the lee-side of the Loch, and as the gale
increased. The w^eather now became so very stormy and
severe, and the sea ran so high, that I was obliged to take
shelter under the south shore of Scotland.
" The 22d introduced fair w^eather, though the three king-
doms w^ere, as far as the eye could reach, covered whh snow.
I now resolved once more to attempt Whitehaven ; but the
wind became very light, so that the ship would not in proper
time approach so near as I had intended. At midnight I left
the ship widi two boats and thirty-one volunteers ; when we
reached the outer pier, the day began to dawn ; I would not,
however, abandon my enterprise, but despatched one boat
under the direction of Mr. Hill and Lieutenant Wallingsford,
with the necessary combustibles to set fire to the shipping on
DESCENT ON WHITEHAVEN. 57
the north side of the harbour, while I went with the other
party to attempt the south side. I was successful in scaling
the walls and spiking up all the cannon on the first fort ; find-
ing the sentinels shut up in the guard-house, they w^ere
secured without being hurt. Having fixed sentinels, I now
took with me one man only, (Mr. Green,) and spiked up all
the cannon on the southern fort, distant from the other a
quarter of a mile.
Expedition to Whitehaven .
" On my return from this business, I naturally expected to
see the fire of the ships on the north side, as well as to find
my own party with everything in readiness to set fire to the
shipping on the south ; instead of this, I found the boat under
the direction of Mr. Hill and M. Wallingsford returned, and
the party in some confusion, their fight having burnt out at
the instant when it became necessary.*
* J'ones did not soon surmount the disappointment occasioned by this mis-
understanding on the part of his officers. In a memorial to Congress, he says,
" My first object was to secure an exchange of prisoners in Europe, and my
second to put an end, by one good fire in England of shipping, to all the burn-
ings in America. I succeeded in the first, even by means far more glorious
than my most flattering ideas had expected when I left France. In the second
I endeavoured to deserve success ; but a wise officer of mine observed, that ' it
was a rash thing, and that nothing could he got by burning poor people'."
58 DESCENT ON WHITEHAVEN.
" By the strangest fatality, my own party were in the same
situation, the candles being all burnt out. The day too came
on apace, yet I would by no means retreat while any hopes of
success remained. Having again placed sentinels, a light
was obtained at a house disjoined from the town, and fire
was kindled in the steerage of a large ship, which was sur-
rounded by at least an hundred and fifty others, chiefly from
two to four hundred tons burthen, and lying side by side,
aground, unsurrounded by the water.
" There were, besides, from seventy to an hundred large
ships in the north arm of the harbour, aground, clear of the
water, and divided from the rest only by a stone pier of a
ship's height. I should have kindled fires in other places if
the time had permitted ; as it did not, our care was to pre-
vent the one kindled from being easily extinguished. After
some search, a barrel of tar was found, and poured into the
flames, which now ascended from all the hatchways. The
inhabitants began to appear in thousands, and individuals ran
hastily towards us. I stood between them and the ship on
fire, with a pistol in my hand, and ordered them to retire,
which they did with precipitation. The flames had already
caught the rigging, and began to ascend the main-mast ; the
the sun was a full hour's march above the horizon, and as
sleep no longer ruled the world, it was time to retire. We
property.' I must, however, do him the justice to mention his acknowledg-
ment, that he had no turn for enterprise ; and I must also do equal justice to
my former officers in the Providence and the Alfred, by declaring, that had
they been w^ith me in the Ranger, two hundred and fifty, or three hundred sail
of large ships at Whitehaven would have been laid in ashes." In answer to
certain queries on this subject, proposed by the Board of Admiralty in 1781,
he says, " I made a descent at Whitehaven with thirty .men only, surprised
and took two strong forts with thirty pieces of cannon, and set fire to the ship-
ping where they lay, three hundred or upwards, in the dry pier. That both
the shipping and the town, containing from forty to fifty thousand inhabitants,
was not burned, was owing to the backwardness of some persons under my
command."
(60)
DESCENT ON WHITEHAVEN. CI
re-embarked without opposition, having released a number
of prisoners, as our boats could not carry them. After all
my people had emi3arked, I stood upon the pier for a consi-
derable space, yet no person advanced : I saw all the emi-
nences round the town covered wdth the amazed inhabitants.
^' When we had rowed to a considerable distance from the
shore, the Enghsh began to run in vast Humbers to their forts ;
their disappointment may easily be imagined when they found,
I suppose, at, least thirty heavy cannon (the instruments of
their vengeance) rendered useless. At length, however, they
began to fire, having, as I apprehend, either Srought down
ship's guns, or used one or two cannon which- lay on the
beach at the foot of the walls, dismounted, and which had not
been spiked. They fired with no direction, and the shot fall-
ing short of the boats, instead of doing us any damage,
aflbrded some diversion, which my people could not help
showing, by discharging their pistols, &c. in return of the
salute.
" Had it been possible to have landed a few hours sooner,
success would have been complete ; not a single ship out of
more than two hundred could possibly have escaped, and all
the world would not have been able to save the town ; what
was done, however, is sufficient to show that not all their
boasted navy can protect their own coasts, and that the scenes
of distress which they have occasioned in America may soon
be brought home to their own doors. One of my people was
missing, and must, I fear, have fallen into the enemy's hands
after our departure.* I was pleased that in this business we
neither killed nor wounded. I brought off three prisoners as
a sample."
* In the Ranger's log-book this man is named David Smith. He is probably
the same person who, under the name of Freeman, gave information at several
houses in a street adjoining the piers, that fire had been set to a ship, and
afterwards other information that appears substantially correct. He must have
remuined on shore voluntarily.
6
62 DESCENT ON ST. MARY'S ISLE.
In all the contemporary accounts of the attempt on White-
haven, and capture of the Drake, the Ranger is termed a
privateer. This is a mistake ; she was a ship of war belong-
ing to the United States, and Jones was appointed her com-
mander by a resolution of Congress on the 14th of June, 1777.
The character of this vessel was, however, certainly anoma-
lous in any regular navy. Her commander acted alone and
single-handed ; and such was his temper and the nature of
the service for which he seemed most fitted, that he uniformly
succeeded best when acting thus on his own judgment and
responsibility, and never wholly failed, save in those combined
operations where his opinions were opposed or fettered.
With the unlimited command of the Ranger, and small as his
force was, he determined to prove to France and America
what, with adequate means placed at his disposal, he might
achieve. But it is time to return to the narrative of this
cruise, which resembled more the bold exploits of Morgan or
Lolonnois than the operations of modern nautical warfare.
Descent on St. Mary's Isle.
ENCOUNTER WITH THE DRAKE. GS
" We now stood over for the Scotch shore, and landed at
noon on St. Mary's Isle, with one boat only, and a very small
party, (tw^elve men.) The motives which induced me to land
there are explained in the within copy of a letter* which I
have written to the Countess of Selkirk.
" On the morning of the 24th I was again off Carrickfergus,
and w^ould have gone in had I not seen the Drake preparing
to come out ; it w^as very moderate, and the Drake's boat was
sent out to reconnoitre the Ranger. As the boat advanced I
kept the ship's stern directly towards her, and, though they
had a spy-glass in the boat, they came on within hail, and
alongside. When the officer came on the quarter-deck, he
was greatly surprised to find himself a prisoner! — although
an express had arrived from Whitehaven the night before. I
now understood what I had before imagined, that the Drake
came out in consequence of this information w^ith volunteers
against the Ranger. The ofxicer told me also, that they, had
taken up the Ranger's anchor.
" The Drake was attended by five small vessels full of
people, who were led by motives of curiosity to see an
engagement ; but when they discovered the Drake's boat at
the Ranger's stern they wisely put back. Alarm-smokes
now appeared in great abundance, extending al^ng^both sides
of the channel. The tide was unfavourable, so that the
Drake worked out but slowly. This obliged me to run down
several times, and to lay with courses up, and main-topsail
to the mast. At length the Drake weathered the point, and
having led her out to about mid-channel, I suffered her to
come within hail. The Drake hoisted English colours, and
at the same instant the American stars were displayed on
board the Ranger. I expected that preface had been now at
an end ; but the enemy soon after hailed, demanding what
ship it was. I directed the master to answer, the Am.erican
continental ship Ranger; that we waited for them, and desired
* See page 68.
64 ACTION WITH THE DRAKE.
they would come on. The sun was now little more than an
hour from setting, it was therefore time to begin. The Drake
being rather astern of the Ranger, I ordered the helm up,
and gave her the first broadside. The action was warm,
close, and obstinate ; it lasted an hour and fiv^ minutes, when
the enemy called for quarters, her fore and main-top-sail
yards being both cut away, and down on the cap; the fore-
top-gallant-yard and mizen-gaft' both hanging up and down
along the mast ; the second ensign which they had hoisted
shot away, and hanging over the quarter-gallery, in the water ;
the jib shot away, and hanging into the water ; her sails and
rigo-ing entirely cut to pieces, her masts and yards all
wounded, and her hull also very much galled.
Action between the Ranger and the Drake.
"1 lost only Lieutenant Wallingsford, and o .. sjinan
(John Dongal) killed, and six wounded, among wiiom are the
gunner, (Mr. Falls,) and Mr. Powers, a midshipman, who
lost his arm. One of the wounded (Nathaniel Wills) is since
dead ; the rest will recover.
ACTION WITH THE DP»AKE, 65
*' The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded was far
greater. All the prisoners allow that they came out with a
number not less than an hundred and sixty men, and many of
them affirm that they amounted to an hundred and ninety ; the
medium may perhaps be the most exact account, and by that
it will appear that they lost in killed and wounded forty-
two men.*
" The captain and lieutenant were among the wounded ;
the former, having received a musket ball in the head the
minute before they called for quarters, lived and was sensible
for some time after my people boarded the prize ; the lieu-
tenant survived two days. They were buried wuth the
honours due to their rank, and with the respect due to their
memory.
" The night, and almost the whole day after the action,
being moderate, greatly facilitated the refitting of the ships.
A large brigantine ran so near the Drake in the afternoon,
that I was obha:ed to brin^ her to : she belons^ed to White-
haven, and was bound to Norway.
" I had thoughts of returning by the south channel, but the
w^ind shifting, I determined to pass by the north, and round
the west coast of Ireland : this brought me once more off
Belfast Loch on the evening of the day after the engagement.
" It was now time to release the honest Irishmen w^hom I
took here on the 21st : and as the poor fellows had lost their
boat, she having sunk in the late stormy weather, I was happy
in having it in my power to give them the necessary sum to
purchase everything new which they had lost ; I gave them
also a good boat to transport themselves ashore, and sent
with them two infirm men, on whom I had bestowed the last
guinea in my possession, to defray their travelling expenses
to their proper home at Dublin. They took with them one
of the Drake's sails, which v^ould sufficiently explain what
* This loss is stated by the other party at twenty-two.
6*
66 RELEASE OF THE IRISHMEN.
had happened to the volunteers, The grateful Irishmen were
enraptured and expressed their joy in three huzzas as they
passed the Ranger's quarter."
Release of the Irishmen.
On the 26th April, Captain Jones placed Lieutenant Simp-
son under suspension and arrest; and on the 8th May he re-
entered Brest roads, having been absent only twenty-eight-
da3^s.*
If the American plenipotentiaries were gratified by the
* The worthy and cautious citizens of Aljerdeen were the only persons
greatly alarmed on this occasion. In the Scots Magazine for May, 1778, we
find tiie following paragraph :
" On receiving at Aberdeen intelligence of the plunder of Lord Selkirk's
house and the landing at Whitehaven, a hand-bill was circulated by order of
the Magistrates, to set on foot an association of the inhabitants for defence,
and in a few days an hundred and twenty were enrolled."
The affair never went farther. Another American vessel, which landed a
party, and plundered the house of Mr. Gordon, near Banff, must have quick-
ened their apprehensions ; but no alarm was seriously felt till the squadron of
Paul Jones appeared in the frith of Forth. Even tlicn the panic was short
lived.
LETTER TO THE COUNTESS OF SELKIRK. 67
success of this expedition, the Court of Versailles was still
more delighted. France was now on the very eve of war.
The plenipotentiaries of the United States had been pubhcly
received at Versailles a month before — the treaty had been
signed — and D'Estaing's squadron was ready for sea. The
French ambassador had been ordered to leave London, and
by the famous engagement between the Arethusa and La
Belle Poule the first blow had been struck. In England the
nation, much divided on the pohcy of the unsuccessful war
with the colonies, were for the first time united in feelings of
hostility to the " ancient foe," and of indignation at the insidi-
ous pohcy of the court of Versailles. The most active pre-
parations were going on throughout the whole of the three
kingdoms. All the winter and spring, in anticipation of a
war with France, volunteer corps, defensive bands, and fen-
cible regiments, had been raising ; the navy was hastily aug-
mented ; addresses were sent from all quarters of the country ;
and the bulk of the nation was animated by the most ardent
spirit of loyalty.
The first leisure of Captain Jones on arriving at Brest was
employed in writing his^ celebrated letter to the Countess of
Selkirk. His conduct throughout the whole of this dehcate
afiair, though certainly on his part the spontaneous impulse
of elevated feeling, Vv^as also good pohcy, as the descent on
St. Mary's Isle, which ultimately redounded to his honour,
was liable to much misrepresentation. The explanatory
chivalrous epistle to the Countess of Selkirk has been often
talked of. It represents the character of the writer in a new
and certainly not unpleasing light. How seldom does the
romance of real life exist till the age of thirty !
But however romantic one class of the feeliuGTS of Jones
might be, awakened and softened by his visit to the scene?:
of his boyhood, under circumstances so extraordinarv. he
was still much more at home in drawing up a clear memorial
of his proceedings for Congress, or in bringing to a tardy
08 LETTER TO TliE COUNTESS OF SELKIRK.
und shuffling minister, than in addressing high-born dames.
Though he had been a few weeks in Paris, the airs of a
carpet-knight still sat awkwardly upon him, and his letter
evinces more right feeling than good taste or knowledge of
lady-life. But Franklin, the republican sage, to whom the
epistle was enclosed, says, " It is a gallant letter, which must
give her Ladyship a high and just opinion of your generosity
and nobleness of mind ;" — and he was right. The matter
was admirable, whatever might be the faults of style. Had
the same generous spirit of hostility been displayed through-
out, how much of human misery, wantonly inflicted, might
have been spared, — how much of that bitterness of feeling
engendered between countries having in common so many
powerful bonds of alliance, might have been prevented !
"Ranger, Brest, 8th May, 1778.
" Madam,
" It cannot be too much lamented^ that, in the profession
of arms, the officer of fine feelings and real sensibility should
be under the necessity of winking at any action of persons
under his command which his heart cannot approve ; but the
reflection is doubly severe, when he finds himself obliged, in
appearance, to countenance such acts by his authority.
" This hard case was mine, w^hen, on the 23d of April last,
I landed on St. Marv's Isle. Knowing I^ord Selkirk's interest
with the King, and esteeming, as I do, his private character,
I wished to make him the happy instrument of alleviating the
liorrors of hopeless caplivit}^ when the brave are overpowered
and made prisoners of war.
"^It was, perhaps, fortunate for you, Madam, that he was
from home ; for it was my intention to have taken him on
board the Ranger, and to have detained him, until, through
his means, a general and fair exchange of prisoners, as well
in Europe as in America, had been eflx3cted. When I was
informed by some men whom I met at landing, that his Lord-
LETTER TO THE COUNTESS OF SELKIRK. 69
ship was absent, I walked back to my boat, determined to
leave the island. By the way, however, some officers, who
were with me, could not forbear expressing their discontent,
observing that, in America, no delicacy was shown by
the English, who took away all sorts of moveable property,
setting fire, not only to towns and to the houses of the rich,
without distinction, but not even sparing the wretched ham-
lets and milch-cows of the poor and helpless, at the approach
of an inclement winter. That party had been with me the
same morning at Whitehaven ; some complaisance, therefore,
was their due. I had but a moment to tfiink how I might
gratify theni, and at the same time do your Ladyship the least
injury. I charged the officers to permit none of the seamen
to enter the house, or to hurt anything about it ; to treat you.
Madam, with the utmost respect ; to accept of the plate which
was offered, and to come away without making a search, or
demanding anything else.
" I am induced to beheve that I was punctually obeyed,
since I am informed that the plate which they brought away
is far short of the quantity expressed in the inventory which
accompanied it. I have gratified my men ; and, when the
plate is sold, I shall become the purchaser, and will gratify
my own feelings by restoring it to you by such conveyance
as you shall please to direct.
" Had the Earl been on board the Ranger the foUovv^ing
evening, he would have seen the awful pomp and dreadful
carnage of a sea-engagement ; both affording ample subject
for the pencil as well as melancholy reflection for the con-
templative mind. Humanity starts back from such scenes
of horror, and cannot sufficientl}^ execrate the vile promoters
of this detestable war —
'For they, 'twas they, unsheathed the ruthless blade.
And Heaven shall ask the havoc it has made.'
"The British ship of war Drake, mounting twenty guns,
70 LETTER TO THE COUNTESS OF SELKIRK.
with more than her full complement of officers and men, was
our opponent. The ships met, and the advantage was disputed
with great fortitude on each side for an hour and four min-
utes, when the gallant commander of the Drake fell, and vic-
tory declared in favour of the Ranger. The amiable lieuten-
ant lay mortally wounded, besides near forty of the inferior
officers and crew killed and wounded, — a melancholy demon-
stration of the uncertainty of human prospects, and of the sad
reverse of fortune which an hour can produce. I buried
them in a spacious grave, with the honours due to the me-
mory of the brave.
" Though I have drawn my sword in the present generous
struggle for the rights of men, yet I am not in arms as an
American, nor am I in pursuit of riches. My fortune is liberal
enough, having no wife nor family, and having lived long
enough to know that riches cannot ensure happiness. I pro-
fess myself a citizen of the w^orld, totally unfettered by the
little, mean distinctions of climate or of country, which
diminish the benevolence of the heart, and set bounds to phi-
lanthropy. Before this war began I had at the early time of
life withdrawn from the sea-service in favour of ' calm con-
templation and poetic ease.' I have sacrificed not only my
favourite scheme of hfe, but the softer affections of the heart
and my prospects of domestic happiness, and I am ready to
sacrifice my life also with cheerfulness, if that forfeiture could
restore peace and good-will among mankind.
" As the feelings of your gentle bosom cannot but be con-
genial with mine, let me entreat you, Madam, to use your
persuasive art with your husband's to endeavour to stop this
cruel and destructive war, in which Britain can never suc-
ceed. Heaven can never countenance the barbarous and
unmanly practice of the Britons in America, which savages
would blush at, and which, if not discontinued, will soon be
retaliated on Britain by a justly-enraged people. Should you
fail in this, (for I am persuaded that you will attempt it, and
LETTER TO THE COUNTESS OF SELKIRK. 71
who can resist the power of such an advocate ?) your endea-
vours to effect a general exchange of prisoners will be an
act of humanity which will afford you golden feelings on a
death-bed.
" I hope this cruel contest will soon be closed ; but should
it continue, I wage no war with the fair. I acknowledge
their force, and bend before it with submission. Let not
therefore, the amiable Countess of Selkirk regard me as an
enemy ; I am ambitious of her esteem and friendship, and
would do anything, consistent with my duty, to merit it.
" The honour of a Hne from your hand in answer to this
will lay me under a singular obligation ; and if I can render
you any acceptable service in France or elsewhere, I hope
you see into my character so far as to command me without
the least grain of reserve.
" I wish to know exactly the behaviour of my people, as 1
am determined to punish them if they have exceeded their
Hberty. I have the honour to be, with much esteem and with
profound respect, Madam, &c. &c.
" John Paul Jones.
" To the Countess of Selkirk.'*
It afterwards cost Jones much more trouble than he could
have calculated upon to redeem the promise here given to
the Countess of Selkirk. Once in the harpy claws of com-
missaries and prize-agents, it required all his energy, activity,
and disinterestedness, to wrest the plate from them, even by
paying, he says, " more than the value." It was valued and
re-valued, and occasioned more trouble and expense than it
was intrinsically worth, had not Jones conceived his honour
pledged for its safe restoration.
Jones found a useful auxiliary in this affair in Father John,
an Irish priest, the chaplain of Count D'Orvilliers, who then
commanded a fleet lying off Brest, and whom he had already
made his friend. So justly provoked was he about this affair,
and the sordid spirit of the agents, that, in the very temper
72 REDEMPTION OF THE PLATE.
of Hotspur, we find him exclaiming, " I will not abate the
thousandth part of a 50/ of three-twentieths of prizes, which
no man in America ever presumed to dispute as being my
just and proper right, and which no rascal in Europe shall
presume to dispute with impunity ! To whom, since I w^as
myself commander-in-chief, would that old fool decree the
three-twentieths? Perhaps to his dear self, who is puffed up
with the idea of his right to secure ' the property of captures? "
Though the plate came into the possession of Jones in
1780, it was nearly five years before he was able to return it
to the owner. It was lodged with a friend during his absence
in America ; and in wrhing to Lord Selkirk in 1784, after the
peace, he takes occasion to make a new avowal of the views
and sentiments on which he had acted during the war : —
Paris, February 12lh, 1784.
" My Lord,
" I have just received a letter from Mr. Nesbitt, dated at
L'Orient the 4th instant, mentioning a letter to him from
your son, Lord Daer, on the subject of the plate that was
taken from your house by some of my people when I com-
manded the Ranger, and has been for a long time past in
Mr. Nesbitt's care. A short time before I left France to
return to America, Mr. W. Alexander wrote me from
Paris to L'Orient, that he had, at my request, seen and con-
versed with your Lordship in England respecting the plate.
He said that you had agreed that I should restore it, and that
it might be forwarded to the care of your sister-in-law, the
Countess of Morton, in London. In consequence I now send
orders to Mr. Nesbitt, to forward the plate immediately to
her care. When I received Mr. Alexander's letter, there
was no cartel or other vessel at L'Orient, that I could trust
with a charge of so delicate a nature as your plate, and I
had great reason to expect I should return to France within
six months after I embarked for America ; but circumstances
in America prevented my returning to Europe during the
LETTER TO LORD SELKIRK. 73
war, though I had constant expectation of it. The long
delay that has happened to the restoration of 3- our plate has
given me much concern, and I now feel a proportionate
pleasure in fulfilling what was my first intention. My motive
for landing at your estate in Sco'Jc^nd was to take you as an
hostage for the lives and liberty of a number of the citizens
of America, who had been taken in war on the ocean, and
committed to British prisons, under an act of parliament, as
traitors, pirates, ^nd felons. You observed to Mr. Alexander,
that ' my idea was a mistaken one, because you were not,
(as I had supposed) in favour with the British ministry, who
knew that you favoured the cause of liberty.'' On that account
I am glad that you were absent from your estate when 1
landed there, as I bore no personal enmity, but the contrary,
towards you. I sRerv/ards had the happiness to redeem my
fellow-citizens from Britain, by means far more glorious than
through the modi am of any single hostage.
" As I have endeavoured to serve the cause of liberty,
through every stage of the American revolution, and sacri-
ficed to it my private ease, a part of my fortune, and some
of my blood, I could have no selfish motive in permitting my
people to demand and carry off yoar plate. My sole induce-
ment was to turn their attention and stop their rage from
breaking out, and retahating on your house and effects the
too ivanton burnings and desolation that had been committed
against their relations and fellow-citizens in America by the
British ; of which, I assure, you would have felt the severe
consequences had I not fallen on an expedient to prevent it,
and hurried my people away before they had time for farther
reflection. As you were so obliging as to say to Mr. Alex-
ander, that * my people behaved ivith great decency at your
house,' I ask the favour of you to announce that circumstance
to the public.
" I am, my Lord, wishing you always perfect freedom and
happiness," &c. &c.
7 " Paul Jone^i/
74 THE EARL'S ANSWER.
The answer that Jones received next year from the Earl
was some indemnification for his trouble and anxiety : —
" London, 4th August, 1785.
" Sir,
" I received the letter you wrote me at the time you sent
off my plate, in order for restoring it. Had I known where
to direct a letter to you at the time it arrived in Scotland, I
would have then wrote to you ; but not knowing it, nor find-
ing that any of my acquaintance at Edinburgh knew it, I was
obhged to delay writing till I came here, when, by means of
a gentleman connected with America, I was told Mr. Le
Grand was your banker at Paris, and would take proper care
of a letter for you ; therefore I enclose this to him.
" Notwithstanding all the precautions you took for the easy
and uninterrupted conve3^ance of the plate, yet it met with
considerable delays, first at Calais, next at Dover, then at
London. However, it at last arrived at Dumfries, and, I
dare say, quite safe, though as yet I have not seen it, being
then at Edinburgh. I intended to have put an article in the
newspapers about your having returned it ; but before I was
informed of its being arrived, some of your friends, I suppose,
had put it in the Dumfries newspaper, whence it was imme-
diately copied into the Edinburgh papers, and thence into the
London ones.
" Since that time I have mentioned it to many people of
fashion ; and on all occasions. Sir, both now and formerly, I
have done you the justice to tell, that you made an offer of
returning the plate very soon after your return to Brest, and
although you yourself were not at my house, but remained at
the shore with your boat, that yet you had your officers and
men in such extraordinary good discipline, that you having
given them the strictest orders to behave well, to do no injury
of any kind, to make no search, but only to bring off' what
plate w^as given them ; that in reality they did exactly as
THE EARL'S ANSWER. 75
01 tiered, and that not one man offered to stir from his post,
on the outside of the house, nor entered the doors, nor said an
uncivil word ; that the two officers stood not a quarter of an
hour in the parlour and butler's pantry while the butler got
the plate together ; behaved politely, and asked for nothing
but the plate, and instantly marched their men off in regular
order ; and that both officers and men behaved in all respects
so well, that it would have done credit to the best-disciplined
troops whatever. Some of the EngHsh newspapers at that
time having put in confused accounts of your expedition to
Whitehaven and Scotland, I ordered a proper one of what
happened in Scotland to be put in the London newspapers,
by a gentleman who was then at my house, by which the
good conduct and civil behaviour of your officers and men
were done justice to, and attributed to your orders, and the
good discipline you maintained over your people.
" I am, Sir, your most humble servant,
" Selkirk."
The plate was retu'ned exactly as it had been taKen
away.
76 CONDI rCT Ol THE COMMISSIONERS.
CHAPTER IV.
HE success of Jones, and the
temporary vogue into which it
raised him at the court of
|France on his return to Brest,
I did not free him from many
embarrassments. To provide
ifor his crew, to secure the
itwo hundred prisoners he had
'brought in, and to obtain a new
command for himself, all occupied and distracted his atten-
tion at the same time. The dilatoriness or cupidity of the
prize-agents, and the straitened funds at the disposal of the
Commissioners, excited open discontents among the seamen,
— who, after their exertions, saw themselves neglected and
forgotten, and even in want of the common necessaries of
food and clothing. Captain Jones had now obtained the right
of speaking out, and also of being heard ; and he used his
newly-acquired influence with equal anxiety for the comfort
of his own men, and of the sick, wounded, and prisoners
whom the fortune of war had placed at his mercy.
Before quitting America, Jones had, under the sanction of
the Marine Committee, made himself accountable to his
crew for the regular payment of their wages. With this
circumstance Mr. Lee, one of the Commissioners, who after-
w^ards gave both of his own colleagues much trouble, was
acquainted ; yet he concurred with those who were in igno-
rance of this arrangement in dishonouring a draft which
Jones made on the (commissioners on his return to Brest,
JONES PROTECTS HIS PRISONERS. 77
under circumstances which should have compelled them to
attend to his wants, in humanity and good policy as well as
justice. " I was left," he says, " with two hundred prisoners
of war, a number of sick and wounded, an almost naked
crew, and a ship, after a severe engagement, in want of
stores and provisons, from the 9th May till the 13th of June,
destitute of any public support." " To make me completely
wretched," he says, on another occasion, " M. de Bersolle
has told me that he now stops his hand, not only of the
necessary articles to refit the ship, but also of the daily provi-
sions. I know not w^here to find to-morrow^'s dinner for the
great number of mouths that depend on me for food. Are
the continental ships of war to depend on the sale of their
prizes for a daily dinner to their men ? Publish it not in Gath!"
But from all these pressing difficulties Jones contrived to
extricate himself with little aid, in the first instance, from the
harassed Commissioners, who, at this time, had their hands
full of business, and their purses empty of money.
Shortly afterwards v^^e find Captain Jones interfering to
protect his prisoners from the rapacity of the persons who
were intrusted with supplying their wants. By his exertions
and credit with the French goverment and its functionaries,
he had already ensured their safe custody in order to an
exchange, — an object for which Frankhn was now negotia-
ting, and which at all times was one of prime importance to
Jones, as appears on the face of his whole correspondence.
The letter enclosing the memorial of his prisoners is very
creditable to his feehngs.
" The fellow," he says, " who holds the rod over their
wretched heads, has menaced them * if they dare to com-
plain,' and would have intercepted their memorial, had I not
prevented it. This Riou is the scoundrel who, by his false-
hood, promoted discord in the Ranger, and got the delu led
people to appoint him their particular agent. Before that
time he never could call twenty louis his own, — and he is
7*
78 JONES'S LETTER TO THE FRENCH OFFICERS.
now too rich for his former profession of King's interpreter.
He does not deny that he is a scoundrel, for so I have called
him more than once before witnesses, and so every person of
sense thinks him at Brest. If the exchange of prisoners does
not take place immediately, I conceive it would be the most
eligible method to have the people on board the Patience
landed. They are convinced that if you should think fit to
return them an answer, it will never come to their hands
through the means of any person who calls himself an agent
at Brest, and they having full confidence in the honour and
humanity of Father John, professor of English, and chaplain
to Comte D'Orvilliers at Brest, have desired me to inform
you, that through that gentleman they beg you to favour
them with an answer. In granting their request you will
confer a very singular obligation on me."
Though Jones had just cause of anger in the hardship and
indignity to which he was exposed by the Commissioners
dishonouring his drafts, and in the conduct of the prize-agents,
and the discontents which in consequence arose among his
crew, who naturally all looked to him for justice, if not
reward, he was cheered by many marks of private friendship
and esteem. The Comte D'Orvilliers, commander-in-chief
at Brest, showed him the utmost kindness, untinctured by any
of that professional jealousy w^ith which he was afterwards
regarded by the horde of inferior officers of the French navy.
The Due de Chartres seemed friendly ; and, above all, the
wise and venerable Franklin, who, from first to last, appears
to have appreciated his character, proved a friend as steady
as he was judicious.
Jones had not been three weeks in Brest when Franklin
wrote him, congratulating him on his late success, and pro-
posing another expedition. " The Jersey privateers," he
says, " do us a great deal of mischief by intercepting our
supplies. It has been mentioned to me, that your small ves-
sel, commanded by so brave an officer, might render great
DR. FRANKLIN'S PROPOSAL. 79
service, by following them where greater ships dare not ven-
ture their bottoms ; or, being accompanied and supported by
some frigates from Brest, at a proper distance, might draw
them out and then take them. I wish you to consider of
this, as it comes from high authority.'*^
To be made the decoy-duck of French frigates could not
be peculiarly agreeable to a man whose first and vehement
object at all times was a " separate command," " unUmited
orders," and to be his " own counsellor." Yet in reply he says,
" Nothing could give me more pleasure than to render essen-
tial service to America in any way which you may find
expedient." He then hints his desire of still obtaining the
command of the ship building at Amsterdam. " I demand
nothing," he adds, " and though I know that it was the inten-
tion of Congress to give me that ship, 1 am now ready to go
wherever the service calls me." " If two or three fast-sailins:
ships could be collected together, there is a great choice of
private enterprises that I can name, some of which might
effectually succeed, and would be far more for the interest
and honour of America than cruising with twice the force.
It appears to me to be the province of our infant navy to
surprise and spread alarms with fast-sailing ships. When we
grow stronger we can meet their [the British] fleets, and dis-
pute with them the sovereignty of the ocean."
These plans and speculations were forgotten in the more
dazzling prospects which the following letter from Franklin
opened to Jones ; though what at first promised so fair, after-
wards became to him the source of much trouble and vexa-
tion : —
(Private.)
" Dear Sir,
. " I have the pleasure of informing you, that it is proposed
to give you the command of the great ship we have built at
Amsterdam. By what you wrote to us formerly I have
80 DR. FRANKLIN'S LETTER.
ventured to say in your behalf, that this proposition would be
agreeable to you. You will immediately let me know your
resolution ; which, that you may be more clear in taking, I
must inform you of some circumstances. She is at present
the property of the king ; but as there is no war yet declared,
you will have the commission and flag of the States, and act
under their orders and laws. The Prince de Nassau will
make the cruise with you. She is to be brought here under
cover as a French merchantman, to be equipped and manned
in France. We hope to exchange your prisoners for as
many American sailors ; but if that fails, you have your pre-
sent crew to be made up here with other nations and French.
The other Commissioners are not acquainted with this propo-
sition as yet ; and you see by the nature of it, that it neces-
sary to be kept a secret till we have got the vessel here, for
fear of difficulties in Holland, and interception; you will
therefore direct your answer to me alone. It being desired
that the affair should rest between you and me, perhaps it
may be best for you to take a trip up here to concert matters,
if in general you approve the idea.
" I was much pleased with reading your journal, which we
received yesterday."
A few days after this, Frankhn had this affair so well ma-
tured as to write again in the following terms :
"Passy, June 10th, 1778.
" Dear Sir,
" I received yours of 1st instant, with the papers enclosed,
which I have shown to the other Commissioners, but have
not yet had their opinion of them ; only I know that they had
before (in consideration of the disposition and uneasiness of
your people) expressed an inclination to order your ship
directly back to America. You will judge from what follows,
'whether it will not be advisable for you to pi^opose their send-
FRANKLIN'S LETTER. 81
ing her back with her people, and under some other command.
In consequence of the high opinion the Minister of the Marine
has of your conduct and bravery, it is now settled (observe,
that is to be a secret between us, I being expressly enjoined
not to communicate it to any other person,) that you are to
have the frigate from Holland, which actually belongs to
government, and will be furnished with as many good French
seamen as you shall require. But you are to act under Con-
gress commission. As you may like to have a number of
Americans, and your own are home-sick, it is proposed to
give you as many as you can engage out of tw^o hundred
prisoners, which the ministry of Britain have at length agreed
to give us in exchange for those you have in your hands.
They propose to make the exchange at Calais, where they are
to bring the Americans. Nothing is w^anting to this but a list
of yours, containing their names and rank ; immediately on the
receipt of which an equal number are to be prepared, and
Bent in a ship to that port, where yours are to meet them.
" If by this means you can get a good new crew, I thmk it
would be best that you are quite free of the old ; for a mix^
ture might introduce the infection of that sickness you com-
plain of But this may be left to your own discretion. Per-
haps we shall join you with the Providence. Captain Whipple,
a new continental ship of 30 guns, which in coming out of the
river of Providence, gave the two frigates that w^ere posted
to intercept her each of them so heavy a dose of her 18 and
12 pounders, that they had not the courage, or were not able,
to pursue her. It seems to be desired that you will step up
to Versailles, (where one will meet you,) in order to such a
settlement of matters and plans with those who have the di-
rection as cannot well be done by letter. I wish it may be
convenient to you to do it immediately.
" The project of giving you the command of this ship
pleases me the more, as it is a probable opening to the highe**
preferment you so justly merit."
82 LETTER TO THE FRENCH MINISTER.
Jones must have been exceedingly gratified by this infor-
mation. It was placing him at once at the summit of his
wishes. The French Minister of Marine notified the wishes
of his Most Christian Majesty to employ the American cap-
tain; and the Commissioners as formally signified their
acquiescence. They say, " We readily consent that he should
be at your Excellency's disposition, and shall be happy if his
services may be in any respect useful to the designs your Ex-
cellency has in contemplation."
Though Jones had already some experience of Marine
Committees, and of the delays and insolence of office, it was
quite impossible that he could have anticipated all the torture
and vexation laid up in store for him by a proposal which at
first sight appeared so fair and flattering. He made his ac-
knowledgments to the minister in his best style ; but probably
thought less of the " dignity of human nature," the slang of
that day, long before all official connexion was finished
between them. " I have no doubt," he says, " that many
projects might be formed from the hints which I had the
honour of sending lately for your inspection : had I been in-
trusted with the chief command, I would have held myself
responsible for consequences."
" I am bound in honour to communicate faithfully to Con-
gress the generous offer which the King now makes, of lend-
ing the Epervier in the meantime to be employed under my
command, under the flag of America. I have now under my
command a ship bound to America. On my arrival there,
from the former confidence of Congress, L have reason to
expect an immediate removal into one of their best ships. I
have reason to expect the chief command of the first squadron
destined for an expedition, having in my possession several
similar appointments ; and when Congress see fit to appoint
admirals, I have assurance that my name will not be forgot.
These are flattering prospects to a man who has drawn his
sword only upon principles of philanthropy, and in support of
BOLD PROJECTS. 83
the dignity of human nature. But as I prefer a solid to a
shining reputation, a useful to a splendid command, I hold
myself ready, with the approbation of the Commissioners, to
be governed by you in any measures that may tend to distress
and humble the common enemy."
This letter, in several of its hints, shows some address on
the part of Jones, who, it must be acknowledged, seldom, un-
less stirred by indignation or a sense of injury, slipped the
opportunity of forwarding his own interests by an opportune
hint or leading suggestion : of hints and projects of a public
nature his brain was at all times singularly fertile. At this
moment of excitement it teemed with bold ideas or fancies.
To effect the destruction of Whitehaven was, as we have seen,
one project. To take the Bank of Ayr, destroy that town,
and probably Greenock and Port-Glasgow, with the shipping
in the Clyde, w^as a yet bolder design. "Much," he says,
" might be done in Ireland, where ships worth one hundred
and fifty thousand livres, or even two hundred thousand, might
be seized, — London might be distressed, by cutting off the
supply of coals carried from Newcastle, — the fishing at
Campbelton might be destroyed, and many towns on the
north-east coasts of England and Scotland n^ht be burnt or
laid under contribution." A more feasible project was the
capture or destruction of the Baltic fieet. " The success of
any of these, or of like enterprises," says Jones, in a letter to
the French Minister of Marine, " will depend in surprising
well, and on despatch both in the attack and in the retreat ;
therefore it is necessary the ships should sail fast, and that
their forces should be sufficient to repel any of the enemy's
cruising frigates, two of which may perhaps be met at a time.
It is scarcely conceivable how great a panic the success of
any one of these projects would occasion in England. It
would convince the world that their coasts are vulnerable,
and would, consequently, hurt their public credit.
84 LIEUTENANT SIMPSON
" If alarming the coast of Britain should be thought inex-
pedient, to intercept the enemy's West India or Baltic fleets,
or their Hudson's Bay ships, or to destroy their Greenland
fishery, are capital objects."
There is much in these plans that must either have been
conceived in ignorance, or suggested by Jones for the pur-
pose of merely amusing, or of quickening the motions of the
French marine department. Even when, long afterwards, a
force was obtained, not one of them was attempted save the
abortive attack on Leith.
It has been noticed, that, after the engagement with the
Drake, Captain Jones ordered Lieutenant Simpson under
-arrest for what appeared very satisfactory reasons. He had
afterwards been annoyed by the Commissioners' dishonouring
his draft, and he was now enraged by their conduct regard-
ing Simpson, the offending officer. Indeed no excuse can be
offered for their proceedings, save that these distracted Com-
missioners had not power at all times to administer rigid jus-
tice, whatever might have been their wishes. The account
of this proceeding is given in the words of the memorial,
long afterwards prepared by Captain Jones for the informa^
tion of the King of France. It was an insult the memory of
which did not a©on leave him.
" The lieutenant under arrest on board the Drake had con-
stant intercourse with the crew ; who thereby became so
insolent as to refuse duty, and go all hands below repeatedly
before the captain's face. It was impossible to trifle at that
time, as Count D'Orvilliers had assured Captain Jones, unless
he could get the Drake ready to transport the prisoners to
America before orders arrived from Court, they would in all
probability be given up without an exchange, to avoid imme-
diate war with England. It therefore became impossible to
suffer the lieutenant to remain any longer among them.
Captain Jones had him removed to the ship called the Admi-
ral, where the French confine even the first officers in the
LETTER TO THE COMMISSIONERS. 85
service. He had there a good chamber to himself, and
liberty to walk the deck. The lieutenant endeavoured to
desert out of the Admiral, and behaved in a manner so
extravagant, that Count D'Orvilliers (without the knowledge
of Captain Jones) ordered him to the prison of the port,
where he also had a good chamber, and Captain Jones paid
his expenses out of his own pocket.
" About this time- Captain Jones, finding the Heutenant
appeared more reasonable than formerly, took his parole in
writing, not to serve again in the navy before he was acquit-
ted by a court-martial, and set him at Uberty. A day or
two afterwards the Commissioners thought fit to interfere
respecting the lieutenant of the Ranger, which, it is presumed,
they had no authority to do, as it laid the axe to the root of
subordination."
On returning from Versailles, whither he had gone, as has
been noticed, on the invitation of FrankHn, Captain Jones
feeling himself dreadfully aggrieved, wrote as follows : —
« Brest, August 13th, 1778.
" Gentlemen,
" I have been five days in this place since my return from
Passy, during which time I have neither seen nor heard from
Lieutenant Simpson ; but Mr. Hill, who was last winter at
Passy, and who sailed with me from Nantes, informs me
truly, that it is generally reported in the Ranger, and of
course throughout the French fleet, and on shore, that I am
turned out of the service ; that you, gentlemen, have given
Mr. Simpson my place with a captain's commission, and that
my letter to ybu of the 16th July ^yas involuntary on my
part, and in obedience only to your orders.
" That these reports prevail is not an idle conjecture, but
a melancholy fact. Therefore I beseech you, — I demand of
you to afford me redress, — redress by a court-martial; to
form which we have now, with the assistance of Captain
8
86 DELAYS.
Hinman, Captain Read, as also them at Nantes, a sufficient
number of officers in France, exclusive of myself. The
Providence and Britain are expected here very soon from
Nantes, and I am certain that they neither can nor will again
depart, before my friend Captain Hinman can come dov^^n here ;
and it is his unquestioned right to succeed me in the Ranger.
" I have faithfully and personally supported and fought the
dignified cause of human nature ever since the American
banners first waved on the Delaware and on the ocean.
This I did when that man did not call himself a republican,
but left the continent, and served its enemies ; this I did whon
this man appeared backward, and did not support me as he
ought.
" I conclude by requesting you to call before you, and
examine for your own satisfaction, Mr. Edward Meyers,
who is now at the house of the Swedish Ambassador, and
who, having been with me as a volunteer, can and will, I am
persuaded, represent to you the conduct of the officers and
men towards me, both before I left Brest, and afterwards in
the Irish Channel, as well as my conduct towards them. — 1
have the honour to be, &c. &c.
*• Their excellencies the
American Plenipotentiaries."
He received no immediate satisfaction, and resolved to
digest his chagrin as he best could, and at least avoid the
odium of a squabble among the Americans in France.
In the spring of the following year, he, however, received
a slight atonement to his wounded feelings, in an official
letter signed by Franklin and Adams, stating, that as his
removal from the Ranger, and the appointment of Lieutenant
Simpson to the command of that ship, might be liable to
misrepresentations and misinterpretations, they certified it to
be done by them, that, on the request of M. de Sartine, he
might be employed on some public service ; and that Simp-
LETTER TO THE MINlt5TER. 87
son had been appointed by his (Jones's) consent after he had
released that officer from an arrest under which he had
placed him.
The prospect of immediate active service, of getting afloat
with unlimited orders, and a larger force than he had ever
yet commanded, so flattering and near in July, became more
doubtful in the end of August ; and by September, as war
was now declared with England, the French officers were
in the first place to be provided for ; and the promised, or
rather offered, frigates dwindled down to a much smaller
force. Even that was delayed. After repeatedly applying
to the American Commissioners, and using all the personal
influence which his enlarged acquaintance in the court circles
enabled him to obtain, Jones found it needful to remonstrate
with M. de Sartine. He had, however, lost another powerful
hold of the minister. The Prince of Nassau, who in the
outset had eagerly desired to accompany him in his expedi-
tion, either from caprice or change of views, abandoned the
scheme, without scruple or apology, and to the letters of
Jones did not even deign the civility of a reply.
That his time might not be wholly consumed in idleness,
and in the sickness of hope deferred, Jones again addressed
the minister in what he calls " an explicit letter," which ex-
plains his situation better than could be done in many words.
"Brest, September 13th, 1778.
" Honoured Sir,
" When his Excellency Doctor Franklin informed me that
you had condescended to think me worthy of your notice, I
took such pleasure in reflecting on the happy aUiance be-
tween France and America, that I was really flattered, and
entertained the most grateful sense of the honour which you
proposed for me, as well as the favour which the king pro-
posed for America, by putting so fine a ship of war as the
Indian under my command, and under its flag, with unlimited
orders.
88 LETTER TO THE MINISTER.
" In obedience to your desire, I came to Versailles, and was
taught to believe that my intended ship was in deep water,
and ready for the sea ; but when the Prince (de Nassau) re-
turned, I received from him a different account ; I was told
that the Indian could not be got afloat within a shorter period
than three months at the approaching equinox.
" To employ this interval usefully, I first offered to go from
Brest with Count D'Orvilliers, as a volunteer, which you
thought fit to r^ect. I had then the satisfaction to find that
you approved in general of a variety of hints for private
enterprises which I had drawn up for your consideration, and
I was flattered with assurances from Messieurs de Chaumont
and Bandonin, that three of the finest frigates in France, with
two tenders, and a number of troops, would be immediately
put under my command; and that I should have unlimited
orders, and be at free liberty to pursue such of my own pro-
jects as I thought proper. But this plan fell to nothing in the
moment when I was taught to think that nothing was wanting
but the King's signature.
'* Another much inferior armament from L'Orient was pro-
posed to be put under my command, which was by no means
equal to the services that were expected from it; for speed
and force, though both requisite, were both wanting. Happily
for me this also failed, and I was thereby saved from a dread-
ful prospect of ruin and dishonour.
" I had so entire a reliance that you would desire nothing
of me inconsistent with my honour and rank, that the mo-
ment you required me to come down here, in order to proceed
round to St. Malo, though I had received no written orders,
and neither knew your intention respecting my destination or
command, I obeyed with such haste, that although my curi-
osity led me to look at the armament at L'Orient, yet I was
but three days from Passy till I reached Brest. Here too I
drew a blank ; but when I saw the Lively, it was no disap-
pointment, as that ship, both in sailing and equipment, is far
inferior to the Ranger.
LETTER TO THE MINISTER. 89
" My only disappointment here was my being precluded
from embarking in pursuit of marine knowledge with Count
D'Orvilliers, who did not sail till seven days after my return.
He is my friend, and expressed his wishes for my company ;
I accompanied him out of the road when the fleet sailed ;
and he always lamented that neither himself nor any person
in authority in Brest had received from you any order that
mentioned my name. I am astonished therefore to be in-
formed that you attribute my not being in the fleet to my stay
at L'Orient.
" 1 am not a mere adventurer of fortune. Stimulated by
principles of reason and philanthropy, I laid aside my enjoy-
ments in private life, and embarked under the flag of America
when it was first displayed. In that line my desire of fame
Is infinite, and 1 must not now so far forget my own honour,
and what I owe to my friends and America, as to remain
inactive.
" My rank knows no superior in the American marine : I
have long since been appointed to command an expedition with
five of its ships, and I can receive orders from no junior or
inferior officer whatever.
" I have been here in the most tormenting suspense for
more than a month since my return ; and agreeable to your
desire, as mentioned to me by Monsieur Chaumont, a lieu-
tenant has been appointed, and is with me, who speaks the
French as well as the English. Circular letters have been
written, and sent the 8th of last month from the English Ad-
miralty, because they expected me to pay another visit with
four ships. Therefore I trust that, if the Indian is not to be
got out, you will not, at the approaching season, substitute a
force that is not at least equal both in strength and sailins: to
any of the enemy's cruising ships.
*' T do not wish to interfere with the harmony of the French
marine ; but if I am still thought worthy of your attention,
I shall hope for a separate command, with liberal orders. If,
8*
90 DELAYS.
on the contrary, you should now have no further occasion for
my services, the only favour I can ask is, that you will bestow
on me the Alert, with a few seamen, and permit me to return,
and carry with me your good opinion in that small vessel,
before the winter, to America."
This letter was submitted to the Due de Rochefoucault, and
enclosed to Franklin, who, while he omitted no opportunity
of serving Jones, still counselled patience. To Franklin he
says, " It is in vain for the minister to pretend that he has
not ships to bestow. I know the contrary. He has bestowed
the Renommee and others here since my return ; and there are
yet several new ships unbestowed at St. Malo and elsewhere.
I know too, that unless the States of Holland oppose it, the
Indian can be got afloat with a tenth part of the difficulty
that has been represented. If I was worth his notice at the
beginning I am not less so now. After all, you have desired
me to have patience, and I promise you that I will wait your
kind advice, and take no step without your approbation. If
it were consistent and convenient for you to see M. de Sartine,
I should hope that such an explanation would be the conse-
quence as might remove every cause of uneasiness."
Day after day he continued to write to Franklin, mention-
ing vessels that he might command if the minister were sin-
cere in his professions. Meanwhile Frankhn procured the
minister's order that he should be received on board the French
fleet ; but, either intentionally or by accident, it came too late
to admit of his embarking to gain that knowledge of naval
tactics, and of governing a fleet, which was his object. It
was indeed surmised tliat the jealousy of the French service
was the true obstacle, both to his promised command and
desire of increasing his knowledge of his profession on the
great scale. " I think of going to L'Orient," he says, " being
heartily sick of Brest, and an eyesore to the marine." In
another letter he says, " I have excited the jealousy of many
officers in our young navy, because I have pursued honour
while they sought after profit."
DELAYS. 91
Gradually as. his hopes decreased, Jones lowered his de-
mands. He proposed many different vessels, the chief object
being fast-sailing ships.
" I wish to have no connexion with any ship that does not
sail fast," he says, " for I intend to go in harm's way. You
know, I believe, that this is not every one's intention ; there-
fore buy a frigate that sails fast, and that is sufficiently large
to carry twenty-six or twenty-eight guns on one deck." " I
have, to show my gratitude to France," he adds, " lost so
much time, and with it such opportunities as I cannot regain,
— I have almost half killed myself with grief Give me but
an assurance that the command of the Indian will be reserved
for me, and bestowed on no other person on any pretence
whatsoever, and I will say I am satisfied. This I pledge
myself will be no loss to France — America is not ungrateful.
The noble-minded Congress know not the little mean distinc-
tions of climate or place of nativity, nor have they adopted
any rule which can preclude them from encouraging or re-
warding the merit of a stranger, by raising him 'even to the
first posts of honour. In the army there are many instances
of this. In the navy, young as it is, it gives me particular
pleasure to inform you that Congress have given the command
of the best ship in their service to a French officer, and called
the ship the Alliance"
Many vessels were proposed in succession, and all were
abandoned. The anger and impatience of Jones got beyond
control, and he never appears to have been of the temper
^ which makes a proud man disdain to reveal his chagrin and
disappointment. M. de Sartine accordingly, on his part, felt
equally annoyed by the incessant importunity of the man who
held him to his word.
To the Due de Rochefoucault, whom he always found
friendly, Jones writes, — " The minister's behaviour towards
me has been and is really astonishing. At his request (for I
sought not the connexion) I gave up absolute certainties, and
92 LETTER TO THE DUG DE ROCHEFOUCAULT.
far more flattering prospects than any of those which he pro-
posed. What inducement could I have for this but gratitude
to France for having first recognized our independence I
And having given my word to stay for some time in Europe,
I have been and am unwilUng to take it back, especially after
having communicated the circumstances to Congress. The
minister, to my infinite mortification, after possessing himself
of my schemes and ideas, has treated me like a child five times
successively, by leading me on from great to little, and from
little to less. Does such conduct do honour either to his head
or to his heart ? He has not to this moment oflfered me the
least apology for any of these five deceptions ; nor has he, 1
believe, assigned any good reason to that venerable and great
character, his Excellency Doctor Franklin, whom he has
made the instrument to entrap me in this cruel state of inaction
and suspense.
" The minister has lately written a letter to Count D'Orvil-
liers, proposing to send me home m * une bonne voiture.'
This is absolutely adding insult to injury, and it is the propo-
sition of a man whose veracity I have not experienced in
former cases.
" I could in the summer, with the Ranger, joined with the
two other American frigates, have given the enemy sufficient
foundation for their fears in Britain as well as Ireland, and
could since have been assisting Count D'Estaing, or acting
separately with an American squadron. Instead of this I am
chained down to shameful inactivity here, after having written
to Congress to reserve no command for me in America.
" Convinced as I am, that your noble and generous breast
will feel for my unmerited treatment, I must beseech you to
interest yourself with the Duke de Chartres, that the King
may be made acquainted with my situation. I have been
taught to believe that I have been detained in France with his
Majesty's knowledge and approbation, and I am sure he is too
good a prince to detain me for my hurt or dishonour.
LETTER TO M. CHAUMONT. 93
" M. de Sartine may think as he pleases, but Congress will
not thank him for having thus treated an officer who has
always been honoured with their favour and friendship. I
entertained some hopes of his honourable intentions till he
gave the command of the Fox to a lieutenant, after my friends
had asked for me only that ship with the Alert cutter. He
was the asker, at the beginning, and ought to be so now ; he
has, to my certain knowledge, ships unbestowed, and he is
bound in honour to give me the Indian, as he proposed at the
first, or an equivalent command, immediately."
To M. Ray de Chaumont, Jones says, about the same
period, —
" Although the minister has treated me like a child five suc-
cessive times, by leading me on from great to little, and from
Httle to less, yet I had some dependence on his honourable
intentions until he refused the small commnnd which you
asked for me the 23d ultimo, and afterwards bestowed the
Fox on a lieutenant who, to my certain knowledge, does not
thank him for the favour, and thinks that ship far short of his
right. I say I verily believed the minister at the beginning,
and afterwards ; but now having deceived me so often, I wish
him to know that I doubt him, though he swears even ' hy the
stix.^* I have written to him several respectful letters of some
consequence, none of which he has condescended to answer.
This is a piece of incivility and disrespect to me as a stranger
which he has not shown even to subalterns in the French
marine, in whose hands I have seen his answ^ers to letters of
little importance. The secrecy which I was required to ob-
serve respecting what seemed his first intention in my favour
has been inviolable ; and I have been so delicate with respect
to my situation, that I have been, and am considered every-
where as an officer disgraced and cast off for private reasons
I have of course been in actual disgrace here ever since my
* At an interview M. Chaumont had with the minister, he swore by Styx •'
that Paul Jones should have a frigate, were he even to buy it.
04 LETTER OF YOUNG FRANKLIN.
return, which is more than two months. I have already lost
near five months of my time, the best season of the year, and
such opportunities of serving my country, and acqui-rlvg
honour, as I cannot again expect this war, while I have been
thus shamefully entrapped in inaction. My duty and sensi-
bility cannot brook this unworthy situation. If the minister's
intentions have been honourable from the beginning, he will
make a direct written apology to me, suitable to the injury
which I have sustained, otherwise, in vindication of my sacred
honour, painful as it will be, I must publish in the Gazettes of
Europe the conduct he has held towards me."
The compatriots of Jones in France sympathized in his
disappointment and indignation ; particularly Dr. Bancroft and
Mr. William Temple Franklin, the grandson and secretary of
Benjamin Franklin. " I have felt for you most sincerely,"
says young Franklin ; " Monsieur S.'s conduct towards you
has been as remarkable as it has been unjust, and has altered
in a great degree the good opinion many have had of him.
I have been asked in several companies, ou est le brave Cap-
itaine Jones 1 que f ait-ill and have felt myself (as your com-
patriot) in a manner ill-treated, when I can only answer that
you are still at Brest. On the receipt of your letter, I asked
Mr. Chaumont ' whether he thought anything would be done
for you V He answered, ' that to his certain knowledge M. S.
was ashamed of the conduct he had held towards you, and
that he was now occupied to make up for it. Bancroft,' says
he, * is assured that the minister had all along felt good dispo-
sitions, but had been prevented from carrying them into
execution by the intrigues of 487,557,* (the marine,) among
whom multitudes were making interest, and cabalHng to ob-
tain 303, (ships,) and opposing the disposal of any except
among their own body ; but 710 (M. de Sartine) had assured
him that you should soon have one, if he were even to pur
* These numbers refer to a cipher that Bancroft and young' Franklin hao
got from Paul Jones for their private correspondence >s-'ith him.
DELAYS 9&
chase it.' Mr. Bandonin desired me also to make you his
best compliments, to assure you that he would not suffer your
business to rest much longer, and in the mean time to beg
your patience a little longer. In this situation I know not
what we can do, but wait a week or two, when, if nothing
comes, I think 299 (Doctor Franklin) will declare his utmost
resentment, and nothing that any of us can say will be too
bad."
Worn out with waiting, " half killed," as he strongly ex-
presses himself, with suspense and inaction, Jones now formed
the design of directly addressing the King, and of soliciting
the kindness of the family of Chartres, (Orleans,) in present-
ing his letter. He, as usual, took the precaution of enclosing
all these epistolary compositions to Franklin, — a course which
preserved him from ever going too far wrong, even while
under the greatest irritation.
In his letter to FrankHn, he says, " The Duchesse de
Chartres will, I am persuaded, undertake to deliver my letter
into the King's hands ; and as you may not yet think fit to
appear in the business, either the Due de Rochefoucault, or
your grandson, will oblige me by waiting on her at the Palais
Royal. The Due de Rochefoucault, as he understands Eng-
lish well, and is acquainted with the circumstances, would
obKge me much if he would be present w^hen the letter is
presented to the King. I do not wish to trouble the Due de
Chartres about this affair, as that brave prince has undeserv-
edly met with vexations of his own."
The following is the letter which Captain Jones wrote to
the King of France, and which was to be presented to his
Majesty by the Duchess of Chartres, afterwards the Duchess
of Orleans : —
96 LETTER TO THE KING.
Brest, October 19th, 1778.
" Sire,
" After my return to Brest in the American ship of war the
Ranger, from the Irish Channel, his excellency Dr. Franklin
informed me by letter, dated June the 1st, that M. de Sartine,
having a high opinion of my conduct and bravery, had deter-
mined, with your Majesty's consent and approbation, to give
me the command of the ship of war the Indian, which was
built at Amsterdam for America, but afterwards, for political
reasons, made the property of France.
" I was to act with unlimited orders under the commission
and flag of America ; and the Prince de Nassau proposed to
accompany me on the ocean.
" I was deeply penetrated with the sense of the honour^
done me by this generous proposition, as well as of the favour
your Majesty intended thereby to confer on America. And
I accepted the offer with the greater pleasure, as the Con-
gress had sent me to Europe in the Ranger, to command the
Indian, before the ownership of that vessel was changed.
" The minister desired to see me at Versailles to settle
future plans of operation, and I attended him for that purpose.
I was told that the Indian was at the Texel completely
armed and fitted for sea ; but the Prince de Nassau was sent
express to Holland, and returned with a very different ac-
count. The ship was at Amsterdam, and could not be got
afloat or armed before the September equinox. The Ameri-
can plenipotentiaries plroposed that I should return to America ;
and as I have repeatedly been appointed to the chief com-
mand of an American squadron to execute secret enterprises,
it was not doubted but that Congress would again show me a
preference. M. de Sartine, however, thought proper to pre-
vent my departure, by writing to the plenipotentiaries, (with-
out my knowledge,) requesting that I might be permitted to
remain in Europe, and that the Ranger might be sent back
to America under another commander, he having special ser-
LETTER TO THE KING. 97
vices which he wished me to execute. This request they
readily granted, and I was flattered by the prospect of being
enabled to testify, by my services, my gratitude to your
Majesty, as the first prince who has so generously acknow-
ledged our independence.
" There was an interval of more than three months-before
the Indian could be gotten afloat. To employ that period
usefully, when your Majesty's fleet was ordered to sail from
Brest, I proposed to the minister to embark in it as a volun-
teer, in pursuit of marine knowledge. He objected to this,
at the same time approved of a variety of hints for private
enterprises, which I had draw^n up for his consideration.
Two gentlemen were appointed to settle with me the plans
that were to be adopted, who gave me the assurance that
three of the best frigates in France, with two tenders, and a
number of troops, should be immediately put under my com-
mand, to pursue such of my own projects as I thought pro-
per ; but this fell to nothing, when I believed that your Majes-
ty's signature only was wanting.
" Another armament, composed of cutters and small ves-
sels, at L'Orient, was proposed to be put under my command,
to alarm the coast of England and check the Jersey priva-
teers ; but, happily for me, this also failed, and I was saved
from ruin and dishonour, as I now find that all the vessels
sailed slow, and their united force is very insignificant. The
minister then thought fit that I should return to Brest to com-
mand the Lively, and join some frigates on an expedition
from St. Malo to the North Sea. I returned in haste for that
purpose, and found that the Lively had been bestowed at Brest
before the minister had mentioned that ship to me at Ver-
sailles. This was, how^ever, another fortunate disappointment,
as the Lively proves, both in sailing and equipment, much in-
ferior to the Ranger ; but, more especially, if it be true, as I
i have since understood, that the minister intended to give the
' chief command of the expedition to a lieutenant, which would
9
98 LETTER TO THE KING.
have occasioned a very disagreeable misunderstanding : for,
as an officer of the first rank in the American marine, who
has ever been Jionoured with the favour and friendship of
Congress, I can receive orders from no inferior officer what-
ever. My plan was the destruction of the English Baltic
tieet, of great consequence to the enemy's marine, and then
only protected by a single frigate ! I would have held
myself responsible for its success had I commanded the ex-
pedition.
" M. de Sartine afterwards sent orders to Count D'Orvilliers
to receive me on board the fleet, agreeably to my former
proposal ; but the order did not arrive until after the depar-
ture of the fleet the last time from Brest, nor was I made
acquainted with the circumstance before the fleet returned
here.
*' Thus have I been chained down to shameful inactivity
for nearly five months. I have lost the best season of the year,
and such opportunities of serving my country and acquiring
honour as I cannot again expect this war ; and, to my infinite
mortification, having no command, I am considered every-
where an officer cast off* and in disgrace for secret reasons.
" I have written respectful letters to the minister, none of
which he has condescended to answer ; I have written to the
Prince de Nassau with as little effect ; and I do not under-
stand that any apology has been made to the great and ven-
erable Dr. Franklin, whom the minister has made the instru-
ment of bringing me into such unmerited trouble.
" Having written to Congress to reserve no command for
me in America, my sensibility is the more affected by this
unworthy situation in the sight of your Majesty's fleet. I,
however, make no remark on the treatment I have received.
" Although I wish not to become my own panegyrist, I
must beg your Majesty's permission to observe, that I am not
an adventurer in search of fortune, of which, thank God, I
have a sufficiency.
LETTER TO THE KING. 99
" When the American banner was first displayed, I drew
my sword in support of the violated dignity and rights of
human nature ; and both honour and duty prompt me stead-
fastly to continue the righteous pursuit, and to sacrifice to it,
not only my private enjoyments, but even life, if necessary.
I must acknowledge that the generous praise which I have
received from Congress and others exceeds the merit of my
past services ; therefore I the more ardently wish for future
opportunities of testifying my gratitude by my activity.
"As your Majesty, by espousing the cause of America,
hath become the protector of the rights of human nature, I
am persuaded that you will not disregard my situation, noi
suffer me to remain any longer in this insupportable disgrace.
I am, with perfect gratitude
and profound respect.
Sire,
Your Majesty's very obliged,
very obedient, and
very humble servant,
J. Paul Jones.'*
There is no satisfactory evidence that the above letter was
ever presented, or indeed that it ever came into the hands of
the Duchess of Chartres ; yet the fact appears to* be assumed
by some of the biographers of Jones ; and the letter itself, as
expressive of his sentiments at this crisis, is too important to
be suppressed. The correspondence and journals of Jones
contain no allusion to any effect produced by that letter, — not
even the extract of his journal made long afterwards, ex-
pressly for the perusal of the king ; and the postscript of a
letter written by Mr. Temple Franklin is at least complete
proof that, if the letter to the king was ever delivered, it was
decidedly against the judgment of Franklin. The letter of
the younger Franklin is dated the 22d October, the postscript
the 24th. It says, " Since writing the above, I have received
100
JONES'S GRATITUDE.
yours of the 19th instant (the letter to the king.) I would
willingly do everything you there desire of me, but it is my
grandfather's opinion that there will be no occasion to send
those letters; and I imagine they were wrote before you
heard of the minister's final determination. If, however, you
still think they ought to be sent, you have only to order it."
From this it would appear that the minister's " final deter-
mination" to buy Jones " a suitable ship" had preceded the
letter to the King and was not a consequence of it. In a letter
to M. de Chaumont, of the 30th November, Jones thus ex-
presses himself with regard to M. de Sartine : — *' My best
respects and most grateful thanks await the minister for the
very honourable things he said of me to the Due de la Roche-
foucault. It shall be my ambition, when he gives me oppor-
tunities, to merit his favour and affection."
DECLINES THE COMMAND OF FRIVATEERS.
101
CHAPTER V.
HE gratitude of Jones to the
minister of marine was pre-
mature. But it would be tire-
some to follow the train of
petty disappointments which
this brave man had yet to
encounter before he got once
again fairly afloat. From the
month of June, 1778, till the
month of February of the following year, he was condemned
to feel to its utmost extent the misery there is —
" In suing- long to bide."
In this interval some proposals were made to Captain Jones
while at Brest to take the command of privateers. This he
decidedly declined ; and he even resented the supposition that,
bearing, as he did, the commission of Congres, he should act
at any time as the commander of privateers. So nice was
he on this point, that in one instance we find Franklin himself
condescending to sooth his hasty feelings. " Depend upon
it," says the sage, " I never wTOte Mr. Gillon that the Bon
Homme Richard was a privateer. I could not write so,
because I never had such a thought. I will next post send
you a copy of my letter to him, by which you will see that
he has only forced that construction from a vague expression
[ used, merely to conceal from him (in answerino: his idle
demand that 1 would order your squadron, then on the point
of sailing, to go with him to Carolina,) that the expedition
was at the expense and under the direction of the king, which
9*
102 JONES AT COURT.
)L was not proper or necessary for him to know." And to
the proposal that he would take the command of aij armament
of privateers, Jones says, " Were I in pursuit of profit I would
accept it without hesitation ; but I am under such obligations
to Congress, that I cannot think myself my own master, — and
as a servant of the Imperial Republic of America, honoured
with the public approbation of my past services, I cannot,
from my own authority or inclination, serve either myself or
even my best friends, in any private line whatsoever." With
these feelings, his indignation at being long afterwards offered
a letter-of-marque by the French government, in requital of
his services, may be easily imagined. But this belongs to a
more advanced stage of his history.
Everything appeared in a fair way in November; yet Jones
found it necessary to repair once more to Versailles, and to
Passy, the seat of the American legation. " As nothing w-as
done," he says in his memorial to the king, " Captain Jones
determined to go himself to court." When he got there, the
minister offered him the Marshal de Broglio, a large ship;
but as his Americans had all left the service during the long
period of idleness, he was unable to man this vessel, and the
Due de Duras was bought for him, which, among many
other vessels, he had acquainted his friends, was on sale at
L'Orient.
On the 6th of February Jones had at last the satisfaction
of making, from Passy, his acknowledgments to the minister
Sartine. His gratitude was quite as lively as the treatment
he had received required. He obtained leave to change the
name of the ship to Bon Homme Richard ^ " in compliment,"
he says, " to a saying of Poor Richard," (of which, by the
w^ay, he had just experienced the truth,) " If you would have
your business done, come yourself — if not, send."
Jones now went4o Nantes to engage seamen, and to obtain
cannon to arm his ship. On his late journey he had been in-
troduced to M. Gamier, in order to concert a plan of opera-
THE BON HOMME RICHARD. 103
tions for a combined naval and military force. Four or five
sail were to be added to the Bon Homme Richard, of which
two vessels were to be fire-ships. Five hundred picked men,
taken from the Irish regiment, were to embark under the
command of Mr. Fitzmaurice. All were to be under the en-
tire command of Jones. " A plan,"* he says, " was laid,
which promised perfect success, and had it succeeded, would
have astonished the world."
In an evil hour he soHcited that the Alliance, a new Ame-
rican frigate, of which the command had been given by Con-
gress to one Landais, a Frenchman, should be added to his
force. As Dr. Frankhn had just been formally appointed
ambassador to the Court of France, Jones imagined that not
only the disposal of the frigate, but the power of displacing
its commander at pleasure, was vested in him, as the guardian
of American interests in Europe.
About this time the Marquis de la Fayette returned from
America, and he wished to go on the projected expedition.
Jones was summoned to court and it was arranged that the
Marquis de la Fayette was to command a body of about
seven hundred troops, assigned him by the king. The Alli-
ance was made part of the squadron by the American minister
plenipotentiary, at the particular desire of the French go-
vernment.
The squadron was now to consist of the Bon Homme
Richard, the AlHance, the Pallas, the Vengeance brig, and
the Cerf, a fine cutter. Well fitted and manned. " A person,"
(M. Chaumont,) says Jones, " was appointed commissary, and
unwisely intrusted with the secret of the expedition. The
commissary took upon himself the whole direction at L'Orient;
Dut the secret was too big for him to keep. All Paris rang
with the expedition from L'Orient; and government was
obliged to drop the plan when the squadron lay ready for sea,
and the troops ready to embark."
* This plan was directed against Liverpool.
104
FRANKLIN'S LETTER.
La Fayette.
In the expectation that Jones was to be jomed by the Mar-
quis de la Fayette, his judicious friend FrankHn wrote him
thus, actuated, no doubt, both by anxiety for the public cause
and regard to the individual he addressed :
*' I have, at the request of M. de Sartine, postponed the
sending of the AlHance to America, and have ordered her to
y)roceed immediately from Nantes to L'Orient, where she is
DR. FRANKLIN'S ADVICE. 105
to be furnished with her complement of men, join your little
squadron, and act under your command.
" The Marquis de la Fayette will be with you soon. It
has been observed that joint expeditions of land and sea forces
often miscarry through jealousies and misunderstandings be-
tween the officers of the different corps. This must happen
where there are little minds, actuated more by personal views
of profit or honour to themselves, than by the warm and sin-
cere desire of good to their country. Knowing you both, as
I do, and your just manner of thinking on these occasions,
I am confident nothing of the kind can happen between you,
and that it is unnecessary for me to recommend to either of
you that condescension, mutual good- will, and harmony,
which contribute so much to success in such undertakings. I
look upon this expedition as an introduction only to greatei
I trusts and more extensive commands, and as a kind of trial
I of both your abihties and of your fitness in temper and dis-
' position for acting in concert with others. I flatter myself,
I therefore, that nothing will happen that may give impressions
I to the disadvantage of either of you, when greater affairs
I shall come under consideration.
\ *' As this is understood to be an American expedition, un-
I der the Congress commission and colours, the Marquis, who
is a Major-General in that service, has of course the step in
. point of rank, and he must have the command of the land-
forces, which are committed by the king to his care ; but the
command of the ships will be entirely in you, in which I am
I persuaded that whatever authority his rank might in strictness
] give him, he will not have the least desire to interfere with
you. There is honour enough to be got for both of you if
the expedition is conducted with a prudent unanimity. The
circumstance is indeed a little unusual ; for there is not only
a junction of land and sea forces, but there is also a junction
of Frenchmen and Americans, which increases the difficulty
)f maintaining a good understanding ; a cool, prudent cor
106 LETTER TO LA FAYETTE.
duct in the chiefs is therefore the more necessary, and I trus^
neither of you will in that respect be deficient. With m}
best wishes for your success, health, and honour, I remain^
dear sir, your affectionate and most obedient servant."
This excellent counsel was not thrown away on Jones.
His letter to La Fayette, written a few days afterwards, re-
echoes the sentiments of the republican sage. " Where men
of fine feeUngs are concerned," he says, " there is very sel-
dom any misunderstanding, — and I am sure I should do the
greatest violence to my sensibility if I were capable of giv-
ing you a moment's pain by any part of my conduct ; there-
fore, without any apology, I shall expect you to point out hiy
errors, when we are alone together, with perfect freedom, —
and I think I dare promise you that your repr6of shall not be
lost. I have received from the good Dr. Franklin instruc-
tions at large, which do honour to his liberal mind, and which
it will give me the greatest satisfaction to execute. I cannot
ensure success, — but we will endeavour to deserve it."
Some of the instructions of Dr. Franklin to which Jones
refers, and of which he says, " your noble-minded instructions
would make a coward brave," deserve to be made known as
widely as possible.*
" 1 ou are to bring to France all the English seamen you
may happen to take prisoners, in order to complete the good
work you have already made such progress in, of delivering, ,
by an exchange, the rest of our countrymen now languishing
in the gaols of Great Britain.
" As many of your officers and people have lately escaped
from the English prisons, either in Europe or America, you
are to be particularly attentive to their conduct towards the
prisoners which the fortune of war may throw in your hands,
* It is a pleasing trait in the history of that period, that all the naval com-
manders of the countries at war with England had particular orders " not to
molest the ships of the brave navigator Captain Cook," if they chanced to fall
In with them.
FRANKLIN'S INSTRUCTIONS. 107
lest resentment of the more than barbarous usa^e by the
EngUsh in many places towards the Americans, should oc-
casion a retaliation, and an imitation of what ought rather to
be detested and avoided, for the sake of humanity and for the
honour of our country.
" In the same view, although the English have wantonly
burnt many defenceless towns in America, you are not to fol-
low this example, unless where a reasonable ransom is re-
fused ; in which case your own generous feelings, as well as
this instruction, will induce you to give timely notice of your
intention, that sick and ancient persons, women and children,
may be first removed."
Jones attributes the failure of the expedition so much talked
of to the tattling of the commissary ; but he probably over-
rates that circumstance. The truth is that the French
government never continued for one week of the same mind ;
and they had, about this time, been seized with that grand
idea by which the court and people of France seem to be
periodically infatuated — the design of invading England.
The expedition which was "to astonish the world" was
abandoned, according to La Fayette, " for political and mili-
tary reasons." Instead of Commodore Jones burning towns
and shipping, taking hostages and levying contributions, an
invasion was to be attempted on that grand scale so congenial
to the Gallic character.
Another service was in consequence allotted to Jones. He
was to act as convoy to troops, stores and private merchan-
dise, for Bordeaux and other ports in the Bay of Biscay
This trifling service he performed, and cruised about with
little aim or effect for some days.
On the night of the 20th June, the Alliance ran foul of the
Bon Homme Richard, and injured the vessel. The character
of Landais, the commander of the Alliance, and his after
conduct, which was marked by the grossest degree of insub-
ordination, insolence, and even treachery, gave rise t(^ a
suspicion that this accident was of a doubtful character.
108 DOMESTIC AFFLICTIONS.
The head and bowsprit of the Bon Homnne Richard were
carried away, and the AlHance lost her mizen-mast. The
Heutenant of the Bon Homme Richard, who had the watch
that night, was afterwards broke by a court-martial.
Even at this busy period Jones had not forgotten his rela-
tions in Scotland, though his correspondence with them neces-
sarily required some management. It does not appear by
what channel the following letter, received at Dumfries, was
transmitted to Cork. The person on whom the bill (for 30Z)
was drawn could not be heard of in Carlisle. Other remit-
tances made by Jones to his friends were in like manner
never received. In reply to a letter from his sister, Mrs.
Taylor, informing him of the death of his mother and eldest
sister, he says with true feeling, " The loss of those dear
friends is the more affecting to me, as they never received the
remittances I intended for them, and as they had not perhaps
a true idea of my affection." The following letter is addressed
to Jones' eldest sister, Elizabeth Paul : —
"Cork, June 1st, 1779.
" If ever my dear girl had any doubts of the sincerity of
my friendship, I hope the enclosed bill will remove them.
You find it drawn in favour of my dearest departed brother,
Captain Plaince. However, as it is made payable to his
order, my sister-in-law's signature will make it quite the same.
Had the bill been drawn on any place of commerce, I would
have negotiated it myself, and then got a bill on Dumfries for
you ; however, as Carlisle is near you, you will sooner get
the money, as I must have sent it there for acceptance. The
half is for Mrs. Paul, and the other half for your use. You
will immediately get some gentleman to present it for accept-
ance : - you will find it payable ten days after. Adieu, my
dear girl; number me with the sincerest of your friends,
vsrrite me of your health, and be assured of the good wishes of
" Your humble servant,
"Judith Plaince.'*
CHASE. 109
On the 30th of June, Jones came into the road of Groix.
The AlHance and Bon Homme Richard both required to
be refitted ; the other vessels meanwhile looked after prizes.
On that day the log-book of the Bon Homme Richard has
the following entry : —
" At half-past 7, P. M., saw two sail bearing down upon us,
one with a flag at each mast-head. Hove about and stood
from them to get in readiness for action ; then hove mizen-
topsail to the mast, down all stay-sails and up mizen-sail.
Then they hove about and stood from us. Immediately we
I tacked ship and stood after them.
" After which they wore ship and stood for us. Captain
Jones, gentleman-like, called all his officers, and consulted
. them whether they were willing to see them. They all said
\ yes. Made sail after them ; but they, being better sailers
I than we, got from us. At 1, A. M., tacked ship."
I At the isle of Groix, Jones lay six weeks, — a period not
* without its vexations. In anticipating his earlier arrival, and
I unconscious of the damage received by the shock of the
I Alliance, Dr. Franklin, in the following letter of the 30th June,
I directed him to set out on a long cruise.
"Passy, June 30, 1779.
" Dear Sir,
" Being arrived at Groix, you are to make the best of your
way, with the vessels under your command, to the west of
I Ireland, and establish your cruise on the Orcades, the Cape
i of Derneus, and the Dogger-Bank, in order to take the enemy's
property in those seas.
! " The prizes you may make send to Dunkirk, Ostend, or
j Bergen, in Norway, according to your proximity to either of
those ports. Address them to the persons M. De Chaumont
shall indicate to you.
" About the 15th August, when you will have sufficiently
cruised in these seas, you are to make route for the Texel.
where you will meet my further orders.
10
110 CORRESPONDENCE.
" If, by any personal accident, you should be rendered
unable to execute these instructions, the officer of your
squadron next in rank is to endeavour to put them in execu-
tion.
" With best wishes for your prosperity, I am ever, dear Sir,
your affectionate friend and humble servant,
B. Franklin.
" The Honourable Captain Jones."
The preceding letter was crossed by that in which Jones
gave an account of his cruise, and of the Alliance running foul
of the Bon Homme Richard. In this letter he again hinted
his desire to obtain the Indian, to cruise towards the Texel,
and bring her out with the crew he now had. But Franklin
had no mind to change his original orders. " I have no
other orders to give," he says ; " for as the court are at
the chief expense, I think they have the best right to direct."
— " I observe what you say about a change of destination ;
but when a thing has been once considered and determined
on in council, they don't care to resume the consideration of
it, having much business on hand." This epistle has the fol-
lowing pithy postscipt : — *' N. B. If it should fall in youi
way, remember that the Hudson's Bay ships are very valu-
able. B. F."
Again Jones complained bitterly of the tattling commissary
(Chaumont, ) who had formerly frustrated the expedition
with La Fayette, and was now busied at similar work. Per-
haps Commodore Jones might be over sensitive or suspicious
on this point. " I have another proof," he says, " this day of
the communicative disposition of M. De Chaumont. He has
written to an officer under my command a whole sheet on
the subject of your letter, and has even introduced more than
perhaps was necessary to a person commanding in chief. I
have also strong reasons to think that this officer is not the
only improper person here to whom he has written to the
same effect. This is surely a strange infatuation, and it is
MUTINOUS DISPOSITION. HI
much to be lamented that one of the best hearts in the world
should be connected with a mistaken head, whose errors can
afford him neither pleasure nor profit, but may effect the ruin
and dishonour of a man whom he esteems and loves. Believe
me, my worthy sir, I dread the thoughts of seeing this subject
too soon in print, as I have done several others of greater im-
portance, with which he was acquainted, and which I am
certain he communicated too early to improper persons,
w^hereby very important services have been impeded and set
aside."
In a marginal note, in the handwriting of Jones, he says, —
" I found it in print before I reached Holland !" And in an-
other marginal note on a letter of Dr. Frankhn's of the 19th
, July, he writes, " It is clear I saw my danger, and sailed with
, my eyes open, rather than return to America dishonoured."
I Jones was farther annoyed by reports which had reached
( head-quarters, and which were indeed too well-founded, that a
' mutinous disposition had shown itself among the crew of the
I Bon Homme Richard. He had at this time gone back to
I L'Orient. It was not deemed expedient to permjt the ship to
I sail without inquiry and a change of men ; and, what was
\ worse, the Court saw no reason to detain the Alliance, because
' the Bon Homme Richard was unfit for sea ; and Franklin did
not think proper to prevent what appeared so reasonable.
This, how^ever, did not take place ; and holding out the pros-
j pect of capturing the Jamacia fleet,* then expected, escorted
by a fifty-gun ship and two strong frigates, Jones solicited
J and obtained leave for the Monsieur privateer to join him,
I and his leave was extended till the end of September. The
captains of the Monsieur and Grandville privateers had at
this time requested to be permitted to follow him and share
his fortunes, offering to bind themselves to remain attached
* In his memorial to the king- of France, Jones says, " that it was his inten-
lion to cruise off the south-west of Ireland for twelve or fifteen days to inter
cept the enemy."
112 JONES SAILS FROM GROIX.
to his squadron ; but this the disinterested commissary would
not permit. The consequences were soon obvious ; the pri-
vateers remained attached to the squadron exactly as long
as suited themselves.
Having given the necessary orders and signals, and ap-
pointed various places of rendezvous for every captain in case
of separation, Commodore Jones sailed from the road of Groix
on the 14th of August, exactly one day short of the time he
had been desired tp come into the Texel, after ending his
cruise ; so uncertain and precarious are all nautical move-
ments. The squadron consisted of seven sail : the Bon Homme
Richard, of 40 guns ; the Alliance, of 30 ; the Pallas, of 32 ;
the Cerf, of 18 ; and the Vengeance, of 12 guns ; besides the
privateers, Monsieur, of 40 guns, and the Grandville, of 14
guns ; — " a force which might have effected great services,"
says Jones himself, in his memorial to the king of France,
*' and done infinite injury to the enemy, had there been secrecy
and due subordination. Unfortunately there was neither.
Captain Jones saw his danger ; but his reputation being at
stake, he put all to the hazard."
The effects of this want of subordination were soon felt.
The captain of the privateer Monsieur, as might have been
expected, acted as he thought proper, and in a few days left
the squadron. And Captain Landais, a man of the most un-
happy temper," not only behaved with disrespect to the com-
mander, but soon assumed to act as he pleased, and as an
■ independent commander, refusing to obey the signals of the
commodore, giving chase where or hov^^ he thought fit, and
avaihng himself of any pretext to leave the squadron, which
he finally abandoned. Sev^eral prizes were made on the first
days of the cruise, and more might have been captured, had
a good understanding subsisted among the commanders.
From the 3d of September till the 13th the weather was
stormy, and Jones continued to beat about the coasts of Scot-
land. The Alliance had again separated from the Bon Homme
ATTEMPT ON LEITII.
113
Storm off the coast of Scotland.
Richard ; and there remained of the squadron only the Com-
modore's ship, with the Pallas and Vengeance. "Yet," says
Jones, "I did not abandon the hope of performing some essen-
tial service."
It was at this time he offered that attempt on Leith, by
which, in one quarter of Scotland, the" formidable name of
" Paul Jones" is still best remembered. The following par-
ticulars are taken from his letter to Dr. Franklin, giving an
account of his cruise to be transmitted to Congress. The
letter is dated October 3, 1779, on board the ship of war
Serapis, at anchor without the Texel : —
" The winds continued to be contrary, so that we did not
see the land till the evening of the 13th, when the hills of
Cheviot, in the south-east of Scotland, appeared. The next
day we chased sundry vessels, and took a ship and a brig-
antine, both from the frith of Edinburgh, laden with coal.
Knowing that there lay at anchor in Leith Road an armed
ship of 20 g'jns, with two or three fine cutters. I formed an
10*
a 4 JONES'S SUMMONS.
expedition against Leith, which I purposed to lay under con-
tribution, or otherwise to reduce it to ashes. Had I been
alone, the wind being favourable, I would have proceeded
directly up the frith, and must have succeeded, as they lay then
in a state of perfect indolence and security, which would have
proved their ruin. Unfortunately for me, the Pallas and Ven-
geance were both at a considerable distance in the offing, they
having chased to the southward. This obliged me to steer
out of the frith again to meet them. The captains of the
Pallas and Vengeance being come on board the Bon Homme
Richard, I communicated to them my project, to which many
difficulties and objections were made by them. At last, how-
ever, they appeared to think better of the design, after I had
assured (them) that I hoped to raise a contribution of 200,000/.
sterling on Leith, and that there was no battery of cannon
tliere to oppose our landing. So much time, however, was
unavoidably spent in pointed remarks and sage deliberations
that night, that the wind became contrary in the morning."
That nothing might be wanting, Commodore Jones mean-
while prepared his summons to the Magistrates of Leith. In
that locality it must still be an interesting document; and as
such we give it at full length, not doubting that the worship-
ful persons for whom it Vv^as intended, if any of them should
haply still survive, will see it for the first time with more satis-
faction in these harmless pages than had it reached its desti-
nation fifiy years back. Jones felt greatly chagrined and
disappointed at the failure of this enterprise.
" The Honourable J. Paul Jones, Commander-in-Chief of the American
Squadron now in Europe, Sfc, to the Worshipful the Provost of Leith,
or, in his absence, to the Chief Magistrate who is now actually pre-
sent and in authority there.
"SiF
" The British marine force that has been stationed here for
the protection of your city and commerce being now taken
by the American arms under my command, I have the
JONES'S SUMMONS. 115
honour to send you this summons by my officer, Lieutenant-
Colonel De Chamillard, who commands the vanguard of my
troops. I do not wish to distress the poor inhabitants ; my
intention is only to demand your contribution towards the re-
imbursement which Britain owes to the much-injured citizens
of the United States, — for savages would blush at the unmanly
violation and rapacity that has marked the tracks of British
tyranny in America, from which neither virgin innocence nor
helpless age has been a plea of protection or pity.
" Leith and its port now lies at our mercy ; and did not
I our humanity stay the hand of just retaliation, I should, with-
out advertisement, lay it in ashes. Before I proceed to that
s^tern duty as an officer, my duty as a man induces me to
propose to you, by the means of a reasonable ransom, to pre-
vent such a scene of horror and distress. For this reason, I
, have authorized Lieutenant-Colonel De Chamillard, to con-
I elude and agree with you on the terms of ransom, allowing
( you exactly half an hour's reflection before you finally accept
I or reject the terms which he shall propose (200,000/.) If you
j accept the terms offered within the time limited, you may
( rest assured that no further debarkation of troops will be
made, but that the re-embarkation of the vanguard will im-
I mediately follow, and that the property of the citizens shall
remain unmolested.
" I have the honour to be, with sentiments of due respect,.
Sir, your very obedient and YQvy humble servant,
" Paul Jones.
"On board the American ship-of-war the Bon Homme Richard, at anchor in
the Road of Leith, September the 17th, 1779." '
The copy of the letter now lying before us contains the N.
B. subjoined to it, in his own hand-writing ; —
" N. B. — The sudden and violent storm which arose in the
moment when the squadron was abreast of Keith Island,*
__jp . .
* Jnchkeith Island.
116 ADVENTURE.
which forms the entrance of the Road of Leith, rendered im-
practicable the execution of the foregoing project."
The three ships had lain so long off and on the coast, that
alarm was general; and on the 15th an express reached
Edinburgh, sent to the commander-in-chief and to the Board
of Customs, with accounts that three strange ships were seen
off Eyemouth on the afternoon of the 14lh, which had made
two prizes ; and that a ship, supposed to mount 40 or 50 guns,
was seen off Dunbar. At 5, P. M., on the 16th, they were
distinctly seen from Edinburgh sailing up the Frith of Forth ;
but whether they were French vessels or the squadron of
Paul Jones, was not yet ascertained. The alarm along the
coast was become general ; batteries were hastily erected at
Leith, and the incorporated trades bravely petitioned for arms,
which were supplied from the castle of Edinburgh. Yet the
audacity of the American commander so far blinded some of
the spectators on the northern shores, that on the 17th a boat
with five men came off from the coast of Fife to the Bon
Homme Richard, soliciting powder and shot in the name of a
certain landed proprietor, who wished " to have the means of
defending himself from the expected visit of the pirate Paul
Jones." So far as powder went, this request was politely
comphed with ; but the commodore declined sending any shot.
On the 15th a small collier had been captured, the master
of which from his knowledge of the coast, and subserviency
to his captor, was of the greatest use to Jones in his intended
project. — When he afterwards abandoned the enterprise, he
gave this man up his vessel, " on account of his attachment
to America, and the faithful information and important services
he rendered me, " says Jones, " by his general knowledge of
the east coast of Britain. I had given orders to sink the old
vessel, when the tears of this honest man prevailed over my
intention."
The narrative of this bold though abortive attempt will be
best given in Jones's own words : —
A STORM.
117
Adventure on the Coast of Fife.
" We continued working to windward of the Frith, without
being able to reach the road of Leith, till on the morning of
the 17th, when, being almost within cannon-shot of the town,
having everything in readiness for a descent, a very severe
gale of wind came on, and, being directly contrary, obliged
us to bear away, after having in vain endeavoured for some
time to withstand its violence. The gale was so severe, that
one of the prizes that were taken on the 14th sunk to the bot-
tom, the crew being with difficulty saved. As the clamour
had by this time reached Leith, by means of a cutter that had
watched our motions that morning, and as the wind continued
contrary, (though more moderate in the evening,) I thought
it impossible to pursue the enterprise with a good prospect of
success, especially as Edinburgh, where there is always a
number of troops, is only a mile distant from Leith; therefore
I gave up the project."*
* The prodigious sensation caused by the appearance of the squadron of
Paul Jones in the Frith of Forth is hardly yet forgotten on the coast of Fife.
There ore various accounts of the manner in which this daring attempt was
defeated. The 17th September, when Jones advanced to Leith, happened to
be a Sunday. His ship, the Bon Homme Richard, stood at times so near the
118 JONES'S DIFFICULTIES.
It was the misfortune of Paul Jones, in almost every im-
portant crisis of his life, to be either clogged by the timid
counsels of those about him, whose genius and courage could
not keep pace with his, or to be thwarted by the baser feelings
of ignoble rivalship. In no other service than that of
America, still struggling for a doubtful existence as an inde-
pendent state, and without either power or means to enforce
due obedience throughout the gradations of the pubhc ser-
vice, could such insubordination as was displayed by his
force have been tolerated. The French officers under Jones
at this time, besides the feelings of national and professional
northern shores as to be distinctly seen by the crowds assembled on the beach,
and on the commanding- heights in the neighbourhood. At one time the Bon
Homme Richard was not more than a mile from Kirkcaldy, a thriving and
wealthy seaport. The alarm was naturally very great in that town ; and the
Rev. Mr. Shirra, a worthy and a very eccentric dissenting clergyman, remark
able for his quaint humour, instead of holding forth in the church as at ordi
nary times, where on this day he would have had but a thin audience, repaired
to the fine level sandy beach of Kirkcaldy, and soon attracted a very numer-
ous congregation. Here he prayed most fervently and earnestly, with that
homely and familiar eloquence by which his sermons and prayers were dis-
tinguished, that the enterprise of " the piratical invader Paul Jones might be
defeated." For once, it may be believed, the hearts of a congregation went
with their minister. That violent gale, so much lamented by Paul Jones,
suddenly rose, — the alleged consequence of Mr. Shirra's powerful intercession.
Such was long the popular belief. When, in after periods, this good old man
was questioned on the subject, and complimented on the prevailing spirit of
his prayer, which had so opportunely raised the wind that blew off" Paul
Jnones, his usual reply, disclaiming the full extent of the compliment, was, —
«' I prayed, — but the Lord sent the wind."
A gentleman, writing shortly afterwards from Amsterdam to his friend in
Lcith, says, — " You may count it a very fortunate circumstance that this
gentleman (Commodore Jones) was prevented from hurting you when he was
in your Frith by a strong westerly wind, and the springing of a mast; as, in
a conversation I had with him in the city, he assured me that his intention
was to seize the shipping in the harbour, and to set fire to such as he could not
carry off. He seemed to be well acquainted with the coast, and knew that
there was no force to oppose him." Jones is described at this time, by those who
Baw him, as being "dressed in the American uniform, with a Scotch bonnet, edged
with gold, — as a middling stature, stern countenance, and swarthy complexion."
JONES'S COMPLAINTS. ] 19
rivalship, had also too little experience of the capacity of
their commander to give him that entire confidence so indis-
pensable to success. His ill-fortune, with these uncongenial
associates, was the more distressing, as their opposition or
fears, while they baffled his enterprises, averted no real
danger to which the loitering squadron might be exposed.
The conduct of the agents of the court of France had also
promoted and even authorised this unhappy insubordination
of which the commodore, after his return to the Texel, bit-
terly complained. "I must," he says, " speak plainly; as I
have been always honoured w^ith the full confidence of Con-
gress, and as I also flattered myself with enjoying, in some
measure, the confidence of the court of France, I could not
but be astonished at the conduct of M. de Chaumont, when,
in the moment of my departure from Groix, he produced a
paper or concordat for me to sign in common with the officers
whom I had commissioned but a few days before. Had this
paper, or even a less dishonourable one, been proposed to me at
the beginning, I would have rejected it with just contempt."
The other enterprise, which, after having failed at Leith,
Jones so reluctantly abandoned, is not exactly .known. It
might have been against Hull or Newcastle. It had been a
favourite project with him in the former year to distress Lon-
don by destroying the coal-shipping.
Jones had now the mortifying prospect of going into the
Texel with merely a few prizes, the sole fruit of a long cruise
with a formidable maritime armament, when fortune threw
in his way the most brilliant achievement of his pubhc life.
120
THE GREAT BATTLE.
CHAPTER VI.
HE engagement between the
^^^^& Serapis and the Bon Homme
Richard was the most despe-
rate in naval chronicles. As
W a close and deadly fight, hand
to hand, and accompanied by
s all the dreadful circumstances
Mhat can attend a sea-engage-
ment, it has no parallel. Its in-
cidents have been selected as the foundation of fictitious nar-
ratives of maritime combats, from exceeding in intense interest
the boldest imaginings of the poet and the novelist.*
This battle was fought on the 23d Septem.ber, under a full
harvest-moon, — thousands of spectators, we are told, watch-
ing the engagement from the English shore, with anxiety
* Mr. Cooper, the celebrated American novelist, and Allan Cunningham,
have both chosen Paul Jones as the hero of romances, very different in char
acter, but equally admirable each in its peculiar style. Mr. Cunningham has
certainly in many instances made wild work with the sober facts of history ;
and, considering the very recent period in which his hero flourished, takes
larger poetical license than is quite admissible. The charms and accomplish,
ments allotted to some of Paul's female relatives would probably have been
disclaimed by these ladies if purchased at the expense of the fair and spotless
fame of their maternal ancestor. However, if Mr. Cunningham imagined this
cast of cliaracter best suited to his purposes, there is no great harm done
Few live to feel offence, — none to believe in those romantic passages, which
owe their existence solely to the imagination of the poet. In painting Scot-
tish scenery, and embodying romantic tradition, Mr. Cunningham is in his
work as much at home as is the author of" The Pilot" in those fields of ocean
which, as a novelist, he at present " possesses as his own domain."
A FLEET ENCOUNTERED. 121
corresponding to the deep interest of the game. No account
of this memorable engagement can equal the simple and ani-
mated narrative of the main actor, which we purpose to adopt.
It is to be noticed, that while Jones engaged the Serapis, the
Pallas fought the Countess of Scarborough. The commence-
ment of the engagements was simultaneous, but the Countess
of Scarborough had struck while the Serapis still held desper-
ately out.
" On the 21st," says Jones, " we saw and chased two sail
oif Flamborough Head; the Pallas chased in the N. E. quarter,
while the Bon Homme Richard, followed by the Vengeance,
chased in the S. W.; the one I chased, a brigantine collier in
ballast, belonging to Scarborough, was soon taken, and sunk
immediately afterwards, as a fleet then appeared to the south-
Meeting of the fleets.
ward. This was so late in the day, that I could not come up
I with the fleet before night ; at length, however, I got so near
I one of them as to force her to run ashore between Flam-
i borough Head and the Spurn. Soon after I took another, a
brigantine from Holland, belonging to Sunderland, and at day-
j hght the next morning, seeing a fleet steering towards me
I from the Spurn, I imagined them to be a convoy bound from
! London for Leith, which had been for some time expected.
J One of them had a pendant hoisted, and appeared to be a ship
11
122 ADVENTURE OFF THE HUMBER.
of force. They had not, however, courage to come on, but
kept back, all except the one which seemed to be armed, and
that one also kept to windward, very near the land, and on
the edge of dangerous shoals, where I could not with safety
approach. This induced me to make a signal for a pilot, and
soon afterwards two pilots' boats came off. They informed
me that a ship that wore a pendant was an armed merchant-
man, and that a king's frigate lay there in sight, at anchor,
within the Humber, awaiting to take under convoy a number
Adventure off the Humber.
of merchant ships bound to the northward. The pilots
imagined the Bon Homme Richard to be an English ship of
"war, and consequently communicated to me the private signal
which they had been required to make. I endeavoured by
this means to decoy the ships out of the port ; but the wind
then changing, and, with the tide, becoming unfavourable
for then), the deception had not the desired effect, and they
wisely put back. The entrance of the Humber is exceedingly
difRcult and dangerous, and as the Pallas was not in sight, I
THE CHASE. 123
thought it imprudent to remain off the entrance, therefore
steered out again to join the Pallas offFIamborough Head. In
the night we saw and chased two ships until three o'clock in
the morning, when, being at a very small distance from them, I
made the private signal of reconnoissance, which I had given
to each captain before I sailed from Groix : one half of the
answer only was returned. In this position both sides lay to
till daylight, when the ships proved to be the Alliance and
the Pallas.
" On the morning of that day, the 23d, the brig from Hol-
land not being in sight, we chased a brigantine that appeared
laying to, to windward. About noon we saw and chased a
large ship that appeared coming round Flamborough Head
from the northward, and at the same time I manned and
armed one of the pilot-boats to send in pursuit of the brigan-
tine, which now appeared to be the vessel that I had forced
ashore. Soon after this a fleet of forty-one sail appeared off
Flamborough Head, bearing N. N. E. This induced me to
abandon the single ship which had then anchored in Burlinglon
Bay ; I also called back the pilot-boat, and hoisted a signal
for a general chase. When the fleet discovered us bearing
down, all the merchant ships crowded sail towards the shore.
The two ships of war that protected the fleet at the same time
steered from the land, and made the disposition for battle. In
approaching the enemy, I crowded every possible sail, and made
the signal for the line of battle, to which the AUiance showed
no attention. Earnest as I was for the action, I could not
reach the commodore's ship until seven in the evening, being
then within pistol-shot, when he hailed the Bon Homme
Richard. We answered him by firing a whole broadside.
" The battle being thus begun, was continued with unremit-
ting fury. Every method was practised on both sides to gain
an advantage, and rake each other ; and I must confess that
the enemy's ship, being much more manageable tjjan the Bon
Homme Richard, gained thereby several times an advanta-
124
THE BATTLE BEGUN.
The Richard and Serapis. Beginning of the action.
geous feituation, in spite of my best endeavours to prevent it.
As I had to deal w^ith an enemy of greatly superior force, I
was under the necessity of closing with him, to prevent the
advantage which he had over me in point of manoeuvre. It
was my intention to lay the Bon Homme Richard athwart the
enemy's bow ; but as that operation required great dexterity
in the management of both sails and helm, and some of our
braces being shot away, it did not exactly succeed to my
wish. The enemy's bowsprit, however, came over the Bon
Homme Richard's poop by the mizen-mast, and I made both
ships fast together in that situation, which, by the action of
the wind on the enemy's sails, forced her stern close to the
Bon Homme Richard's bow, so that the ships lay square
alongside of each other, the yards being all entangled, and the
cannon of each ship touching the opponent's. When this
position took place, it was eight o'clock, previous to which the
CLOSE ACTION. 121
The Richard and Serapis. Close action.
Bon Homme Richard had received sundry eighteen-pouna
shots below the water, and leaked very much. My battery
t of twelve-pounders, on which I had placed my chief depend-
ence, being coinmanded by Lieutenant Dale and Colonel
I Weibert, and manned principally with American seamen and
I French volunteers, was entirely silenced and abandoned. As
I to the six old eighteen-pounders that formed the battery of the
I low^er gun-deck, they did no service whatever, except tiring
\ eight shot in all. Two out of three of them burst at the first
J fire, and killed almost all the men who were stationed to man-
I age them. Before this time, too, Colonel de Chamillard, who
I commanded a party of twenty soldiers on the poop, had aban-
; doned that station, after having lost some of his men. I had
now only two pieces of cannon, (nine-pounders,) on the quarter-
deck, that were not silenced, and not one of the heavier cannon
was fired during the rest of the action. The purser, M.
Mease, who commanded the guns on the quarter-deck, being
dangerously wounded in the head, I was obliged to fill his
place, and with great difliculty rallied a few men, and shifted
over one of the lee quarter-deck guns, so that we afterwards
played three pieces of nine-pounders upon the enemy. The
n *
126 THE RICHARD AND SERAPIS.
tops alone seconded the fire of this little battery, and held out
bravely during the whole of the action, especially the main-
top, where Lieutenant Stack commanded. I directed the fire
of one of the three cannon against the main-mast, with double-
headed shot, while the other two were exceedingly well served
with grape and canister shot, to silence the enemy's musketry
and clear her decks, which was at last effected. The enemy
were, as I have since understood, on the instant of caUing for
quarters, when the cowardice or treachery of three of my
under-oflicers induced them to call to the enemy. The Eng-
lish commodore asked me if I demanded quarters, and I
having answered him in the most determined negative, they
renewed the battle with double fury. They w^ere unable to
stand the deck ; but the fire of their cannon, especially the
lower battery, which was entirely formed of ten-pounders,
was incessant ; both ships were set on fire in various places,
and the scene was dreadful beyond the reach of language.
To account for the timidity of my three under-ofRcers, I mean
the gunner, the carpenter, and the master-at-arms, I must ob-
.serve, that the two first w^ere slightly w^ounded, and, as the
ship had received various shot under water, and one of the
pumps being shot away, the carpenter expressed his fears that
she would sink, and the other two concluded that she was
sinking, which occasioned the gunner to run aft on the poop,
without my knowledge, to strike the colours. Fortunately
for me, a cannon-ball had done that before, by carrying away
the ensign-staff; he was therefore reduced to the necessity of
sinking, as he supposed, or of calling for quarter, and he pre-
ferred the latter.
" All this time tlie Bon Homme Richard had sustained the
action alone, and the enemy, though much superior in force,
would have been very glad to have got clear, as appears by
their own acknowledgments, and by their having let go an
anchor the instant that I laid them on board, by which means
'i'.Aw:i!V'^:
I'v'in'i'l
I ,
Ml
kiM'
III
mmm
tl6
^ji J 'i_ Alii-^iL ■ iii»,i iK.::;r— 1 .rii
(128)
SITUATION OF THE RICHARD. 129
they wouM have escaped, had I not made them well last to
the Bon Homme Richard.
" At last, at half-past nine o'clock, the Alliance appeared,
and I now thought the battle at an end ; but, to my utter as-
tonishment, he discharged a broadside full into the stern of
the Bon Homme Richard. We called to him for God's sake
to forbear firhig into the Bon Homme Richard; yet they
passed along the off-side of the ship, and continued firing.
There was no possibility of his mistaking the enemy's ships
for the Bon Homme Richard, there being the most essentiai
difterence in their appearance and construction. Besides, it
was then full moonlight, and the sides of the Bon Homme
Richard were all black, while the sides of the prize were all
yellow. Yet, for the greater security, I showed the signal of
our reconnoissance, by putting out three lanterns, one at the
head, another at the stern, and the third in the middle, in a
horizontal line. Every tongue cried that he was firing into
the wrong ship, but nothing availed ; he passed round, firing
into the Bon Homme Richard's head, stern, and broadside,
and by one of his volleys killed several of my best men, and
mortally wounded a good officer on the forecastle only. My
situation was really deplorable ; the Bon Homme Richard
received various shot under water from the Alliance ; the
leak gained on the pumps, and the fire increased much on
board both ships. Some officers persuaded me to strike, of
vi^hose courage and good sense I entertain a high opinion.
My treacherous master-at-arms let loose all my prisoners
without my knowledge, and my prospects became gloomy
indeed. I would not, however, give up the point. The
enemy's main-mast began to shake, their firing decreased fast
ours rather increased, and the British colours were struck at
half an hour past ten o'clock.
" This prize proved to be the British ship of war the Sera-
pis, a new ship of forty-four-guns, built on the most approved
ionstruction, with two complete batteries, one of them of
1 30 CONDITION OF THE RICHARD.
eighteen-pounders, and commanded by the brave Commodore
Richard Pearson. I had yet two enemies to encounter, far
more formidable than the Britons, — I mean fire and water.
The Serapis was attacked only by the first, but the Bon
Homme Richard was assailed by both ; there was five feet
water in the hold, and though it was moderate from the ex-
plosion of so much gunpowder, yet the three pumps that re- ^
mained could with difficulty only keep the water from gain-
ing. The fire broke out in various parts of the ship in spite
of all the water that could be thrown in to quench it, and at
at length broke out as low as the powder-magazine, and
within a few inches of the powder. In that dilemma I took
out the powder upon deck, ready to be thrown overboard at
the last extremity, and it was ten o'clock the next day (the
24th,) before the fire was entirely extinguished. With respect
to the situation of the Bon Homme Richard, the rudder was
cut entirely oflf, the stern-frame and transoms were almost
entirely cut away, and the timbers by the lower deck, espe-
cially from the main-mast towards the stern, being greatly
decayed with age, were mangled beyond my power of de-
scription, and a person must have been an 03^0- witness to
form a just idea of the tremendous scene of carnage, wreck,
and ruin, which everywhere appeared. Humanity cannot
but recoil from the prospect of such finished horror, and
lament that war should be capable of producing such fatal
consequences.
" After the carpenters, as well as Captain Cottineau and
other men of sense, had well examined and surveyed the ship,
(which was not finished before five in the evening,) I found
every person to be convinced that it was impossible to keep
the Bon Homme Richard afloat, so as to reach a port, if the
wind should increase, it being then only a very moderate
breeze. I had but little time to remove my wounded, which
now became unavoidable, and which was efl^ected in the
course of the night and next morning. I was determined to-
THE RICHARD SINKS. 131
keep the Bon Homme Richard afloat, and, if possible, to
bring her into port. For that purpose, the first lieutenant of
the Pallas, continued on board with a party of men, to attend
the pumps, with boats in waiting, ready to take them on
board in case the water should gain on them too fast. The
wind augmented in the night, and the next day, the 25th, so
that it was impossible to prevent the good old ship from sink-
ing.. They did not abandon her till after nine o'clock; the
water was then up to the lower deck, and a little after ten I
saw^ with inexpressible grief, the last ghmpse of the Bon
Homme Richard, No hves were lost w^ith the ship, but it was
impossible to save the stores of any sort whatever. I lost
even the best part of my clothes, books and papers ; and
several of my officers lost all their clothes and effects.
Sinking of the Bon Homme Richard.
" Having thus endeavoured to give a clear and simple
relation of the circumstances and events that have attended
1 the httle armament under niiy command, I shall freely sub-
j mit my conduct therein to the censure of my superiors and
132 VILLANY OF LANDAIS.
the impartial public. I beg leave, however, to observe, that
the force that was put under my command was far from
being well composed, and as the great majority of the actors
in it have appeared bent on the pursuit of interest only, I am
exceedingly sorry that they and I have been at all concerned."
Such is the despatch which Commodore Jones transmitted
from the Texel to Dr. Franldin, and afterwards to Congress.
It is painful to observe how often he is forced to complain of
the sordidness or cowardice of his associates. To a generous
and elevated mind nothing could have been more humiliating
than this necessity. The pursuit of " interest alone" with
which he so frequently charges his associates, is, however, a
positive virtue compared with the gratuitous villany imputed
to Landais, the commander of the Alliance. The alleged
conduct of this person, particularly during the engagement
between the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis, was so
daring in atrocity and treachery as to exceed all reasonable
beUef, were it not solemnly asserted, as beyond all doubt it
was firmly believed, by Jones. The general conduct of Lan-
dais was that of a malignant madman, as much incited by
the prevailing influence of frenzy as actuated by deliberate
villany. His behaviour during the whole cruise was made
the subject of a set of charges drawn up by Jones in coming
into the Texel, which were attested, in whole or in part, by
most of the officers of the Bon Homme Richard and the Alli-
ance. The fact of Landais firing into the Bon Homme
Richard is also confirmed by the log-book,+ which was pre-
served when the ship sunk, and by a very interesting and
seaman-like narrative of the engagement, drawn up by Mr.
Dale,t then first lieutenant of the ship. The brilliant success
+ This battered volume, after many adventures by land and water, in
Europe and America, is now in the possession of Mr. George Napier, advocate
t This gentleman was subsequently a Commodore in the service of the
United States.
DESPATCH TO FRANKLIN. I33
of Jones at this time, though far short of his own hopes and
projects, gave him a right to speak out on affairs which left
a deeper sting in his mind than even the perfidy ol Landais.
He thus concludes his desp)atch : —
Commodore Dale.
" I am in the highest degree sensible of the singular atten-
tions which I have experienced from the Court of France,
which I shall remember with perfect gratitude until the end
of my life, and will always endeavour to merit, while I can
consistent with my honour continue in the public service. I
must speak plainly; as I have been always honoured with the
full confidence of Congress, and as I also flattered myself
12
134 DESPATCH TO FRANKLIN.
with enjoying in some measure the confidence of the court of
France, I could not but be astonished at the conduct of Mon-
sieur de Chaumont, when, in the moment of my departure
from Groix, he produced a paper, a concordat, for me to sign,
in common with the officers whom I had commissioned but
a few days before. Had that paper, or even a less dishon-
ourable one, been proposed to me at the beginning, I would
have rejected it with just contempt, and the word dejtlacement,
among others, should have been necessary. I cannot, how-
ever, even now suppose that he was authorized by the court
to mtike such a bargain with me. Nor can I suppose that
the minister of the Marine meant that M. de Chaumont should
consider me merely as a colleague with the commanders of the
other ships, and communicate to them not only all he knew
but all he thought respecting our destination and operations.
M. de Chaumont has made me various reproaches on account
of the expense of the Bon Homme Richard, wherewith I can-
not think I have been justly chargeable. M. de Chamillard
can attest that the Bon Homme Richard was at last far from
being well fitted or armed for war. If any person or persons
who have been charged with the expense of that armament
have acted wrong, the fault must not be laid to my charge.
I had no authority to superintend that armament and the
persons who had authority were so far from giving me what
I thought necessary, that M. de Chaumont even refused,
among other things, to allow me irons to secure the prisoners
of war.
" In short, while my life remains, if I have any capacity to
render good and acceptable services to the common cause, no
man will step forth with greater cheerfulness and alacrity
than myself; but I am not made to be dishonoured, nor can I
accept of the haJf-confidence of any man living. Of course I
cannot, consistent with my honour, and a prospect of success,
undertake future expeditions, unless when the object and des-
tination is communicated to me alone, and to no other person
JONES'S SPIES. 135
in the marine line. In cases where troops are embarked, a
like confidence is due alone to their commander-in-chief. On
no other condition will I ever undertake the chief command
of a private expedition ; and when I do not command in chief,
I have no desire to be in the secret."
In the memorial drawn up for the private perusal of the
king of France, Jones says that it was his intention at this
time to cruise off" the south-west of Ireland for twelve or
fifteen days, in order to intercept the English homeward-bound
East India ships, which he had been informed would return
Iwithout convoy, and sail for this point of land. This purpose,
which he confined to his own breast, and which would have
been rendered abortive by the misconduct of Landais, was
quite compatible with the other objects of the cruise, whether
.these were the West India, or Hudson's Bay ships, or the
iBaltic fleet.
( The earliness and accuracy of the information which Jones
procured while he lay in the various harbours of France is
• not a little remarkable. Instead of receivino^ intellio;ence
Ifrom the American ministers, he w^as enabled, through his
|0wn private channels in England and other quarters, to trans-
*mit to them information of the saihng of fleets and of the
'strength of convoys. His former connexions and mode of
jlife may have given him some facilities ; and money, the
[universal agent, never appears to have been with him an ob-
jject of any consideration beyond its value as a means of
j obtaining professional advancement. He was able to supply
the French Admiral, Count d'Orviliiers, with important infoi
<mation from London, of the sailing of a large West India
fleet, and even to acquaint him with private transactions on
I board the squadrons of Keppel and Byron.
Meanwhile the squadron of Jones, which the narrative has
I left behind, continued to be tossed about till the 3rd of October,
when it came to anchor in the Texel, contrary to the judgment
Jof the commodore, who wished to gain the French harbour
136 ARRIVAL OF THE SQUADRON.
of Dunkirk, but was, he says, overruled by his officers. The
rendezvous he found, was the causeof much personal vexation
to himself, though it proved of ultimate advantage to America,
by hurrying on the period when the Dutch were forced from
their politic neutrality. The political importance of this mea-
sure might have been foreseen by Franklin, when in the pre-
vious summer he directed Jones, on finishing his northern
cruise, to take shelter in the Texel. By doing so, the Ameri-
can minister greatly increased the perplexity of their High
Mightinesses, on whom the cabinet of London already — and
with good reason — looked with suspicious eyes. By this step
the Dutch were in effect precipitated into the war rather sooner
than suited their crafty and selfish policy, which, in shuffling
with all parties, sought to profit by all. By compelling Eng-
land to declare war, and the Dutch to declare openly for the
United States, an end was virtually put to a coniest, in which
Britain was left to contend single-handed with her refractory
colonies, then backed by France, Spain, and Holland.
Though the squadron of Jones had failed in its main purpose,
and had neither captured fleets, nor put wealthy cities to ran-
som, the blow struck at the maritime p«ide of England could
not fail to be highly gratifying to the Americans. Dr. Frank-
fin immediately wrote, warmly congratulating the victor. —
" For some days," says Franklin, " after the arrival of your
express, scarce anything was talked of at Paris and Versailles,
but your cool conduct and persevering bravery during that
terrible conflict. You may believe that the impression on my
mind was not less strong than that on others, — but I do not
choose to say in a letter to yourself all I think on such an
occasion.
" The ministry are much dissatisfied with Captain Landais,
and Monsieur de Sartine has signified to me in writing, that
it is expected that I should send for him to Paris, and call him
to account for his conduct, particularly for deferring so long
his coming to your assistance ; by w^hich means, it is supposed,
JONES RECEIVES THANKS. 187
the States lost some of their valuable citizens, and the king
lost many of his subjects, volunteers in your ship, together with
the ship itself.
" I have, accordingly, written to him this day, acquainting
him, that he is charged with disobedience of orders in the
cruise, and neglect of his duty in the engagement; that a
court-martial being at this time inconvenient, if not impractica-
ble, I would give him an earlier opportunity of offering what
he has to say in his justification, and for that purpose direct
. him to render himself immediately here, bringing with him
I such papers or testimonies as he may think useful in his de-
fence. I know not v^^hether he will obey my orders, nor what
. the ministry would do wdth him if he comes ; but I suspect
I that they may, by some of their concise operations, save the
i trouble of a court-martial. It will, however, be well for you
I to furnish me with what you may judge proper to support
' the charges against him, that I may be able to give a just
I and clear account to Congress. In the mean time it will be
I necessary, if he should refuse to come, that you should put
' him under an arrest, and in that case, as well as if he comes,
I that you should either appoint some person to the command,
* or take it upon yourself; for I know of no person to recom-
mend to you as fit for that station.
" I am uneasy about your prisoners, (504 in number,) — I
wish they were safe in France. You will then have com-
pleted the glorious work of giving liberty to all the Ameri-
cans that have so long languished for it in the British
prisons."
Jones also received the thanks of the Due de la Vauguyon,
the French ambassador at the Hague, and the congratulations
of numerous friends and admirers.
And now commenced those scenes of diplomatic altercation
between the States of Holland and the British ambassador.
Sir Joseph Yorke, which in the following year ended in the
declaration of war. The Dutch had already committed
12 *
138 CONDUCT OF HOLLAND.
many virtual infractions of the treaty of alliance with Britain.
It was from Holland that France openly obtained her mari-
time stores. But a greater eye-sore was the American
squadron and its daring commander, with the captured
frigates, riding in triumph in the Texel. Jones also appeared
openly at Amsterdam. He was allowed to establish an
hospital in the forts of the Texel, for his wounded men and
his wounded prisoners ; though in this object of common
humanity Sir Joseph Yorke readily concurred.
The squadron came into the Texel on the 3d October, and
on the 13th, Sir Joseph Yorke presented a brief and energetic
memorial, peremptorily demanding that the captured frigates
should be stopped in the Texel — the frigates " taken by one
Paul Jones, a subject of the King of Great Britain, who, ac-
cording to treaties and the laws of war, falls under the
class of rebels and pirates."
Jones, though he must have been prepared for the demand,
was, it may be presumed, not a little indignant at the uncere-
monious stylo in which he was designated by the English am-
bassador,— " that little thing, Sir Joseph," as he pettishly terms
him. In this emergency he endeavoured to secure the friend-
ship of certain powerful individuals. With a young, brave,
and, above all, a successful commander, there is ever a ready
sympathy ; and even at this time, though the show of peace
was still sedulously kept up, the cause of America had many
w'arm friends among the Dutch, especially in the maritime
towns. ■*
It would have required greater magnanimity than most
men are endowed with, had Jones forgiven the appellations
bestowed on him, especially if any lurking consciousness
rankled in his mind that his character and position were equi-
vocal, and apt, at least in England, to be misconstrued. The
distrust evinced by Le Ray Chaumont, and the consequent
restraints imposed on his freedom as a commander, had
already been sufficiently galling; and this was a fresh corrosion
CAPTAIN PEARSON REWARDED. 139
of the same sore. In a statement made long afterwards, Jones
mentions that Sir Joseph Yorke having failed to obtain his
person from the Dutch government, endeavoured to have him
privately kidnapped, — a thing in itself extremely improbable,
and for which there was, in all likelihood, no other foundation
than the gossip of Amsterdam. Sir Joseph never even
directly asked that Jones should be given up, while he loudly
reiterated his demand for the restitution of the captured
frigates.
The firmness and address displayed by Sir Joseph Yorke
on this occasion- did credit to his diplomatic abilities. He
had resided long at the Hague, and had obtained great in-
fluence with the Prince of Orange and what may be called the
court-party. His services on this occasion were afterwards
rewarded by a peerage. Captain Pearson was also subse-
quently distinguished by many marks of the confidence and
approbation of his sovereign. The defeated party were in-
deed more highly rewarded than the victor ; for the subse-
I quent honours heaped on Jones were more the consequence
I of dexterous management at Versailles, six months after the
j affair took place, than the natural and spontaneous fruits of
[ his brilliant achievement. Immediately on his exchange,
Captain Pearson received the honour of knighthood, which,
following this period of eclipse, must have been peculiarly
gratifying to his feehngs; and the Royal-Exchange Assu
I ranee Company presented him and Captain Piercy of the
Countess of Scarborough w^ith services of plate " for their
gallant defence of the Baltic fleet."
The peremptory demand of' Sir .Joseph Yorke, threw their
High Mightinesses into no little perplexity. They were not
3'et prepared for war w^ith England, nor did they wish to risk
offending France, and alienating the affections of the young
transatlantic republic, which might long remember unkind-
ness, but woftld feel doubly grateful for succour shown in the
season of adversity, and the struggle for existence. The
140 CONDUCT OF HOLLAND.
States of Holland in those awkward circumstances tempo-
rized with much dexterity, sheltering themselves under those
cautious maxims of policy which had hitherto governed the
United Provinces in questions of the like nature. These
maxims dictated that they should decline deciding on the
validity of captures in the open seas of vessels not belonging
to their own subjects. They afforded at all times sheher in
their harbours to all ships whatsoever, if driven in by stress
of weather ; but compelled armed ships with their prizes to
put to sea again as soon as possible, without permitting them
to dispose of their cargoes ; and this conduct they were to
follow in the case of Jones.
This did not, however, extricate the Dutch government from
the dilemma. As an American officer they durst not protect
Jones, which would have been in eflect a recognition of the
rebellious colonies ; and the French commision under which it
was alleged he acted could never be forthcoming. They
therefore were compelled to order him to put to sea with his
squadron forthwith, though they " declined to pass judgment
on the person and prizes of Paul Jones." They also publicly
forbade the ships to be furnished with naval or warlike stores,
save such as were absolutely necessary to carry them to the
first foreign port, " that all suspicion of their being furnished
here may drop."
It was even agreed, though the measure met with strong
opposition, that the American squadron should be expelled by
force from the Texel. This much was obtained by the firm-
ness of Sir Joseph Yorke.
The situation of Jones, all along unpleasant, was now
become highly critical The Dutch government, whom Sir
Joseph neither suffered to slumber nor sleep, incessantly an-
noyed the French ambassador, who in his turn assailed Jones.
He was thus placed between two fires, threatened by the
Dutch to be driven from the Texel, while English ships were
JONES'S SITUATION. 141
placed at its entrance to interrupt his exit, and while, " to make
assurance double sure," light squadrons were cruising about
in all directions to prevent his gaining any French or Spanish
port, should he be fortunate enough to escape the vessels on
the more immediate watch. So deep and galling was the
wound this individual had inflicted on the national pride, that
the capture of " one Paul Jones" would at this time have been
more welcome to England than if she had conquered a rich
argosy.
One main object of Jones being ordered to the Texel on the
' termination of his northern cruise, was, as has been noticed,
to convoy a French fleet with naval stores to Brest, and to
get out the Indian. The same officious commissary, whose
talkative propensities and suspicious disposition had so fre-
quently baffled the projects of Jones, had again been at work ;
I and although the Dutch government might have winked at the
I saihng of the fleet under his convoy, the measure would have
' been rendered abortive by premature disclosure. Jones com-
1 plained to Franklin, and to Sartine, the minister of the French
marine, to whom during the time he lay in the Texel he had,
as usual, been transmitting some of the many projects for
I maritime expeditions of which his scheming brain was ever so
fertile. He also in this interval drew up a refreshing me-
morial for Congress, containing a narrative of his professional
life and services.
Before receiving any answer to his communication to Sar-
tine, Jones was ordered to attend the French ambassador at
the Hague, the Due de la Vauguyon. He went privately to
the Hague to avoid unnecessary offence, and at a long con-
ference it was agreed that he should forthwith sail for Dun-
kirk with his numerous prisoners. As they were now
situated they could scarcely be considered in security, and
both Franklin and Jones, as a personal kindness, had solicited
and obtained the consent of the French government that
these prisoners should be exchanged for the Americans, then
prisoners in England.
142 JONES'S LETTER
The Serapis had been dismasted in the late engagement,
and as it was probable that, even on the short voyage to
Dunkirk, Jones might encounter his watchful foe in some
force, it was necessary to refit his ship. For this purpose he
went to Amsterdam. Thus time wore on. The English
ambassador from remonstrances came to threats. The
Dutch, driven to their wit's end, remonstrated and menaced
by turns ; and Jones, unable to be longer silent, wrote as fol-
lows to the French ambassador : —
" On board the Bon Homme Richard's Prize the Ship of War Serapis, at the
Texel, November 4th, 1779."
'* My Lord,
" This morning the commandant of the Road sent me
word to come and speak to him on board his ship. He had
before him on the table a letter which he said was from the
Prince of Orange. He questioned me very closely whether
I had a French commission, and, if I had, he almost insisted
upon seeing it. In conformity to your advice " Cet avis
donne au commencement n'etoit plus de saison depuisl'admis-
sion de I'escadre sous Pavilion Americain," I told him that
my French commission not having been found among my
papers since the loss of the Bon Homme Richard, I feared it
had gone to the bottom in that ship ; but that, if it was really
lost, it would be an easy matter to procure a duplicate of it
from France. The commandant appeared to be very uneasy
and anxious for my departure. I have told him that as there
are eight of the enemy's ships laying wait for me at the south
entrance, and four more at the north entrance of the port, I
was unable to fight more than three times my force, but that
he might rest assured of my intention to depart with the
utmost expedition, whenever I found a possibility to go clear.
" I should be very happy, my Lord, if I could tell you of
ray being ready. I should have departed long ago, if I had
met with common assistance; but for a fortnight past I have
TO THE AMBASSADOR. 14^
every day expected the necessary supply of water from
Amsterdam in cisterns, and I am last night informed that it
cannot be had without I send up water-casks. The provision,
too, that was ordered the day I returned to Amsterdam from
the Hague, is not yet sent down ; and the spars that have
been sent from Amsterdam are spoiled in the making. None
of the iron-work that was ordered for the Serapis is yet com-
pleted, so that I am, even to this hour, in want of hinges to
hang the lower gun-ports. My officers and men lost their
. clothes and beds in the Bon Homme Richard, and they have
yet got no supply. The bread that has been twice a week
sent down from Amsterdam to feed my people, has been,
literally speaking, rotten, and the consequence is that they
are falling sick.
" It is natural also that they should be discontented, while I
I am not able to tell them that they will be paid the value of
I their property in the Serapis and Countess of Scarborough, if
either or both of them should be lost or taken after sailing
5 from hence.
' " Thus you see, my Lord, that my prospects are far from
I pleasing. I have but few men, and they are discontented.
Uf you can authorize me to promise them, at all hazards, that
their property in the prizes shall be made good, and that they
{shall receive the necessary clothing and bedding, &c., or
I money to buy them, I believe I shall soon be able to bring
I them again into a good humour. In the mean time I will
! send a vessel or two out to reconnoitre the offing and to
i bring me word. Whatever may be the consequence of my
I having put into this harbour, I must observe that it w^as done
contrary to my opinion, and I consented to it only because
the majority of my colleagues were earnest for it," &c. &;c.
The French government, to rid themselves of farther im
portunity, now fell on a new expedient. The cruise was sud
denly declared at an end, and the ships were dismissed,
Franklin agreed to place the captured frigates under the flag
144 JONES IN THE ALLIANCE.
of France, and that Jones should be removed to the only ship
now ostensibly American, the Alliance, which, on Landais
having been ordered to Paris, to answer to the plenipoten-
tiaries for his misconduct on the cruise, had been left without
a commander.
Jones received this intimation with disgust and chagrin ;
but such were the orders of Sartine and Franklin, such the
course sound poHcy dictated ; and after an altercation, last-,
ing, he states, for thirteen hours, with the French ambassador
at the Hague, he most reluctantly left the Serapis, whose deck
seemed the theatre of his glory, and went on board the Alli-
ance. The squadron soon afterwards sailed under a Dutch
convoy, and Jones was left alone in his new ship. His •
French commission had never yet been produced ; the Eng-
lish ambassador had repeatedly alleged that he held no legal
commission from any sovereign ; and to relieve the Dutch
government from their dilemma, and, probably to ensure the
personal safety of Jones in case of the worst, a regular com-
mission was now tendered him by the ministers of his Most
Christian Majesty, but of a kind so degrading that there is no
doubt he would, far rather than have accepted it, have chosen
the alternative of falling into the power of the English.
Whatever were his personal difficulties, he was at this time
in " the blaze of his fame," " talked of," says Franklin, " at
Paris and Versailles," celebrated throughout Europe and
America. His temper and blood were at no time very cool
on sudden excitement, and the excess of his indignation
may be imagined when he received the insulting offer of a
Letter of Marque. We know not what to make of the fre^
quent boasts of Jones in after-periods of life, of never ac-
cepting any commission save from Congress. The con-
cordat of Le Ray Chaumont, and the Letter of Marque of
Sartine, and the Due de la Vauguyon, it must be confessed,
offered but slight temptation. Jones, though far from being
naturally inchned either to conceal or depreciate his profes-
LETTER OF MARQUE OFFERED AND REFUSED. l4.>
sional talents and personal services, never over-estimated
himself half so much as he was at this time un'dervalued by
the vacillating and capricious government with which he had
to do. If the true abihty of a statesman is best seen in his
capacity for selecting and managing tiie instruments of his
power, Sartine in this instance, as in many others, sadly be-
trayed his own incapacity. Under the first galling feelings
of this insult, Jones wTote the following spirited letter to the
French ambassador. It is one of the best productions of his
' pen, precisely because it is the spontaneous dictate of the
' most honourable impulses of his spirit : —
" To His Excellency the Due de la Vavguyon, Ambassador from France, at
the Hague.
"ALLiAN'CEjTexel, December 13th, 1779.
' " My Lord,
I " Perhaps there are many men in the world who would
j esteem as an honour the commission that I have this day re-
fused. My rank from the beginning knew no superior in the
i marine of America, how then must I be humbled were I to
, accept a letter-of-marque ! — I should, my Lord, esteem my-
1 self inexcusable, were I to accept even a commission of equal
or superior denomination to that I bear, unless I were pre-
viously authorized by Congress, or some other competent
I authority in Europe. And I must tell you, that, on my ar-
! rival at Brest from the Irish Channel, Count D'Orvilliers
j offered to procure for me from Court a commission of " Cap-
jtain de Vaisseaux," w^hich I did not then accept for the
I same reason, although the w^ar between France and England
was not then begun, and of course the commission of
France would have protected me from an enemy of superior
force.
" It is a matter of the highest astonishment to me, that,
after so many comphments and fair professions, the Court
should offer the present insult to my understanding, and sup-
pose me capable of disgracing my present commission. I
13
146 REMONSTRANCE.
confess that I never merited all the praise bestowed on my
past conduct, but I also feel that I have far less merited such a
reward. Where profession and practice are so opposite, I
am no longer weak enough to form a wrong conclusion.
They may think as they please of me ; for where I cannot
continue my esteem, praise or censure from any man is to me
a matter of indifference.
" I am much obliged to them, however, for having at last
fairly opened my eyes, and enabled me to discover truth from
falsehood.
" The prisoners shall be delivered agreeable to the orders
which you have done me the honour to send me from his Ex-
cellency the American ambassador in France.
" I will also with great pleasure, not only permit a part of
my seamen to go on board the ships under your Excellency's
orders, but I will also do my utmost to prevail with them to
embark freely ; and if I can now or hereafter, by any other
honourable means, facilitate the success or the honour of his
Majesty's arms, I pledge myself to you as his ambassador,
that none of his own subjects would bleed in his cause with
greater freedom than myself, an American.
" It gives me the more pain, my Lord, to write this letter,
because the Court has enjoined you to prepare what would
destroy my peace of mind, and my future veracity in the
opinion of the world.
" When, with the consent of- Court, and by order of the
American ambassador, I gave American commissions to
French officers, I did not fill up those commissions to com-
mand privateers, nor even for a rank equal to that of their
commissions in the Marine of France. They were promoted
to rank far superior, — and why 1 — not from personal friend-
ship, nor from my knowledge of their services and abilities,
(the men and their characters being entire strangers to me,)
but from the respect which I believed America would wish to
show for the service of France.
LETTER TO FRANKLIN. I47
" While I remained eight months seemingly forgot by the
Court at Brest, many commissions such as that in question,
were offered to me ; and I believe, (when I am in pursuit of
'plunder^ I can still obtain such an one without application to
Court.
" I hope, my Lord, that my behaviour through life will ever
entitle me to the continuance of your good wishes and opinion,
and that you will take occasion to make mention of the warm
and personal affection with which my heart is impressed
towards his Majesty.
j ^ "I am," &c. &c.
I This letter Jones enclosed to Franklin, to whom he gave
' his passionate feelings fuller breath in an epistle very charac-
teristic both of the man and the seaman. " I hope," he says,
" that the within copy of my letter to the Due de la Vau
guyon will meet your approbation; for I am persuaded that
lit never could be your intention or wish that I should be made
, the tool of any great r whatever ; or that the commission
I of America should be overlaid by the dirty piece of parch-
( ment which I have this day rejected ! They have played
I upon my good humour too long already, but the spell is at last
I dissolved. They would play me off with assurance of the
personal and particular esteem of the king, to induce me to
I do what would render me contemptible even in the eyes of
j my own servants ! Accustomed to speak untruths themselves,
1 they would also have me to give under my hand that I am a
J liar and a scoundrel. They are mistaken, and I would tell
them what you did to your naughty servant. * We have too
\ contemptible an opinion of one another's understanding to live
together.' I could tell them too, that if M de C * had
not taken such safe precautions to keep me honest by means
of his famous concordat, and to support me by so many able
colleagues, these great men would not have been reduced to
* De la Rav Chaumont.
148 M. DUMAS.
such mean shifts ; for the prisoners could have been landed
at Dunkirk the day that I entered the Texel, and I could have
Drought in double the numbers."
The whole of these effusions were submitted to M. Dumas,
a new friend Jones had acquired, who had lately been ap-
pointed agent for American affairs at Amsterdam.*
The letter of Jones to the ambassador of France produced
the desired effect. A soothing epistle was despatched to the
sturdy and indignant Anglo-American. " I perceive with
pain, my dear commodore," says the duke, " that you do not
view 3^our situation in the right light ; and I can assure you
that the ministers of the king have no intention to cause you
the least disagreeable feeling, as the honourable testimonials
of the esteem of his majesty which I send you ought to con-
vince you. I hope you will not doubt the sincere desire
with which you have inspired me to procure you every satis-
faction you may merit. It cannot fail to incite you to give
new proofs of your zeal for the common cause of France
and America. I flatter myself to renew, before long, the
occasion, and procure you the means to increase still more
the glory you have already acquired. I am already occu-
pied with all the interest I promised you ; and if my views
are realized, as I have every reason to believe, you will be at
all events perfectly content; but I must pray you not to
hinder my project by delivering yourself to the expression of
*This gentlemq,n is a most amusing specimen of the diplomatist in the
Bmall way, busy and bustling about nothing, shrouding every trifle in mystery ;
— one who writes about " tlie great man," and hints obscurely at " the certain
friend in high station," and intimates dark meanings through which every
body could sec, in any way save simply and directly. America was at this
early stage of her history singularly prolific of these mysterious personages.
Bancroft, Mr. W. Temple Franklin, who was, however, still a lad, and even
Commodore Jones, disported themselves in this sort of innocent diplomacy,
employing a cipher, or numbers, in their correspondence about their own
personal affairs, as if the eyes of all the world had been watchful of their mo-
lions. Franklin alone kept clear of this folly. His letters contain no blanks,
no ominous stars, no mystification of important nothings.
JONES'S ANSWER. 149
those strong sensations to which you appear to give way,
and for which there is really no foundation. You appear to
possess full confidence in the justice and kindness of the king ;
rely also upon the same sentiments on the part of his ministers."
The " dear commodore" of the duke was somewhat molli-
fied by this apology, but far from being satisfied ; nor did he
slip so inviting an opportunity of proclaiming his grievances.
" Were I to form," he says, " my opinion of the ministry from
the treatment I experienced while at Brest, or from their
want of confidence in me afterwards, exclusive of what has
taken place since I had the misfortune to enter this port, I
will appeal to your Excellency, as a man of candour and
ingenuity, whether I ought to desire to prolong a connexion
that has made me so unhappy, and wherein I have given so
very Httle satisfaction. M. le Chevalier de Lironcourt has
lately made me reproaches on account of the expense tha^t,
he says, France has been at to give me a reputation, in pre-
ference to twenty captains of the royal navy, better qualified
than myself, and who, each of them, solicited for the com-
mand that was lately given to me !
" This, I confess, is quite new, and indeed surprising to me ;
and, had I known it before I left France, I certainly shoula
have resigned in favour of the twenty men of superior merit.
I do not, however, think that his first assertion is true ; for
the ministers must be unworthy of their places w^ere they
capable of squandering the public money only to give an
individual reputation; and as to the second, I fancy the Court
will not thank him for having given me that information,
whether true or false. I may add here, that with a force so
ill composed, and with powers so Hmited, I ran ten chances
of ruin and dishonour for one of gaining reputation ; and had
not the plea of humanity in favour of the unfortunate Ameri-
cans in English dungeons superseded all considerations of
self, I faithfully assure you, my lord, that I would not have
proceeded under such circumstances from Groix. I do not
13^
150 SAILS FROM THE TEXEL.
imbibe hasty prejudices against any individuals ; but when
many and repeated circumstances, conspiring in one point,
have inspired me with discstecm towards any person, I must
see convincing proof of reformation in such person before
my he^rt can beat again with affection in his favour ; for the
mind is free, and can be bound only by kind treatment."
The insult, as he justly conceived it, which Jones had
received from France, did not increase his inclination to
lioist the flag of that nation on board of the Alhance ; nor
had he longer any secret motive to refuse, or at least to delay
obedience to the reiterated and peremptory mandate of the
Dutch government, ordering him to leave the Texel. Ame-
rica was now his sole hope — to reach its coasts his only aim.
" I am not sorry," he writes to his friend Morris, " that my
connexion with them (the French government) is at an end.
In the course of that connexion I ran ten chances of ruin and
dishonour for one of reputation ; and all the honour or profit
that France could bestow should not tempt me again to
undertake the same service, with an armament equally ill
composed and with powers equally limited. It affords me the
most exalted pleasure to reflect, that when I return to Ame-
rica I can say I have served in Europe at my own expense,
and without the fee or reward of a court. When the priso-
ners we have taken are safely lodged in France, I shall have
no further business in Europe, as the liberty of all our fellow-
citizens who now sufler in English prisons will then be se-
cured."
He was now detained only by contrary winds, and eagerly
waited for a fair opportunity of eluding the vigilance of those
on the watch to intercept him. After three months spent in
continual altercation, imbiltcred by the animosity of Landais,
the babbling and suspicions of Le Ray Chaumont, the con-
duct of the French ministers, and the discontents of his ofli-
ccrs and men respecting the prize-money, Jones sailed from
the Texel on the 27th December, 1779.
EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS.
151
Robert Morris.
The only consolation Jones received at this period was
effecting the exchange of the American prisoners in England.
This was, he said, " all the reward he wished." He had also
wrung some promises from the ambassador in behalf of his
discontented officers and crew, who, as the prizes had not
been valued in Holland, and were liable to be retaken in get-
ting into a French port, had no assurance that they would
ever obtain any reward for their courage and their toil. The
prizes sent into Bergen, in Norway, by Landais, had been
claimed by the English consul, and given up by the Danish
152 ESCAPES THE BRITISH FLEET.
government, who were very unlikely to grant the Americans
any indemnity. Even more severely than these incidental
hardships, Jones felt the grumbling of the French agents at
the expense he necessarily incurred in refitting his ships. " It
had cost France too much to give him fame," was the taunt-
ing observation bitterly felt and not easily forgotten.
It must, under all the circumstances, have been with con-
siderable anxiety that Jones sailed from the Texel, with the
alternative of rashly braving or fortunately eluding the Eng-
lish : he was not in condition to meet them even in equal
force. The Alliance, by the gross misconduct of Landais,
who w^as as bad a seaman as he was an officer, was in the
worst condition. The officers were, as Jones states, " idle and
drunken; the men filthy and in bad subordination, and many
of them sick of an epidemic illness ;" the vessel was, besides,
badly armed, and the powder of bad quality. The last evil
Jones remedied ; and, putting a bold face on the matter,
whatever might be his secret feelings, he thus exultingly wrote
Dumas, on leaving the Texel : — " Alliance at sea, 27th Decem-
ber : — I am here, my dear sir, with a good wind at east, un-
der my best American colours. So far you have your wish.
What may be the event of this critical moment I know^ not ;
I am not, however, without good hopes."
The memorial, drawn up by Jones himself for the King of
France, contains the best account that is extant of his escape,
and of the progress of this ticklish voyage. " He passed,"
he states, " along the Flemish banks, and, getting the wind-
ward of the enemy's fleet of observation in the North Sea,
he the next day passed through the Straits of Dover, in full
view of the enemy's fleet in the Downs. The day following
Captain Jones ran the Alliance past the Isle of Wight, in
view of the enemy's fleet at Spithead, and in two days more
got safe through the Channel, having passed by windward in
sigtit of the enemy's large two-decked cruising ships. Cap-
tain Jones wished to carry with him some prizes and prisoners
ARRTVAT. AT L'ORIKNT.
153
Escape of the Alliance.
to France : but the Alliance, by the arrangement Captain
Landais had made of the ballast at L'Orient, was out of trim,
and could not sail fast, her sails being too thin and old for
cold latitudes. He steered to the southward, and cruised for
some days without success off Cape Finisterre. On the 10th
of January, 1780, Captain Jones, to shun a gale of wind., and
procure a sound anchor, (for he had left the Texel with only
one,) ran into Corogne. He was very kindly received in
Spain, but sailed again, and arrived at Groix on the 10th
February, having taken no prizes."
On gaining L'Orient, Jones lost no time in beginning to re-
fit his ships and obtain military stores. A board of Admiralty
had by this time been established by Congress, and one of its
first acts was to order home the Alliance. In makinor the
o
ships under his command fit for sea, whether " in battle or in
breeze," Jones never grudged or even thought of expense,
"and on the present occasion his professional liberality of
spirit far outran the frugal genius of FrankHn. The anxious
1 54 THE ALLIANCE REFITTED.
and almost pathetic remonstrances addressed to him by thi
republican sage are as amusing as they are characteristic
The court of France had demurred to incurring farther ex
pense for this refractory hero and his American ship. '' The
whole expense will fall upon me," cries Franklin, " and I am
ill provided to bear it, having so many unexpected calls upon
me from all quarters. I therefore beg you would have mercy
on me, put me to as httle charge as possible, and take nothing
you can possibly do without. As to sheathing with copper it
is totally out of the question."
By the middle of April, the Alliance (notwithstanding the
prayers of Franklin) was, by the care of her commander,
pronounced by himself one of the most complete frigates in
France.
Nearly a month before, the Alliance having been, as was
said, ordered home to America with certain supplies of arms
and warlike stores furnished by France, Franklin urged the
immediate sailing of the ship as strongly as he could with
propriety, and wished its commander a prosperous voyage.
He even stretched a point to furnish those of the former crew
of the Bon Homme Richard, now on board the AlHanGe,
with a small sum of money, as they had not yet realized a sou
of their prize-money. This was done to allay discontent and
send the men home in good humour. But neither the com-
modore nor his crew were yet in trim for sea.
Jones had made repeated attempts to obtain an adjustment
of the prize-money, and now meditated a journey to court
ostensibly to sohcit a final settlement. A person in office
had about this time excited 'his indignation by meanly
claiming the merit of some or all of his manifold projects ;
and it is probable that various other motives and per-
sonal interests disposed him to undertake this memorable
journey. Having on a former occasion verified the truth of
he maxim, which led him to give the celebrated name of
JONES GOES TO VERSAILLES. 15jj
iBon Homme Richard to his ship, he determined once more to
speed his errand by doing it himself. He was aware that,
though disliked or envied by the marine service of France
he was popular with the Court and the Nation, who were
about this time in the very height and fervour of the Ameri-
can mania. On this knowledge he proceeded to Versailles.
156
JONES AT COURT.
CHAPTER VII.
ONES at no time neglected to
keep himself alive in the me-
mory of his court friends and
official patrons, — a species of
attention necessary to a pro-
fessional man everywhere, at
least in the commencement of
his career, and particularly
so at that period in France.
While superintending the refitting of the Alliance, he had
been corresponding v^^ith La Fayette, the Duke de la Roche-
foucault, and others of his former great friends, and by them
he might have been advised to repair to Versailles to claim
justice for his people in the affair of the prize-money. If
sucn was his only business, it does not appear to have been
much advanced by his appearance at this crisis ; but the re-
ception he personally met from many individuals among the
higher classes of society and the leaders of fashion, when
Americans and republicanism were the infatuating novelties
of the day, must have been highly gratifying to his feelings
and to his insatiable love of distinction. The American com-
modore, the conqueror of the haughty English, insulted by the
degrading offer of a letter-of-marque at Amsterdam, became
the hero, and, what was nearly the same thing, the Hon of
the day in Paris. He was everywhere feasted and caressed ;
and, as if to make ample amends for the gratuitous insult
offered him by the ministers, he was presented by the king
with a gold sword, bearing the following honourable inscrip-
ORDER OF MERIT. 15T
tioa: " VINDICATI maris LUDOVICUS XVI. REMUNERATOR STRENUO
viNDici." Leave was requested from Congress to invest him
with the military Order of Merit, — an honour which had
never been conferred on any one before who had not actually
borne arms under the commission of France. An official
letter was also addressed to him by his ancient tormentor, M.
Sartine, expressive of the highest approbation of his conduct,
and esteem for his personal character. This much was to be
gained by a man of talent and address appearing in his own
cause at the Court of France ; nor is there any lack of charity
in supposing that, had Jones remained quiet at L'Orient, the
victor of the Serapis, and the generous and patriotic Hberator
of the American prisoners, would not have sunk beneath the
load of court honours. The seci'et history of the manner in
which services of plate, knighthoods, and letters of thanks, are
sometimes obtained, would form a curious and not unedifying
chapter in the story of many a professional man's life. In the
present instance they were amply merited. They were as
proudly received ; and did equal honour to the royal. donor
and the individual distinguished by his favour. Jones was
exactly of the sanguine, ambitious, and loyal cast of charac-
ter, which leads men to prize at their full value those coveted
marks of princely approbation. The gold sword and the ac-
companying Order were the pride and the boast of his future
life.
Testimonies of kindness and esteem, of a kind even more
gratifying to his private feelings, were not wanting. Of this
brilliant period he long afterwards says, in speaking of himself,
" he received at Paris, and other parts of the kingdom, the
most flattering applause and public approbation wherever he
appeared. Both the great and the learned sought his ac-
quaintance in private life, and honoured him with particular
marks of friendship. At court he was always received with
a kindness which could only have arisen from a fixed esteem."
While the French court were thus in the vein of caressinaj
14
158 LEE'S INTRIGUE.
and bestowing, Jones solicited and obtained the Ariel frigate
to accompany the Alliance to America, with stores for Wash-
ington's army. Nor in all probability was he averse to an
increase of force, should fortune throw any English ships in
his way on the homeward voyage. The Ariel he intended
to man from the supernumeraries of the Alliance and the lately
exchanged American prisoners. The affair of the prize-money
was put in train, as far as fair promises and preliminary
orders may go, and in high spirits Jones took leave of the
French Court and capital, and returned to L'Orient, ready,
as he conceived, to quit France, and furnished, by dint of his
indefatigable genius, with an official letter from the Minister
Qf Marine to Congress, enumerating his services in Europe,
and recommending him to favour, and consequently to ad-
vancement.
While Jones was absent in Paris, his ship had been the
scene of a mutinous intrigue, of which the wretched Landais,
though apparently the promoter, was in reality at first only
the tool.
This intrigue originated with Mr. Arthur Lee, who had held
a subordinate diplomatic appointment in France, and was now
about to return to America. The real cause of this person's
conduct at this time appears to have been dislike of Franklin,
and a mean jealousy of the consideration in which this truly
great man was held, both by friend and foe, in Europe as well
as in America, while the vast merits of the patriotic Mr. Lee
were overlooked. When the affair of Landais had been ori-
ginally discussed, Lee, in the spirit of factious opposition, had
gone openly against the opinion of Franklin and the other
plenipotentiaries, and taken part with the mutinous, and, as it
afterwards turned out, mad Frenchman, on what he was
pleased to call constitutional grounds. Landais had originally
received the command of the Alliance from Congress. When
ordered to head-quarters to account for his conduct, he volun-
tarily left his ship, and soon afterwards Jones was officially
LANDAIS'S CONDUCT. 159
ordered to quit the Serapis, and assume command of the
Alliance, which, as has been seen, he did much against his
inclination. Meanwhile Landais was ordered to return to
America, that cognizance might be taken of his conduct before
the proper tribunal. In this order he appeared to acquiesce ;
and he was furnished with money by Franklin to bear his
charges. On his arrival at L'Orient, it seems to have been
adroitly insinuated into his naturally ricketty brains, that
Franklin and the other plenipotentiaries had exceeded their
powers in superseding him and ordering him to America ; and
that Congress having bestowed his commission, to Congress
alone was he bound to surrender it. The same doctrine was
diligently promulgated among the seamen of the AlHance,
and readily received by many of the officers. The delay of
the prize-money, and the non-payment of the seamen's arrears,
gave a strong handle to the discontented and designing. It
was artfully represented to the disaffected crew, that while
Jones, their new commander, basked in the sunshine of Court
favour at Versailles, he either neglected or compromised their
rights and interests, and hesitated to demand justice for his
men from those who heaped favours on himself, and loaded
him alone with benefits and honours, while those who had
shared his toils and achieved the glory he claimed were ne-
glected^nd forgotton. There was some colour for complaint.
Jones felt his error, and, in writing to a friend about the dis-
content of his crew, says, " I have been to blame for having
returned from Paris without having absolutely insisted on the
previous payment of my men." These men he had found on
his return sullen, alienated, and almost in open mutiny.
Landais had now determined, to assume by force the com-
mand of the Alliance, unjustly, as he said, wrested from him ;
and the officers and men prepared a memorial, addressed to
the plenipotentiaries, setting forth their grievances and their
wishes. Landais, to do the business with becoming modestv
I
160 FRANKLIN'S MODERATION.
and propriety, expressed a desire to be formally icinstated*
in his command.
Franklin, whose feelings, whether as a public or private
man, must have been grossly outraged by this proceeding,
stifled his indignation, and, by every argument likely to con-
vince their reason, or influence their passions, endeavoured to
recall these misled men to a sense of their duty.
No minister ever took half the pains to conciliate a set of
wrongheaded malcontents, whom the power of France could
have enabled him to crush at once. Some of the arguments
he addressed to their professional feelings and pride are ex-
ceedingly subtle. The officers and crew of the Alliance
were naturally indignant at the charge of having fired into
the Bon Homme Richard, during the engagement with the
Serapis. In relation to this aflTair, Franklin states, " though I
declined any judgment of his (Landais's) manoeuvres in the
* Franklin's letter in reply to the modest demand of this Frenchman is as
indicative of his strong good sense and clear-sighted integrity as anything
that ever issued from his pen. Of this sagacious person one might almost
think it was because " honesty was the best policy" that he loved it. He ad-
mired truth for its utility more than its native beauty ; and employed it ac-
cordingly with singular success in his dealings with men, where others more
short-sighted, if not less sincere, would have used subterfuge, and trick only
to counteract their own purposes. It is thus he wrote Landais :-"No one ever
learned the opinion I formed of you from inquiry made into your conduct.
I kept it entirely to myself. I have not even hinted it in my letters to America,
because I would not hazard giving to any one a bias to your prejudice. By
communicating a fart of that opinion privately to you I can do no harm, for
you may burn it. I should not give you the pain of reading it, if your
demand did not make it necessary. I think you then so imprudent, so
litigious, and quarrelsome a man, even with your best friends, that peace and
good order, and consequently the quiet and regular subordination so necessary
to success, are, where you preside, impossible. These are within my obser-
vation and apprehension. Your military operations I leave to more capa-
ble judges. If, therefore, I had twenty ships of war in my disposition, I
should not give one of them to Captain Lrindais. The same temper which
excluded him from the French marine would weigh equally with me ; of
course I shall not replace him in the Alliance."
FRANKLIN'S LETTER. 161
fight, I have given it as my opinion, (to Congress,) after ex-
amining the affair, that it was not at all likely, either that he
should have given orders to fire into the Bon Homme Richard,
or that his officers v^ould have obeyed such an order had it
been given them. Thus I have taken what care I could of
your honour in that particular. You w^ill therefore excuse
me if I am a little concerned for it in another. If it should
come to be publicly known that you had the strongest aver-
sion to Captain Landais, who had used you basely, and that it
is only since the last year's cruise, and the appointment of
Commodore Jones to the command, that you request to be
again under your old captain, I fear suspicions and reflections
may be thrown upon you by the world, as if this change of
sentiment may have arisen from your observation during
the cruise, that Captain Jones loved close fighting, that Cap-
tain Landais was skilful in keeping out of harm's way, and
that you therefore thought yourself safer with the latter.
For myself, I believe you to be brave men, and lovers of
your country and its glorious cause; and I am persuaded
you have only been ill-advised, and misled by the artful and
malicious misrepresentations of some persons, I guess at.
Take in good part this friendly counsel from an old man who
is your friend. Go home peaceably with your ship. Do
your duty faithfully and cheerfully. Behave respectfully to
your commander, and I am persuaded he will do the same to
you. Thus you will not only be happier in your voyage, but
recommend yourselves to the future favours of Congress and
of your country."
Such was the conciliatory tone in which Franklin ad-
dressed these turbulent and discontented men. It were to be
wished that his good temper and calmness of reason had
produced the effect that might have been expected. The
failure proves that something besides reason is at times neces-
sary in governing seamen.
In a letter to Jones he explains the affair, and relates the
14*
162 MUTINY.
measures he had taken in consequence. " Saturday morn-
ing," he says, " I received a letter signed by about 115 of the
sailors of the Alliance, declaring that they would not raise
the anchor, nor depart from L'Orient, till they had six months'
wages paid them, and the utmost farthing of their prize-
money, including the ships sent into Norway, and until their
legal captain, P. Landais, was restored to them. This mutiny
has undoubtedly been excited by that captain ; probably by
making them believe that satisfaction has been received for
those Norway prizes delivered up to the English," &c., &c.
" That he is concerned in this mutiny he has been foolish
enough to furnish us with proofs, the sailors' letter being not
only enclosed under a cover directed to me in his hand- wri-
ting, but he also, in the same writing, interlined the words,
their legal captain, P. Landais, which happens to contain his
signature. I immediately went to Versailles, to demand the
assistance of government, and on showing the letter, by which
his guilt plainly appeared, an order vv^as immediately granted,
sent away the same evening, for apprehending and imprison-
ing him, and orders were (promised to be) given at the same
time to the commissary of the port to afford you all kind of
assistance to facilitate your departure." The promises tluis
given were very ill kept. The mutiny had now reached the
crisis. On the morning of the 13th June, before going on
shore to superintend the equipment of the Ariel, Jones caused
his appointment to the AlHance to be read on the deck of
that ship, and, addressing the assembled crew, demanded that
whoever had any complaint to prefer against him should now
speak out. " There was," he says, " every appearance of
contentment and subordination ;" and again, " I am certain
the people love me and would readily obey me." The proofs
of this affection were of a very unusual kind. No sooner
had Jones quitted the ship, than Landais came on board and
usurped the command.
As soon as intelligence of this wild measure reached
JONES'S PERPLEXITIES. 1^
Franklin, Landais was ordered to quit the ship, and the offi-
cers were commanded to obey Jones alone. To Jones, who
was in the greatest perplexity, he wrote, " You are likely to
have great trouble. I wish you well through it. You have
shown your abiUties in fighting, — you have now an opportu-
nity of showing the other necessary part, in the character of
a great chief, — your abilities in policy."
Landais, backed and instigated by Lee, and supported by
the officers and seamen, refused to yield one jot ; and, hold-
ing the mandate of Franklin and the arrest of the King alike
in defiance, he resolved to sail for America, captain of the
AUiance. In this singular juncture, Jones posted back to
Versailles, to solicit the assistance of government. Orders,
he was told, had been previously sent to L'Orient to compel
Landais and his crew to obedience, or, if he attempted to quit
the port, to fire on him, and, if necessary, sink the ship.
Confiding in this statement, Jones immediately returned to
L'Orient, and found that the orders which were said to have
preceded him, if they had ever been despatched, had at least
never arrived, — a circumstance somewhat singular, though,
in French diplomacy, by no means unaccountable. The
local authorities, however, with whom Jones, in the course
of his long stay in that port, had acquired considerable influ-
ence, were strongly disposed to support his authority and to
enforce the orders of Franklin. Acting under the sanction of
the American ministers, and supported by the local authori-
ties at L'Orient, as well as by the promises and countenance
of the government, had Jones at this time listened to the
dictates of passion or revenge, irreparable mischief might
have been done, which his magnanimity and prudence
averted.
Basely as he had been used, and irritated as he must have
been, he would not be even the indirect cause of shedding
American blood. It is thus he notices the part he had taken,
and relates the consequences of the mutiny to Franklin :
ltJ4 ACCOUNT OF THE MUTINY.
« L'Orient, June 21, 1780.
« Sir,
" I was detained at Versailles forty hours from the time of
my arrival, and was then informed by M. de Genet, that an
express had been sent from Court with the necessary orders
to the King's officers at L'Orient, respecting Captain Landais
and the Alliance. I found myself here early yesterday
morning, fifty-four hours after leaving Versailles. The Alli-
ance had, the evening and night before, been warped and
towed from the road of L'Orient to Port Louis ; and no
express from Court had arrived here. M. de Thevenard,
the commandant, however, made every necessary prepara-
tion to stop the Alliance, as appears by the enclosed docu-
ment on the subject. He had even sent orders in the evening,
before I was aware, to fire on the Alliance, and sink her to
the bottom, if they attempted to approach and pass the bar-
rier that had been made across the entrance of the port.
Had I even remained silent an hour longer, the dreadful
work would have been done. Your humanity will, I know,
justify the part I acted in preventing a scene that would
have rendered me miserable for the rest of my fife. The
Alliance has this morning been towed and warped through
the rocks, and is now at anchor without, between Port Louis
and Groix. In this situation I at noon sent out Lieutenant
Dale with a letter to Captain Landais, whereof the within is
a copy.
" Yesterday morning the within letter was brought me
from Mr. Lee, though I had never even hinted that his
opinion or advice would be acceptable. He has, however,
pulled oflfthe mask, and, I am convinced, is not a little disap-
pointed that his operations have produced no bloodshed
between the subjects of France and America. Poor man !
" Yesterday everything that persuasion or threatening could
effect was attempted * ^ # * *
LETTER TO A LADY. 105
" M. de Thevenard, on his part, sent the deputy of M.
Sweighauser on board with your letters, under his own covers
to Captain Landais, and to the officers and men of the Alliance.
The one was delivered to Captain Landais, the other to Lieu-
tenant Digges. M. de Thevenard also sent on board an officer
with the King's order to arrest Captain Landais, who refused
to surrender himself. Mr. Lee and his party pretend to justify
their measures, because they say you did not put Captain
Landais under arrest. According to them, you cannot dis-
place him, however great his crimes ! If the government does
not interfere to crush this despicable party, France and
America have much to fear from it. I verily believe them to
be English, at the bottom of their hearts."*
To a lady in Paris, one of the friends he had lately made,
he sent a much fuller account of this unpleasant affair, wishing
no doubt, to stand clear in the opinion of his powerful and
fashionable patrons in the capital, and reasonably concluding
that his exculpatory epistle might make the round of the cir-
cles. " I confess to you," he writes to Madame Tellison,
" that I feel rather ashamed that such an event should have
happened, although, God knows, it was not owing to any fault
of mine. The true reason was, that M. Ray de Chaumont
unjustly detained from the brave Americans, who had so
bravely served in the squadron under my command, not
only their wages, but also their prize-money ; and he has
not, even to this hour, given me the means of paying them
their just claims. One or two envious persons here, taking
advantage of these circumstances, persuaded these poor people
that I had joined M. Ray de Chaumont to detain from them
their just dues, and that it was, besides, my intention to carry
them on new expeditions in Europe, and not to suffer them to
return to their families in America during the w^ar. These
insinuations were false and groundless ; 1 had disapproved
* In a marginal note, affixed to this letter many years afterwards, Jones says,
" In this opinion I was not singular, though perhaps I was mistaken."
166 THE SERAPIS REFITTED.
the conduct of M. Ray de Chaumont so much as neither to
speak or write to him after my return to France. My sole
business at Court was to obtain the free sale of the prizes,
which I effected ; and, far from being then bound on new ex-
peditions in Europe, I was ordered by the board of admiralty
in America to return forthwith to Congress, and had in conse-
quence received the pubhc despatches both from Dr. Franklin
and the Court. The Alliance, however, was hurried out of
this port before the crew had time for reflection ; yet, before
they sailed from the road of Groix, many of them, seeing their
error, refused to weigh anchor, and were carried to sea con-
fined hands and feet in irons. The government of France
had taken measures to stop the ship ; but I interposed, to pre-
vent bloodshed between the subjects of the two allied nations.
I am now again almost ready to sail in the Ariel, and I know,
soon after my arrival in America, that Congress will do me
impartial justice. I will then have the happiness to furnish
you with the account I promised, and the 'circumstances will
be supported by the fullest evidence. I dare promise that it
will then appear that I have only been to blame for having
returned here from Paris without having insisted absolutely on
the previous payment of my men."
Franklin could at this time do no more to support the au-
thority of the officer he had appointed. His anxious thoughts
were in America, occupied with the distressed condition of
Washington's troops. His first object, therefore, was to
remedy as far as possible the mischief done to the public cause
by Landais's mutiny, and the consequent delay in forwarding
the military stores. Jones, however, appears to have felt his
own crippled command at least as pressingly as the exigencies
of the distant troops, and attempted to obtain a larger vessel
than the Ariel.
The Serapis was now refitted. From the hour of her cap-
ture his pride iand his affections had been fixed on this com-
mand, and he very plausibly enumerated to Franklin the
advantages that might result to the public cause, were he
FRANKLIN'S POSITION. 167
enabled, with this vessel armed for war, the Ariel, and certain
American frigates, to undertake some of those daring expe-
ditions he had so often proposed to government. This pro-
ject failed, and he begged for the Terpsichore, another French
ship, and engaged his personal friends to lend their influence
to obtain it for him. Their solicitations did not succeed.
France was now in the heat of the war, — the ministry were
occupied with other subjects, and also evidently a little tired
of the importunity of the Chevalier Jones, — and FrankHn was
disappointed and vexed at the delays which had taken place
in forwarding those stores it had cost him so much to obtain,
and of which the army stood in such pressing want. No
sooner, however, had the Alliance left port, than, without
wasting another thought on the affair, which no thought could
amend, Franklin writes with the most business-like prompti-
tude, "That aflfair is over, and the business is now to get the
goods out as well as we can. I am perfectly bewildered with
the different schemes that have been proposed to me for this
purpose by Mr. Williams, Mr. Ross, yourself, and M. de
Chaumont. Mr. Williams was for purchasing ships. I told
him I had not the money, but he still urges it. You and Mr.
Ross proposed borrowing the Ariel. I joined in the applica-
tion for that ship. We obtained her. She was to convey
all that the AUiance could not take. Now you find her in-
sufficient. An additional ship has already been asked, and
could not be obtained. I think therefore it will be best that
you take as much into the Ariel as you can and depart with
it. For the rest I must apply to the government to contrive
some means of transporting it in their own ships. This is my
present opinion ; and when I have once got rid of this business,
no consideration shall tempt me to meddle again with such
matters, as I never understood them."
Before Jones could get off on this errand, so necessary to
America, but not much calculated, as he felt, to increase his
glory, and therefore, on his part, not very zealously managed,
168 SILAS DEANE.
a change took place in the French Ministry which revived
his hopes. The Marquis de Castries succeeded Sartine at the
head of the marine department, and the virtuous Maurepas
became prime minister. To both of these distinguished
persons Jones lost no time in recommending himself by con-
gratulatory letters ; along with which were transmitted fresh
copies of the maritime projects formerly sent to their prede-
cessors in office. He also wished, before leaving Europe,
to obtain from them, as the persons in actual power, testimo-
nies in his favour, addressed to Congress, equivalent to those
he had obtained from Sartine. His philanthropy, patriotism,
and disinterested services, were once more duly set forth to
the new ministers. He endeavoured to bring Mr. Silas Deane
and Dr. Bancroft into his views, and again employed the in-
fluence of his friend the Duke of Rochefoucault. The ship so
earnestly solicited was not obtained, nor does it appear that
the American ministers concurred in the request.
Though on an after investigation Jones came cl6ar out of
this affair, it is obvious that, had he been half as anxious to
forward the military stores as to serve the republic in a way
more consonant to his own taste, the Ariel might long before
this period have reached the shores of America.
Towards the end of June the Alliance had put to sea, and
Jones still remained in port, when in November accounts
were received of the arrival of that ship at Boston. From
his friend Dr. Cooper of that town Dr. Franklin received an
account of the issue of Lee's factious proceedings, and of
Landais's mutiny, which he instantly transmitted to the person
most likely to sympathize with his feelings regarding that
mortifying affair. The extract of Dr. Cooper's letter was
enclosed to the commodore in a letter from Mr. Temple
Franklin, the grandson and secretary of Frankhn, the minister
himself being at this time confined to bed :
LANDAIS IN BOSTOxN.
16^)
Silas Deane.
" Boston, September 8th, 1780.
*' The Alliance arrived here some weeks ago, with Dr. Lee,
who is still in town. This vessel appears to me to have left
Frg.nce in an unjustifiable manner, though I cannot yet obtain
the particular circumstances. Landais did not hold his com-
mand through the voyage, which was either relinquished by
] him or wrested from him. All the passengers, as well as
15
170 THE ARIEL SAILS.
officers and sailors, are highly incensed against him, and Di
Lee as much as any one. A court of inquiry is now sitting
upon this matter, in which the Doctor has given a full
evidence against the captain, which represents him as
insane.^'
^ It was unfortunate that Dr. Lee was so late in making this
discovery.
The tardy and inauspicious voyage of the Ariel, so long
delayed and so often obstructed, was at length commenced
on the 8th of October. On the following night the ship en-
The Ariel riding out the storm.
countered a tremendous gale, which was felt over almost all
Europe. She rode out the storm for two days dismasted,
and the waters around her covered with the wrecks of other
vessels ; and on the 13th put back, in a very disabled condi-
tion to L'Orient. The arms, the most important part of the
stores, were so much damaged, that it was necessary they
JONES TAKES LEAVE. 171
should be unshipped and left ; and before the vessel could bo
repaired and freshly provisioned, it was the middle of Decem-
ber. Franklin, though too reasonable to complain of a delay
occasioned by the violence of the elements, grudged, never-
theless, the expense to which he had been repeatedly put for
new out- fits, — grudged, but passed the bills drawn on him ;
giving, however, his less considerate friend sundry p;ccau-
tionary hints.
" I suppose," he writes, " you thought it for the good of the
service, as you say you did, to order that great quantity of
medicine for the seventy-four-gun ship, yet, after what I had
written to you of my difficulties, it still seems to me that you
ought not to have done it without informing me and obtain-
ing my consent ; and I have only to be thankful that you did
not order all her stores, sails, and rigging, anchors, powder,
&c. I think you must be sensible, on reflection, that with
regard to me it was wrong, and that it ought not to be expect-
ed from me to be always ready and able to pay the demands
that every officer in the service may saddle me with. This
affair, however, is done with, and I shall say and think no
more about it."
Jones gave such an explanation as was at least meant to
satisfy the frugal statesman; to whom, on the 18th Decern
ber, he oncfe again addressed a farewell letter. He also took
leave once more of his friends and patrons in the capital
One of his valedictory epistles, addressed to Madame D'Or
moy, may be received as the best exposition that can be given
of his feelings at the close of his short bui ibriUiant career in
Europe : — " I cannot leave France without expressing how
much I feel myself honoured and obliged by the generous
attention that you have shown to my reputation in your jour-
nal. I will ever have the most ardent desire to merit the
spontaneous praise of beauty and her pen i and it is impos-
sible to be more grateful than I am for the very polite atten-
tions I lately received at Paris and Versailles. My particular
172 LETTER TO MADAME D'ORMOY.
thanks arc due to you, madame, for the personal proofs I had
received of your esteem and friendship, and for the happiness
you procured me in the society of the charming countess, and
other ladies and gentlemen of your circle. But I have a
favour to ask of you, madame, which I hope you will grant
me. You tell me in your letter, that the inkstand I had the
honour to present you, as a small token of my esteem, shall
be reserved for the purpose of writing what concerns me;
now I wish you to see my idea in a more expanded light, and
would have you make use of that inkstand to instruct man-
kind, and support the dignity and rights of human nature."
" By the enclosed declaration of my otFicers," he writes to
the same lady, " you will see, my dear madam, that I was in
a ticklish situation in the moment while you were employed
in writing to me on the 9th ultimo. It is impossible to be
more sensible than I am of the obligation conferred on me
by your attentions and kind remembrance, joined to that of
the belle comtesse, your fair daughters, and the amiable ladies
and gentlemen of your society. I have returned without
laurels, and, what is worse, without having been able to
render service to the glorious cause of liberty. I know not
why Neptune was in such anger, unless he thought it an
affront in me to appear on his ocean with so insignificant a
force. It is certain, that till the night of the 8th, I did not
fully conceive the awful majesty of tempest and of shipwreck.
I can give you no just idea of the tremendous scene that na-
ture then presented, which surpassed the reach even of poetic
fancy and the pencil. I believe no ship w^as ever before
saved from an equal danger ofl^ the point of the Penmark
^ocks. I am extremely sorry that the young English lady you
mention should have imbibed the national hatred against me.
I have had proofs that many of the first and finest ladies of
that nation are my friends. Indeed I cannot imagine why any
fair lady should be my enemy, since, upon the large scale of
jniversal philanthropy, T feel, acknowledge, and bend before
DELIA. 173
the sovereign power of beauty. The English nation may-
hate me, but / will force them to esteem me too.^'
Jones had other, or at least one other fair correspondent
about this period, who, under the assumed name of Delia,
makes some figure in his private history. The day of the
Amintas and Delias was not then quite gone by ; and, under
this pastoral and poetic appellation, a lady chose to conceal
herself, of whose real name and situation the multitudinous
papers left by the commodore, though they include many of
her letters, afford no satisfactory trace. In America, Delia
has been discovered to be a young lady of the court. In
Scotland we are not so quick-sighted.
But as the claims of love and gallantry were ever post-
poned by the commodore to those of professional duty and
ambition, we shall in so far follow his example as to defer the
introduction of Delia and her fair contemporaries, till a more
convenient season.
Besides the enthusiastic epistles of Delia, Jones carried out
the following letter, already noticed as written by De Sartine
on the order of the King of France, and approved by his
Most Christian Majesty in council. This of itself would have
ensured him that honourable reception in the country of his
adoption, to which his zeal and services gave him yet stronger
claims.
Translation of the Letter addressed to Mr. Hantenydon, President of the Con-
gress of the United States, by M. de Sartine, of the French Marine.
" Versailles, 29th May, 1780.
" Commodore Paul Jones, after having given to all Europe,
and, above all, to the enemies of France and of the United
States, high proofs of his valour and of his talents, is about
to return to America, to give an account to Congress of the
success of his military operations. I am aware, sir, that the
reputation he has so justly acquired will go before him, and
that the history of his campaigns will be sufficient to prove
15*
174 DE SARTINE'S LETTER.
to his countrymen, that his abihties arc equal to his courage ;
but the king has thought it right to join to the pubUc voice
his approbation and his bounty. He has charged me ex-
pressly to make known to you how much he is satisfied with
the services of the commodore, persuaded that Congress will
io him Hke justice. His Majesty gives him a pledge of his
steem in bestowing on him the gift of a sword, which could
not be placed in better hands, and now offers to Congress to
decorate this brave officer with the cross of the order of
Military Merit. His Majesty thinks that these peculiar dis-
tinctions, associating together in the same honours the subject
of two countries united by similar interests, may be regarded
as another tie between them, and excite them to emulation in
the common cause. If, after having approved the conduct
of the commodore, it is judged fit to intrust him with any
new expedition to Europe, his Majesty will see him return
with pleasure ; and he presumes Congress will refuse nothing
that may be deemed necessary to promote the success of his
enterprises. My personal esteem for the commodore induces
me to recommend him in a particular manner to you, sir ;
and I venture to hope that, in the reception which he may
receive from Congress, he will perceive the fruits of the senti-
ments with which he has inspired me.
" I have the honour to be, &c.
JARTINE.
PREPARATIONS FOR ACTION. 175
CHAPTER VIII.
N the 18th February, 1781,
Commodore Jones reached Phi-
ladelphia. The principal ad-
venture of this voyage is thus
related by himself in the me-
morial to the king of France,
and in the third person : —
-" After a variety of rencoun-
ters, he, in the latitude 26*^ north
and longitude of Barbadoes, met with a remarkably fast-sail-
ing frigate belonging to the enemy's navy. Captain Jones
endeavoured to avoid speaking with that ship, and as the
night approached, he hoped to succeed, notwithstanding her
superior sailing. He was, however, mistaken, for next morn-
ing the ships were at less distance asunder than they bad
been the evening before, although during the night the officers
of the watch had always informed Captain Jones the sail con-
tinued out of sight. An action now became unavoidable, and
the Ariel was prepared for it. Everything was thrown over-
board that interfered with the defence and safety of the ship.
Captain Jones took particular care, by the management oi'
sails and helm, to prevent the enemy from discovering the
force of the Ariel, and worked her so well as not to discover
any warlike appearance or preparation. In the afternoon
the Ariel fired now and then a light stern-chaser at the enemy
from the quarter-deck, and continued to crowd sail as if very
much alarmed. This had the desired effect, and the enemy
pursued with the greater eagerness. Captain Jones did not
176 SINGULAR CONVERSATION.
suffer the enemy to come close up till the approach of night,
when, having well examined his force, he shortened sail, to
meet his approach. When the two ships came within hail
of each other they both hoisted English colours. The person
whose duty it was to hoist the pendant on board the Ariel
had not taken care to make the other end of the halliards fast,
to haul it down again to change the colours. This prevented
Captain Jones from an advantageous manoeuvre he had in-
tended, and obliged him to let the enemy range up along the
lee-side of the Ariel, where he saw a battery lighted for action.
A conversation now took place between the two ships, which
lasted near an hour ; by which Captain Jones learned the
situation of the enemy's affairs in America. The captain of
the enemy's ship said his name was John Pindar. His ship
had been constructed by the famous Mr. Peck of Boston, built
at Newbury Port, owned by Mr. Tracey of that place, com-
manded by Captain Hopkins, the son of the late Commodore
Hopkins, and had been taken and fitted out at New York,
and named the Triumph, by Admiral Rodney. Captain Jones
told him he must put out his boat, and come on board and
show his commission, to prove whether or not he really did
belong to the British navy. To this he made some excuses,
because Captain Jones had not told him who he was ; and
his boat, he said, was very leaky. Captain Jones told him to
consider the danger of refusing. Captain Pindar said he
would answer for twenty guns, and that himself and every
one of his people had shown themselves Enghshmen. Captain
Jones said he would allow him five minutes only to make his
reflection. That time being elapsed, Captain Jones backed a
little on the weather-quarter of the enemy, ran close under
her stern, hoisted American colours, and being within short
pistol-shot on the lee-beam of the enemy, began to engage.
It was past seven o'clock, and as no equal force ever exceeded
tne vigorous and regular fire of the Ariel's battery and tops,
the action while it lasted made a glorious appearance. The
ESCAPE OF T[IE PRIZE. 177
Victory of the Arid.
enemy made a feeble resistance for about ten minutes. He
then struck his colours. The enemy then begged for quarter,
and said half of his men were killed. The Ariel's fire ceased ;
and the crew, as usual after a victory, gave cries of joy, to
' show themselves Englishmen.' The enemy filled their sails,
and got on the Ariel's weather-bow before the cries of joy
had ended on board the Ariel. Captain Jones, suspecting the
base design of the enemy,nmmediately set every sail he could
to prevent her escape ; but the enemy had so much advantage
in sailing, that the Ariel could not keep up, and they soon got
out of gun-shot. The English captain may properly be called
a knave, because, after he surrendered his ship, begged for,
and obtained quarter, he basely ran away, contrary to the
laws of naval war and the practice of civiHzed nations. A
conspiracy was discovered among the English part of the
Ariel's crew immediately after sailing from France. During
the voyage every officer, and even the passengers, had been
constantly armed, and kept a regular watch, besides a con-
stant guard with fixed bayonets. After the action with the
Triumph the plot was so far discovered, that Captain Jones
confined tw^enty of the rinofleaders in irons till his arrival
178 JONES IN PHILADELPHIA.
Captain Jones arrived at Philadelphia on the 18th February,
1781, having been absent from America three years, three
months, and eighteen days."
The clamour excited in America by the detention of the
army stores, and the real evils v^^hich had by this means
been occasioned to the public service, compelled Congress to
institute an immediate inquiry into the cause of the delay.
This in common fairness was the more necessary, as Lan-
dais, who was arrested in coming to America with the Alli-
ance, had now been tried, and for ever dismissed the service.
A Board of Admiralty had been for some time organized,
and on this Board devolved the duty of inquiry, while Con-
gress almost simultaneously took up the affair. A string of
questions, forty-seven in number, were proposed by the
Board to Jones, to which he was required to give answers in
writing. He lost no time in complying with this order; nor,
it is to be presumed, in securing such powerful and useful
friends as his brilliant reputation and the testimonials he
brought from Europe had already predisposed in his favour.
Admired and caressed at the Court of Versailles, and more
dreaded by the vulgar of the Enghsh nation than was very
creditable either to their judgment or courage, Paul Jones
could not, at this period of agitation and imbittered hostility,
fail to find friends in America, had his public services been
even less valuable and important than they really were.
His answers to the official interrogataries were on all
points ample, and, it appears, satisfactory; and the subsequent
report of the Board, so far from being condemnatory, was
highly flattering. Another report of the same Board will
show the exact footing on which he now stood.
« Admiralty Office, June 16th, 1781."
" The Board, to whom was referred the letters and other
papers relative to the conduct of John Paul Jones, Esq., beg
leave to report, that they have carefully perused said letters
REPORT OF THE ADMIRALTY. 179
and papers, wherein they find favourable mention is made of
his abiUties as an officer by the Duke de Vauguyon, M. de
Sartine and Dr. FrankHn ; and this is also corroborated by
that valour and intrepidity with which he engaged his Bri-
tannic Majesty's ship, the Serapis, of forty-four cannon,
twelve and eighteen pounders, who, after a severe contest for
for several hours, surrendered to his superior valour, thereby
acquiring honour to himself and dignity to the American
flag.
" The Board therefore humbly conceive that an honourable
testimony should be given to Captain Paul Jones, commander
of the Bon Homme Richard, his officers and crew, for their
many singular services in annoying the enemy on the British
coasts, and particularly for their spirited behaviour in an
engagement with his Britannic Majesty's ship of war, the
Serapis, on the 23d of September, 1779, and obliging her to
surrender to the American flag."
The following is a farther extract from another of these
reports : —
" With regard to Captain Jones, the Board beg leave to
report, that the views of the Marine Committee in sending
Captain Jones, and his views in going in the Ranger to
France, were, that he might take the command of the Indian,
a ship that was building at Amsterdam on a new construc-
tion, under a contract made by the Commissioners of these
States at Paris, and with her, in concert with the Ranger,
annoy the coasts and trade of Great Britain. When he
arrived at Nantes, the Commissioners sent for him to Paris.
After remaining there some time, he was informed that they
had assigned their property in the ship Indian to the King of
France. Captain Jones returned to Nantes, plans and under-
takes a secret expedition in the Ranger," &c. &c. The
report goes on to enumerate the various services of Captain
Jones, and then proceeds, " ever since Captain Jones first
became an officer in the navy of those States, he hath shown
180 SECOND REPORT.
an unremitted attention in planning and executing enterprises
calculated to promote the essential interests of our glorious
cause. That in Europe, although in his expedition through
the Irish Channel in the Ranger he did not fully accomplish
his purpose, yet he made the enemy feel that it is in the
power of a small squadron, under a brave and enterprising
commander, to retaliate the conflagration of our defenceless
towns. That returning from Europe, he brought with him
the esteem of the greatest and best friends of America ; and
hath received from the illustrious monarch of France that
reward of warlike virtue which his subjects receive by a
long series of faithful services or uncommon merit.
" The Board are of opinion that the conduct of Paul Jones
merits particular attention, and some distinguished mark of
approbation from the United States in Congress assembled."
Had the reports been drawn up by himself, or his most
zealous friends, they could not have been more gratifying.
He also received the solemn thanks of Congress, recorded in
the following document : —
"BY THE UNITED STATES TN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED,
" Saturday, April 14th, 1781.
" On the report of a committee consisting of Mr. Varnun,
Mr. Houston, and Mr. Mathews, to which was referred a mo-
tion of Mr. Varnun :
" The United States, in Congress assembled, having taken
into consideration the report of the Board of Admiralty of
the 28th March last, respecting the conduct of John Paul
Jones, Esq., captain in the navy, do
^^ Resolve, That the thanks of the United States in Con-
gress assembled be given to Captain John Paul Jones, for the
zeal, prudence, and intiepidity with which he hath suppoi'ted
the honour of the American flag, for his bold and successful
enterprises to redeem from captivity the citizens of these
States who had fallen under the power of the enemy, and in
LETTER OF WASHINGTON. 181
general for the good conduct and eminent services by which
he has added a lustre to his character and to the American
arms.
" That the thanks of the United States in Congress assem-
bled be also given to the officers and men who have faithfully
served under him from time to time, for their steady affection
to the cause of their country, and the bravery and perseve-
rance they have manifested therein."
The following letter from Washington, of which the
original is preserved among his papers, must have completed
the satisfaction Paul Jones experienced in his honourable
public acquittal : —
"Head Quarters, New Windsor, 15th May, 1781.
" Sir,
" My partial acquaintance with either our naval or com-
mercial affairs makes it altogether impossible for me to ac-
count for the unfortunate delay of those articles of military
stores and clothing which have been so long provided in
France.
" Had I had any particu ar reasons to have suspected you
of being accessary to that delay, which I assure you has not
been the case, my suspicions would have been removed by
the very full and satisfactory answers which you have, to the
best of my knowledge, made to the questions proposed to you
by the Board of Admiralty, and upon which that Board have,
in their report to Congress, testified the high sense which they
entertain of your merits and services.
" Whether our naval affairs have in general been well or
ill conducted would be presumptuous in me to determine.
Instances of bravery and good conduct in several of our
officers have not, however, been wanting. Delicacy forbids
me to mention that 'particular one which has attracted the
admiration of all the world, and which has influenced the
most illustrious monarch, to confer a mark of his favour which
16
182 ARTHUR LEE.
can only be obtained by a long and honourable service, or by
the performance of some brilliant action.
" That you may long enjoy the reputation you have so
justly acquired is the sincere wish of,
Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
Geo. Washington."
In the investigation respecting the delay of the stores,
Franklin had been implicated as well as Jones. He now
stood equally clear ; and, however relucfant Jones might have
been, after Landais had usurped his command, and run away
with his ship, to put to sea with a single vessel, and that of in-
ferior force, the paramount and unceasing anxiety of Frank-
lin to forward the stores, does not by any means admit a
doubt. In the awkward affair of Landais it was accordingly
decided that Frankhn had done nothing for which he had not
ample discretionary powers ; and as an appropriate mark of
the entire confidence of Congress, he was appointed by the
Marine Committee to the sole management of maritime
affairs in Europe. The patron of Landais, the strenuous sup-
porter of constitutional rights, Mr. iVrthur Lee, now thought
proper to abandon his foiyiier opinions, together with his un-
lucky protege, and even to appear among the active friends
of Commodore Jones.
On coming thus clearly and honourably out of this investi
gation, Jones, besides the vote of thanks so gratifying to hi?
feelipgs, obtained the reward which of all others he valued
the highest, a farther opportunity of extending his fame by
active service in the cause of America. By an unanimous
ballot, (for in this manner it seems officers were chosen,) he
was appointed to the command of the America, a fine vessel,
still on the stocks. Almost immediately he went to Ports-
mouth, in New Hampshire, to superintend the building and
equipment of this ship.
JONES AT PORTSMOUTH. 183
This seems to have been one of the few intervals of leisure
and tranquillity which his chequered life afforded. It was
sweetened by the hope of future services to be performed, and
future glories to be acquired. He continued for some months
in the little town of Portsmouth, and, besides maintaining an
extensive correspondence in France and America, found time
to mature and arrange his ideas on the subject of the Ameri-
can navy.
We have not sufficient nautical skill to decide how far the
belief of Jones in the relative superiority of the French to the
English system of naval tactics was even theoretically cor-
rect ; it is enough, that almost every succeeding naval
engagement has practically demonstrated the futility of his
speculations. The ships of England scarcely ever afterwards
met those of her rival save to beat them, till the flag of
France was literally swept from the seas. But though the
opinions of Jones are thus, in all probability, abstractly of no
great value as those of a great naval tactician, they are of
some consequence, as they discover the state of his own
mind, his strong prepossession for whatever was French, and
his jealousy of English naval supremacy. It is but fair to let
him state his reasons for his singular belief.
" The beginning of our navy," he says, " as navies now
rank, wafe so singularly small, that I am of opinion it has no
precedent in history. Was it a proof of madness in the first
corps of sea-officers to have, at so critical a period, launched
out on the ocean with only two armed merchant ships, two
armed brigantines, and one armed sloop, to make war
against such a power as Great Britain ? To be diffident is
not always a proof of ignorance. I had sailed before this
revolution in armed ships and frigates, yet, when I came to
try my skill, I am not ashamed to own I did not find myself
perfect in the duties of a first lieutenant. If midnight study,
and the instruction of the greatest and most learned sea-
officers, can have given me advantages, I am not without
184 NAVAL TACTICS.
them. I confess, however, I have yet to learn ; it is the vi^ork
of many years' study and experience to acquire the high
degree of science necessary for a great sea-officeT< Cruising
after merchant ships, the service in which our frigates have
generally been employed, affords, I may say, no part of the
knowledge necessary for conducting fleets and their opera-
tions. There is now, perhaps, as much difference between a
battle between two ships, and an engagement between two
fleets, as there is between a duel and a ranged battle between
two armies. The English, who boast so much of their navy,
never fought a ranged battle on the ocean before the war
that is now ended. The battle off" Ushant was, on theh' part
Hke their former ones, irregular ; and Admiral Keppell could
only justify himself by the example of Hawke in our remem-
brance, and of Russel in the last century. From that moment
the English were forced to study and to imitate the French
in their evolutions. They never gained any advantage when
they had to do with equal force, and the unfortunate defeat
of Count de Grasse was owdng more to the unfavourable cir-
cumstances of the wind coming ahead four points at the
beginning of the battle, which put his fleet into the order of
echiquier when it was too late to tack, and of calm and cur-
rents afterwards, which brought on an entire disorder, than
to the admiralship, or even the vast superiority or Rodney,
who had forty sail of the line against thirty, and five three-
deckers against one. By the account of some of the French
officers, Rodney might as well have been asleep, not having
made a second signal during the battle, so that every captain
did as he pleased.
" The English are very deficient in signals as well as in
naval tactic. This I know, having in my possession their
present fighting and sailing instructions, which comprehend
all their signals and evolutions. Lord Howe has, indeed,
made some improvements by borrowing from the French.
Rut Kempenfelt, who seems to have been a more promising
GRADES OF OFFICERS. 185
officer, had made a still greater improvement- by the same
means. It was said of Kempenfelt, when he was drowned
in the Royal George, England has lost her Du Pavillion.
That great man, the Chevalier Du Pavillion, commanded the
Triumphant, and was killed in the last battle of Count de
Grasse. France lost in him one of her greatest naval tacti-
cians, and a man who had, besides, the honour (in 1773) to
invent the new system of naval signals, by which sixteen
hundred orders, questions, answers, and informations, can,
without confusion or misconstruction, and with the greatest
celerity, be communicated through a great fleet. It was his
fixed opinion that a smaller number of signals would be insuf-
ficient. A captain of the line at this day must be a tactician.
A captain of a cruising frigate may make shift without ever
having heard of naval tactics. Until I arrived in France,
and became acquainted with that great tactician Count
D'Orvilliers, and his judicious assistant the Chevalier du Pa-
villion, who, each of them, honoured me with instructions
respecting the science of governing the operations, &c. of a
fleet, I confess I was » not sensible how ignorant I had been
before that time of naval tactics."^
However defective the general views of the commodore
might be as a great tactician, his ideas of the proper forma-
tion and internal policy and regulation of a navy for the
young republic of America discover a comprehensive mind,
and a liberal and generous spirit. On these points he had to
contend with no lurking prepossessions. His very prejudices
were here all on the right side.
" From the observations I have made," he says, " and
what I have read, it is my opinion, that in a navy there ought
to be at least as many grades below a captain of the line as
* Jones forgets once writing- Franklin that this illustrious commander
chose rather to permit several English frigates to escape him, than violate
professional etiquette by breaking his line ! This was tactics -with a ven
geance !
16*
186 THE AMERICAN NAVY.
there are below a colonel of a regiment. Even the navy of
France is deficient in subaltern grades, and has paid dearly
for that error in its constitution, joined to another of equal
magnitude, which authorizes ensigns of the navy to take
charge of watch on board ships of the line. One instance
may be sufficient to show this. The Zele, in the night
between the 11th and 12th of April, 1782, ran on board the
Ville de Paris, which accident was the principal cause of the
unfortunate battle that ensued next day between Count de
Grasse and Admiral Rodney. That accident in all proba-
bility would not have happened had the deck of the Zele been
at the time commanded by a steady experienced lieutenant
of the line instead of a young ensign. The charge of the
deck of a ship of the line should, in my judgment, never be
mtrusted to an officer under twenty-five years of age. At
that time of life he may be supposed to have served nine or
ten years, — a term not more than sufficient to have furnished
him with the necessary knowledge for so great a charge. It
is easy to conceive that the minds of officers must become
uneasy, when they are continued too long in any one grade,
which must happen (if regard be paid to the good of the
service) where there are no more subaltern grades than
midshipman and lieutenant. Would it not be wiser to raise
young men by smaller steps, and to increase the number ?
" I have many things to offer respecting the formation of
our navy. We are a young people, and need not be ashamed
to ask advice from nations older and more experienced in
marine affairs than ourselves. This, I conceive, might be
done in a manner that would be received as a compliment
by several, or perhaps all the marine powers of Europe, and
at the same time would enable us to collect such helps as
would be of vast use when we come to form a constitution
for the creation and government of our marine, the establish-
ment and police of our dock-yards, academies, hospitals, &c.
&c., and the general police of our seamen throughout the
THE AMERICAN NAVY. 187
continent. These considerations induced me, on my return
from the fleet of his excellency the Marquis de Vaudreuil, to
propose to you to lay my ideas on the subject before Con-
gress, and to propose sending a proper person to Europe in a
handsome frigate, to display our flag in the ports of the dif- -
ferent marine powers, to ofler them the free use of our ports,
and propose to them commercial advantages, &c., and then
to ask permission to visit their marine arsenals, to be
informed how they are furnished both with men, provision,
materials, and warlike stores, — by what police and officers
they are governed, how and from what resources the officers
and men are paid, &c. — the line of conduct drawn between
the oflficers of the fleet and the officers of the ports, &c. —
also the armament and equipment of the different ships of
war, with their dimensions, the number and qualities of their
officers and men, by what pohce they are governed in port
and at sea, how and from what resources they are fed,
clothed, and paid, &c., and the general police of their sea-
men, and academies, hospitals, &c. &c. If you still object to
my project on account of the expense of sending a frigate
to Europe, and keeping her there till the business can be
effected, I think it may be done, though perhaps not with
the same dignity, without a frigate. My plan for forming a
proper corps of sea-officers is, by teaching them the naval
tactics in a fleet of evolution. To lessen the expense as
much as possible, I would compose that fleet of frigates
instead of ships of the line ; on board of each I would have a
little academy, where the officers should be taught the prin-
ples of mathematics and mechanics, when oflf duty. When
in port, the young officers should be obliged to attend the
academies established at each dock-yard, where they should
be taught the principles of every art and science that is neces-
sary to form the character of a great sea-officer. And every
commission officer of the navy should have free access, and
be entitled to receive instruction gratis at those academies.
188 NEW DISAPPOINTMENT.
All this would be attended with no very great Expense, and
the public advantage resulting from it would be immense. I
am sensible it cannot be immediately adopted, and that we
must first look about for ways and means ; but the sooner it
is adopted the better. We cannot, like the ancients, build a
fleet in a month, and we ought to take example from what
has lately befallen Holland. In time of peace it is necessary
to prepare, and be always prepared, for war by sea. I have
had the honour to be presented with copies of the signals,
tactics, and police, that have been adopted under the different
admirals of France and Spain during the war, and have in
my last campaign seen them put in practice. While I was
at Brest, as well as while I was inspecting the building of the
America, as I had furnished myself with good authors, I
applied much of my leisure time to the study of naval archi-
tecture, and other matters that relate to the establishment and
poHce of dock-yards, &c. I, however, feel myself bound to
say again, I have yet much need to be instructed.''
The ship America, by his exertions, was now nearly com-
pleted, and Jones had once more the immediate prospect of
active service ; but fortune had yet another reverse in store
for him ; or more property, at this time commenced that
series of disappointments and chagrins which, whether in
Europe or America, continued, with brief intermissions, to
pursue him through his subsequent life, till they consigned
him to a premature grave. It appears to have been the fate
of Jones at different epochs of his life, by the energies and
activity of his character, and the impetuosity of his temper,
to have momentarily strained the instruments of his advance-
ment so far beyond the proper pitch, that they violently
recoiled, as if by the counteracting force caused by their
over-tension, on the instant that his vigorous hand was
removed.
The Magnijique, a seventy-four gun ship, belonging to
France, had, by accident or mismanagement, been lost in the
THE AMERICA. 189
harbour of Boston. To make up this loss, and keep then
powerful ally in good humour, Congress did not scruple to strip
Jones of the command so flatteringly bestowed, and this with-
out giving him any equivalent appointment, or any future
pledge. This was the second time he had been disappointed
in a similar way : the America shared the fate of the Indian ;
it was presented by Congress to the Chevalier de la Luzerne,
for the service of his most Christian Majesty. Fifteen months
after his appointment Jones received the following letter from
the Minister of Marine : —
Marine Office, 4th Sept. 1782.
*' Dear Sir,
"The enclosed resolution will show you the destination of
the ship America, Nothing could be more pleasing to me than
this disposition, excepting so far as you are affected by it. I
know you so well as to be convinced that it must give you
great pain, and I sincerely sympathize with you. But although
you will undergo much concern at being deprived of this op-
portunity to reap laurels on your favourite field, yet your re-
gard for France will in some measure alleviate it ; and to this
your good sense will naturally add the delays which must
have happened in fitting the ship for sea. I must entreat you
to continue your inspection until she is launched, and to urge
forward the buisness. When that is done, if you w\\\ come
hither I will explain to you the reasons which led to this mea-
sure, and my view^s of employing you in the service of your
country. You will on your route have an opportunity of con-
fering w^ith the general on the blow you mentioned to me in
one of your letters." * * * * *
Whatever might have been the feelings of Jones on this
abrupt and painful communication, they w^ere stifled by pru-
dence and patriotism ; and the cheerfulness and magnanimity
with which he submitted to this stroke elicited the subjoined
etter from Morris: —
190 MR. MORRIS'S LETTER.
" Marine Office, 4th October, l782.
" Sir,
" I have received your letter of the 22d of last month. The
sentiments contained in it will always reflect the highest ho-
nour upon your character. They have made so strong an im-
pression upon my mind, that I immediately transmitted an
extract of your letter to Congress. I doubt not but they will
view it in the same manner that I have done."
Jones, on the request of the minister, continued to superii>-
tend the equipment of the ship; but as honourable employment,
whether in the sea or land service, was ever his favourite
object, he now solicited the leave of Congress to go on board
the French fleet, then cruising in the American seas, for im-
provement in his profession. This was given in the most
gracious manner, in the subjoined resolution: —
BY THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED.
"Wednesday, December 4th, 1782.
" Resolved, That the agent of marine be informed that Con-
gress, having a high sense of the merit and services of Captain
John Paul Jones, and being disposed to favour the zeal mani-
fested by him to acquire improvement in the line of his pro-
fession, do grant the permission which he requests, and that
the said agent be instructed to recommend him accordingly
to the countenance of his Excellency the Marquis de Vau-
dreuil."
The languor of inactivity, and the disappointment which fol-
lowed, were also somew^hat soothed by the receipt, from time
to time, of letters, of which the following from La Fayette
and Adams may furnish a sample : —
"Alliance, off Boston, December, 1781.
" I have been honoured with your polite favour, my dear
Paul Jones ; but before it reached me I already was on board
the Alliance, and every minute expecting to put to sea. It
JOHN ADAMS'S LETTER. 191
would have afforded me great satisfaction to pay my respects
to the inhabitants of Portsmouth, and the State in which you
are for the present. As to the pleasure to take you by the
^hand, my dear Paul Jones, you know my affectionate senti-
ments, and my very great regard for you, so that I need not
add anything on that subject.
" Accept my best thanks for the kind expressions in your
letter. His Lordship's downfall* is a great event, and the
greater, as it was equally and amicably shared by the two
allied nations. Your coming to the army I had the honour
to command would have been considered as a very flattering
compliment to me who love you and know your worth. I
am impatient to hear you are ready to sail, and I am of
opinion we ought to unite under you every continental ship
we can muster, with such a body of well-appointed marines
as might cut a good figure ashore ; and then give you plenty
of provision, and carte blanche.
" I am sorry I cannot see you. I also had many things to
tell you; write me by good opportunities, but not often in
ciphers, unless the matter is very important," &c. &c.
» Hague, 12th August, 1732.
** Dear Sir,
" I had yesterday the pleasure of receiving your favour
of the 10th December last. ******
The command of the America could not have been more ju-
diciously bestowed ; and it is with impatience I wish her at
sea, where she will do honour to her name. Nothing gives
me so much surprise, or so much regret, as the inattention of
my countrymen to their navy. It is to us a bulwark as essen-
tial as it is to Great Britain. It is less costly than armies,
and more easily removed from one of the United States tc
the other. ********
* Lord Cornwallis.
1^2
JOHN ADAMS'S LETTER,
John Adams.
" Every day shows that the Batavians have not wholly lost
their^ancient character. They are always timid and slow
in adopting their political systems ; but always firm and able
in support of them ; and always brave and active in war.
They, have hitherto been restrained by their chiefs; but if
the war continue, they will show that they are possessed of
the spirit of liberty, and that they have lost none of their
great qualities.
JONES APPOINTED AGENT FOR PRIZES. 193
" Rodney's victory has intoxicated Britain again to such a
degree, that I think there will be no peace for some time.
Indeed, if I could see a prospect of having a half-dozen line-
of-battle ships under the American flag, commanded by Com-
modore Paul Jones, engaged with an equal British force, 1
apprehend the event would be so glorious for the United
States, and lay so sure a foundation for their prosperity, that
it would be a rich cohipensation for a continuance of the war.
However, it does noji'depend upon us to finish it There
is but one way, and tha^ is Burgoynizing Carlton in New
York. * * ** * *•*##
" John Adams."
Jones went on board the French fleet according to the
permission granted by Congress ; but peace put a sudden end
to his nautical studies in this school ; and a few complimentary
letters are the sole trophies that remain of his bloodless cam-
paign. These testimonies of his talents and conduct were
addressed by the Marquis de Vaudreuil to Mr. Morris, the
Minister of the American Marine, and to the Chevalier de
la Luzerne, the French Ambassador to the United States.
That impatience of inactivity, which appears to have been
an inherent quality in the mind of Jones, and considerations
of private interest and friendship, now induced him to solicit
an appointment in Europe, as agent for prize-money, of which
large sums were still due to himself, and to his officers and
men, both in France and Denmark. Their claims had indeed
never been settled, and the arrangement was no easy matter.
Pursuant to a resolution of Congress, he was, on the 1st No-
vember, 1783, formally appointed " agent for all prizes taken
in Europe under his own command." On his arrival in Paris,
his mission was sanctioned by Franklin, still minister plenipo-
tentiary at Versailles, and he proceeded in the affair, which
had baffled out other negotiators, with his characteristic
vigour and perseverance. We are well warranted in pre-
17
194 JOHN LED YARD. •
suming that Jones would infinitely rather have re-visited
Europe at this time, commander of that gallant experimental
frigate which he had so earnestly recommended Congress to
equip, than in the comparatively tame character he now held.
His embassy, for such he loved to consider it, proved tedious,
and even vexatious. His old antagonist, M. de Chaumont,
had become insolvent ; the French finances were already in
great disorder, and disinclination existed in every department
to an adjustment or liquidation of the claims of the captors.
The opposition of Chaumont was peculiarly irritating to Jones,
who lost no opportunity of reviUng and exposing him in his
frequent correspondence with the Marshal de Castris.
While this affair was in progress, Jones renewed and ex-
tended his former social connexions in Paris ; and for three
years, at this time, supported a considerable figure in the
fashionable society of that capital, both for the gratification
of his personal feelings and the advancement of his mission.
In this interval he also formed several projects of commercial
speculations, on the scale suited to the enterprising character
of his mind, and in concert with different individuals of capital
and influence. One of these projects, of which a sketch still
remains among his papers, was to establish a fur-trade be-
tween the north-west coast of America and China, or Japan.
The person fixed on to act as supercargo in this adventurous
expedition was the celebrated John Ledyard, with whom it
probably originated. It went so far, that Jones was on the
point of purchasing a ship ; but failed, partly from the jealousy
of the Spanish government, and partly from private causes.
The Algerines, and the sufferings of their American cap-
tives, were another object of his anxious attention, and one of
which he never lost sight for the short remainder of his life,
though he was not able to eflfect much in the behalf of this
unfortunate portion of his countrymen.
Another of Jones's amusements at this time was having his
bust taken, which was afterwards somewhat ostentatiously
JON^JS RETURNS TO AMERICA. 195
presented to a favoured few in America. He also handed
round the journal of his short and brilliant campaign, and re-
ceived in return the usual requital of letters of compHment,
which, when proceeding from such characters as Malsherbes
and D'Estaing, any man may be pardoned for overvaluing.
A compliment was never thrown away on the commodore,
and seldom forgotten.
Tedious as the affair of the prize-money proved, an equita-
ble and even liberal adjustment was obtained in France long
before any prospect of a settlement of the claims on Den-
mark, which power had shuffled for eight years with con-
siderable dexterity, and continued to do so still.
With his mission thus far accomplished, Jones, in the sum-
mer of 1787, returned to America, giving the following
reasons for not at this time proceeding to Copenhagen : —
To His Excellency John Jay, Esq., Minister of Foreign Affairs.
" New York, July 8th, 1787.
« Sir,
" The application I made for a compensation for our prizes
through the Danish minister in London not having succeeded,
it was determined between Mr. Jefferson and myself, that the
proper method to obtain satisfaction was for me to go in per-
son to the Court of Copenhagen. It was necessary for me
to see the Baron de Blome, before I could leave France on
that business, and he being absent on a tour in Switzerland,
did not return to Paris, till the beginning of last winter. I
left Paris in the spring, and went as far as Brussels on my
way to Copenhagen, when an unforeseen circumstance in my
private affairs rendered it indispensable for me to turn about
and cross the ocean. My private business here being already
finished, I shall in a few days re-embark for Europe, in order
to proceed to the court of Denmark. It is my intention to
go by the w^ay of Paris, in order to obtain a letter to the
French minister at Copenhagen, from the Count de Mont-
morin, as the one I obtained is from the Count de Vergennes.
] 96 JONES'S LETTER TO JOHN JAY.
]t would be highly flattering to me if I could carry a letter
with me from Congress to his Most Christian Majesty, thank-
ing him for the squadron he did us the honour to support un-
der our flag. And on this occasion, sir, permit me, with be-
coming diffidence, to recall the attention of my sovereign to
the letter of recommendation I brought with me from the
court of France, dated 30th May, 1780. It would be pleas-
ing to me if that letter should be found to merit a place on
the journals of Congress. Permit me also to entreat that
Congress will be pleased to read the letter I received from the
minister of marine, when his Majesty deigned to bestow on
me a golden-hilted sword, emblematical of the happy alliance,
— an honour which his Majesty never conferred on any other
foreign officer. I owed the high favour I enjoyed at the
court of France, in a great degree to the favourable testi-
mony of my conduct which had been communicated by his
Majesty's ambassador, under whose eye I acted in the most
critical situation in the Texel, as well as to the public opinion
of Europe. And the letter with which I was honoured by
the prime minister of France, when I was about to return to
America, is a clear proof that we might have drawn still
greater advantages from the generous disposition of our ally,
if our marine had not been lost whilst I was, under perplex-
ing circumstances, detained in Europe, after I had given the
Count de Maurepas my plan for forming a combined squadron
of ten or twelve sail of frigates, supported by the America,
with a detachment of French troops on board ; the whole at
the expense of his Majesty.
" It is certain that I am much flattered by receiving a gold
sword from the most illustrious monarch now living ; but I
had refused to accept his commission on two occasions before
that time, when some firmness was necessary to resist the
temptation. He was not my sovereign ; I served the cause
of freedom ; and honours from my sovereign would be more
pleasing. Since the year 1775, when I displayed the Ameri-
JONES'S CLAIMS. 197
can flag for the first time with my own hands, I have been
constantly devoted to the interests of America. Foreigners
have, perhaps, given me too much credit, and this may have
raised my ideas of my services above their real value ; but
my zeal can never be over-rated.
" I should act inconsistently if I omitted to mention the
dreadful situation of our unhappy fellow-citizens in slavery
at Algiers. Their almost hopeless fate is a deep reflection on
our national character in Europe. I beg leave to influence
the humanity of Congress in their behalf, and to propose that
some expedient may be adopted for their redemption. A
fund might be raised for that purpose by a duty of a shilling
per month from seamen's wages throughout the continent, and
I am persuaded that no difficulty would be made to that
requisition.
I have the honour to be,
Sir, &c., &c.
" Paul Jones."
The manner in which Jones had divided the quotas, and
the magnitude of his private claims for personal expenses
while engaged in this service, did not satisfy the Board of
Treasury of the United States, and their report highly
offended him. He, however, made out what, allowing for a
considerable alloy of self-eulogium, inseparable from all his
vindicatory writings, may be called a triumphant case.
*' The settlement," he says, " that I made wdth the court of
France had first Dr. Franklin's and afterwards Mr. Jeffer-
son's approbation, in every stage and article of the business ;
and I presume it will be found, at least so far as depended on
me, to merit that of the United States. The Board of
Treasury have been pleased in their report to treat me as a
mere agent, though employed in that delicate national con-
cern. In France I was received and treated by the king and
his ministers as a general officer and a special minister from
17*
198 JONES'S CLAIMS.
Congress. The credit with which I am honoured as an
officer, in the opinion of Europe, and the personal intimacy I
have with many great characters at Paris, with my exclusive
knowledge of all circumstances relative to the business, en-
sured me a success which no other man could have obtained.
My situation subjected me to a considerable expense. I went
to court much oftener, and mixed with the great much more
frequently, than our minister plenipotentiary, yet the gentlemen
in that situation consider their salary of two thousand a year
as scarcely adequate to their expenses." But the reader is
already so familiar with the services of the commodore to
the public cause of America, that we spare them the repeti-
tion which follows, and pass to the issue of this altercation,
which was a resolution of Congress, passed a few days after-
wards, declaring his distribution of the quotas valid, and
allowing him the sum claimed as expended by him on this
service. This was 47,972 livres, instead of the usual com-
mission on sums recovered, which would not nearly have
defrayed his expenses.
To complete his triumph over the Board of Treasury,
Congress, in a few days afterwards, unanimously resolved
" that a gold medal should be struck, and presented to Cheva-
lier J. Paul Jones, in commemoration of the valour and bril-
liant services of that officer while in command of a squadron
of French and American ships, under the flag and commis-
sion of the States of America." It was farther resolved that
a letter should be written to his Most Christian Majesty ; and
accordingly, furnished with the following letter, Jones left
the shores of America, which he was destined never again to
revisit :
" To His Most Christian Majesty^ Louis^ King of France and Navarre.
*' Great and beloved Friend !
" We, the United States in Congress assembled, in con-
sideration of the distinguished marks of approbation with
which your Majesty has been pleased to honour the Chevalier
LETTER OF CONGRESS. 199
John Paul Jones, as well as from a sense of his merit, have
unanimously directed a medal of gold to be struck and pre-
sented to him, in commemoration of his valour and brilliant
services while commanding a squadron of French and Aojeri-
can ships, under our flag and commission, off* the coast of
Great Britain, in the late war.
" As it is his earnest desire to acquire knowledge in his pro-
fession, we cannot forbear requesting of your Majesty to per-
mit him to embark in your fleets of evolution, where only it
will be probably in his power to acquire that degree of
knowledge which may hereafter render him most extensively
useful.
" Permit us to repeat to your Majesty, our sincere assur-
ances, that the various and important benefits for which we
are indebted to your friendship will never cease to interes* us
in whatever may concern the happiness of your Majesty,
your family, and people. We pray God to keep you, our
great and beloved friend, under his holy protection.
" Done at the city of New York, the 16th day of October,
in the year of our Lord 1787, and of our Sovereignty
and Independence the 12th."
It is not probable, though just possible, that, before this last
departure for Europe, Jones was aware, that, in conversation
with M. de Simolin, the Russian ambassador at Paris, Mr.
Jeflferson had proposed him to serve Russia in the Black Sea.
This conversation arose in consequence of the disasters which
had befallen her Imperial Majesty's fleet in a tempest in the
month of September of that year. During the late negotia-
tions about the prize-money, Jones had come in close contact
with Mr. Jefferson, who immediately succeeded to Franklin
as ambassador, and had gained his friendship and esteem.
Though he might not be aware thus early of this private
treaty concerning him, there is no room to doubt that, with
all the indifference and coquettish reluctance he afterwards
200
JONES IN LONDON
Thomas Jefferson.
thought fit to affect, he was from the first moment dazzled
and infatuated by the prospects which thus opened so unex-
pectedly upon him in a new career of glory and distinction.
He landed at Dover from stress of weather, and, after spend-
ing a few days in London, and making certain arrano^ements
with the American ambassador there, respecting the Danish
claims, went to Paris, and was there at least informed by Mr.
JONES IN COPENHAGEN. 201
Jefferson of the high destinies which probably awaited him
in Russia. He accordingly deferred delivering the letter
which he bore from Congress to his nnost Christian Majesty,
ill a more convenient season, and set out for Copenhagen in
-nid-winter, ostensibly only to solicit indemnification for the
prizes so long before delivered up to the English minister, but
in reality to draw a step nearer to St. Petersburgh. There is
no evidence that the court of Russia had ever thought of John
Paul Jones as a naval commander till M. de Simolin had
written home, " that with the chief command of the fleet, and
carte blanche, he would undertake that in a year Paul Jones
would make Constantinople tremble."
Jones was furnished with letters to the French ambassador
at Copenhagen, and other influential persons, and gives this
account of his reception in that capital : —
" I have been so much indisposed since my arrival here the
4th, from the fatigue and excessive cold I suffered on the road,
that I have been obliged to confine myself almost constantly
to my chamber. I have kept my bed for several days ; but I
now feel myself better, and hope the danger is over. On my
^arrival I paid my respects to the minister of France. He
received me with great kindness ; we went, five days ago, to
the minister of foreign affairs. I was much flattered with my ,
reception, and our conversation was long and very particular
respecting America and the new constitution, of which I pre-
sented a copy. He observed, that it had struck him as a very
dangerous power to make the president commander-in-chief:
in other respects it appeared to please him much, as leading
to a near and sure treaty of commerce between America and
Denmark. It was a day of pubHc business, Snd I could not
do more than present your letter. I shall follow the business
closely. In a few days, when I am re-estabhshed in health,
I am to be presented to the whole court, and to sup with the
King. I shall after that be presented to all the corps diplo-
matique and other persons of distinction here. I am infinitely
202 JONES IN COPENHAGEN.
indebted to the attentions I receive from the minister of France
I made the inquiry you desired in Holland, and should ther
have written to you in consequence, had I not been assured
by authority, (M. Van Siophorst,) that I could not doubt that
letters had been sent you on the subject, that could not fe^il of
giving you satisfacton. M. Van Stophorst was very obliging.
At Hamburgh I ordered the smoked beef you desired to be
sent to you, to the care of the American agent at Havre de
Grace ; you have nothing to do but receive it, paying what
little charges may be on it. My ill health and fatigue on the
road hindered me from preparing the extract of the engage-
ment. When you see M. Littlepage, I pray you to present
my kind compliments. It is said here, that the Empress con-
fides the commerce of her fleet, that will pass the Sound, to
Admiral Greig ; and that he means to call at an English port
to take provisions, &c. The Hamburgh papers, I am told,
have announced the death of Dr. Franklin. I shall be ex
tremely concerned if the account prove true — God forbid 1"
A subsequent letter states, —
*' Yesterday his excellency the Baron de la Houge, minister
plenipotentiary of France at this court, did me the honour to
present me publicly to his Majesty, the Royal Family, and
chief personages at the royal palace here.
" 1 had a very polite and distinguished reception. The
Queen Dowager conversed with me for some time, and said
the most civil things. Her majesty has a dignity of person
and deportment which becomes her well, and which she has
the secret to reconcile with great affability and ease. The
Princess Royal is a charming person, and the graces are so
much her own, that it is impossible to see and converse with
her without paying her that homage which artless beauty
and good nature will ever command. All the Royal Family
spoke to me except the King, who speaks to no person when
presented. His Majesty saluted me with great complaisance
at first, and as often afterwards as we met in the course of
LETTER TO COUNT BERNSTORF. 203
. the evening. The Prince Royal is greatly beloved and ex-
tremely affable ; he asked me a number of pertinent questions
respecting America. I had the honour to be invited to sup
with his Majesty and the Royal Family. The company at
table (consisting of seventy ladies and gentlemen, including
the Royal Family, the ministers of state, and foreign ambas-
sadors) vi^as very brilliant."
But this flattering reception, and abundance of diplomatic
courtesy, did not long satisfy the negotiator, who was more-
over engaged in another game with Baron Krudner, the
Russian Envoy at this court, which interested him far more
deeply. He was, in short, impatient to reach the goal of his
new-sprung hopes, St. Petersburgh, and accordingly addressed
Count Bernstorf in his best style of diplomacy : — <
Captain Paul Jones to Count Bernstorf.
" Copenhagen, 24th March, 1788.
" From the act of Congress, (the act by which I am honoured
with a gold medal,) I had the honour to show your Excellency
the 21st of this month, as well as from the conversation that fol-
lowed, you must be convinced that circumstances do not permit
me to remain here ; but that I am under the necessity, either to
return to France or to proceed to Russia. — As the minister
of the United States of America at Paris gave me the perusal
of the packet he wrote by me, and which I had the honour
to present to you on my arrival here, it is needlees to go into
any detail on the object of my mission to this court ; which
Mr. Jefferson has particularly explained. The promise you
have given me, of a prompt and explicit decision, from this
Court, on the act of Congress of the 25th of October last, in-
spires me with full confidence. I have been very particular
in communicating to the United States all the polite attentions
with which L have been honoured at this Court ; and they will
learn with great pleasure the kind reception I had from you.
I felicitated myself on being the instrument to settle the deli-
204 CORRESPONDENCE
cate national businesjs in question, with a minister who con-
ciliates the views of the wise statesman with the noble senti-
ments and cuhivated mind of the true philosopher and man of
letters."
Paul Jones to Count Bernsiorf.
"Copenhagen, Ma-rch 30, 1788.
" Your silence on the subject of my mission from the
United States to this court leaves me in the most painful
suspense ; the more so, as I have made your Excellency ac-
quainted with the promise I am under to proceed as soon as
possible to St. Petersburgh. This being the ninth year since
the three prizes reclaimed by the United States were seized
upon in the port of Bergen, in Norway, it is to be presumed
that this court has long since taken an ultimate resolution
respecting the compensation demand made by Congress.
Though I am extremely sensible of the favourable reception
with which I have been distinguished at this court, and am
particularly flattered by the polite attentions with which you
have honoured me at every conference ; yet I have remarked,
with great concern, that you have never led the conversation
to the object of my mission here. A man of your hberal
sentiments will not, therefore, be surprised, or offended at my
plain dealing, when I repeat that I impatiently expect a
prompt and categorical answer, in writing, from this Court,
to the act of Congress of the 25th of October last. Both my
duty and the circumstances of my situation constrain me to
make this demand in the name of my sovereign the United
States of America ; but I beseech you to believe, that though
I am extremely tenacious of the honour of the American flag,
vet my personal interest in the decision I now ask would
never have induced me to present myself at this Court. You
are too just, sir, to delay my business here ; which would put
me under the necessity to break the promise I have made to
her Imperial Majesty, conformable to your advice.*'
WITH COUNT BERNSTORF. 205
Count Bernstorf to Paul Jones.
" Copenhagen, April 4, 17S8.
" Sir,
" You have requested of me an answer to the letter you
did me the honour to remit me from Mr. Jefferson, minister
plenipotentiary of the United States of America, near his
most Christian Majesty. I do it with so much more pleasure,
as you have inspired me with as much interest as confidence,
and this occasion appears to me favourable to make known
the sentiments of the King, my master, on the objects to
which we attach so much importance. Nothing can be
farther from the plans and the wishes of his majesty than to
let fall a negotiation which has only been suspended in con-
sequence of circumstances arising from the necessity of ma-
turing a new situation, so as to enlighten himself on their re-
ciprocal interests, and to avoid the inconvenience of a pre-
cipitate and imperfect arrangement. I am authorized, sir, to
give you, and through you to Mr. Jeflferson, the word of the
1 King, that his majesty will renew the negotiation for a treaty
I of amity and commerce in the forms already agreed upon,
I at the instant that the new constitution (that admirable plan,
' so worthy of the wisdom of the most enlightened men) will
have been adopted by the States, to which nothing more was
I wanted to assure to itself a perfect consideration. If it has
' not been possible, sir, to discuss, definitively with you, neither
I the principal object nor its accessories, the idea of eluding
I the question, or of retarding the decision, had not the least
I part in it. I have already had the honour to express to you,
I in our conversations, that your want of plenipotentiary powers
[from Congress was a natural and invincible obstacle. It
fwould be, likewise, contrary to the established custom to
change the seat of negotiation, which has not been broken
oflf, but only suspended, thereby to transfer it from Paris to
Copenhagen.
18
206 CORRESPONDENCE WITH COUNT BERNSTORF.
" I have only one favour to ask of you, sir, that you
would be the interpreter of our sentiments in regard to the
United States. It would be a source of gratification to me
to think that what I have said to you on this subject carries
with it that conviction of the truth which it merits. We de-
sire to form with them connexions, solid, useful and essential ;
we wish to establish them on bases natural and immovable.
The momentary clouds, the incertitudes, which the misfor-
tunes of the times brought with them, exist no longer. Wo
should no longer recollect it, but to feel in a more lively man-
ner the happiness of a more fortunate period ; and to show
ourselves more eager to prove the dispositions most proper
to effect an union, and to procure reciprocally the advantages
which a sincere alliance can afford, and of which the two
countries are susceptible. These are the sentiments which I
can promise you, sir, on our part, and we flatter ourselves to
find them likewise in America ; nothing, then, can retard the
conclusion of an arrangement, which I am happy to see so
far advanced."
Paul Jones to Count Bernstorf.
"Copenhagen, April 5, 1788.
" I pray your Excellency to inform me when I can have
the honour to wait on you, to receive the letter you have
been kind enough to promise to write me, in answer to the
act of Congress of the 25th October last. As you have told
me that my want of plenipotentiary powers to terminate ulti-
mately the business now on the carpet, between the Court and
the United States, has determined you to authorize the Baron
de Blome, to negotiate and settle the same with Mr. Jefferson
at Paris, and to conclude, at the same time, an advantageous
treaty of commerce between Denmark and the United States,
— my business here will of course be at an end when I shall
have received your letter and paid you my thanks in person
for the very poUte attentions with which you have honoured
me."
I
LETTER OF BARON KRUDNER. 207
From Baron Krudner, shortly after his arrival, Jones
received the following letter, which of itself denotes a fore-
gone conclusion, and his acceptance of the invitation of
Russia : —
(Translation.)
" Sir,
" I am much disappointed at not meeting you at Court, as
I had promised myself, but a slight indisposition prevented
me from going abroad ; besides, I have been agreeably occu-
pied in writing letters. My Sovereign will learn with plea-
sure the acquisition which she has made in your great talents.
I have her commands for your acceptance of the grade of
Captain Commandant, with the rank of Major General, in
her service, and that you should proceed as soon as your
affairs permit ; the intention of her Imperial Majesty being to
give you a command in the Black Sea, and under the orders
of Prince Potemkin, from the opening of the campaign. The
immortal glory by which you have illustrated your name
cannot make you indifferent to the fresh laurels you must
gather in the new career which opens to you. I have the
honour of being on this occasion the interpreter of those sen-
timents of esteem with which for a long period your brilhant
exploits have inspired her Imperial Majesty. Under a Sove-
rergn so magnanimous^ in pursuing glory you need not doubt
of the most distinguished rewards, and that every advantage
of fortune will await you," &c. &c.
This was so far w^ell, but did not entirely come up to the
high-raised expectations of Jones. In a letter to Jefferson
about this same time, he says, " Before you can receive this,
M. de Simolin will have informed you that your proposal to
him, and his application on that idea, have been well received.
The matter is communicated to me here, in the most flatter-
ing terms, by a letter I have received from his Excellency
tlie Baron de Krudner." This is indeed perfectly contradic
208 LETTER OF BARON KRUDNER.
tory of the statement Jones gives in the introduction to his
Journal of the Campaign of the Liman, where the proposal
of M. de Simolin is represented as quite spontaneous, and
treated by himself at first as chimerical ; but this is evidently
the correct one. " There seems," he continues, " to remain
some difficulty respecting the letter of M. de Simolin's propo-
sal, though it is accepted in substance ;" he then expresses
his gratitude to the Russian Ambassador, and to Mr. Little-
page, who had contributed so materially to his success in
this affair. In a subsequent letter to Jefferson, written imme-
diately before leaving Copenhagen, after enumerating his
services, and mentioning what they might have been had
he possessed more ample diplomatic powers, he introduces
the subject nearest his heart. Russia had demurred to
his demand of the rank of Rear-Admiral. " If Congress," he
says, " should think I deserve the promotion that was pro-
posed when I was in America, and should condescend to
confer on me the grade of Rear-Admiral, from the day I
took the Serapis, (23d September, 1779, exactly nine years
before,) I am persuaded it would be very agreeable to the
Empress, who now deigns to offer me an equal rank in her
service, although I never had the honour to draw my sword
in her cause, nor to do any other act that could merit her
imperial benevolence." He afterwards continues : " The
mark I mentioned of the approbation of that honourable
body, (Congress) w^ould be extremely flattering to me in the
career I am now to pursue, and would stimulate all my ambi-
tion to acquire the necessary talents to merit that, and even
greater favours at a future day. I pray you, Sir, to explain
the circumstances of my situation ; and be the interpreter of
my sentiments to the United States in Congress. I ask for
nothing, and beg leave to be understood only as having hinted
what is natural to conceive, that the mark of approbation I
mentioned could not fail to be infinitely serviceable to my
views and success in the country where I am going." Ser-
JONES'S ANSWER. 009
viceable this piece of idle distinction might have been in
smoothing the difficulties thrown in the way of his obtaining
the rank of Rear- Admiral, for which he stipulated on enter-
ing the Russian service, and which, as appears from his
former letter to Jefferson, and from the letter of Baron Krud-
ner, given above, was refused at the outset. Though not
disposed to break off his engagement, neither was he willing
to give up his claims to the desired grade without a strenuous
effort. He immediately replied to the Baron, going over the
whole ground : — " I am extremely flattered," he says, " by
the obliging things expressed in the letter your Excellency
has done me the honour to write me yesterday. The very
favourable sentiments with which my zeal for the cause of
America, rather than my professional skill, has inspired her
Imperial Majesty, fills me with an irresistible desire to merit
the precious opinion with which her Majesty deigns to honour
me. Though I cannot conceive the reason why any diffi-
culty should be made to my being admitted into the marine
of her Imperial Majesty as Rear- Admiral, a rank to which 1
have some claim, and that it should at the same time be pro-
posed to give me the grade of Major-General, to which I
have no title, it is not my intention to withdraw from the
engagement which you have formed in my name, in the
letter you addressed your Court on the 23d current. You
will be convinced by the papers I have the honour to submit
to your inspection, that I am not an adventurer in search of
fortune. You will discover, I presume, that my talents have
been considerable ; but that, loving glory, I am perhaps too
much attached to honours, though personal interest is an idol
to w^hich I have never bowed the knee. The unbounded
admiration and profound respect which I have long felt for
the glorious character of her Imperial Majesty, forbids the
idea that a sovereign so magnanimous should sanction any
arrangement that may give pain at the outset to the man she
deigns to honour with her notice, and who wishes to devote
18*
210 JONES AT ST. PETERSBURGH.
himself entirely to her service. A conjoined command is
hurtful, and often fatal in military operations. There is no
military man who is so entirely master of his passions as to
keep free of jealousy and its consequences in such circum-
stances. Being quite a stranger, I have more to fear from a
conjoined command than any other officer in the service of
her Imperial Majesty. I cannot imagine why her Majesty
should think it best to divide the command on the Black Sea ;
and if the direction of that department be already confided to
an officer of sufficient ability and experience, I do not seek
to interfere with his command."
Jones was already aware of the appointment of the Prince
of Nassau, and even thus early foresaw many of the probable
difficulties of his situation ; but he had that confidence in
himself which gave him assurance of triumphing over them,
and proceeded, if not blindfold, yet determined not to see.
We leave to his ow^n narrative the account of his almost
romantic journey from Copenhagen to St. Petersburgh. In
that capital he was received with a distinction which might
have turned the soundest head. His very manner of approach
had disposed people to gaze on the American hero as a won-
der; his door was besieged with carriages, and his table
loaded with invitations. In short, he was now in Russia, and
the man whom, for the lime, the Empress delighted to honour ;
the expected conqueror of the Turks ; and it might be, a
future Potemkin.*
At this curiously-timed juncture he received a patent from
the King of Denmark, granting him for life an annual pen-
sion of 1500 Danish crowais, "for the respect he had shown
to the Danish flag while he commanded in the North Seas."
* The cards of many of the Russian nobility received at this time, and of
tlie whole host of Members of Legation, Envoys, Residents, &c., in short, all
the component parts of a grreat court, still remain among- the papers of Paul
Jones, who through life seems to have been peculiarly diligent in the accumu-
lation of such " frail memorials."
PENSION NOT PAID. 211
To pension the agent whose claims for his constituents are
deferred or evaded, is at all times a somewhat suspicious
circumstance ; though this grant being unexpected and unso
hcited, Jones stands clear in what he himself justly calls '' an
embarrassing situation." It was three years before he even
mentioned this grant to his American friends ; and had his
affairs prospered, it is probable he never would have looked
after it. As it was, when his large expenditure in Russia
made it necessary to draw^ on this fund, which he did with
the sanction of certain American gentlemen, whose advice
he requested, he never received a single crown of the sponta-
neous royal grant thus pressed upon him.
For a fortnight Jones remained at St. Petersburgh, " feasted
at court, and in the first society." " The Empress," he
writes to La Fayette, " received me with a distinction the
niost flattering that perhaps any stranger can boast of on en-
tering the Russian service. Her Majesty conferred on me,
immediately, the grade of Rear-Admiral. I was detained,
against my will, a fortnight, and continually feasted at Court,
and in the first society. This was a cruel grief to the Eng-
lish ; and I own their vexation, which I believe was general,
in and about St. Petersburgh, gave me pain." Before the
year. elapsed, the Rear-Admiral found some cause to change
his opinions in many things ; and even respecting the English
at St. Petersburgh. He was about this time at least three-
fourths Russian. We hear no longer of America as his sole
country, though he assumes a certain patronizing air towards
that young State. " I certainly wish to be useful to a country
which I have so long served. I love the people and their
cause, and shall always rejoice when I can be useful to pre.-
mote their happiness." " What are you about, my dear
General ? are you so absorbed in politics as to be insensible
to glory ? tha^ is impossible, — quit then your divine Calypso,
come here and pay your court to Bellona, who you are sure
will receive you as her favourite. You would be charmed
212 LETTER FROM THE EMPRESS,
"with Prince Potemkin. He is a most amiable man, and none
can be more noble-minded. For the Empress, fame has
never ye^t done her justice. I am sure that no stranger who
has not known that illustrious character, ever conceived how
much her Majesty is made to reign over a great empire, to
make people happy, and to attach grateful and susceptible
minds. Is not the present a happy moment for France to
declare for Russia ?" Such were the extraordinary lights that
had suddenly dawned upon the former champion of liberty
and asserter of the " dignity of human nature."
A few weeks before the above letter was despatched to La
Fayeite, the Empress, with her own hand, had written to the
Rear-Admiral, enclosing a letter from M. de Simolin, regard-
ing his affairs. Though disappointed of sole command, as
will appear in the subjoined narrative, he still continued to be
dazzled with his prospects. The letter of her Imperial
Majesty, who spared no pains in carrying a favourite point,
as well as its enclosure, deserves to be preserved : —
From the Empress Catherine to Rear -Admiral Paul Jones.
" Sir, — A courier from Paris has just brought from my
Envoy in France, M. de Simolin, the enclosed letter to Count
Besborodko. As I believe that this letter may help to con-
firm to you what I have already told you verbally, I have
sent it, and beg you to return it, as I have not even made a
copy be taken, so anxious am I that you should see it. I
hope that it will efface all doubts from your mind, and prove
to you that you are to be connected only with those who are
most favourably disposed towards you. I have no doubt but
that on your side you will fully justify the opinion which we
have formed of you, and apply yourself with zeal to support
the reputation and the name you have acquired for valour
and skill on the element in which you are to serve.
Adieu,
I wish you happiness and health,
Catherine."
LETTER OF M. DE SIMOLIN. 213
Extract of the Letter from M. de Si7noUn to Count de Besborodko, enclosed
in the above.
" The letter with which your Excellency favoured me on
the 16th February, was delivered by Mr. Poliranoff. By it I
was informed of the resolution of her Imperial Majesty, on
the subject of the engagement with the Chevalier Paul Jones;
and the same day Lieutenant-Colonel de Baner, who was
despatched from St. Elizabeth, by Prince Potemkin on the
9th March, brought me two letters, the subject of one of
which was the said ChevaHer Jones, whom he requested me
to induce to repair to his head-quarters as quickly as possible,
that he migfit employ his talents at the opening of the cam-
paign ; and assure him that in entering the service, he, (Potem-
kin,) would do all that depended on him to make his situation
pleasant and advantageous, and certainly procure for him
I occasions in which he might display his skill and valour.'
, " Has he kept his word ?" says Jones in a note long after-
' wards affixed to this letter, which at the moment must have
I given him so much pleasure.
I Such were the flattering auspices under which Paul Jones
I entered the service of Russia. From this point his history
I will be continued for some time by the most interesting por-
tion of his remaining papers — his Journal of the Campaign
of the Liman.
214
LETTER TO JEFFERSON.
CHAPTER IX.
j^^HIS narrative is now arrived at a
'^ ' period in which it can be for some
time continued in the most desira-
'-"'^^ ble way, namely, by the Journal
of the Rear-Admiral, kept by him-
Iself on the scene of action during
his memorable campaign against
:■] the Turks, afterwards extended at
St. Petersburgh and Warsaw, and
^^^ prepared for publication at Paris.
Had he acted with his usual promptitude and decision in
openly withdrawing from the service which had been to
him one of misery and bondage, in which all the better
qualities and higher energies of his mind were converted
into the means of self-torture, he would unquestionably have
published this Journal himself, if not in France, either in
England or America. He long contemplated the necessity
of both these steps, and all along felt that his leave of absence
for two years was in fact a virtual dismission ; but, by the
strange fatality, which often appears to enchain a man's will
in spite of the suggestions of his reason, he hngered on till
death closed the scene.
,In a letter w^ritten to Mr. Jefferson, twenty months after he
had been exiled from Russia, and when his last remaining
hopes in life began to turn to America, his first country, he says,
" As it has been and still is my first wish, and my highest
ambition, to show myself worthy of the flattering marks of
esteem with which I have been honoured by my country, I
think it my duty to lay before you, both as my particular
LETTER TO JEFFERSON. yi5
friend and as a public minister, the papers I now enclose
relative to my connexion with Russia, viz., three pieces dated
St. Petersburgh, and signed by the Count de Segur ; a letter
from me dated at Paris last summer, and sent to the Prince
de Potemkhi; and a letter from-ine to the Empress, dated a
few^ days afterw^ards, enclosing eleven pieces as numbered in
the margin. I have selected those testimonies from a great
variety of perhaps still stronger proofs in my hands ; but,
though the Baron de Grimm* has undertaken to transmit to
her Imperial Majesty's ov^^n hands my last packet, I shall not
be surprised if I should find myself obliged to w^ithdravv^ from
the service of Russia, and to publish my Journal of the Cam-
paign (in which) I commanded. In that- case I hope to prove
to the world that my operations not only saved Cherson and
the Crimea, but decided the fate of the war."
The Journal is written in disjointed portions, and in a spirit
of alternate bitterness and boasting, which the indulgent
reader must attribute to the personal feelings from which the
work arose. The injustice, mortification, and persecution
endured by the man and the officer must plead the apology
of the author.
To the historian this Journal is of considerable value. It
places in an entirely new aspect one of the most memorable
of the campaigns between Russia and the Porte ; and aflxDrds
a clue, were that any longer needed, to the crooked and
debasing spirit of intrigue by which the domestic policy of
Russia was conducted, even under the auspices of the great
Catherine.
* Baron Grimm was a sort of man-of-all-work for the Empress Catherine
II., whose business was to despatch, as frequently as possible, all the scandal,
literary gossip, and political intelligence, his peculiar industry could pick up
in Paris, for the information or amusement of the Empress and her Court.
The German had too much tact to be the means of transrmtting anything
disagreeable.
216 INTRODUCTION TO JOURNAL.
•• Introduction to the Journal of Rear- Admiral Paul Jones's Campaign in the
Liman in 1788.
" The United States of America having charged me with
a mission of a political natute to the Court of Denmark, and
having at the same time given me a letter to deliver person-
ally to his Most Christian Majesty, Louis XVI., I embarked
at New York on the 11th November, 1787, in an American
vessel bound for Holland, the captain of which agreed to land
me in France.
" After a voyage of a month, I landed at Dover, in Eng-
land, not being able to get ashore in France. From Dover I
went to London, where I saw the minister of the United
States. I passed some days with my friends there, and went
to Covent Garden Theatre. I afterwards set out for Paris,
where I arrived on the 20th December.
" Mr. Jefferson, the Ambassador of the United States,
visited me on the night of my arrival, and informed me that
M. de Simolin, minister plenipotentiary of her Imperial
Majesty of all the Russias, had often spoken of me while I
was in America, and appeared anxious that I should agree to
go to Russia, to command the fleet against the Turks in the
Black Sea. I regarded this proposal as a castle in the air ;
and as I did not wish to be employed in foreign service, I
avoided meeting M. de Simolin, for whose character I had,
at the same time, the highest respect. .
" As the letter, of which I was the bearer to the King of
France, concerned myself alone, my friends advised me not to
seek an interview with his Majesty, till after my return from
Denmark. In that letter the United States requested his
Majesty to permit me to embark in his fleet of evolution, to
complete my knowledge of naval tactics, and of military and
maritime operations upon the great scale.
" Speaking to a man of very high rank at Paris, I informed
him of the proposal communicated to me by Mr. Jefferson.
INTRODUCTION TO JOURNAL. 217
He replied, that ' he would advise me to go to Constantinople
at once rather than enter the service of Russia.'*
" On the 1st of February, 1788, at the moment of my de-
parture from Paris, I received a note from Mr. Littlepage,
chamberlain to the King of Poland, earnestly requesting me
to breakfast with him next morning, as he had matters of the
utmost importance to communicate to me. I went to liini
that same night, and he told me that M. de Simolin had the
greatest desire to converse with me before my departure, and
that he expected him to breakfast with us next day.
" M. de Simolin said the most polite and obliging things to
me, — that,, having known me well by reputation whilst he
was ambassador in England, and since he had come to
France, he had already proposed me to his Sovereign as
commander of the fleet in the Black Sea, and that he ex-
pected her Imperial Majesty would make me proposals in
consequence. I could not yet look upon the affair very
seriously ; but I was much flattered with the opinion of M.
de Simolin, to whom I expressed my gratitude. When he
had left the house, Mr. Littlepage assured me that he had
written to his Court, that ' if her Imperial Majesty confided
to me the chief command of her fleet on the Black Sea, with
carte blanche, he would answer for it that in less than a year
I should make Constantinople tremble."
" In Denmark I put in train a treaty between that power
and the United States ; but this arrangement was interrupted
* Whether from a magnanimous sense of justice, or dislike to his asso
ciates and rivals, or, as is probable, a mixture of these motives, Paul Jones, in
the course of the campaign, became somew^hat Turkish, and a vv^arm admirer
of the Capitan Pacha. In the Journal he does the Turks ample justice ; and
in a letter to Baron de la Houze, the minister of France at Copenhagen, w^e
find him saying, — " I have much to tell you respecting the * moustaches of the
Capitan Pacha,' *' of which the Baron had probably jocularly desired Paul
Jones to send him a good account ; " he is a very brave man, and the public
have been much deceived as to our affairs with him."
19
218 VOYAGE IN THE BALTIC.
by the arrival of a courier Irom St. Petersburgh, despatched
express by the Empress, to invite me to repair to her Court.
" Though I foresaw many obstacles in the way of my en-
tering the service of Russia, I believed that I could not avoid
going to St. Petersburgh, to thank the Empress for the
favourable opinion she had conceived of me. I transferred
the treaty going forward at Copenhagen to Paris, to be con-
cluded there, and set out for St. Petersburgh by Sweden.
At Stockholm I staid but one night, to see Count Rasaumor-
sky. Want of time prevented me from appearing at Court.
" At Gresholm I was stopped by the ice, which prevented
me from crossing the Gulf of Bothnia, and even from ap-
proaching the first of the isles in the passage. After having
made several unsuccessful efforts to get to Finland by the
isles, I imagined that it might be practicable to effect my ob-
ject by doubling the ice to the southward, and entering the
Baltic Sea.
** This enterprise was very daring, and had never before
been attempted. But by the north the roads were impractica-
ble, and, knowing that the Empress expected me from day to
day, I could not think of going back by Elsineur.
" I left Gresholm early one morning, in an undecked pas-
sage-boat, about thirty feet in length. I made another boat fol-
low, of half that size. This last was for dragging over the
ice, and for passing from one piece of ice to another, to gain
the coast of Finland. I durst not make my project known
to the boatmen, which would have been the sure means of
defeating it. After endeavouring, as before, to gain the first
isle, I made them steer for the south, and we kept along the
coast of Sweden all the day, finding difficulty enough to pass
between the ice and the shore. Towards night, being almost
opposite Stockholm, pistol in hand I forced the boatmen to
enter the Baltic sea, and steer for the coast. We ran near the
coast of Finland. All night the wind was fair, and we hoped
to land next day. This we found impossible. The ice did
ARRIVAL AT ST. PETERSBURGH. 219
not permit us to approach the shore, which we only saw from
a distance. It was impossible to regain the Swedish side, the
wind being high and directly contrary. I had nothing left for
it but to stand for the Gulf of Finland. There was a small
compass in the boat, and I fixed the lamp of my travelling
carriage so as to throw a light on it.
Crossing the Baltic.
" On the same night we lost the small boat ; but the men
saved themselves in the large one, which with difficulty es-
caped the same fate. At the end of four days we landed at
Revel, where our enterprise was regarded as a kind of mira-
cle. Having satisfied the boatmen for their services and their
loss, 1 gave them a good pilot, with the provisions necessary
for making their homeward voyage, when the weather should
become more favourable.
" I arrived at St. Petersburgh in the evening on the 23d of
April, old style, and on the 25th had my first audience of the
Empress. Her Majesty gave me so flattering a reception,
and up to the period of my departure treated me with so mucli
220 APPOINTED ADMIRAL,
distinction, that I was overcome by her courtesies (je me
laissai seduire,) and put myself into her hands without making
any stipulation for my personal advantage. I demanded but
one favour, ' that I should never be condemned unheard.'
" On the 7th May I set out from the Imperial Palace, carry-
ing with me a letter from her Majesty to his Highness the
Prince-Marshal Potemkin at St. Elizabeth, where I arrived on
the 19th. The Prince-Marshal received me with much kind-
ness, and destined me the command of the fleet of Serastapole
against the Capitan Pacha, who, he supposed, intended to make
a descent in the Crimea. His Highness was mistaken in this,
and the next day he received information that the Capitan
Pacha was at anchor within Kinbourn, haying come to suc-
cour Oczakow with a hundred and twenty armed vessels and
other armed craft.
" The Prince-Marshal then requested me to assume com-
mand of the naval force stationed in the Liman, (which is at
the embouchure of the Dnieper,) to act against the Capitan
Pacha till Oczakow should fall. I considered this change of
destination as a flattering mark of confidence ; and having
received my orders, I set out on the same day for Cherson, in
company with the Chevalier de Ribas, Brigadier du Jour of
the Prince-Marshal. He was ordered to make all the arrange-
ments necessary to place me in command. At parting, the
Prince-Marshal promised me to bring forward his troops
without loss of time, to co-operate with the maritime force he
had intrusted to my command ; and on the journey M. de
Ribas told me, ' that all the force of the Liman, comprehending
that of the Prince of Nassau, would be under my orders.'
" I spent but one evening and night at Cherson. But even
this short period was enough to show that I had entered on a
delicate and disagreeable service. Rear- Admiral Mordwinoff*,
chief of the Admiralty, did not affect to disguise his displeasure
at my arrival ; and though he had orders from the Prince-
Marshal to communicate to me all the details concerning the
CHARACTER OF ALEXIANO. 221
force in the Liman, and t^ put me in possession of the flag
belonging to my rank as Rear- Admiral, he spared himself the
trouble of compliance.
Going on board the Wolodimer.
** We set out early next morning for Glouboca, the arma-
ment of the Liman being at anchor very near that place, in
the roads of Schiroque, between the bar of the Dnieper and
the embouchure of the river Bog. We went on board the
Wolodimer before mid-day, where we found that Brigadier
Alexiano had assembled all the commanders, to draw them
into a cabal against my authority. I may mention here, that
this man was a Greek, as ignorant of seamanship as of mili-
tary affairs, who, under an exterior and manners the most
yross, concealed infinite cunning, and, by affected plainness
md hardihood of discourse, had the address to pass for a
>,lunt honest man. Though a subject of Turkey, it was al-
leged that he made war with the Mussulmans by attacking
*he> commerce in the Archipelago on his own authority, and
19*
222 JONES HOISTS HIS FLAG.
that he had followed this means of enriching himself up to
the period that Count D'Orloft' arrived with the Russian fleet.
Though I do not affirm the fact, several persons of credit have
assured me that there are often pirates who infest the coast,
and the isles between Constantinople and Egypt, who attack
the commerce of all nations, and run down the vessels after
having seized the cargoes and cut the throats of the crews.
Alexiano had been employed by Count D'Orloff. He had
reached the rank of Brigadier. Alexiano was a good deal
offended in the first instance, and afterwards made great
merit with the Prince-Marshal, of the sacrifice which he
affected to make in serving under me. He said, that if he
withdrew, all the other officers would follow his example.
The Prince-Marshal sent presents to his wife, and wrote him
kindly, persuading him to remain in the service. All the
difficulty he made was nothing more than a piece of ma-
noeuvring to increase his importance ; for from what followed
I know that, had he left the service, it would have been alone,
and that no one would have regretted his absence.
" To give time to those angry spirits to become calm, and
to be able to decide on the part I should take, I proposed to
Brigadier de Ribas, that we should together make a journey
to Kinbourn, to see the entrance of the Dnieper and recon-
noitre the position and strength of the Turkish fleet and
flotilla. At my return all the officers appeared contented,
and I hoisted my flag on board the Wolodimer, on the 26th
of May, 1788.,
" The Prince of Nassau Siegen, whom I had known
slightly at Paris, told me, ' that if we gained any advantage
over the Turks, it was necessary to exaggerate it to the ut-
most ; and that this was the counsel the Chevalier de Ribas
had given him.' I replied, ' that I never had adopted this
method of heightening^ my personal importance.' "
The journal of the Rear-Admiral, after this introduction, is
continued in the third person for some time ; and afterwards
JOURNAL. 225
g-oes on to the end as a narrative in the first person, which
would have been desirable throughout ; it is, however, thought
best to adhere faithfully to the original.
Journal of the Campaign of the Liman in 1788, draicn up hy
Rear-Admiral Paul Jones, for the jyerusal of her Imperial
Majesty of all the Russias, and noir first published from
his original Manuscript.
" At the opening of this campaign tlie squadron of Cherson
was obliged to remain for two days in the road of Schiroque,
till the troops should embark which were to form part of the
crew. The Prince of Nassau, who had been appointed com-
mander of the flotilla, and w-ho had by this time received on
board all the troops intended for him, durst not venture to
advance even four or five verstes without being escorted by
three frigates. The Prince of Nassau was so apprehensive
of danger, that on the 28th of May, Rear-Admiral Paul Jones,
commander of the squadron, reinforced him with a fourth
frigate.
" On the 29th, the troops being all on board, the squadron
advanced, and led on the flotilla, which lay scattered about
at anchor without any observance of order. The squadron
drew up opposite the first village, to the left of the Bog, in an
obtuse angle, and thus commanded, by a cross-fire, the only
passage of the Liman. This lies between two sand-banks,
through which the Turks must advance with their heavy
vessels. By this position the Rear-Admiral covered Cherson,
and the country on both banks of the Liman, made good the
free passage of the Bog to the army of the Prince-Marshal,
and held the Turks in check in any attempt they might make
against Kinbourn.
" The Prince of Nassau at this time talked a great deal
of projects of descents, surprises, and attacks, but without
any rational plan.
226 COUNCIL OF WAR.
" A battery having been raised upon the point of Stanislaus
the Prince of Nassau expressed himself delighted with it, as
in case of necessity he might there find shelter. The Rear-
Admiral could not have retreated, as several of his vessels
were already within a few inches of getting aground. The
Rear-Admiral was aware that the Turks, having a very su-
perior force, would not give any opportunity of attacking them ;
and that it was therefore necessary to maintain the strong
position he had taken, till the advance of Prince Potemkin, in
order to concert plans, and combine his operations with those
of the land forces.
" In the meanwhile, General SuwarofF, commandant of
Kinbourn, made the Rear-Admiral responsible for the safety
of that place ; while Brigadier Alexiano and the Prince of
Nassau did all that was possible to make him distrustful of
the means which he possessed for attack or defence. They
alleged, that the vessels forming the flotilla, having been
constructed merely to convey the carriages of the Empress
in her late progress, might be expected, at the first attack, to
sink under the enormous weight of the guns.
" The squadron made a formidable appearance, but had
little real strength. The Wolodimer and the Alexander were
but half-armed ; and both vessels were already within a few
inches of touching the bottom, so shallow is the Liman for
vessels of war. In this most critical situation, having no orders
from his Highness the Prince-Marshal for his guidance, and
knowing nothing either of his intentions, or of the actual po-
sition of the army, the Rear-Admiral resolved on assembling
a council of war, in conformity to the ordonnance of Peter
the Great. The council he opened by a speech suited to the
occasion, the main object of which was to show the necessity
of a perfect understanding between the squadron and the
flotilla ; and that, uniting heart and hand, and forgetting all
personal considerations, they should determine to conquer, as
the true glory of a patriot w^as to be useful to his country.
ALEXIANO'S CONDUCT.
227
Affair of June 6th.
"On the 6lh* of June, at two in the morning, thfe Prince
of Nassau advanced, with the greater part of the flotilla ; but
retired at daybreak before a very inferior force. The Turks
chased him, keeping up a cannonade, into the midst of the
squadron, which, as had been arranged, advanced to take a
position to support him.
" This inspirited the Turks so much, that, during the night
between the 6th and 7th, they threatened an attack.
" At sunrise the Turks made sail ; and Brigadier Alexiano
ran upon the deck of the Wolodimer, half-naked, exclaiming,
like a frantic man, in French and Russian, that the Turks
were going to attack and board us, and that we would be
blown to pieces for having been so foolish as to leave our
former position. He had, notwithstanding, in the council of
war, given his voice in favour of the position we now actually
* The Russians compute time by the old style, which sometimes produces
Ml apparent confusion of dates in the Journal, — Paul Jones sometimes reck
oning by the one mode and sometimes by the other.
228 COMBAT WITH THE TURKS.
held. Brigadier Ribas, the captain, and all the crew, were
witnesses of his extravagant and unjustifiable behaviour.
" This proved a false alarm ; the Turkish fleet did not stir.
" The Prince of Nassau came on board the Wolodimer,
and the Rear-Admiral proposed to him to reconnoitre the
enemy's fleet and flotilla. As they advanced together, the
first division of the Turkish flo^lla began to fire from their
canoes, and raised their anchors and rowed forward towards
our reserve, which they attacked briskly. At the same time
several corps of Turkish troops advanced along the opposite
bank, as if they intended to establish a post or battery to act
on our flank. As our reserve had been posted to cover our
right wing, the Prince of Nassau, who knew not what to do,
proposed to make it draw up in the form of an arch {crochet
de houlette,) the better to sustain the assault. The Rear-Ad-
miral told him, that, on the contrary, it was necessary to lift
^ the anchors with the utmost despatch, and to form in line of
battle to meet the attack of the Turks. The combat having
commenced according to this plan, the Rear-Admiral hastened
along the lines, to issue orders to the squadron, and, above
all, to make the remainder of the flotilla, posted between the
ships and upon the left wing, advance. The wind being ad-
verse, he made these vessels be towed by the ships' boats and
othc/ boats attached to the squadron; and by an oblique
movement formed in line of battle, with the intention of cutting
off' the retreat of the enemy, and galling him by a cross-fire.
As soon as the Capitan Pacha perceived the manoeuvre of
the Rear-Admiral, he came forward himself in his kirlangitch,
having a very favourable wind, and made the second division
of his flotilla advance.
" At this time our reserve was very critically situated. A
double chaloupe quitted the action, and four of our galleys
were in danger of being captured. The Prince of Nassau,
who did not relish going himself, sent Brigadier Corsacoff*, who
made these retreat. Instead of remaining with the reserve,
i
COMBAT WITH THE TURKS.
229
Combat with the Turks.
which, being without a commander, was in very great dis-
order, the Prince of Nassau quitted his own post, and stationed
himself before the Rear-Admiral, where he could be of no use
whatever. The Rear-Admiral went into the same boat with
the Prince of Nassau, and again issued his orders along the
line. Being now within cannon-shot of the enemy, he opened
fire, advancing always in an oblique line to cut off the enemy's
retreat. At the same time he despatched Brigadier Alexiano
to endeavour to rally the vessels of the reserve, which the
Prince of Nassau had deserted ; but Alexiano contented him-
self with waving his hat in the air, and shouting from behind
the lines, — * Fire, my lads, on the kirlangitch of the Capitan
Pacha r
" When the line led on by the Rear-Admiral came to close
fire with the enemy, their flotilla was thrown into the utmost
confusion. Our reserve gave no farther way, and the enemy
was placed under a cross-fire. The Capitan Pacha availed
20
230 THE PRINCE OF NASSAU'S ORDER,
himself of the only resource in his power ; he set every sail to
withdraw his force. Had he remained a half-hour longer,
he would have been surrounded. Two of his vessels were
burnt in this affair. The flotilla of the enemy was composed
of fifty-seven vessels, and we chased into the middle of their
fleet. The Rear- Admiral, who had directed the whole afiair,
gave all the ci'edit of it to the Prince of Nassau.
" An idea may be formed of the capacity of the Prince of
Nassau from the following circumstance : — At the beginning
of the action he requested the Rear- Admiral to bring forward
to the support of the reserve only the vessels posted on the
left wing, which consisted of one galley and a double cha-
loupe. Besides the insufficiency of force, these vessels had a
very long way to make, and that against the wind.
" The Turks remained quiet for some time after this. The
Prince of Nassau, who had scarce spoken. one word during
the affair, save to make extravagant professions of regard
for the Rear-Admiral, now began to give himself airs. On
the 13th June he addressed a writing of an extraordinary
character to the Rear- Admiral, the object of which appeared
to be, that an advance should be made of three verstes
nearer the enemy, who had taken post under the batteries of
Oczakow. The Rear- Admiral, who could perceive no advan-
tage to the service in such a movement, refused his concur-
rence. Had he agreed, the movement would have been fatal
to Russia, as will be seen by what follows.
"By the 16th June the patience of the Capitan Pacha was
exhausted. He brought from his grand fleet, without Kin-
bourn, two thousand picked men, to reinforce the body under
the walls of Oczahow; and being strengthened still farther
by the troops of the garrison, he advanced with his whole
fleet and flotilla, and with a fair wind, into the Liman, to
attack and board us. The ship, which bore one of the Ad-
miral's flags, steered right towards the Wolodimer from the
commencement of the movement. When within three verstes
COUNCIL OF WAR. 231
of US, or little more, this ship got aground, and all the vessels
which accompanied it immediately dropt anchor. It was
then about two in the afternoon.
*' The Rear- Admiral summoned a council of war to con-
sult on what should be done. He addressed the council, at
which were present all the commanders of the squadron and
the flotilla, and concluded by telling them, * that they must
make up their minds to conquer or die for the country.'
" The wind, which was rather fresh, being against us, the
only thing proposed by the Rear-Admiral that was found
practicable, was to draw up our force in an obtuse angle, by
bringing forward the right of the line upon the centre.* This
movement was completed before midnight. The wind had
shifted to N.N.E. ; and at break of day the Rear-Admiral
made signal, and the whole squadron immediately set sail to
commence the attack on the Turks.
" The Turks got into confusion the instant this mancEUvre
was perceived. They raised their anchors or cut their cables
in the greatest precipitation, and not the shadow of discipline
remained in their fleet. Our squadron advanced in line of
battle with a striking and formidable appearance, so that the
Turks knew not how weak it really was. As our flotilla had
been very slow in weighing anchor, the Rear-Admiral was
obliged to make the squadron halt twice to await it. At
length, the flotilla being always last, the squadron opened fire
on the enemy, of whom the person second in command, who
had flown about like a fool, quickly ran his ship on a sand-
bank on the south of the Liman. There was no longer hope
for him ; from the moment he grounded he was ours. The
* " The plan of the Capitan Pacha was to bear down under full sail on the ves-
sels of our flotilla, and runthem to the bottom by the shock of the encounter of
his large ships. He also proposed to burn our squadron by throwing in fire-
balls (grappins), and setting fire to certain trading vessels which he had pre-
pared as fire-ships. He had reason to calculate on success, had he not been
thwarted by a circumstance which no man could have foreseen."— ISote by
Paul Jones.
232
CAPTURE OF A TURKISH SHIP.
enemy still kept flying about, and always in^he greatest dis-
order. The Rear- Admiral made his ship (theAV'olodimcv) be
steered to within pistol-shot of the vessel of the C^^pitan
Pacha, but the latter again ran aground upon a sand-bank ;
and a few minutes afterwards the Brigadier Alexiano gave
orders in the Russian language, and unknown to the Rear-
Admiral, to drop the Wolodimer's anchor. It was pretended
that there were but fifteen feet of water a little way in ad-
vance of the ship, which was not true. A considerable time
before this the squadron had been taken on the right flank by
the Turkish flotilla, drawn up on the shallows, approaching
the bank to the east of Oczakow, and commanded by the
Capitan Pacha himself The flotilla annoyed the squadron
considerably, by incessantly throwing in along our line both
bombs and balls of great size. Wanting depth of water, our
frigates could not advance far enough to dislodge them, and,
besides, they found that their guns were too small The Ca-
pitan Pacha had struck down one of our frigates, named the
Little Alexander, by a bomb, at the side of the Wolodimer,
and at the very instant Brigadier Alexiano made the anchor
be cast. Our flotilla still lagged behind, but it did at last
advance. Having passed through the Squadron in the great-
est disorder, and without the least appearance of plan, instead
of pursuing the flying Turks, the flotilla sv/armed round the
Turkish ships which were aground like a hive of bees.
" The Rear-Admiral commanded Brigadier Alexiano to
THE TURKISH FLAG. 233
get together some vessels of our flotilla to dislodge' the Turk-
ish flotilla. At the same moment the Rear- Admiral advanced
in his boat towards the left wing, where the Prince of Nassau
was with his body of reserve, employed to very little purpose,
in firing on the Turkish vessels already aground. The Rear-
Admiral entreated him to lead or send the reserve to act
against the Turkish flotilla upon our right flank, and informed
him of the misfortune which had befallen the Little Alexan-
der ; but M. de Nassau remained quietly behind his batteries,
and made no movement to dislodge the flotilla of the enemy.
" The Rear- Admiral then met Brigadier CorsacofF, to
whom he gave orders similar to those he had given to M.
Alexiano; and these two officers having got together as
many vessels as they could collect, assisted our frigates in
dislodging and chasing the Turkish flotilla even till under the
walls of Oczakow. M. de CorsacofF was a brave and an
intelligent man; he did not afl^ect to have done anything
wonderful. Alexiano was a man of limited talent and of
questionable courage, but his vanity was excessive. He pre-
tended to have hauled a battery to within pistol-shot of the
enemy's flotilla ; but M. AkmatofF, who commanded that bat-
tery, declared that neither he nor any one of our people ever
were nearer the Turkish flotilla than half cannon-shot.
" The Turkish fleet was now distant. The Prince of Nas-
sau was told that the Admiral's flag, which had been dis-
played on the vessel of the Capitan Pacha, was struck down,
and he hastily advanced to claim it. The ship of the Capitan
Pacha, like all the others of the band, leaned much to one
side, and consequently could not fully avail itself of its guns.
As the flag of the Capitan Pacha fell into the water from the
top of the main-mast, having been struck down by a ball, it
is not difficult to discover that the vessel which had fired this
ball was in no danger of being touched by case-shot. The
saporoses drew the flag from the water, and the Prmce of
Nassau, a long while afterwards, had the glory (which he
20*
234 THE BRANDCOLGLES.
turned to good account,) of' snatching it from their hands.
The Rear-Admiral might have claimed at least the half of
this flag, as he had his hands on it at the same moment with
the Prince of Nassau ; but he regarded it as a thing of very
httle consequence.
" Brandcougles*^ had been throw^n into the two Turkish
vessels, and they were burnt. Was this a good or a bad
piece of service ? These two vessels were only ours from
Burning of the Turkish vessels.
the accident of having run aground, and because their crews
had been left by their countrymen under the guns of our
squadron. Wherefore did the flotilla interfere with them ? —
ought it not rather to have pursued the flying Turks, who
were not yet under the protection of the guns of Oczakow ?
Our flotilla had received no injury, and had nothing to fear
from the shallowness of the water.
*' Having first sounded, the Kear-Admiral made the squa-
dron advance another verste, and took post in a right line
* A note by Paul Jones describes these incendiary missiles as a kind of
bomb-shells, perforated with holes, and filled inside with combustible mate
rials. They were fired from a sort of pieces colled Licorves.
JONES TAKING SOUNDINGS OFF OCZAKOW. 235
barely out of shot of Oczakovv, and in line with the far: best
back of the Turkish ships that had been run aground and
taken. Fire soon after broke out in this prize, which had been
imprudently fired upon with brandcougles.
" The fleet and flotilla of the Turks now drew up a line
parallel to ours, and under the walls of Oczakow.
" How imbecile does the human mind become under the
influence of sudden panic! The Rear-Admiral, an hour after
the affair, advanced in his boat, and took sound higs all along
the Turkish line, opposite the walls of Oczakow, and within
reach of case-shot, and not a single gun was fired upon him.
Jones taking Soundings off Oczakow.
" Previously to taking command of the squadron, the
Rear-Admiral, as has been noticed, had gone to Kinbourn
with the Chevalier Ribas, brigadier du jour, to the Prince-
Marshal, to rconnoitre the position and force of the fleet and
flotilla under the Capitan Pacha, and to examine the entrance
of the Liman. They arrived at Kinbourn at the very time
that the Capitan Pacha had detached twenty-one vessels of
war from his fleet, and with that force entered the road of
Oczakow, the wind not permitting him to enter the Liman,
236 SHIPS AGROUND.
where his flotilla and some transport ships were already-
stationed. The Rear- Admiral was so struck at finding the
tongue of land at Kinbourn without any battery or block- fort,
that he instantly spoke of it to the commandant, General
SuwaroflT. This tongue of land, from its position, commands
the only passage by which large vessels can either enter or
come out of the Liman. The fortress of Kinbourn being far too
distant to be able to command this passage, the Rear- Admiral
proposed to establish one or more strong batteries upon this
strip of land, and M. de Ribas seconded the proposition.
After considerable delay. General SuwarofT was persuaded to
establish a block-fort with heavy cannon upon this tongue or
point of land, and a battery farther within ; but the Capitan
Pacha had already got the twenty-one ships in question into
the Liman.
" To resume — On the night between the 17th and 18th of
June, the Capitan Pacha attempted to bring the remains of
his squadron, which had been defeated on the previous day,
out of the Liman ; but the newly-erected block-fort and bat-
tery fired on his ships, of which nine of the largest were
forced aground upon the sand-bank which runs out from
Oczakow, till within a little way of cannon-shot from the
block-fort.
" The block-fort and battery fired on the enemy's ships the
whole night, and at day-break General SuwarofF sent to us,
requesting that we should send vessels to take possession of
those ships of the enemy which had got aground. The
Rear- Admiral wished to send frigates ; but Brigadier Alexiano
assured him that he would run the risk of losing them. The
current there, he said, * was like that of a mill-dam, and the
bottom was so bad that anchors would not hold.'
" It was, accordingly, resolved to proceed with the flotilla ;
and Alexiano, who had his private reasons, set out with the
Prince of Nassau. The flotilla went pell-mell, and without
any sort of order or plan, upon the nine ships aground, and
iiiil
(237)
DISTRESS OF THE TURKS.
23a
Burning of the Turkish Fleet.
filed brandcougles into them without mercy. It was in vain
the wretched Turks made the sign of the cross, and begged
for quarter on their knees ! Abovo-^three thousand of them
were burnt with their ships. By some chance two of these
vessels, the least and the largest, did not take fire ; the one
was a corvette, very differently armed, carrying the battery
and four pieces between decks. The other was a small
brigantine, of French construction, armed with forty small
guns.
" Neither the Prince of Nassau nor Alexiano was to be
seen at this time. They were together, and at some distance,
during this frightful carnage ; and it was afterwards asked
240 PRINCE POTEMKIN'S ARMY.
of thorn if they had not, during this time, been at Kinbom'n ?
As the greatest confusion reigned among the vessels of the
flotilla, though our loss was not great, there is no doubt that
part of it was owing to Russian bullets.*
Flotilla Action.
" The army of Prince Potemkin having come up on the
27th June, the Prince of Nassau had orders to attack and
destroy or capture, the Turkish flotilla which lay under the
walls of Oczakow ; and the Rear-Admiral was commanded
to give him every assistance that might be useful. In pur-
suance of these orders, on the 1st of July, at one in the
morning, the flotilla advanced. The Rear-Admiral had sent
all the chaloupes and barcasses belonging to the squadron to
haul out the vessels of the flotilla. The Prince-Mcirshal had
taken the trouble to arrange the plan of attack himself, but
his plan was not follow^ed.
" At day dawn, our flotilla having advanced within cannon-
shot, opened fire upon the Turkish flotilla, and on the place.
The current having carried several of our batteries and double
* The species of warfare in which he was now daily engaged was new to
the Anglo-American. The monstrous and wanton cruelties to which the
Turks were subjected by the more barbarous and brutal Russians were ac-
cordingly viewed by him with horror and disgust.
BURNING OF A FRIGATE.
241
chaloupes rather too far to leeward, the Rear-Admiral made
them be hauled up by the boats and barcasses of the squad-
ron, and set the example himself with the chalouoe in which
he was. The Turks set fire to a little firigate which they
had prepared as a fire-ship, and plac<)d at anchor to the
N. E., of Fort Hassan Pacha.
Burning of a Frigate.
" At six in the morning, the Rear-Admiral went himself
considerably in advance of the flotilla to seize five of the
enemy's galleys which lay within case-shot of Fort Hassan.
The position of these galleys, between the cross-fire of our
flotilla on the one side, and that of Fort Hassan, the Turkish
flotilla, and Oczakow on the other, rendered this a very dan-
gerous enterprise. The Rear-Admiral boarded the galley
which lay farthest out, and made it be hauled in a little way
by Lieutenant Left* Fabrician. He afterwards boarded the
galley of the Capitan Pacha, which lay considerably nearer
the Fort. From unskilfulness, and excess of zeal, a young
officer cut the cable of this galley without waiting the orders
of the Rear-Admiral, and before the boats could be got in
order to haul it out, the wind drifted the galley towards tne
shore, and still nearer to the Fort. The Rear-Admiral made
the galley be lightened by throwing many things overboard.
After much search for ropes that might stretch to the wreck
21
242 BURNING OF THE CAPITAN PACHA'S GALLEY.
of the burnt frigate, and by fastening the galley there, keep it
afloat, the plan failed from the ropes not being long enough.
The Rear-Admiral was very unwilling to yield to the obsti-
nate opposition of the Turks, who fired upon him from all
their bastions and from their flotilla, and he despatched Lieu-
tenant Fox to the Wolodimer, to fetch an anchor and cable.
This was a certain means of securing his object; and in
waiting the return of the lieutenant, he left the galley with
his people, and assisted in the flotilla's advance. Before the
return of Lieutenant Fox, he had, however, the mortification
to see fire break out in the galley of the Capitan Pacha.
He at first believed that the slaves chained on board had found
means to escape, and had set fire to the vessel ; but he had
afterwards positive proof that Brigadier Alexiano being in a
boat, at the time with the Prince of Nassau, on the outside of
the flotilla, and being aware of the intention of the Rear-Ad-
miral, swore that it should not succeed, and sent a Greek
canoe to set fire to the galley !* The three other Turkish gal-
leys were at once run down and burnt by brandcougles.
There were also a two-masted ship and a large bomb-vessel
burnt near Fort Hassan Pacha. This includes all that was
taken or destroyed by water, save fifty-two prisoners taken
by the Rear-Adn!iral in the two galleys. . The wa-etched
beings, who were chained in the galley of the Capitan Pacha,
perished there in the flames !
" The Prince-Marshal having made an important diversion
on the land-side, it is to be regretted that advantage was not
taken of this movement to seize the remainder of the enemy's
flotilla. But our flotilla never came up within reach -of grape-
shot."
* The attestation of a Russian officer to this singular fact is among the
Pieces Justificatives appended to the Journal ; and the original of that attes-
tation, written in French, and subscribed BilicrofF, officer of the guard, and
dated at Kinbourn the 26th October, 1788, remains among Jones's papers.
VERIFICATION OF THE JOURNAL.
24*
Burning of the Capitan Pacha's Galley.
The above extracts from the Rear-Admiral's Journal are
verified in the following manner ; — " These extracts have been
translated by me into the Russian language, and read before
the commanders of the ship Wolodimer, Captain of the Second
Rank, Zefaliano ; of the frigatfe Scoroi, Captain of the Second
Rank, Aboljanin ; of the frigate Nicolai, Captain Lieutenant
DanilofF; of the frigate Taheuroc, Lieutenant Makinin ; of
the frigate the Little Alexander, Lieutenant Savitzsky ; and
they have found nothing in them contrary to truth.
" On board the Wolodimer, before Oczakow, the 28th
October, 1788.
" Paul Denetreffsky, Honorary Counsellor of the College for
Foreign affairs, and by special orders of her Imperial
Majesty of all the Russias, Secretary to Rear-Admirai
and Chevalier Paul Jones."
244 DEATH OF ALEXIANO.
Mdition of Rear-Admiral Jones to the preceeding Journal.
Translated from the French of the MS. volume, pre'pored
for publication by himself
" The moment the ships began to withdraw from Oczakow,
the Prince of Nassau and Brigadier Alexiano hurried straight
to the head-quarters of the Prince-Marshal, to relate the deeds
which they pretended they had performed. In a few minutes
after the flotilla began to retire, the rain fell in torrents, of
which Nassau and Alexiano received their own share before
reaching head-quarters.
" Two days afterwards, Brigadier Alexiano returned on
board the Wolodimer, having caught a malignant fever, of
which he died on the 8th July. The Prince of Nassau, who
aad made use of him in caballing against me, God knows for
what, neither visited him in his sickness, nor assisted at his
.^uneral. At first it was given out, that the service must sus-
tain the loss of every Greek in it on account of his death; but
I soon experienced the reverse. Not one asked to be dismissed ;
they remained under my command the same as the Russians,
and were better pleased than before. On the day preceding
the death of Alexiano, he had received intelligence of having
been promoted two grades ; and that her Majesty had bes-
towed on him a fine estate, and peasants, in White Russia.
"At the same time the Prince of Nassau had received a very
valuable estate, with three or four thousand peasants, also in
White Russia, and the Military Order of St. George, of the
Second Class. Her Majesty likewise gave him liberty to hoist
the flag of Vice Admiral on the taking of Oczakow, to which
event it was apparently believed he had greatly contributed.
I received the order of St. Anne, an honour with which I am
highly flattered, and with which I could have been perfectly
satisfied, had others been recompensed only in the same pro-
Dortion, and according to the merit of their services. All the
officers of the flotilla received a step of promotion and the
VISIT OF PRINCE POTEMKIN. 245
graluity of a year's pay. The greater part of them also ob-
tained the Order of St. George, of the Last Class. Only two
of these officers had been bred to the sea ; all the others were
ignorant of naval affairs. The officers of the squadron under
my cemmand were almost wholly marine officers. They
had done their duty well when opposed to the enemy ; but
they obtained no promotion, no mark of distinction, no pecu-
niary reward. My mortification was excessive.
" My officers at this time gave me a very gratifying proof
of their attachment. On promising that I would demand jus-
tice for them from the Prince-Marshal at the close of the
campaign, they stifled their vexation, and made no complaint.
♦' It ought to have been mentioned in the proper place, that
three days after our success in the Limun, Prince Potemkin
arrived at Kinbourn, from whence he came on board the
Wolodimer to make me a visit. He was accompanied by
General Count de Rrandisky of Poland, the Prince de Repuin,
the Prince de Ligne, General de Samoilow, and several other
officers. His Highness did me the honour to remain to dinner ;
and as he knew that an alt'ercation had taken place between
the Prince of Nassau and myself on the morning of the 18th
of June, he had the goodness to employ the Prince do Ligne,
and M. Littlepage, Chamberlain to the King of Poland, to per-
suade the Prince of Nassau to make me an apology. I ac-
cepted it with sincere pleasure. We embraced in pres.'^rce of
this honourable company, and I believed him as sincere as
myself
" The Prince-Marshal charged me at this time to make
arrangements for raising the cannon, anchors, and other
stores belonging to the enemy's ships which had been burnt,
without loss of time, and I sent off a transport ship with
officers and men on this duty.
" His Highness the Prince-Marshal now made his troops
advance. They passed the Bog, and appeared in sight of us,
on the banks of the Liman, on the 27th of June ; and next
21 *
246 ALEXIANO.
morning the Capitan Pacha made his grand fleet, which had
always remained at anchor twenty or thirty verstes without
Kinbourn, weigh anchor, and directed his course towards the
entrance of the Danube, carrying three Admiral's flags, and
followed by all the vessels that had escaped us in the Liman.
During the whole time that we were exposed to having a
serious aftair whh the Turks, Brigadier Alexiano had care-
fully kept a Greek felucca of eighteen oars alongside the
Wolodimer. This felucca was belter built for sailing than
any of the other chaloupes or rowing vessels belonging to
the whole squadron, so that he had at all times the means of
saving himself in case of any disastrous event. Even the
Prince of Nassau, since his retreat on the 6th of June, was
never seen in any vessel of the flotilla, but always in a cha-
loupe, which had been built for the especial use of her Impe-
rial Majesty on her late voyage. For myself, I took no such
precautions. 1 saw that I must conquer or die. For me
there was no retreat. The instant that Alexiano saw the
troops appear, he despatched his felucca to inform the
Prince-Marshal that it was he, in his zeal for the service,
who had employed people to save the effects of the burnt
prizes. Nothing could be less true. He had not taken the
smallest concern in the matter. But this shows the character
of the man. Next day I was informed that the transport ship
I had employed on this service was already too heavily laden,
and made a great deal of water. As the wind was fair for
Glauboca, I gave orders that she should immediately go
thither to unload. Some hours after the departure of the
transport. Brigadier Alexiano returned from Kinbourn, where
he had dined, and said several impertinent things to me on
the subject of the transport. He went afterwards to head-
quarters to complain of me to the Prince-Marshal. In conse-
quence of this complaint I received a letter from his brigadier
du jour, the Chevalier Ribas, which, among other things,
mentioned that the Prince-Marshal was " singularly severe
IMPERTINENCE OF ALEXIANO. 247
and strict in all that related to the orders he gave." I replied,
that I was not afraid of the severity of the Prince-Marshal,
as I had done nothing save my duty, in pursuance of his own
orders.* Next day I paid a visit to the Prince of Nassau.
I imagined I should be welcomed with open arms; but he
attacked me about the transport-ship, which belonged, he
said, to his flotilla. I replied, that I had been charged with
this duty by the Prince-Marshal; that all the ships of war
and transports belonged to her Imperial' Majesty ; and that
the vessel in question, being unemployed at the time when I
took it, I could not perceive the smallest cause of complaint.
He was beside himself with anger ; but, as the good of the
service no longer required our combined operations, I thought
this quarrel too childish to give myself uneasiness about it.
I took leave of him, begging him to reflect, that I had given
him no cause of displeasure. I did not wish to come to a
rupture with him; but, on the 1st of July, seeing the day
dawn, and that the flotilla was still far too distant to make
the necessary attack, meeting him in his chaloupe, I asked
' If he did not think it time to begin the attack V — ' Is it of
me you thus inquire V he repHed ; * I have nothing to say to
you on the subject.' After a reply so uncivil, and so pub-
licly made, it was impossible I could have any farther inter-
course with the Prince of Nassau.
" On the 18th June, in giving an account to the Prince-
Marshal of the fate of the nine vessels run aD:round in coming:
out of the Liman, upon the shallows opposite the battery and
block-fort on the tongue of land of Kinbourn, I took the liberty
to propose to him to get the Wolodimer, which had port-holes
for seventy pieces of cannon, and the large frigate Alexander,
which might have carried fifty pieces, completely armed, that
* After this affair, Jones seems to have completely lost all self-command.
He had no longer any hope of conciliating the Prince of Nassau, and accord-
ingly henceforth waged against him a determined and not very generous
nostility.
248 FLEET ACTION.
at the first opporiunity the squadron of Cherson might join
ihat of Sevastopole ; but his Highness gave no orders for this
purpose till the month of September ; and the Admiralty was
so slow in acting, that the vessels were not equippe.d by the
18th October, when I was recalled to St. Petersburgh by an
order from her Imperial Majesty.
Action of the 28th of June.
«' The fleet of the Capitan Pacha having sailed on the 28th
of June, had a rencounter with that of Sevastopole, which
had come out some days before ; but the Turkish fleet being
much stronger than that of Russia, the latter fled, and had
the good fortune to get back to Sevastopole without loss,
having no more than six or seven men killed and wounded,
which shows that the affair was neither close nor warm.
" After the affair of the 18th of June, the greater pari of
our flotilla remained several days at anchor between Kinbourn
and the block-fort upon the tongue of land. It is surprising
that the Russian seamen and pilots could be so profoundly
ignorant respecting the anchorage, currents, and depth of the
Liman, and, above all, of the channel and the road between
Oczakow and Beresane. At first not a single commander in
ne flotilla durst venture to cast an anchor.
" Beinf;^ at Kinbourn on the 2Sth June, General Suwaroff
CAPTURE OF THE CHALOUPES.
249
spoke to me of the unpleasant circumstance of not being able
to cut off the communication between Oczakow and Beresane.
Having sounded myself, I informed him that this was quite
as practicable as it was useful to the service, and I would
place the frigates there instantly if he would only require me
to do so. He did not hesitate, and the same day I placed
three frigates there. M. Alexiano did all he could to prevent
me ; and when he saw the frigates set off, prophesied that I
would never see them return. He carried his intrigues so far,
that the Prince-Marshal wrote me a w^arning letter on the
29th, and on the 1st July a peremptory order to witlidraw
them. During the short time they were there they took two
Turkish armed chaloupcs and a batteau laden with powder
and shot; and cut ofl^ the enemy's communinatiou between
Oczakow and Beresane.
Capture of the Turkish Chaloupes,
" The Prince-Marshal had not been satisfied with the con-
duct of the flotilla in the affair of attacking Oczakow^ on tne
1st July, which was conducted in a very irregular manner,
The most advanced charsre was
and at too great a distance.
250 JONES AND M. RIBAS.
that of the battery commanded by M. Akmatoff, who was
never less than DOO toises distant from the enemy.
" On the 10th of July the Prhice-Marshal sent the Prince
of Nassau to Sevastopole, to learn if the squadron had been
much damaged in the rencounter with the Turkish fleet.
Immediately after the departure of the Prince of Nassau, the
Prince-Marshal gave the Chevalier Ribas the command of
the flotilla, with orders to go to Kinbourn, to receive on board
the troops he destined to make a descent on the island of
Beresane. At the same time he ordered me to establish a
line of blockade between that island and Oczakow. I sta-
tioned five frigates, carrying eighteen-pounders, in the roads
for this purpose.
" On the 14th I was ordered to inspect the entrance of the
Liman. I immediately went lo Kinbourn to have an under-
standing with General Suwaroff* and the Brigadier de Ribas.
Though the Brigadier had been incessantly occupied since the
departure of the Prince of Nassau in bringing the crews of the
flotilla to some sort of order, he had not yet completed this
task. So great was the confusion that reigned, that he could
not find in any vessel five soldiers belonging to the same com-
pany ; and the officers knew not where to look for their men.
This retarded the embarkation of the troops destined for the
descent on Beresane till the 16th. The Prince-Marshal was
so much displeased with this delay, that on the 17th he gave
orders to land the troops, that they might join his army before
Oczakow, and that the flotilla should again pass into the Li-
man, as well as the frigates I had posted for the blockade.
" From the commencement of the projected expedition
against Beresaj:ie, M. Ribas had requested me to conduct the
flotilla and the descent of the troops. Though a man of much
talent, he had not the misplaced conceit of some persons who
readily take upon them things far beyond their capacity. I
told him, ' He well knew I ought to have commanded the flotilla
as well as the squadron, from the beginning of the campaign,
THE PRINCE'S PROPOSAL. 251
but that my gratitude for the gracious reception accorded me
by her Imperial Majesty, together with the very delicate state
in which 1 had found affairs, had induced me to sacrifice my
feelings, and even greatly to hazard my reputation for the
good of the empire ; that I could never so far humble myself
as to request the command of the flotilla, but if it were given
me by the Prince-Marshal, I would do my best to make the
most of it possible.'
" On the afternoon of the 17th the Prince-Marshal fairly
proposed to give me the command of the flotilla. His High-
ness informed me his intention was to have Oczakovv attacked
a second time. I replied, that I was disposed to execute with
zeal whatever he might think proper for the good of the ser-
vice ; but that to attack with advantage it was necessary to
come to close quarters, and to advance in better order than on
the 1st July. He was of the same opinion, and requested me
to come ashore next day, that we might concert together the
plan of attack.
" I did not fail to comply with the orders of the Prince-
Marshal, but his Highness spoke no more of the flotilla. I
remained to dinner and supper, and afterwards returned on
board of my ship.
" The Prince of Nassau having returned some days before,
had intrigued with the Prince de Ligne ; and the Prince-
Marshal restored him to the command of the flotilla.
" On the 18th June I had been ordered to despatch the five
frigates which had returned into the Liman, to be refitted at
Glouboca, en haterle. I sent them oflf at day-break on the
19th, having drawn the greater part of their crews from the
gun-boats and bomb-vessels which the Prince-Mat^shal had
placed under my command. On the 20th I received twenty-
one gun-boats, each carrying a single piece, from eighteen
to thirty-two pounders ; and five bomb- vessels, each carry-
ing a mortar, of which four were of three poods, and one of
252 JONES CUTS OUT A TURKISH VESSEL.
five poods.* The same day the Prince-Marshal having
established his head-quarters to the right of his army upon
the shores of the Black Sea, (he had hitherto been on the
shores of the Liman, on the left wing,) pointed out to me
two of the enemy's gun-boats, stationed close by the fort of
Hassan Pacha, and the Turkish lines on the side of Beresane.
He was persuaded that they would attempt to come out dur-
ing the night with despatches, and inquired of me if it were
not possible to capture them. As his Highness appeared to
attach great importance to this service, I undertook it.
" I returned on board the Wolodimer, from whence, at
eight in the evening, I set off with five armed chaloupes. I
made five gun-boats follow, as - a measure of precaution in
case the Turks had attempted to make a sortie, as their
chaloupes sailed much faster than ours.
" I found one of the Turkish gun-boats aground, hauled up,
and almost dry on the sands adjoining the battery, and on an
intrenchment the enemy had cast up on the water's edge. It
was impossible to get it afloat under the terrible fire which
we sustained from all the lines and batteries on the shore.
The other gun-boat lay hard by the fort of Hassan Pacha, to
the south. Lieutenant Edwards boarded this vessel, and cut
her cables ; but having had several of his men wounded, and
being deserted by one of the chaloupes, he was obliged to
give up the attempt, lest he should be left by the other chaloupe
also. During this time I had made some efibrts to get the
other Turkish boat afloat. I now rowed quickly to the as-
sistance of Mr. Edwards, but the night being dark, he was
already out of sight. I boarded the vessel in which he had
been. I had several men wounded around me ; but, in defi-
ance of the enemy, I hauled the vessel out, and stationed it
right opposite the head-quarters of the Prince-Marshal.
'' On the 21st, at daybreak, I sailed with the Wolodimer,
* A pood, or poud, is a Russian weight, equal to 36 lbs. English weight.
THE FLEET SAILS.
253
Jones cutting out a Turkish vessel.
followed by all the vessels of the squadron that yet remained
with me, and twenty-five armed boats and bomb-vessels thai
had been placed under my command. The object of this
movement was again to blockade Oczakow by sea, and to
cut off the communication between that place and Beresane.
To accomplish this object, I stationed the Wolodimer and the
\ Alexander to blockade the channel at the entrance of the
j Liman, and I continued the same line of blockade into the
[road, by placing the smaller vessels there. As the bomb-
ivessels and gun-boats had not water-casks, the Prince-Mar-
Ishal, who wished to see these craft opposite his head-quarters,
Imade wells be dug on shore for the accommodation of the
jcrews ; and on the 24th ordered my officer du jour to have
[three vessels stauoned near the shore. I knew nothing of
22
254 JONES SAVES THE BOATS.
this change, for I had placed them the previous night, in Hne,
and far enough off to be in safety. On the 25th the wind
was from the south, but was not violent. After dinner I went
to head-quarters to make a visit to the Prince-Marshal, and
found, to my great astonishment, that half the boats were
cast ashore, and the other half in the greatest danger. I set
to work instantly, with my chaloupe, to haul off, and bring
to anchor all the vessels possible ; and by means of anchors
and cables, for which I sent to the squadron, we saved them
all, except six gun-boats, which went to pieces, and filled with
sand. On the 26th the Prince-Marshal wrote me by his
Brigadier du jour, requiring to know, since I was master of
the vessels saved, what I meant to do with them ? I placed
them near the tongue of land of Kinbourn, where they had
a sheltered haven, and also wells for the accommodation of
the men. They sustained no farther injury during the time
they remained under my command. After this, two chaloupes
or small cutters were placed under my orders, of which each
carried two licornes, forty-eight pounders, in the fore-part,
and six falconets on the sides. Shortly afterwards I got two
larger cutters, carrying each two mortars, of five poods.
*' On the 31st July, the Capitan Pacha again made his ap-
pearance with his fleet, followed by several vessels which he
had not when he went off. His advanced guard, composed
of his frigates, bomb-vessels, and small craft, cast anchor
near Beresane, whilst his large squadron of ships of the line
resumed their old position. The Prince-Marshal ordered me
to bring back my small vessels to assist in blocking up the
passage of the Liman ; and the Prince of Nassau was ordered
to block up the road with his flotilla, and thus cut off the
communication of the Turkish small vessels by the shallows
to the south of Fort Hassan Pacha.
" The Prince of Nassau hoisted a Vice-Admiral's flag, on
one of the galleys in coming out of the Liman, and that gal-
ley having passed under the stern of the Wolodimer on the
THE CAPITAN PACHA. 255
1st of August, he assumed that I ought to have saluted him
as Vice-Admiral."
[The Rear-Admiral here enumerates six different special
reasons for not saluting the said flag ; and we fear somewhat
tediously, for which reason we spare the reader this concate-
nation ; the only important fact being, that the Prince of
Nassau endeavoured to make the Court of Russia believe
that the denial of this piece of courtesy was the only subject
of dispute between himself and Paul Jones. We again re-
sume the narrative.]
The Capitan Pacha sounding.
" The Capitan Pacha came out from day to day, to sound
and reconnoitre, in his kirlangitz, which sailed like the wind,
and always displayed an Adaiiral's flag. As the block-fort
and the battery on the tongue of land at Kinbourn were only
constructed of bags of sand, and were neither protected by
ditch nor palisade, I was afraid that the Capitan Pacha
might try to carry them by a sudden descent, which he
could have done by landing five hundred men.
256 THE COMMAND OFFERED TO JONES.
" General SuwarofF had been dangerously wounded in a
sortie made by the garrison of Oczakow, and had come to
Kinbourn. I convinced him that the block-fort and battery
were menaced, and as he had a greater quantity of chevaux-
de-frize than he required, I suggested that he should employ
what was superfluous in surrounding the block-fort and bat-
tery. The general gave orders accordingly, and I ranged
all my gun-boais and bomb-vessels right by the strip of
ground between the block-fort and the battery. The sand
served them as a parapet, so that there was a line of fire
continued from the point on to the battery. The small craft
were, besides, always ready to change their position at the
first movement of the enemy, and I placed the squadron so
advantageously as to communicate with the block-fort and
the battery, without confining their fire, and to keep back
the enemy by a cross-fire, on entering the channel of the
Liman ; so that, though we were very v/eak compared w^th
the Turkish fleet, the Capitan Pacha never either attempted
to make a descent, or to force the passage of the entrance of
the Liman.
" The Prince-Marshal having ordered Rear Admiral Wog-
nowitch to sail from Sevastopole with the fleet under his
command, and that oflicer having raised obstacles because
his force was not, he conceived, powerful enough to attack
that under the command of the Capitan Pacha, his Highness
sent me a letter, written by his chief secretary, Brigadier
Popofl", on the IDth August (old style,) proposing that I should
so to Sevastopole to take command of the fleet. It may be
remembered that i' was brought to Russia to command all
the naval force in the Black Sea, consequently this proposi-
tion did not surprise me. Had the Prince-Marshal ordered
me to go, I would have proceeded immediately, but I could
not seem as if I sought to be sent. . In the fii^st place, the
naval signals used in that fleet were imperfect and very
limited. 2dli/, My naval signals had not yet been translated
CAPTURE OF THE LODKA. 257
into the Russian language, as no attention had been given to
my request for a person capable of translating them. Sdly^ I
was acquainted with no one in the fleet, and I was aware
that the Prince-Marshal wished that it should come out the
very day after my arrival at Sevastopole. Atlily, The fleet
had been compelled to fly before that of the Capitan Pacha,
at a time when he had two thousand fewer good seamen.
^thly, The fleet at Sevastopole was much as before, but that
of the Capitan Pacha was stronger in craft, and had all the
men replaced that had been lost in the affair of the Liman.
Qthly, I had just received preparatory orders from the Prince-
Marshal to attack Fort Hassan Pacha; and I hoped to show
him the difference between my fashion of attack and that of
the 1st of July. I replied, in answer to his letter, that being
entirely devoted to the good of the state, his highness would
find me eager to fulfil his orders. It was said, that soi^ie days
afterwards the Prince-Marshal sent positive orders to Admi-
ral Wognowitch to come out, but that he always found
means for not coming to close quarters with the Capitan
Pacha.
Capture of the Lodka.
" On the 30th August the Turks took a small lodka, freighted
with water-melons, belonging to the merchants of Kinbourn.
22*
258 GUN-BOAT OFFICER.
In coming down the Liman the people on board had been
foolish enough to pass too close to Oczakow.
"To ^punish the Turks' for this, the Prince of Nassau, at
evening, made his flotilla advance to assault Oczakow !
" I sent my secretary to head-quarters, and in the mean-
while assembled the commanders of divisions of my gun-
boats, and bomb-vessels, and ordered them to bring forward
their divisions, and form in line of battle between the squad-
ron and Oczakow, ready to attack the Fort of Hassan Pacha
the moment orders should arrive.
" Upon the return of the Capitan Pacha, M. Littlepage,
Chamberlain to the King of Poland, being then with the
Prince-Marshal, had solicited and obtained leave to command
a division of my gun-boats.
" Night being come on, the chiefs of division v/ishing to
bring forward their boats, found that thirteen of them had
quitted their posts, against the most positive orders to make
no movement without their commanders of division. This
movement had been occasioned by the rashness of a Greek
lieutenant belonging to the division of M. Littlepage. The
boat of this officer had fired eight shots against the place,
and another boat six shots, but no one else had fired. As this
lieutenant was the most to blame, I deprived him of his com-
mand, and sent him to head-quarters, which was required by
the Prince-Marshal.
" The Prince of Nassau, who had very idly wasted a great
deal of ammunition, pretended that my boats had prevenled
him from taking the whole Turkish flotilla !
" The Greek lieutenant whom I had disgraced, instead
of being punished, was promoted to the command of a double
chaloupe, heavily armed. M. Littlepage gave a particular
account of the whole affair in a letter to the Grand General
ot Poland.
" A few days after this, the Prince-Marshal sent Rear-Ad-
jTiiral MordvvinofF on board the Wolodimer, to assemble all
COUNCIL HELD. 259
the captains and master pilots of the squadron to hold a coun-
cil on the means of effecting a junction between the squadron
of Cherson and the fleet of Sevastopole. It has been said that
the Prince-Marshal had earnestly entreated this officer to
take the affair upon himself, and that he positively declined it.
I can say nothing on this head ; I only know that it w^as a
deHcate step in relation to me, to send another officer on
board my ship to hold a council; and, above all, without
having apprised me either by speech or writing. If I had
been stickling, I would have put this officer under arrest, as
he could show no authority nor precedent for holding a
council where I commanded. But as I was influenced by the
good of the service above every personal cnnsideration, I re-
ceived Admiral Mordwinoff most amicably, and after dinner
assembled the officers for the necessary consultation. Many
difficulties presented themselves to their minds against the pro-
posed junction ; but as it was known that the Prince-Marshal
was determined on the measure, it was agreed that it could
not be effected but at Hagdge-bay, upon the coast, between
Beresane and the Danube, at the distance of fifty verstes*
from the point of Kinbourn. I raised no obstacle. I only
observed, that since it was pressingly necessary to beat the
advanced guard of the enemy before we could effect the pro-
posed junction, it was indispensable to station the squadron
previously in the road of Oczakow, and to sail from thence
with the wind from N. to N.N.W., to avoid being attacked on
the way by the grand fleet of the Turks, and also to keep to
the leeward till the junction was effected.
" It was only a few days previously that preparations had
been begun to complete the arming of the Wolodimer and
Alexander.
*' During this time her Imperial Majesty had sent twenty-
four gold swords to head-quarters, to be distributed among
the officers on account of the battle of the Liman. The
» A verste is equal to 3500 English feet.
260 HEAVY ARMAMENTS .
Prince-Marshal himself received a gold sword, enriched with
diamonds and emeralds ; and the Prince of Nassau got one
ornamented with a row of diamonds. There were a number
of silver medals sent at the same time to be distributed among
the soldiers and seamen. The sw^ords had not yet been dis-
tributed, but the medals were all given to the men of the flo-
tilla, and not one to any man in the squadron. It is usual to
give subalterns the more merit the more they are exposed to
personal danger. The crews of the squadron had often hauled
the flotilla totally uncovered, and exposed to the fire of the
enemy, whilst the people of the flotilla were screened by
parapets made of bags of wool, by which the vessels were
surrounded.
" On the 18th September I received a secret order from the
Prince-Marshal to attack the advanced-guard of the enemy,
anchored under Beresane. His Highness proposed to make
the attack with the five frigates which had been sent to
Glouboca to be mounted as batteries ; and the frigates were
to be supported by all the other vessels of the squadron, save
the Wolodimer and the Alexander, the arming of which went
on very slowly on account of difficulties on the part of the
Admiralty. Two of the frigates, the Scoroi and the Boris-
thenes, had already rejoined the squadron. Before the equip-
ments of those frigates were altered, they carried more guns
than are ever put, either by the French or English, into ships
of the same kind. The Scoroi, for example, carried forty
guns, and in England they would not have put more than
thirty-two into her. She now carried sixteen thirty-six
pounders, and four licornes, eighteen-pounders."
[Here follows a detailed account of the armament of this
frigate, and the Rear- Admiral's opinion of the best way of
arming ships, which he appears himself to think not much to
the point, for he returns to the narrative of the campaign by
saying as much.]
"The five frigates, of which I have perhaps spoken too much,
PLAN OF ATTACK. 261
appeared to me very fit to place behind a stoccado, or bar.
But I never would make choice of ships of this kind for the
sea-service. The first broadside is all that is to be feared from
them.
" I replied in writing to the proposition of the Prince-Mar-
shal for attacking the advanced guard of the Turks near Bere-
sane, and afterwards made a plan of attack be drawn out for
his inspection. He was much pleased with it. As it was neces-
sary to take advantage of a northerly wind to effect the en-
terprise, I proposed to the Prince-Marshal to place the frigates
in the road as soon as they arrived from Glouboca, to serve,
while waiting the attack on the line, as a permament outer
blockade between Oczakow and the enemy. His Highness
said it was not yet time for this, and ordered me to place them
in a line with the other vessels of my squadron, so as to make
an imposing figure in the channel of the Liman.
" In the end of the month, the Turkish fleet set sail in the
night followed by all the vessels that had lain under Beresane :
nor did we perceive it till late the next morning. The Capi-
tan Pacha returned in about thirty-six hours, and resumed the
position he had left. The only difference was, that he brought
in some additional small vessels, and that he considerably
reinforced his advanced guard under Beresane. As our flo-
tilla, which ought to have blockaded the road, and cut off the
communication with the small vessels on that side, were only
there occasionally, as if by caprice, it was quite natural for
the Turks to profit by its absence, and go out and in when
they found the way clear.
" The flotilla being to leeward, between my squadron and
Kinbourn, on the 8th October, the Capitan Pacha sent off in
the evening three vessels of his advanced^ guard, which en-
tered Oczakow unmolested, by an open passage. Our fiotilla
made no movement. I made an attempt to intercept the
enemy's progress with my gun-boats, which I caused to be
hauled to windward by the ship's boats of the squadron-
262 ATTACK ON OCZAKOW.
But the wind being high, they could not bring them to attack
Our batteries nearesttoOczakow fired on the three Turkish
vessels, but without being able to arrest their progress. It
was now dark; and moreover, the distance between these
batteries and the block-fort, on the one side of Kinbourn,
being seven verstes, the land batteries never could have pre-
vented either the entrance or exit of small vessels.
'* One of the Turkish ships had the folly to cast anchor in
the shallows of Fort Hassan Pacha ; and at daybreak on the
ninth, being within shot of our most advanced land-battery,
was struck between wind and water, and run down ; the
other two vessels got in without difficulty. I have already
mentioned, that on the 18th of August I received an order to
be in readiness to attack the fortress of Hassan Pacha with
my bomb-vessels, and' the chaloupes armed with licornes and
mortars. I expected from day to day an order for action,
and had in consequence bestowed much pains in training my
men to the necessary evolutions ; but the final orders never
arrived.
" The Prince of Nassau having run down my plan of attack,
it was set aside ; and by a new arrangement, which I was
commanded to form with General Muller, Commander-in-
chief of Artillery, I was destined to assault the entrenchment,
and the Turkish battery on the shore of the road.
" On the 9th of October the flotilla advanced from the shores
of Kinbom^n, and attacked Oczakow ; bnt this attack was
conducted and ended in the very same manner as that of the
30th August, save that a small vessel of the Turkish flotilla,
which lay farther out than any of the others, ran aground on
the shallows of Fort Hassan Pacha.
" On the 10th of October I received another preparatory
order ; and soon afterwards was ordered to give up all my
gun-boats to the flotilla. Towards evening I went to head-
quarters to ascertain what was to be done regarding these
boats. The Prince-Marshal at this time told me he had the
mm
:ai|
,i;;in::i:ii,ii:!ii:iiiiii',ir::i!'!S''i!i!!i!iiJ
(263)
LIEUTENANT EDWARDS.
2as
m
Flotilla Action.
Strongest desire to see pitched overboard a large -piece of ar-
tillery placed on the fore-part of the vessel of the Turkish flo-
tilla that stood farthest out, and which had run aground, "i
imagined at the time tliat there was no other vessel run
aground save the one in the road, at the distance of a verste
from the fortress of Hassan Pacha ; so I said tiie thing was
quite easy ; for although the Turks should come up in force
to defend the vessel, there would always be time to spike tlie
piece of cannon.
" It was night when I undertook this hltle enterprise. As
I did not imagine the Prince-Marshal attached so much im
portance to it as to wish that I should conduct it in person, i
confided it to Lieutanant Edwards, a brave and an intelligent
man, whom I wished to requite for past services. On the 1st
of July he had followed me throughout, and was a long time
with me in the galley of the Tapitan Pacha. He liad followed
23
266 NIGHT EXPEDITION.
me on the night of the 20th of July, and had boarded, and cut
the cable of the vessel which I took opposite the fortress of
Hassan Pacha. He had assisted me some days afteryv^ards,
when, by orders of the Prince-Marshal, we made trial of bom-
barding the fort from one of the bomb-vessels; from w^hich
service we had some difficulty in withdrawing, as the wind,
which rose in a moment, kept us for a long while under the
fire of the enemy's musketry, which wounded some of our
men.
" Mr. Edwards returned before daybreak, without having
succeeded. He said there were a great many men in the
ship, who fired on him, and that he durst not board her, he
was so ill supported. I was vexed that he had failed ; and
in my report to the Prince-Marshal I said that I would
conduct the enterprise myself next night, if that would
satisfy him.
" The Prince-Marshal held me at my word ; but it was
eleven at night when Mr. Edwards returned with the order.
The wind, which was high, was quite against me, as w^ell as
a strong tide ; and I would have deferred the attempt, if I had
not conceived my honour pledged. I was led to hope, that
a^ter midnight the wind might fall, and the strength of the
tide lessen, if it did not change. The night was very dark,
and the rain fell in torrents. I waited till two o'clock, when
the moon rose. I had with me five armed boats, and I cal-
culated on being followed by four hatteaux saporoses, and by
one of the armed vessels I had taken from the Turks ; but it
was impossible to haul them against the wind, and I was com-
pelled to go on as I best could, with only my five boats. I
have noticed that our flotilla had run down a small Turkish
vessel in the shallows of the fortress of Hassan Pacha, but I
did not perceive this till the moment after I had despatched
Mr. Edwards to head-quarters, because the vessel lay so near
the fortress, where the water is of little depth, that it had only
sunk a foot or fifteen inches, and consequently appeared as if
NIGHT EXPEDITION.
267
Jones's Night Expedition.
Still afloat. As the Prince-Marshal had only spoken to me
of the farthest out of the Turkish flotilla, I now believed he
meant the one nearest the fortress, in which idea I was con-
firmed by Mr. Edwards, at his return from head-quarters, tell-
ing me he had heard ashore that the vessel run down in the
road had been visited, but that nothing had been found there.
I rowed for the vessel nearest the fortress, which carried a
large cannon in her bow ; but, after having fatigued my row-
ers, I was vexed to see daylight appear, whilst I had still more
than a verste to go before I could reach the vessel. I returned
on board my own ship, to prevent a useless alarm, intending
to renew the attempt next night.
" Without waiting to receive my report, the Prince-Marshal
sent me orders ' to abandon the enterprise, for he had entrusted
it to other ships.' There was fine weather on the night be-
tween the 12th and 13th, but the * other ships' did nothing;
and the Turks availed themselves of an open way to brmg
•2C8 TURKISH VESSEL BURNT.
out all their flotilla, which rejoined the ships of the advanced
guard under Beresane.
" Some days afterwards, a colonel of Cossacks boarded
the vessel run down in the road, and set fire to it, for which
he received public thanks.
Burning of a Turkish vessel.
" On the 13th the Prince-Marshal wished to establish a per-
manent line of blockade in the road, by placing my frigates
there, and some other vessels. He wrote me a letter on this
subject, which strongly affected me, and to which I replied
next day, with perhaps rather too much freedom and warmth.*
* This letter, taken in connexion with the circumstances which preceded it,
was the ultimate cause of the dismissal of Paul Jones before the campaign
ended. His recall to St. Petersburgh, under pretence of being employed in
the North Sea, in name of the Empress, but really ordered by Potemkin,
was a mere piece of jugglery to get rid of him, of which Re was not even the
dupe. The following is an extract of his letter, and a copy of Potemkin'S
order, which provoked it : —
" Order to Rear- Admiral Chevalier Paul Jones.
" As it is seen that the Capitan Paclia comes in his kirlangich from the
grand fleet to the smaller vessels, and as before quitting this he may attempt
fsomething, I request your Excellence, the Capitan Pacha having actually a
QUARREL WITH POTEMKIN. 269
This occasioned an interchange of letters, which was only
terminated on the iSth by the arrival of Admiral Mordwinoff,
to take command of the squadron and the flotilla ; for the
Prince of Nassau had set off for Warsaw some days after his
affair of the 9th, with which the Prince-Marshal had been
much dissatisfied. I at the same time received orders from
her Imperial Majesty to go to St. Petersburgh to be employed
in the North Sea. Sweden had declared war against Russia
at the commencement of the campaign, and Admiral Greig,
greater number of vessels,' to hold yourself in readiness to receive him
courageously, and drive him back. I require that this be done without loss
of time ; if not, you will be made answerable for every neglect.
" Prince Potemkin Tauricien.
*' 13th October, 178?."
To this truly Russian order Jones has affixed the following characteristic
note : — " A warrior is always ready, and I had not come there an apprentice."
His reply to this order led to liis instant dismissal. Potemkin was a person
m no shape to be trifled with ; and though Jones at first attributed his want of
favour in this powerful quarter to the ill office of those around Potemkin, he
came to see that much of what he suffered emanated directly from the im-
patience, jealousy, and caprice of his spoiled tyrant. When tlie Rear- Admiral
went to head-quarters to take leave, Potemkin disdained and disclaimed the
insinuation of being influenced by those around him. " Do not imagine any
one leads me, — leads me !" he swore and stamping with his foot, added,
" Not even the Empress !" Fatal as the reply to the above order proved to
Jones, and deeply as he regretted it, the reader must be pleased to see that he
retained so much of his original spirit as appears in this singular document.
'' I have always," he says, " conformed myself immediately, without murmur-
ing, and most exactly, to the commands of your Highness ; and on occasions
when you have deigned to leave anything to my own discretion, I have been
exceeedingly flattered, and believe you have had no occasion to repent. At
present, in case the Capitan Pacha does resolve on attempting anything before
his departure, I can give assurance beforehand, that the brave officers and
crews I have the honour to command will do their duty ' courageously,',
though they have not yet been rewarded for the important services they have
performed for the empire under my eyes. I answer for this witli my honour,
and will explain myself fairly on this delicate point at the end of the cam-
paign. In the meanwhile, I may merely say, that it is upon the sacred
promise I have given them of demanding justice from your Highness in their
behalf, that they have consented to stifle their grievances and keep silent."
23*
270 THE GOLD SWORDS.
who had commanded the Russian fleet, having died, I was
assured her Majesty had very important views in recaUing
me. Yet I could not but feel grieved to be deprived of my
command when the campaign, so far as regarded maritime
operations, was so nearly concluded.
"As soon as the Prince of Nassau went off, all the gold
swords were distributed among the officers of the flotilla. It
may easily be imagined that this transaction, as well as
several things which preceded it, were not calculated to give
me much pleasure. The capture of the Turkish galley, and
the boarding the galley of the Capitan Pacha on the 1st of
July, were without dispute the most brilliant actions of the
campaign of the Liman. The credit of them was most un-
justly given to the flotilla, and my ofliccrs remained without
any reward for the important services which they had ren-
dered in these affairs, laying aside those of the 18th June, the
30th of August, and the 9th of October, from which they
reaped no advantage. After the gold swords had been dis-
tributed, I myself heard several of the officers who got them
express their astonishment, not being able to guess for what
they had been so highly rewarded.
" It is worthy of notice, that all the large vessels which the
flotilla attacked were previously aground. In this case, they
might be compared to men with their feet nailed to planks,
and their hands tied behind their backs- This is the only in-
stance in history of ships aground, and out of the possibility
of being re-captured, being attacked and destroyed, with their
crews, by combustibles. It may be recollected, that during
the whole campaign the flotilla had not taken even one small
vessel afloat. Since a very mistaken notion has been formed
of the v^essels taken in the Liman on the 17th and 18th of
June, which have been called " ships of the line," it is but
right to say that I made Lieutenant Fox measure, the hulls of
the two largest, and we found that the size of the one was
130, and of the other 135 feet English in total length, in tluR
NASSAU'S EXPLOITS. 271
line of their first battery. Apply this to naval architecture.
Yet the Prince of Nassau had been rewarded in a brilliant
manner for ' having destroyed six, and captured two ships of
the line' The only three-masted vessel which escaped burn-
ing upon the 18th June was a corvette of one battery, and
four pieces between decks. I had almost forgot that there
was one small brigantine of fourteen three-pounders. Such
were two vessels of the line that were captured, and the latter
was wrecked next day by the carelessness of those who
had the charge of her. In place of eight vessels of the line,
the Capitan Pacha had come into the Liman with only a de-
tachment of corvettes, or large merchantmen, frigates, bomb-
ships, and other craft. Only four of the corvettes carried
guns between decks. Of this number w^as the vessel saved.
On one of these four vesssels was displayed a square flag ;
but there was the same on the galley and kirlangich of the
Capitan Pacha. It has been already said that the grand fleet
without Kinbourn displayed three Admirals' flags. From the
account of the campaign given by the Prince of Nassau, it
appears that the Capitan Pacha had lost his best ship, manned
with the picked men of his fleet, and his only flag as Grand
Admiral, while it is well known that at the end of the campaign
he went back to Constantinople with all the ships of the line
lie had at the commencement of it.
" As it had been told me that some ill-intentioned persons in
the army had said that I had been deprived of my command
because the officers were unwilling to serve under me, I
endeavoured to procure testimonials to the contrary, and
have seen with regret that the mind is not always free ; and
that it sometimes dare not render homage to truth.*
* In the service in which Paul Jones was engaged that was impossible,
whicli in any service require's considerable moral courage. His Russian
Secretary drew up for the signature of the officers a testimony in favour of
" Rear- Admiral Paul Jones, Chevalier of the Military Order of Merit, t^e
Order of St. Anne, and of Cincinnatus ;" which, says the Secretary, they, foi
272 INTERVIEW WITH THE PRINCE. |
" The last of the five frigates, called ' Sea Batteries,' did
not join the squadron till the 19th of October, and the same
day Admiral Mordwinoff placed the line of blockade in the
road much farther out than it ever had been, so that the
vessels masked the fire of all the guns on shore on both
sides." [Here the Rear-Admiral enters into certain profes-
sional criticisms on his successor's arrangements, which are
neither pecuHarly interesting, nor yet very good-natured, but
which may, nevertheless, be very just. We pass them, and
again take up the personal narrative.]
'* Having reflected that the season was too far advanced
to render my services necessary in the North Sea before the
following year, I wrote to the Prince-Marshal, otTering to
continue my services till the end of the campaign. I was
indebted to him for the Order of St. Anne, and I hav^e a
heart naturally grateful* He made his Secretary, M. PopofF,
write me, that since I was recalled by the order of the Em-
press, it was necessary I sho.uld obey.
" I was, however, invited to head- quarters to take leave,
and to receive a letter from the Prince-Marshal for her Impe-
rial Majesty. As I was much interested personally, and still
more so in relation to my oflicers, I after dinner spoke freely,
and told M. Popoff" all that was on my mind. This gentle-
man repeated all I said to the Prince-Marshal. Pie was
oflTended at first, but afterwards he sent for me to talk with
him. Without failing in the respect due to him, I spoke very
freely. I told him he had played an unfair game at the
opening of the campaign in dividing the command in the
Liman in the existing circumstances of the country ; and
powerful reasons, declined to subscribe, though they at the same time owned
tliere was nothing in it contrary to pure truth. It was drawn up on the very
eve of Paul Jones's departure for St. Petersburgh. The captain of his late
ship, tjie Wolodimer, subscribed it, and also one of the other officers.
* Paul Jones never appears to have had a true idea of the whole character
of Potemkin till long afterwards. Potemkin was, indeed, one of the most
extraordinary monsters that ever lived, — a jumble of every moral contra,
diction
* PRINCE'S OFFER DECLINED. 273
that, if I had not resolved to sacrifice my own feelings in
order to manage the persons he had given me for colleagues,
the campaign would have taken a very different turn. He
confessed it, but said it was too late to think of this now.
He then said he would be glad to see me fixed in Russia,
and that he was disposed to give me solid proofs of his esteem j
both now and in future. I showed him the testimonial of the
captain of the Wolodimer, and some other papers, to con-
vince him that he had neither done justice to me nor to the
sriuadron. He said the Prince of Nassau pretended all was
done by himself; ' but I have never,' said he, ' been deceived
in him. I have always known him for what he is.' He pro-
posed that I should go to Tagenroc to equip and command a
squadron he was building there ; but, as I had been brought
to Russia to take the chief command in the Black Sea, and
had received orders from the Empress to repair to St. Peters-
burgh, I decHned the offer. I only entreated that he would
consider the services of my officers, and give them the
seniority they had lost by the promotion of those officers of
the flotilla who did not belong to the naval service. Admiral
Mordwinoff made the same request, and the Prince promised
to do them justice.
" Two days afterwards I received a letter from the Prince-
Marshal for the Empress, in which he noticed the zeal and
anxiety I had ever shown for her service, and to render
myself worthy of her favour.*
* We give this letter. It is a good specimen of the sort of thing ; nor is it
possible to believe that a man so acute as Paul Jones was duped or hood-
winked by this fashion of speaking and writing, though for political reasons
he suffered himself to appear so : —
" Madam, — In sending to the high throne of your Imperial Majesty Rear
Admiral M. Paul Jones, I take, with submission, the liberty of certifying the
i eagerness and zeal which he has ever shown for the service of your Imperial
Majesty, and to render himself worthy of the high favour of your Imperial
Majesty. '' From the most faithful subject of your
Imperial Majesty,
" Prince Potemkin Tauricien-
" 3lst October. 1788."
274 CAPTURE OF BERESANE. *
" On the 4th November, the Capitan Pacha having with-
drawn his advanced guard in the night, set sail in the morn-
ing with his whole force, entering first Varna, and afterwards
Constantinople, with every ship of the line he had at the
opening of the campaign. It is singular that this enterprising
commander did not attempt to force the entrance of the
Liman ; for Admiral Mordwinoff had placed the squadron in
so exposed and disadvantageous a situation, that the fire of
the land-batteries, which should have flanked him without,
was entirely covered. But it may be presumed that the
Turkish Admiral believed he had done enough for the safety
of Oczakow by the succours he had thrown in.
" On the morning of the 7th, agreeably to a secret order
from the Prince-Marshal, the Saporoses landed, to the number
of 2000, on the island of Beresane. The Turkish garrison
being only 300 strong, fired a few random shots, and then
surrendered at discretion.
" Having given the officers under me such testimonials as
they merited, I embarked on the morning of the 9th Novem-
ber, in a small open galley for Cherson. I was three days
and three nights on the way, and suflfered a great deal from
the excessive cold. The day after my arrival the river was
frozen in, and I was taken dangerously ill. My health was
not sufficiently re-established to enable me to proceed before
the 6th of December. Having arrived at St. Elizabeth, 1
received intelligence that Oczakow had been taken by storm
on the 6th. The garrison was eleven thousand strong,
including the three thousand that the Capitan Pacha had
thrown into the place before he sailed. But the cold had
become extreme, and the Russian army being formed in six
columns to attack the place at day-dawn, the Turks were
completely taken by surprise, and, becoming panic-struck,
suffered themselves to be throttled like as many sheep. In
he fury of the assault the Russian soldiers spared nothing. I
JONES AT ST. PETERSBURGH. 275
have been assured, that from eighteen to nineteen thousiind
Turks perished on that day !
" As I wished to delay my return to court till the arrival
of the Prince-Marshal, 1 stopt some days at SklofF, where
General Soritsch loaded me with civilities. I arrived at
St. Petersburgh on the 28th December, and was ordered to
appear at court on the 31st, when her Imperial Majesty did
me the honour of granting me a private audience. I pre-
sented the letter the Prince-Marshal had given me. A few
days afterwards the Empress sent me word, through Count
de Dmitrijew-Mamonow, that she must wait the arrival of
Prince Potemkin before deciding on what was to be done
regarding me. In the meanwhile Count Besborodko told
me, that a command of greater importance was intended for
me than that of the Black Sea.
" On the 1st February, the Prince-Marshal not having yet
arrived, I gave in to the Vice-Chancellor, Count d'Osterman,
a project for forming an alliance, political and commercial,
between Russia and the United States. As the object of this
project was reciprocal advantages, and, above all, to encou-
rage the commerce of the Black Sea, and of the new settle-
ments in the Crimea, I had long intended to transmit it
to the Prince-Marshal; and on his arrival at Court, about
the middle of February, I sent him a copy. Some time
afterwards he took me into his cabinet, and said that my
plan contained some good ideas ; but that he did not think it
expedient to adopt it at this time, as this might still further
irritate the English against Russia, and that it was necessary
first to make peace with the Turks.
" I might say a great deal more about the fleet and ^otilla
of Cherson, but for the present I have said enough." [The
Rear- Admiral does, however, say a good deal about he
construction and equipment of the Russian ships, and the
internal regulations of the Russian navy, which shows much
professional acuteness, but must have small interest now that
276 ' TflE RUSSIAN NAVY.
all is changed. The speculations of a clever and a practical
man forty years ago, on the opening prospects of the Russian
empire, compared with its actual state, are, however, both
curious and important.] " The commerce of the Black Sea,"
he says, "is an object of very great importance; but this
commerce will always be annoyed and often interrupted by
the Turks, till Russia has a stronger fleet in the Black Sea to
hold them at bay, and to place the keys of Constantinople in
the hands of the Empress. Russia having all the requisite
materials, in making the necessary arrangements with order
and economy (without speaking of war, to avoid exciting
suspicion in powers jealous of her glory,) this deficiency might
be supplied in a few years. The means of obtaining good
seamen is to create a merchant-trade, — to form an alliance
with the United States, — and to have a squadron of evolution
on the Black Sea, directed by an admiral and a properly-
instructed stair.
" I have always believed that Russia requires a port on the
Asiatic side, opposite the Crimea, to protect the fleet in winds
and currents, and to be as it w^re a sentinel-post on the
Turks. I have thought of Sinople for this purpose, and I
spoke of it to the Em})re5?s and Prince Potemkin ; but, being
afterwards better informed, I found a more suitable situation,
where I am certain such a post could be securely established
at small cost, and beard the whole Ottoman empire.
" I must be permitted to conclude my journal with some
reflections naturally suggested by matters affecting my per-
sonal honour. I have never been able to conjecture the
reason which made Prince Potemkin order Admiral Mord-
winoft' to give up to him the oflicial account of our operations,
which I had drawn up in conformity to the orders of the
Admiralty of the Black Sea, as I was assured he had done,
both by Admiral Mordwinoft' and his brother-in-law. No
more could I guess why Prince Potemkin had given orders
that no notice should be taken of the little frigate Alexander,
LETTER FROM THE MINLSTER. 277
which had been run down in the battle of iho 17th June.
This infornnation also I had from Admiral Mordwinoff after 1
had given up to him the command of the squadron. I have
been assured that this frigate was always retained in the list
of the marine. When I found that I received no testimony
of the favour of the Empress in this affair, and on other occa-
sions very interesting to the state, I was compelled to think
that she had been ill-informed, for her ambition is to be
esieemed the most magnanimous and the most generous of
all sovereigns.*
" I received a letter from the Minister of the United
States (to the Court of Versailles,) dated Paris the 2.3d
March, 1789, which began by telling me, that a letter he
had received from me, dated at St. Petersburgh, the 31st
January, vjia the crnhj j/nxj/ my friends had of my existence
since I had left Cr/penhogen.\ If I had played the part of a
* It is DO new incident in any service for one man to ^in the vict'jry for
which another is rewarded. Thir mtHt tometimeB oceur firom doe regard to
rank and enbordination, even where there is the stroogest desire to do strict
justice to all the commandera. To the cocmsels of Varage, Captain Winter,
and a Milanese officer, De Litta, the subsequent victory of the Cronstadt fleet
over the Swedes, fcfr which Naatati was so higfafy rewarded, were tuurersaHy
ascribed. The most brilliant and decisive sea4>attJe ever gained by the Ras.
slans, that of Tschesme, where the whole Turkish fleet, a town and castle,
were taken or destroyed in one morning, was finigfat by the English officers,
Elphingrtone, Greig, and especially Dagdale, who performed p^-odigies of reck-
less valour at the greatest personal hazard. Yet the Empress thoos'bt fit to
attribute the victory to Alexy Orlofl^ either from policy or wzntciinSarmztica.
, Potemkin himself was never more mmiificently rewarded fiv what be hatd
actually accomplished, than was Orloff for a ricUxy of which be obtained the
I credit There were great public rejoicings ; pillars and palaces were erected,
I and titles, estates, orders, or whatever the imagination of tibe Empress cocdd
devise to do him honoar, were heaped on the murderer of her husband, to
, whom she had icfrvoetlj owed a considerable share of her usurped crown.
' t In Russia, letters were systematically iniercefied. This was part of tne
policy of the government ; and such things have been beard of in that country,
even of later date than the reign of Catherine II. When tiie Ardiduke Paul
was permitted to travel through Europe with tiie Arcbdutcbess, be was so
24
278 FALSE ACCOUNTS.
cipher in the campaign of the Liman it was for the first time.
I either deserved to lose my head, or the history of the ope-
rations on the Liman, which had been got up in St. Peters-
burgh during the winter, and which I saw with astonishment
in the office of M. Popoff, merited to be burnt. I assert, that
it was falsified even to the most trifling circumstances.
" I have acted a public and distinguished part for fifteen
years among an enlightened people, where the press is
free, and where the conduct of every man is open to discus-
sion, and subjected to the judgment of his fellow-citizens. No
man can play the hypocrite during so long a period in a career
so trying as was mine. It was natural for the Prince of Nassau
and Brigadier Alexiano to be my enemies, for they only sought
their own advantage ; and Prince Potemkin, who knew better,
did wrong to place me in competition with them ; but I cannot
conceive how it happened that I had around Prince Potemkin
other enemies as powerful as they were malicious. I ought
to have found only friends in Russia, for I have served that
empire faithfully and well. The manner in which Prince
Potemkin has changed in regard to me, since the commence-
ment of the war, exceeds all imagination. While he supposed
that my services would be an acquisition in directing the
maritime operations against the Turks, the Admirals Mord-
winoflfand Woinowitch entirely lost his confidence as officers ;
and it is evident that Woinowitch had not regained it on the
19th of August, when it was proposed that I should go to
Sevastopole to take command of the fleet. When I had the
misfortune to offend Prince Potemkin by the freedom of my
letter of the 14th October, he sent several couriers, one after
well aware of the jealousy of his mother and her government, that he arranged
a private correspondence to be forwarded to the Swedish post-offices by
couriers. His correspondent was a young aid-de-camp, Bibikoff, who some.
times permitted himself to describe persons about the court without sufficient
regard to decorum. Among those honoured with his notice was One Eye,
as he termed Potemkin. The courier was intercepted at Riga, and Paul's
witty correspondent was exiled to Astracan, where he shortly died.
MORDWINOFF DISGRACED. 279
another, entreating that Admiral Mordwinoff would take
command of the squadron, which the latter only at last ac-
cepted on condition of receiving carte blanche, and insisted
that the Prince should not interfere in any arrangements he
thought fit to make.
" I have mentioned that the Dnieper was frozen over the
day after my arrival at Cherson, in consequence of which the
squadron and flotilla were placed in danger, from not having
been properly secured (for the season) after the departure of
the Capitan Pacha. I understood that some of the vessels
were lost in the Liman, and that the Wolodimer, to save her-
I self, was obliged to risk the passage to Sevastopole without a
good part of her ballast.
" Briefly — in a few days after my departure from Cherson,
Admiral Mordwinoff* was disgraced and sent from the ser-
, vice, whilst Admiral Woinowitch, who had married the
j daughter of Alexiano, was placed at the head of the Admiralty,
( with the chief command of the fleet, and the entire confidence
' of Prince Potemkin.
I ** It is said that Russia has no longer need of foreign naval
I officers. No one is more desirous than myself that this may
' be so, for I cannot be jealous of any one, and I must ever de-
^ sire the prosperity of a country I have served. I may, how-
' ever, be allowed to notice, that this opinion is not of very
■ ancient date. If this had been believed before the last cam-
I paign, why were my service so anxiously sought after ? — It
j assuredly could not have been in compliment to me, nor in
■ order afterwards to make use of me in promoting certain
J political designs. I have frequently heard, that, since the war
I broke out with Sweden, measures have been taken to induce
Rear-Admiral Kinsbergen to quit Holland, and re-enter the
service of Russia. His countrymen allege that he had been
offered the rank of vice-admiral, the Order of Alexander
Nevsky, and a fixed revenue of 20,000 roubles a-year ; and
that he had refused all these advantages, as he had lately
280 JONES'S SENTIMENTS.
married a wife with a fortune which enabled him to live in
independence in his own country.
"It is known that the King of Sweden made advantageous
offers to Admiral Curtis of the English navy, to induce him
to take command of the fleet against Russia ; and that this
officer declined them, not wishing to hazard his professional
reputation in command of a fleet which was not in so good
a condition as that of England.
*' The Empress will do me the justice to remember, that
when I entered her service I did not say one word regarding
my personal interests. I have a soul too noble for that ; and
if my heart had not been devoted to her Majesty, I would
never have drawn my sword in her cause. I have now
nothing for it but, like Admiral Kinsbergen, to marry a rich
wife ; but I have sufficient to support me wherever I choose,
and I have seen enough of the world to be a philosopher.
When I arrived at the Black Sea, if reasons much stronger
than those which withheld Admiral Curtis had not influenced
my mind and heart, which were devoted to the Empress, I
would never have hoisted my flag on board the Wolodimer.
I would have refused the poor command offered me, and
which was not worthy of me. I have never puffed off my
own actions, nor given any piece to the press containing my
own panegyric*
" I respect the names of Kinsbergen and Curtis ; but the
first duty of a gentleman is to respect his own character ; and
I believe, without vanity, that the name of Paul Jones is of
as much value as theirs. It is thirty years since I entered
the navy, and I have had for friends and instructors a d'Or-
* The pettish tone of some of these remarks affords an amusing contrast to
the affected coolness and indifference of the sentiments they express ; but it
should be remembered, that, just before this Journal was extended, the man
who suffered all the neglect, injustice, and insult which it records, liad been
nritated to the verge of despair and madness by persecution and injury of a
viler and yet more despicable nature. Under the feeling of these wrongs lie
writes.
. ILL TREATMENT OF OFFICERS. 281
villiers and a Pavilon. Unfortunately Prince Potemkin never
gave himself the trouble to know me.
" I had the happiness to be loved by my officers and men,
because I treated them justly, and set them a good example
hi fight. ATter I ceased to command, though the campaign
only lasted a few days, the seamen soon found the difference.
They said they had lost their father : they were immediately
served with bad provisions.
" I have already noticed, that Prince Potemkin had pro-
mised, in presence of Admiral Mordwinoff, to advance the
officers under my command, and to restore to them the
seniority they had lost by the promotion of the officers of the
flotilla ; but I have learnt with much pain that he has not kept
his word, and that in consequence my officers, to the number
of fifty, have demanded their dismission. Not one of them
offered to resign while I held command. Admiral Woino-
witch having represented to Prince Potemkin that without
these officers the fleet was useless, he was compelled to ad-
vance them all. I have been told that they were not yet
satisfied, as they were not restored to their seniority, and that
they proposed to quit the service at the end of the year. I
hope justice will be done them, for they are brave men. For
myself I have been marked out from every other officer that
served in the Liman ; I alone have obtained no promotion,
though I commanded and was alone responsible ! I may be
told that I ought to be satisfied with having received the rank
of Rear- Admiral on entering the service. I reply, that I
could not have been offered an inferior grade. One officer
may deserve as much in a day as another in a lifetime, and
every officer ought to be advanced according to his merits.
I was not favoured in rank on entering the Russian service.
I had a full right to obtain that which I accepted. A man,
only twenty-four years of age, has since been received into
the service with the rank of major-general. I wish to say
nothing against this officer ; it is not always years that give
24*
282 BAD COURTIERS.
skill, much less genius, but he must do a great deal before he
has my experience.
" It is painful, for the honour of human nature, to reflect on
how many malevolent and deceitful persons surround the
great, and particularly crowned heads. I speak from my
own unhappy experience. Some persons had the malice to
make Prince Potemkin believe that I made unhandsome
strictures on his mihtary conduct, and ridiculed his manner
of conducting the siege of Oczakow. I have heard a great
deal said on this subject, and I am aware that it excited con-
siderable discontent in the army. I was told, during my
illness at Cherson, that a thousand of his officers had demanded
their dismission; but I defy any one to say to my face that I
ever allowed myself to criticise his operations. I have been
strongly attached to him, of which I have given proofs during
my command, and even after he unjustly superseded me.
There is evidence of this in my letter of the 7th November,
at a time when I certainly had reason to complain of his
conduct.
" I have been deeply injured by those secret machinations
in the opinion of the Empress. My enemies have had the
wickedness to make her believe that I was a cruel and brutal
man; and that I had, during the American war, even hilled
my own nephew !
" It is well known, that from motives of revenge, the Eng-
Hsh have invented and propagated a thousand fictions and
atrocities to stain, wound, and injure the celebrated men who
effected the American revolution: — a Washington and a
Franklin, two of the most illustrious and virtuous men that
have ever adorned humanity, have not been spared by these
calumniators. Are they now the less respected on this
account by their fellow-citizens? — On the contrar}^, ;they are
universally revered, even in Europe, as the fathers of their
country, and as examples of all that is great and noble in the
human character.
AMERICAN PRISONERS. 283
" In civil wars it is not wonderful that opposite factions
should mutually endeavour to make it be believed that each
is in the right ; and it is obvious that the party most in the
wrong will always be the most calumnious. If there had
really been anything against my character, the English
would not have failed to • furnish convincing proofs of it. I
was known, with very slender means, to have given more
alarm to their three kingdoms during the war than any other
individual had done.
" I have heard, that, at the period of my entering the Rus-
sian service, the English in St. Petersburgh cried out against
me, and asserted that I had been a contraband trader. All
the world knows that men of this description are actuated
entirely by avarice; and every one to whom I have the
honour to be known is aware that I am one of the least sel-
fish of mankind. This is known to the whole American peo-
ple. I have given proofs of it not easily shown, of which I
possess very flattering testimonies. In a letter written on the
29th November, 1782, to Congress, by Mr. Morris, minister
of the marine and finance departments, after having made
my eulogium with the warmth of a true patriot, who
thoroughly knew me, he says, that * I had certainly merited
the favour of Congress by services and sacrifices the most
signal.' Men do not change their characters in these
respects.
," If my heart has bled for the Americans, — above all, for
those shut up as victims in English prisons by an act of Par-
liamen*i# , sanguinary as unjust, — if I have exposed my health
and my life to the greatest dangers, — if I have sacrificed my
personal tranquillity and my domestic happiness, with a por-
tion of my fortune and my blood, to set at liberty these vir-
tuous and innocent men, — have I not given proofs sufficiently
striking that I have a heart the most tender, a soul the most
elevated 1 — I have done more than all this. So far from being
harsh and aiiel, nature has given me the mildest disposition
284 TYRANNY IN THE ENGLISH NAVY.
I was formed for love and friendship, and not to be a seaman
or a soldier, to which I have sacrificed my natural inclination.
*' As an officer I love good discipline, which I consider in-
dispensable to the success of operations, particularly at sea,
where men are brought into such close contact. In the
English navy it is known that captains of ships are often
tyrants, who order the lash for the poor seamen very fre-
quently for nothing. In the American navy we have almost
the same regulations ; but I look on my crew as my children,
and I have always found means to manage them without
flogging.
" I never had a nephew, nor any other relation, under my
command. Happily these facts are known in America, and
they prove how cruel and harsh I am. I have one dear
nephew,* who is still too young for service, but who now
pursues his studies. Since I came to Russia I have intended
him for the Imperial Marine. Instead of imbruing my hands
in his blood he will be cherished as my son.
" In short, my conduct has obtained for me the returns
most grateful to my heart. I have had the happiness to give
universal satisfaction to two great and enlightened nations
which I have served. Of this I have received singular
proofs. I am the only man in the world that possesses a
sword given by the King of France. It is to me a glorious
distinction to wear it ; and above all, to have received it as
a proof of the particular esteem of a monarch so august, — a
monarch who has declared himself the Protector of the rights
of the human race, and who adds to this glorious title that of
citizen ! I have indelible proofs of the high consideration of
the United States ; but what completes my happiness is the
esteem and friendship of the most virtuous of men, whose
fame will be immortal ; and that a Washington, a Franklin,
a D'Estaing, a La Fayette, think the bust of Paul Jones
* The only son of tlie Rear-Admiral's eldest sister, the late Mrs. Taylor of
Dumfries.
JONES'S SENTIMENTS. 85
worthy of being placed side by side with their own. It is
then certain that this is not the bust of one * * *
**#* ** * *
" Since I am found too frank and too sincere to -make my
way at the Court of Russia without creating powerful enemies.
I have philosophy enough to withdraw into the peaceful bosom
of friendship ; but, as I love virtue better than reward, and as
my greatest ambition is to preserve, even in the shades of re-
treat, the precious favour of the Empress, I may tell her Ma-
jesty, that, even in the midst of my persecutions, my mind
was occupied by plans for the essential advancement of her
service, of which I gave some idea to her minister in June
last (1789.) I have not entered into details, for there are
politicians who before now have robbed me of my liiilitary
plans. I have other projects in view from which the flag of
Russia might derive new lustre, and w^hich would cause but
little expense to her Majesty at the outset, and perhaps no-
thing in the end, if I had the direction ; for f would be able
to make war support war. Whatever be the issue, I have
the satisfaction of having done my duty in Russia, and that
without any views of self-interest. It is affirmed, that, in
general, strangers who come to Russia are adventurers in
* In the mysterious and now perhaps inexplicable intrigue set on foot at
the return of Paul Jones from the Liman, to ruin him personally in the good
opinion of the Empress, for he had been professionally sacrificed before, it ap-
pears, by a passage following the above extravagant self-eulogium, (which we
can only pardon in an indignant and persecuted man,) that accusations had
been insinuated against him of a yet darker and more revolting character
than the alleged murder of his nephew and the violation of a girl. Had not
the latter calumny already been made public, as Paul Jones takes no notice of
it in his Journal, we would scarce have polluted our pages by reference to it.
The circumstance, however, has been noticed by Count Segur, and adverted
to by the American biographer ; and as we possess ample means from his
papers, and the testimony of Segur and Littlepage, of establishing his inno-
cence in this affair, it is noticed. Indeed this absurd charge died away be-
fore he left Russia, though stated by the historian of Catherine II. as the cause
of his being driven from that country !
286 JONES'S SENTIMENTS.
search of fortune, not having the means of Uving in their own
country. I cannot say as to this ; but I at least hope that the
Empress will not class me with those.
" Briefly, I am satisfied with myself; and I have the hap-
piness to know, that, though my enemies may not be converted
into friends, my name will nevertheless be always respected
by worthy men who know me ; and it is to me a satisfaction
and a signal triumph at the moment of my leaving Russia,
that the pubKc, and even the English in St. Petersburgh, with
whom I had no connexion, have now changed their sentiments
in regard to me, give me their esteem, and regret my de-
parture.
" St. Petersburgh, 29th July, 1789."
END OF THE JOURNAl. OF THE CAMPAIGN OF THE LIMAN,
rOTEMKIA'S rilARACTER.
287
CHAPTER X.
BRIEF notice of Russian af-
fairs is perhaps necessary to
enable the reader to form a
correct opinion of the conduct
of Paul Jones during this period.
The whole history of the
campaign, so far as it regards
Paul Jones, is comprehended
5^;;*s^l^vw+JNru^:S^^"^''^ in the character of Potemkin.
He had provoked the war with Turkey from motives that his
extraordinary character render credible, though in relation
to any other individual they would remain unworthy of belief.
Already loaded with titles, honours, dignities, and crosses of
almost all the European orders, he still secretly longed for
the grand ribbon of the Order of St. George, an order insti-
tuted by the Empress. To dismember the Ottoman empire
still farther, and procure this distinction, a war was to be
provoked by intrigues, bribery, and the promotion of intestine
divisions in the Turkish dominions ; and when all was pre-
pared, by the insolence of the Russian envoys arid consuls,
and the barefaced violation of existing treaties, the discredit
of actual aggression was artfully thrown on the Porte. Russia
had already virtually made war, but the Turks first declared
hostilities. The person to whom the conduct of the war on
the part of Russia was confided, — Field-Marshal Prince Po-
temkin,— was one of the most extraordinary men of his own
or of any age. If ever great genius be allied to madness it
was so in the wildly-organized mind of Potemkin. The Prince
288 POTEMKIN.
de Ligne, who had closely examined his character, and Count
de Segur, who long knew him intimately, and watched him
strictly, have both left portraits of this singular personage,
which, though French in their tone and colouring, give a
tolerable idea of the exterior of the man on whose interests
and caprices the fate of the Russian empire as well as of Paul
Jones depended. Neither the acute Austrian, de Ligne, nor
the manners-seizing Frenchman, de Segur, held, however, a
plummet-line of sufficient length to sound all the depths of Po-
temkin's character. The Prince de Ligne saw a great deal
of " the Prince," as he was called, during the stately progress
of the Empress in 1787, and afterwards at head-quarters
during the campaign of 1788. His sketch of an unparalleled
original, which was written exactly at the time when
Potemkin was in daily contact with Paul Jones, commences
thus : — " I here behold a commander-in-chief who looks idle
and is always busy; who has no other desk than his knees,
no other comb than his fingers ; constantly rechning on his
couch, yet sleeping neither in the night nor in day-time. His
zeal for the Empress he adores keeps him incessantly awake
and uneasy ; and a cannon-shot, to which he himself is not
exposed, disturbs him with the idea, that it costs the life of
some of his soldiers; trembling for others, brave for himself;
stopping under the hottest fire of a battery to give orders, yet
more an Ulysses than an Achilles ; alarmed at the approach of
danger, frolicsome when it surrounds him ; dull in the midst
of pleasure ; unhappy in being too fortunate ; surfeited with
everything ; easily disgusted, morose, inconstant ; a profound
philosopher, an able minister, a sublime politician, or like a
child of ten years of age ; not revengeful ; asking pardon for
a pain he has inflicted; quickly repairing an injustice; think-
ing he loves God when he fears the devil, whom he fancies
still greater and bigger than himself; waving one hand to the
females that please him, and with the other making the sign
')f the cross; embracing the feet of a statue of the Virgin, or
POTEMKm. 28U
the alabaster neck of his mistress; receiviiig numberless
presents from his sovereign, and distributing them immediately
to others; accepting estates of the Empress and returning
them, or paying her debts without her knowledge.'** The
Prince de Ligne proceeds in the same strain of antithesis: —
" Gambling from morn to night, or not at all ; preferring
prodigahty in giving to regularity in paying ; prodigiously
rich, and not worth a farthing ; abandoning himself to distrust
or to confidence, to jealousy or to gratitude, to ill-humour or
to pleasantry ; talking divinity to his generals and tactics to
his bishops ; never reading, but sifting every one with wdiom
he converses, and contradicting to be better informed ; un-
commonly affable or extremely savage ; affecting the most
attractive or the most repulsive manners ; appearing by turns
the proudest satrap of the East, or the most polished courtier
of Louis XIV ; concealing under the appearance of harshness
the greatest benevolence of heart ; whimsical with regard to
time, repasts, rest, and inclinations ; like a child, wanting to
have everything, or like a great man, knowing how to do
without many things ; sober, though seemingly a glutton ;
gnawing his fingers, or apples and turnips ; scolding or laugh-
ing; mimicking or swearing; engaged in wantonness or
prayers ; singing or meditating ; calling or dismissing ; send-
ing for twenty aides-de-camp, and saying nothing to any of
them; bearing heat better than any man, while he seems to
think of nothing but the most voluptuous baths ; not caring
for cold, though he appears unable to exist without furs ;
always in his shirt without drawers, or in rich regimentals
* This is pure fiction. Potemkin would never, if possible, pay his own
( debts. When any one came to demand payment, PopofF his secretary was
1 asked why that man was not paid ? but, by a preconcerted signal, (the Prince
closing his hand,) the secretary was given to understand that no payment was
intended to be made : when, on the contrary, he opened his hand, which was
more rarely, the debt was to be discharged. The Empress had oflen paid his
^ debts. His rapacity exceeded his profusion.
25
290 POTEMKIN.
embroidered on all the seams ; barefoot, or in dippei? urjbrji-
dered with spangles ; wearing neither hat ncr cap ; it is t\ms
I saw him once in the midst of a musket-fire. SoweKmes in
a night-gown ; sometimes in a splendid turac, with his three
stars, his orders, and diamonds as largj as a thumb round the
portrait of the Empress, — they seemed placed there to attract
the balls ; — crooked and almost bent double when he is at
home ; and tall, erect, proud, handsome, noble, majestic, or
fascinating, w^hen he shows himself to the army, like Agamem-
non in the midst of the monarchs of Greece. What, then, is
his magic ? — Genius, natural abilities, an excellent memory,
and much elevation of soul ; malice without the design of in-
juring ; artifice without craft ; a happy mixture of caprices ;
the art of conquering every heart in his good moments ; much
generosity, graciousness, and justice in his rewards ; a refined
or correct taste ; the talent of guessing what he is ignorant
of; and a consummate knowledge of mankind."
This sketch is rather the eulogium than the true character
of Potemkin. He had originally been the favourite of the
Empress, from which thraldom he alone, of her numerous
lovers, passed into the possession of greater political power
than was enjoyed by any other man in Russia. Till his death
he remained master of the destinies of the empire, and
retained a paramount influence over the mind of Catherine.
He held every office of importance in the state. It was even
whispered, that, after the death of her favourite, Lanskoi,
Catherine gave her hand in secret to Potemkin. This was
doubted at the time, and, at all events, made no change in
the mode of life of the Empress or the Prince. It was he,
in general, who either chose or recommended the favourites
that appeared in rapid succession. A part of his revenue
was a hundred thousand roubles from the Empress, and the
same sum from the new favourite, as often as this office was
changed.
The portrait left of this extraordinary person by Count
COUNT SEGUR'S SKETCH. 291
Segur, if not exact, approaches more nearly to a true likeness
than the epigrammatic sketch of De Ligne: — " Prince Gregory
Alexandrovitch Potemkin was," says Segur, " one of the
most extraordinary men of his times ; but, in order to have
played so conspicuous a part, he must have been in Russia,
and have lived in (he reign of Catherine II. In any other
country, in any other times, with any other sovereign, he
would have been misplaced ; and it was a singular stroke of
chance that created this man for the period that tallied with
him, and brought together and combined all the circumstances
with which he could tally.
" In his person were collected the most opposite defects
and advantages of every kind. He was avaricious and
ostentatious, despotic and popular, inflexible and beneficent,
haughty and obliging, politic and confiding, licentious and
superstitious, bold and timid, ambitious and indiscreet. Lavish
of his bounties to his relations, his mistresses, and his
favourites, yet frequently paying neither his household nor his
creditors. His consequence always depended on a woman ;
and he was always unfaithful to her. Nothing could equal
the activity of his mind, nor the indolence of his body. No
dangers could appal his courage ; no difficulties force him to
abandon his projects. But the success of an enterprise
always brought on disgust.
" He wearied the empire by the number of his posts and the
extent of his power. He was himself fatigued with the
burthen of his existence ; envious of all that he did not do,
and sick of all that he did. Rest was not grateful to ^im, nor
occupation pleasing. Everything with him was desultory :
business, pleasure, temper, carriage. In every company he
had an embarrassed air, and his presence was a restraint on
every company. He was morose to all that stood in awe
of him, and caressed all such as accosted him with familiarity.
" Ever promising, seldom keeping his word, and never for-
getting anything. None had read less than he y few people
292 COUNT SEGUR'S SKETCH.
were better informed. He had talked with the skilful in all
professions, in all the sciences, in every art. None better
knew how to draw forth and appropriate to himself the know-
ledge of others. In conversation he would have astonished
a scholar, an artist, an artisan, and a divine. His informa-
tion was not deep, but it was very extensive. He never
dived into a subject, but he spoke well on all subjects.
" The inequality of his temper was productive of an incon
ceivable oddity in his desires, in his conduct, and in his man-
ner of life. One while he formed the project of becoming
Duke of Courland ; at another he thoucrht of bestowing on
himself the crown of Poland. He frequently gave intimations
of an intention to make himself a bishop or even a simple
monk. He built a superb palace, and wanted to sell it before
it was finished. One day he would dream of nothing but
war ; and only officers, Tartars, and Cossacks, were admitted
to him ; the next day he was busied only with pohtics ; he
would partition the Ottoman empire, and put in agitation all
the cabinets of Europe. At other times, with nothing in his
head but the court, dressed in a naagnificent suit, covered
with ribbons presented him by every potentate, displaying
diamonds of extraordinary magnitude and brilliance, he was
givmg superb entertainments without any occasion.
" He was sometimes known for a month, and in the face
of all the town, to pass whole evenings at the apartments of
a young female, seeming to have alike forgot all business and
all decorum. Sometimes also, for several weeks success-
ively, shut up in his room with his nieces and several men
of his intimates, he would lounge on a sofa, without speaking,
playing at chess, or at cards, with his legs bare, his shirt-
collar unbuttoned, in a morning-gown, with a thoughtful front,
his eyebrows knit, and presenting to the view of strangers
who came to see him the figure of a rough and squalid
Cossack.
"All these singularities often put the Empress out of
COUNT SEGUR'S SKETCH. 293
humour, but rendered him more interesting to her. In his
youth he had pleased her by the ardour of his passion, by his
valour, and by his masculine beauty. Being arrived at ma-
turity, he charmed her still by flattering her pride, by calming
her apprehensions, by confirming her power, by cherishing
her fancies of oriental empire, the expulsion of the barbarians,
and the restoration of the Grecian repubHcs.
" At eighteen, an under officer in the horse-guards, on the
day of the revolution, he persuaded his corps to take arms,
and presented to Catherine his cockade as an ornament for
her sword. Soon after, become the rival of Orloff*, he per-
formed for his sovereign whatever the most romantic passion
could inspire. He put out his eye to free it from a blemish
which diminished his beauty. Banished by his rival, he ran
to meet death in battle, and returned with glory. A success-
ful lover, he quickly shook off" the hypocritical farce, whose
catastrophe held out to him the prospect of an obscure
destiny. He himself gave favourites to his mistress, and be-
came her confidant, her friend, her general, and her minister.
" Panin was president of the council, and was a stickler
for the alliance of Prussia. Potemkin persuaded his mistress
that the friendship of the Emperor would be of more use to
her in realizing her plans against the Turks. He connected
her with Joseph II., and thereby furnished himself with the
means of conquering the Crimea and the country of the Nogay
Tartars, which depended upon it. Restoring to these regions
their sonorous and ancient names, creating a maritime force
at Cherson and Sevastopole, he persuaded Catherine to come
and admire herself this new scene of his glory. Nothing
was spared for rendering this journe}^ renowned to the latest
posterity. Thither were conveyed, from all parts of the
empire, money, provisions, and horses. The highways w^ere
illuminated. The Borysthenes was covered with magnificent
galleys. A hundred and fifty thousand soldiers were newly
equipped. The Cossacks were brought together ; the Tartai s
2.5 *
204 COUNT SEGUR'S SKETCH.
were disciplined. Deserts were peopled for the occasion ;
and palaces were raised in the trackless wild. The nakedness
of the plains of the Crimea was disguised by villages built on
purpose, and enlivened by fireworks. Chains of mountains
were illuminated. Fine roads were opened by the army.
Howling wildernesses were transformed into English gardens.
The King of Poland came to pay homage to her who had
crowned him, and who afterwards struck him from the throne.
The Emperor Joseph II. came himself to attend the triumphal
progress of the Empress Catherine; and the result of this
brilliant journey was another war, w^hich the English and the
Prussians impolitically instigated the Turks to undertake, and
which was only a fresh instrument to the ambition of Potem-
kin, by affording him an occasion to conquer Oczakow,
which remained to Russia, and to obtain the grand ribbon of
St. George, the only decoration that was wanting to his
vanity. But these latter triumphs were the term of his life.
He died in Moldavia, almost by a sudden stroke ; and his
death, lamented by his nieces and by a small number of
friends, concerned only his rivals, who were eager to divide
his spoils, and was very soon follow^ed by a total obKvion.
" Like the rapid passage of those shining meteors which
astonish us by their lustre, but are empty as air, Potemkin
began everything, completed nothing, disordered the finances,
disorganized the army, depopulated his country, and enriched
it with other deserts. The fame of the Empress was in-
creased by his conquests. The admiration they excited was
for her ; and the hatred they raised for her minister. Posterity,
more equitable, will perhaps divide between them both the
s:\oYy of the successes and the severity of the reproaches.
It will not bestow on Potemkin the title of a great man ; but
it will mention him as an extraordinary person; and, to
draw his picture with accuracy, he might be represented as a ,
real emblem, as the living image of the Russian empire.
" For, in fact, he was colossal like Russia. In his mind,
POTEMKIN AND ROMANTZOFF. 295
as in that country, were cultivated districts and desert plains
It also partook of the Asiatic, of the European, of the "Tar-
tarian, and the Cossack ; the rudeness of the eleventh cen-
tury, and the corruption of the eighteenth ; the polish of the
arts, and the ignorance of the cloisters ; an outside of civili-
zation, and many traces of barbarism. In a word, if we
might hazard so bold a metaphor, even his two eyes, the one
open, and the other closed, reminded us of the Euxine
always open, and the Northern ocean, so long shut up
with ice.
" This portrait may appear gigantic : but those who knew
Potemkin will bear witness to its truth. That man had great
defects ; but without them, perhaps, he would neither have
got the mastery of his sovereign, nor that of his country.
He was made by chance precisely such as he ought to
be for preserving so long his power over so extraordinary a
woman." *
Segur might have added, that this Russian hero was as
artful as his impetuous passions permitted; vindictive, ra-
pacious, and self-willed, to a degree which denoted actual
frenzy. When young, and though a favourite not yet quite
established in the good graces of the Empress, he was, after
a quarrel with her favourites, the Orloffs, in which he lost an
jeye, sent to serve under Field-Marshal Romantzoff. This
distinguished commander treated him with civility, praised
his mihtary conduct to the Empress, but gave him neither his
confidence nor esteem. The haughty Potemkin felt the
humiliation, and never forgave the man, of whom he really
had nothing to complain. He engaged in a despicable intrigue
to ruin the Countess Bruce, for no other reason than that she
had the misfortune to be the sister of the man he hated, and
who disdained to cringe before him. Paul Jones complains
that his officers were not promoted during one campaign.
* Life of Catherine II., Empress of Russia, vol. iii. p. 326 — 333
296 POTEMKIN'S FOLLIES.
The officers of Romantzoffwere kept from advancement for
fourteen successive years, and the Field-Marshal himself re-
tired at last in chagrin and disgust. It was no unfrequent thing
for Potemkin to strike the Russian officers that were about
him, though he did not venture to display the same vivacity
of temper to foreigners. He sometimes, in the headlong im-
pulse of rage, struck even the native nobihty. Field-officers
were frequently sent by him from the Crimea, and from places
as distant, for a dish of a particular kind of fish-soup, which
cost him three hundred roubles ; or to St. Petersburgh or
Riga for a few oysters or oranges. He at one period com-
pelled the Empress to dismiss one of her favourites, (recom-
mended by himself sometime before,) at the same instant that
she ventured to expostulate with him for having struck the
uncle of this young man. He ordered her to " dismiss that
white negro, (the favourite Yermoloff,) or he would never
again set his foot within the palace," — and the Empress
obeyed 1 YermolofF was at the same moment sent on his
travels. To Paul Jones he had emphatically said, " None
led him — not even the Empress !" He was exceedingly in-
dignant at the Swedish war, which interfered with his views
on the Ottoman empire. He termed it an old woman's war.
When Catherine wrote him an account of the hasty prepara-
tions she had made to repel the Swedes who were approach-
ing her frontier, she inquires, with the good humour which
never deserted her, " Have I done right, my master?" This
was less a jesting expression than her Majesty probably
imagined. The end of this semi-barbarian is not a little
edifying. Saliated and disgusted with wealth, honours, con-
quest, and luxury, in the latter years of his life he would sit,
throughout a long winter evening, alone, spreading out his
diamonds on a black velvet cloth kept for this purpose, and
arranging them in different figures, as crosses, stars, &c.,
weighing them, or passing them from hand to hand, like a
<',hild playing with cherry-stones, though certainly with not half
POTEMKIN'S LAST DAYS. 297
the enjoyment. He would often pass a couple of hours gnaw-
ing his nails in gloomy silence, while he paced a saloon filled
with mute company, his presence carrying dismay and blight-
ing wherever he appeared. When attacked by the lingering
fever which terminated his days in his fifty-second year, he
disdained the advice of the court physicians despatched to
him by the Empress, and continued to eat and drink with his
ordinary intemperance. His usual breakfast at this time was
a smoked goose, with a large quantity of wine and spirits.
He dined in the same manner. His appetites were all extra-
vagant and irregular, and indulged to excess. With fever
raging in his blood, he determined to leave Yassy, whither
he had gone to attend a congress with the agents of the
Porte. He fancied the air of this place disagreed with him,
and determined to go to Nicolayef, one of the towns he had
built. He had not proceeded many miles, when he became
so ill that his attendants lifted him from his carriage. He
threw himself on the grass, and died under a tree ! This
was in October, 1791. The wonders told of his riches, his
estates, his gold, his diamonds, the splendour of his Tauridan
Palace, and the magnificence of his fetes, resemble the
enchantments of an oriental tale. Like his coadjutor, Suvvar-
row. Prince Potemkin was what they were pleased to think,
or call, religious. Suwarrow never massacred ten or twenty
thousand of his fellow-creatures in cold blood without return-
ing thanks to Heaven, and giving glory for the achievement.
Potemkin, for a Russian, could not be called cruel, but he was
as superstitious as the meanest of his soldiers. At one time he
affected extreme sanctity and mortification of life, and even
threatened to turn monk. This was for a political purpose,
and the grossest hypocrisy. But his superstition was unaf-
fected. He regarded himself as the peculiar favourite of
Heaven, and had great faith in his own good fortune. The
first success over the Turkish fleet in the campaign of 1788
was gained, as he boasted to the Prince de Ligne, on the
298 THE PRINCE OF NASSAU'S CHARACTER.
festival day of his patron, St. Gregory, — " Heaven had not
forgotten him." Oczakow was stornned and carried on
some other saint's day. The Prince of Nassau, the per-
son with whom Paul Jones was in immediate competition,
was a man of much feebler character. A sketch of his
career in Russia is the strongest corroboration that the
Journal of Rear- Admiral Jones can receive.
The Prince of Nassau Siegen was fickle, arrogant, and
of mean capacity. Paul Jones frequently throws doubts on
his personal courage ; but a man whose whole life was spent
in search of wild military adventuresj and who continually
exposed himself to personal danger, could scarcely have been
a coward. Nassau proposed to accompany Jones in the secret
expedition against England in 1779, and had abruptly aban-
doned the scheme without explanation or apology, and with-
out even deigning to reply to the frequent letters which the
disappointed commodore addressed to him. He had served
in the unfortunate attempt of the French on the Island of
Jersey, and in the futile attack of the combined powers of
France and Spain at Gibraltar. On the breaking out of the
war with Turkey he entered the Russian service. He had
previously joined the Empress, along with Potemkin, on her
celebrated progress to the Crimea, and was rather a favourite
with both of those personages. He obtained the command in
the Black Sea, and on the arrival of Jones, there is little doubt
that the rival commanders viewed each other with mutual
jealousy. In an affair which took place on the 29th July,
which Paul Jones has not mentioned, the Prince of Nassau,
waiting in vain for orders, and at last acting without them,
had the good fortune to support Prince Anhalt in a very press-
ing emergency, and to save a Russian battery. In his report
to Potemkin, he boastingly apologizes " for having advanced
with three gun-boats, and forced the Turks to retire, without
orders."
The reason of his withdrawing from the Liman before the
NASSAU'S SCHEME. 299
end of the campaign is thus related : — The supineness of Po-
temkin in conducting the siege of Oczakow was the subject
of much animadversion, and at last of great discontent in the
army. For months he lay as if spell-bound in his camp, sur-
rounded by the females and others, ministers of his luxury
and pleasure, that accompanied him everywhere, displaying
all the eccentricity and caprice of his character more extra-
vagantly than he had ever done before. It is alleged that he
was employed all this while in private intrigues to corrupt
the Turkish garrison, which he expected to capitulate with-
out bloodshed. In the meanwhile many lives had been lost
in sorties and abortive assaults, as well as in the amphibious
"warfare of the Liman. In a council of war held to concert
a decisive plan of attack, Nassau offered, " if he might be in-
trusted with the operation, to effect a breach in a weak part
of the fortress which he had discovered, and which should be
large enough to admit a whole regiment." Potemkin, of-
fended by this vain boast, and never, as he afterwards said to
Paul Jones, " deceived by Nassau," sarcastically asked him
" how many breaches he had made at Gibraltar ?" Nassau,
offended in his turn, solicited the Empress for his recall. He
was accordingly employed in the North Seas, with little honour
to himself and great loss to the arms of Russia. In the fol-
lowing year he presented the Empress with a plan of driving
the British from India, drawn up by a Frenchman, M. St.
Genie, whom he patronized. The Empress was at first quite
captivated with a scheme, doubly welcome from being brought
forward at the very time England w^as fitting out an arma-
ment which was to act in the Baltic, and thus force her to
make peace with the Porte. Potemkin, who had been en
raged w^ith the Swedish, or, as he called it, " the old woman's
war," which interfered with his operations on the Euxine,
treated this wild plan of marching a Russian army to Bengal
with the derision and contempt it merited. Nassau, however,
still maintained a certain degree of favour with the Empress
300 THE PRINCE OF NASSAU.
This was shown in a remarkable instance. By an injudicious
and very ill-managed attack of the galley-fleet, which he
commanded, on that which was commanded by Gustavus
III., his fleet, though twice as large, was completely defeated,
with the loss of the one-half of his vessels. His excessive
arrogance was not quelled even by witnessing the disastrous
consequences of his own ignorance and temerity. His vanity
led him to imagine that the Russians had yielded to this very
inferior Swedish force merely to " tarnish his glory." He
accordingly thus insolently announced his disgraceful reverse
to the Empress : — " Madam, I have had the misfortune to fight
against the Swedes, the elements, and the Russians. I hope
your Majesty will do me justice." To this extraordinary note
the Empress replied, " You are in the right, because I am re-
solved you shall be so. This is highly aristocratic, but it is
therefore suitable to the country in which we live. Depend
always on your affectionate Catharine."
Assisted by the counsels of several able naval officers of
different countries, Nassau, before this time, had gained a
victory over the Swedish fleet. This signal defeat, which
soon produced peace, was deeply felt by the Empress, how-
ever bravely she carried it ; and the Prince of Nassau, though
loaded with honours, presented with a town-palace in St.
Petersburgh, an estate, numerous peasants, and a pension of
twelve thousand roubles, saw his favour decline, and after-
wards entered the service of Prussia. His conduct in the
Swedish campaigns affords, as was said, a strong corrobora-
tion of the statements of Paul Jones : — guided by abler men,
he succeeded, — left to himself, he rushed on destruction.
It is now time to resume the regular course of the memoir,
which left Paul Jones re-entering St. Petersburgh.
BRITISH INFLUJEN€?.
301
CHAPTER XI.
T was under very different cir-
cumstances from those which
attended his first triumphal en-
try about eight months before,
that Jones returned to the Rus-
sian capital. He, however, had
still sufficient credit at court to
obtain an audience of the Em-
press, at which he delivered the letter of Potemkin. A few
flattering promises were made to him by Count de Besbo-
rodko, and he immediately began his ordinary practice of
transmitting plans and projects, both diplomatic and military.
While he hung on thus, vainly soliciting employment, the
infamous conspiracy already alluded to was formed against
his character and fortune, and threatening even his life, the
' object of which is easily traced, though the precise motives
I in which it originated, and the persons who imagined an in-
I terest in devising it, were never clearly ascertained, even by
j the persecuted individual himself The information on this
j subject which he procured long afterwards, and which will
j be laid before the reader in the proper place, though plausible,
1 is neither satisfactory nor supported by much evidence. In
I his future correspondence, Jones hints that he has reason to
j impute this most infamous proceeding, if not directly to En-
I glish influence, at least to the desire of propitiating the English
[ 26
302 LETTER TO POTEMKIN.
by the sacrifice of an individual so obnoxious as he knew
himself to be to that nation.*
To Russia, and Russians alone, however, belongs the entire
infamy of a conspiracy to ruin a stranger who, it is enough
to say, had incurred the displeasure of Potemkin. In every
despotic court, but especially in that of St. Petersburgh, poli-
tical intriguers will never want servile instruments to forward
their basest and darkest purposes. In the present case
these instruments were found of all ranks, though but of one
nation.
The nature of this disgraceful affair, of which, but for the
interference of Count Segur, and it might be from some
latent dread of public opinion in France and America, Jones
must have become the victim, will be sufficiently explained
by the following letter, addressed to Prince Potemkin, after
the unhappy writer had been forbidden to appear at court,
and also by an extract which we shall give from the Memoirs
of Count Segur ; —
Rear- Admiral Paul Jones to Prince Potemkin.
"St. Petersburgh, 13th April, 1789.
" My Lord, — Having had the advantage to serve under
your orders, and in your sight, I remember, with particular
satisfaction, the kind promises and testimonies of your friend-
ship with which you have honoured me. As I have served
all my life for honour, I had no other motive for accepting
the flattering invitation of her Imperial Majesty, than a lauda-
ble ambition to distinguish myself in the service of a sove-
reign so magnanimous and illustrious; for I never yet have
bent the knee to self-interest, nor drawn my sword for hire.
A few days ago I thought myself one of the happiest men in
the empire ! Your Highness had renewed to me your
* It is admitted by recent English writers that Paul Jones was dismissed
from the Russian service through English influence with the Russian Court. —
American Editor.
LETTER TO POTEMKIN. 303
promise of friendship, and the Empress had assigned me a
command of a nature to occupy the most active and enter-
prising genius.
" A bad woman has accused me of violating her daughter !
If she had told the truth, I should have candour enough to
own it, and would trust my honour, which is a thousand times
dearer to me than my life, to the mercy of the Empress. I
declare, with an assurance becoming a military character,
that I am innocent. Till that unhappy moment, I have en-
joyed the public esteem, and the affection of all who knew
me. Shall it be said that in Russia a wretched woman, who
eloped from her husband and family in the country, stole away
her daughter, lives here in a house of bad fame, and leads a
debauched and adulterous life, has found credit enough on a
simple complaint, unsupported hy any proof, to affect the
honour of a general officer of reputation, who has merited
and received the decorations of America, of France, and of
this empire !
" If I had been favoured with the least intimation of a
complaint of that nature having found its way to the Sove-
reign, I know too well what belongs to delicacy to have pre-
sented myself in the presence of the Empress before my
justification.
" My servant was kept prisoner by the officei s of police
for several hours, two days successively, and threatened with
the knout.
" After the examination of my people before the police, I
sent for and employed Monsieur Crimpin as my advocate.
As the mother had addressed herself to him before to plead
her cause, she naturally spoke to him without reserve, and he
learned from her a number of important facts, among others,
that she was counselled and supported by a distinguished man
of the court.
" By the certificate of the father, attested by the pastor of
the colony, the daughter is several years older than is ex-
304 LETTER TO POTEMKIN.
pressed in the complaint. And the complaint contains
various other points equally false and easy to be refuted.
For instance there is a conversation I am said to have held
with the daughter in the Russian language, of which no per-
son ever heard me pronounce tvs^o words together, — it is un-
known to me.
" I thought that in every country a man accused had a
right to employ advocates, and to avail himself of his friends
for his justification. Judge, my Prince, of my astonishment
and distress of mind, when 1 yesterday was informed that the
day before, the governor of the city had sent for my advo-
cate, and forbidden him, at his peril, or any other person, to
meddle with my cause !
" I am innocent before God ! and my conscience knows no
reproach. The complaint brought against me is an infamous
lie, and there is no circumstance that gives it even an air of
probability.
" I address myself to you with confidence, my Prince, and
am assured that the friendship you have so kindly promised
me will be immediately exerted in my favour ; and that you
will not suflfer the illustrious Sovereign of this great empire
to be misled by the false insinuations and secret cabals of my
hidden enemies. Your mind will find more true pleasure in
pleading the cause of an innocent man whom you honour
with your friendship, than can result from other victories
equally glorious with that of Oczakow, which will always
rank among the most brilliant of military achievements. If
your Highness will condescend to question Monsieur Crimpin,
(for he dare not now eoen speak to me,) he can tell you many
circumstances which will elucidate my innocence. I am,
with profound respect, my Lord, your Highness's devoted
and most obedient servant," &c., &c.
The document referred to in this letter appears quite
satisfactory. It is a declaration by the husband of the
woman.
CERTIFICATES. 305
" I certify, that my wife, Fredrica Sophia Koltzwarthen,
has left me without any reason ; that she has been living in
the city with a young man ; and that she has clandestinely,
and against my will, taken away my daughter Catherine
Charlotte, who is now living with her.
" Stephen Koltzwarthen.
•' Saratovvka, 7th April, 1789."
" I certify, that this is the free and voluntary declaration of
Stephen Koltzwarthen, and that it is he who has signed it.
" G. Braun, Pastor,
" Saratowka, 7th April, 1789."
" I certify, that my daughter is twelve years of age.
" Stephen Koltzwarthen.
"Saratowka, 7th April, 1789."
" I certify, that Stephen Koltzwarthen has signed what is
above written,
" G. Braun, Pastor:'
" Declaration of the Pastor Lamp of St. Petershurgk.
" I certify, that the name of Koltzwarthen does not at pre-
sent appear in the roll of those in the communion of the
church, and that previous to the day when she came to
my house about the affair of her daughter, I had never
seen her.
" J. Lamp, Pastor."
The result of this letter to Potemkin does not appear ; and
any further information concerning this affair must be sought
in the Memoirs of Count Segur. It was peculiarly fortunate
for Jones that this noblem.an, a high-minded and generous in-
dividual, of an honourable and a gallant nation, was at this
time in Petersburgh. He at once came forward with warmth
and intrepidity in defence of the persecuted stranger.
" Paul Jones," ne says, " a sharer in the victories of the
Prince of Nassau, had returned to St. Petersburgh ; hiy
26*
306 GENEROSITY OF COUNT SEGUR.
enemies, unable to bear the triumph of a man whom they
treated as a vagabond, a rebel, and a corsair, resolved to
destroy him.
" This atrocity, which ought to be imputed to some envious
cowards, was, I think, very unjustly attributed to the English
officers in the Russian navy, and to the merchants who were
their countrymen. These, in truth, did not disguise their
animosity against Paul Jones ; but it would be unjust to affix
upon all a base intrigue, which was, perhaps, but the work of
tw^o or three persons, who have continued unknown.
" The American Rear- Admiral was favourably welcomed
at Court; often invited to dinner by the Empress, and re-
ceived with distinction into the best society in the city ; on a
sudden, Catherine commanded him to appear no more in her
presence.
" He was informed that he was accused of an infamous
crime ; of assaulting a young girl of fourteen, of grossly
violating her ; and that probably, after some preliminary in-
formation, he would be tried by the Courts of Admiralty, in
which there were many English officers, who were strongly
prejudiced against him.
" As soon as this order w^as known, every one abandoned
the unhappy American ; no one spoke to him, people avoided
saluting him, and every door was shut against him. All those
by whom but yesterday he had been eagerly welcomed, now
fled from him as if he had been infected with a plague ;
besides, no advocate would take charge of his cause, and no
public man would consent to listen to him ; at last even his
servants would not continue in his service ; and Paul Jones,
whose exploits every one had so recently been ready to pro-
claim, and whose friendship had been sought after, found him-
self alone in the midst of an immense population : Petersburgh
a great capital, became to him a desert.
" I went to see him ; he was moved even to tears by my
visit. * I was unwilling,' he said to me, shaking me by the
INTRIGUE AGAINST JONES. 3O7
hand, * to knock at your door, and to expose myself to a fresh
affront, which would have been more cutting than all the rest.
I have braved death a thousand times, now I wish for it/ His
appearance, his arms being laid upon the table, made me
suspect some desperate intention.
" ' Resume,' I said to him, ' your composure and your
courage. Do you not know that human life, like the sea, has
its storms, and that fortune is even more capricious than the
winds ? If, as I hope, you are innocent, brave this sudden
tempest ; if, unhappily, you are guilty, confess it to me with
unreserved frankness, and I will do everything I can to snatch
you, by a sudden flight, from the danger which threatens you.'
" ' I swear to you upon my honour,' said he, * that I am
innocent, and a victim of the most infamous calumny. This
is the truth. — Some days since a young girl came to me in the
morning, to ask me if I could give her some linen or lace to
mend. She then indulged in some rather earnest and indecent
allurements. Astonished at so much boldness in one of such
few years, I felt compassion for her ; I advised her not to
enter upon so vile a career, gave her some money, and dis-
missed her ; but she was determined to remain.
" ' Impatient at this resistance, I took her by the hand and
led her to the door ; but, at the instant when the door was
opened, the little profligate tore her sleeves and her neck-ker-
chief, raised great cries, complained that I had assaulted her,
and threw herself into the arms of an old woman, whom she
called her mother, and who, certainly, was not brought there
by chance. The mother and the daughter raised the house
with their cries, went out and denounced me ; and now you
know all.'
«<Very well,' I said, *but cannot you learn the names of
those adventurers V * The porter knows them,' he replied.
* Here are their names written down, biit I do not know where
they live. I was desirous of immediately presenting a me-
morial about this ridiculous affair, first to the ministry, and
308 INTRIGUE AGAINST JONES,
then to the Empress; but I have been interdicted from access
to both of them.' * Give me the paper,' I said; 'resume your
accustomed firmness; — be comforted; — let me undertake it;
— in a short time we shall meet again.'
" As soon as I had returned home, I directed some sharp
and intelligent agents, who were devoted to me, to get infor-
mation respecting these suspected females, and to find out
what was their mode of life. I was not long in learning that
the old woman was in the habit of carrying on a vile traffic
in young girls, whom she passed off as her daughters.
"When I was furnished with all the documents and attesta-
tions for which I had occasion, I hastened to show them to
Paul Jones. * You have nothing more to fear,' said I ; * the
wretches are unmasked. It is only necessary to open the
eyes of the Empress, and let her see how unworthily she has
been deceived ; but this is not so very easy : truth encounters
a multitude of people at the doors of a palace, who are very
clever in arresting its progress ; and sealed letters are, of all
others, those which are intercepted with the greatest art and
care.
" ' Nevertheless, I know that the Empress, who is not igno-
rant of this, has directed, under very heavy penalties, that no
one shall detain on the way any letters which are addressed
to her personally, and which may be sent to her by post;
therefore, here is a very long letter which I have written to
her in your name ; nothing of the detail is omitted, ahhough
it contains some rough expressions. I am sorry for the Em-
press ; but since she heard and gave credit to a calumny, it
is but right that she should read the justification with patience.
Copy this letter, sign it, and I will take charge of it ; I will
send some one to put it in the post at the nearest town. Take
courage ; believe me, your triumph is not doubtful.'
" In fact, the letter was sent and put in the post ; the Em-
press received it; and, after having read this memorial, which
Cvas fully explanatory, and accompanied by undeniable attes-
INTRIGUE DEFEATED. 309
tations, she inveighed bitterly against the informers, revoked
her rigorous orders, recalled Paul Jones to court, and received
him with her usual kindness.
" That brave seaman enjoyed with a becoming pride a re-
paration which was due to him ; but he trusted very little to
the compliments that were unblushingly heaped upon him by
the many persons who had fled from him in his disgrace ; and
shortly afterwards, disgusted with a country where the for-
tune of a man may be exposed to such humiliations, under the
pretence of ill health, he asked leave of the Empress to retire,
which she granted him, as well as an honourable order and a
suitable pension.
" He took leave, after having expressed to me his gratitude
for the service which I had rendered him ; and his respect for
the Sovereign, who, although she might be led into an error,
knew at least how to make an honburable reparation for a
fault and an act of injustice."
This account is substantially correct. There are some
petty errors of detail, but nothing whatever to detract from
the noble spirit of generosity in which Count Segur acted to
an unfortunate and ill-treated man.
A letter to the Empress, which is still among those papers
of Paul Jones which he so carefully collected and preserved,
cannot be that alluded to by Count Segur ; it has every internal
mark of his own authorship ; and as it is one of his pieces
justijicatives, we are inclined to believe it the letter really sent
to the Empress : —
(Translation.)
" Letter of Rear- Admiral Paul Jones to the Empress of all the Russias
" St. Petersburgh, 17th May, 1789.
" Madam, — I have never served but for honour, I have
never sought but glory, and I believed I was in the way of
obtaining both, when, accepting the offers made me on the
310
LETTER TO THE EMPRESS.
Catherine II.
part of your Majesty, I entered your service. I was in Ame-
rica when M. de Simolin, through Mr. Jefferson, Minister of
the United States at Paris, proposed to me, in name of your
Majesty, to take the chief command of the forces in the
Black Sea, which were intended to act against the Turks. I
abandoned my dearest interests to accept an invitation so
flattering, and I would have reached you instantly if the
United States had not intrusted me with a special commission
to Denmark. Of this I acquitted myself faithfully and
promptly." Here follows a detail of that singular voyage
performed by the Chevalier in his haste and zeal to reach St.
Petersburgh, with the particulars of which the reader is
already acquainted. We pass this, and resume: — " The dis-
LETTER TO THE EMPRESS. 3H
tinguished reception which your Majesty deigned to grant me,
the kindness with which you loaded me, indemnified me for
the dangers to which I had exposed myself for your service,
and inspired me with the most ardent desire to encounter
more. But knowing mankind, and aware that those persons
whom their superiors distinguish and protect are ever the
objects of jealousy and envy to the worthless, I entreated
your Majesty never to condemn me unheard. You con-
descended to give me that promise, and I set out with a mind
as tranquil as my heart was satisfied.
" In the ports of the Black Sea I found affairs in a very
; critical condition. The most imminent danger threatened us,
and our means were feeble. Nevertheless, supported by the
love which all your subjects bear to your Majesty, by their
courage, by the ability and foresight of the chief who led us,
and by the Providence which has always favoured the arms
of your Majesty, we beat your enemies, and your flag was
I covered with fresh laurels.
[ " I would not notice. Madam, what I then achieved, if
Prince Potemkin had not distinguished my services by
reiterated thanks, both in speech and writing ; and if your
Majesty, informed by the Prince-Marshal of my conduct in
the first affair which took place on the Liman, had not in-
vested me with the honourable badge of the Order of St.
Anne. Since that period, though I have been hampered by
limited orders, I have committed no professional error; I
have often exposed myself to personal danger, and I have
even stooped to sacrifice my personal feelings and interests
to my devotion for the good of the service.
" At the close of the campaign I received orders to return
to court, as your Majesty intended to employ me in the North
Seas, and I brought with me a letter from Prince Potemkin
for your Majesty, in which he mentioned my zeal and the
importance of my services. 1 had the honour to present it,
and M. le Comte de Besborodko acquainted me that a com-
312 LETTER TO THE EMPRESS.
mand of greater importance than that of the Black Sea, and
affording full scope for the display of talent and intelligence,
was intended for me. Such was my situation, when, upon
the mere accusation of a crime, the very idea of which
wounds my delicacy, I was driven from court, deprived of
the good opinion of your Majesty, and forced to employ the
time which I wish to devote to the defence of your empire in
clearing myself from the stains with which calumny had
covered me.
" Condescend to believe, Madam, that if I had got the
slightest hint that a complaint of such a nature had been
made against me, and still more that it had reached your
Majesty, I know too well what is owing to delicacy to have
ventured to appear before you till I was completely ex-
culpated.
" Knowing neither the laws, the language, nor the forms
of justice of this country, I needed an advocate, and ob-
tained one ; but, whether from terror or intimidation, he stopt
short all at once, and durst not undertake my defence, though
convinced of the justice of my cause. But truth may always
venture to show itself alone and unsupported at the foot of
the throne of your Majesty. I have not hesitated to labour
unaided for my own vindication ; I have attested proofs ; and
if such details may appear under the eyes of your Majesty,
I present them, and if your Majesty will deign tp order some
person to examine them, it will be seen by the report which
will be made, that my crime is a fiction, invented by the
avarice of a wretched woman, who has been countenanced,
perhaps incited, by the malice of my numerous enemies.
Her husband has given evidence of her infamous conduct.
His signature is in my hands, and the pastor of the district
has assured me, that if the college of justice will give him an
order to this effect, he will obtain an attestation from the
country people that the mother of the girl referred to is a
wretch absolutely unworthy of belief.
LETTER TO THE EMPRESS. 313
" Take a soldier's word, Madam ; believe an officer whom
two great nations esteem, and who has been honoured with
flattering marks of their approbation, (of which your Majesty
will soon receive a direct proof from the United States,*) I
am innocent ! and if I were guilty, I would not hesitate to
make a candid avowal of my fault, and to commit my honour,
which is a thousand times dearer to me than my life, to the
hands of your Majesty.
" If you deign, Madam, to give heed to this declaration,
proceeding from a heart the most frank and loyal, I venture
from your justice to expect that my zeal will not remain
longer in shameful and humiliating inaction. It has been
useful to your Majesty, and may again be so, especially in the
Mediterranean, where, with insignificant means, I will under-
take to execute most important operations, the plans for which
I have meditated long and deeply. But if circumstances, of
which I am ignorant, do not admit the possibility of my being
employed during the campaign, I hope your Majesty will
give me permission to return to France or America, granting,
as the sole reward of the services I have rendered, the hope
of renewing them at some future day.
" Nothing can ever change or eftace in my heart the deep
feehngs of devotedness with which your Majesty has inspired
me.
" To you, Madam, I am personally devoted. I would
rather have my head struck off than see those ties broken
asunder which bind me to your service. At the feet of your
Majesty I swear to be ever faithful to you, as well as to the
empire, of which you form the happiness, the ornament, and
the glory. — I am,
With the most profound respect,
Madam, &c."
•There are, as was said, several important mistakes, though
* Referring to the medal ordered to be struck by Congress,
27
314 DIPLOMACY.
no wilful misrepresentation whatever, in the details given by
Count Segur. Though Jones was so far exculpated as to be
permitted to appear again at court, it was merely for the cere-
mony of taking leave of the Empress and royal family, when
he had, as will appear, been virtually dismissed from Russia
The Order of St. Anne, to which Segur refers, he had obtained
long before. So far was he from receiving any pension from
Russia, that his small appointments were tardily paid, and not
till after repeated soHcitation. Instead of being loaded " with
compliments," he was treated while he continued to hang on
in the hope of employment, first with the most chilling neglect,
and afterwards with repulsive rudeness. Besborodko, the
favourite minister of Catherine, who, on his coming to Russia,
had overwhelmed the Rear- Admiral with kindness, shut his
doors in the face of the supernumerary officer, and did not
affect to disguise his weariness and disgust of the applausive
recapitulations of past services and projects for future mari-
time achievements with which he continued to be annoyed
by the man whose day was gone by. The alleged crime of
the Rear-Admiral, had his guilt even been established, w^ould,
we are apt to think, have been no insurmountable barrier to
his success in Russia, had a continuance of his services been
wished for; nor was his innocence found any recommenda-
tion. The Empress may have expressed herself in the terms
stated by Count Segur, but this as certainly produced no
favourable change in the position of the party so grossly in-
jured. His correspondence with Besborodko, after this affair
had been closed up, shows the real nature of his situation, and
affords a painful and humiliating picture of the dying struggles
of ambition.
To strengthen his interests in Russia, Paul Jones at this
time endeavoured to bring into play a little diplomatic in-
fluence, knowing the avidity with which that grasping and
ambitious power caught at every appearance of advantage.
He had written thus to Mr. Jefferson soon after his return
' ^ LETTER TO THE MINISTER. 315
from the Liman : — " I can only inform you that I returned
here by the special desire of the Empress, but I know not as
yet how or where I am to be employed for the next campaign.
1 mentioned in my last, as my opinion, that if the new
government of America determines to chastise the Algerines,
I think it now a favourable moment to conclude a treaty with
Russia. The Turks and Algerines were combined against us
on the Black Sea. The United States could grant leave for
Russia to enlist American seamen, and, making a common
cause with Russia in the Mediterranean, might at the peace
obtain a free navigation from and to the Black Sea. Such a
connexion might lead to various advantages in the commerce
between the two nations."
Whether Mr. Jefferson thought the Admiral too desirous
of cutting out work for himself, or that he rather stepped out
of his department in interfering in such affairs, his hints appear
to have met with the return to which he was well accustomed
— neglect, — neglect Which might have repelled a haughtier
spirit, and which, in many instances, was keenly felt by him,
without, however, deterring him from renewed attempts to
bring himself by every possible means into notice.
He waited for some weeks after his character was cleared
at court before he sent the minister the following letters, which
were formerly alluded to : —
" To his Excellency Count Beshorodko from Rear-Admiral Paul Jones.
« St. PkTirtisBURGH, 24tb June, 1789.
" Sir, — When I had the honour to see your Excellency
last week, I ventured to promise myself that in two days I
would be made acquainted with the ulterior intention of her
Majesty, whether this was to give me a command, or a tem-
porary leave of absence. No doubt important affairs have
occasioned the delay. You will, I hope, have the goodness
to permit me to present myself at your hotel to-morrow after
316 LETTER TO THE MINISTER.
noon ; for if it is thought fit to employ my services, there is
no time to lose, seeing the advance of the season.
"The detachment of vessels of which your Excellency spoke
to me might probably be most useful in the operations which
I have projected ; but, at the same time, I regard the plan
mentioned in the private note which I have sent you as very
useful. I would then wish (if circumstances permitted) to
combine these plans ; and then I think there would be reason
to be satisfied with the result.
" I have mentioned to your Excellency that I am the only
officer who made the campaign of the Liman without being
promoted ; but I beseech you to believe that I have not ac-
cepted of service in Russia to occasion embarrassment; and
since the Empress had given me her esteem and her confi-
dence, I wish for nothing save new opportunities to prove my
devotion by fresh services."
This letter elicited no reply, and produced no improvement
in the situation of the applicant, save that the leave of absence
at which he hinted, though it was the last thing he wished for,
was at once accorded, there being evidently an anxious wish
to be rid of himself, his projects, and importunities. The sub-
joined letter, written soon afterwards, may teach a lesson of
contentment, and even of cheerful gratitude, to those persons,
if such there be, who, in their ignorance of pubUc life, may
envy the brilliant fortunes of a successful warrior under the
patronage of a despotic sovereign.
" Rear- Admiral Paul Jones to Count de Beshorodko.
" St. Petersburqh, 14th July, 1789.
" Sir, — I presented myself at your hotel the day before
yesterday, to take leave, and, at the same time, to entreat of
you to expedite my commission, my passport, and the leave
of absence which her Majesty has thought fit to grant me.
Though I have perceived on several former occasions that
you have shunned giving me any opportunity to speak with
LETTER TO THE MINISTER. 317
you, I made myself certain that this could not occur at a last
interview ; and I confess I was very much surprised to see
you go out by another door, and depart without a single ex-
pression of ordinary civility addressed to me at the moment
of my leaving Russia, to console me for all the bitter morti-
fications I have endured in this empire. Before coming to
Russia I had been connected with several governments, and
no minister ever either refused me an audience, or failed to
reply to my letters.
" After the eagerness with which my services were sought,
and the fair promises that were made me, I had reason to
believe that I would find in Russia everything pleasant and
agreeable. I was confirmed in this belief from the essential
services which I had the good fortune to render the empire.
I am aware that your Excellency is sometimes teased by im-
portunate persons, but, as I am a man of delicacy in every-
thing, I deserve to be distinguished from the common herd.
" On the 6th of June, the last time you gave me an oppor-
tunity of speaking with you, I gave you a confidential note,
containing the details of a plan by which, without inter-
fering with any other project, and with the utmost economy,
great service might be done to Russia. You promised to
submit it to the Empress ; and you yourself proposed to place
a detachment of vessels under my command, to serve during
the existing campaign in the Black Sea, and afterwards in the
Mediterranean. I could not have imagined that these plans
were so carelessly to be thrown aside ; and, in place of dis-
" cussing and arranging them with you, I was very much as-
tonished when his Excellency the Count de Bruce announced
to me that the Empress had granted me a leave of two years.
" On the 1st of February I gave in, by order of his Excel-
lency, Count Ostermann, the plan of a treaty, political and
commercial, between Russia and the United States. As the
Vice-Chancellor spoke to me of going to America about th'is
purpose, and as I shall soon again be connected with my old
27*
318 AUDIENCE OF LEAVE.
friends who constitute the present government of the United
States, I would be extremely happy to learn, through your
Excellency, the intentions of her Imperial Majesty in this
respect, and to be appointed to forward an alliance by which
Russia must gain.
" The United States having concluded a treaty of friend-
ship and commerce with the Emperor of Morocco, are about
to propose to the different powers of Europe a war with the
other Barbary states, and to form a confederation against
these pirates, till they shall be annihilated as maritime powers.
It is proposed, that even the event of a war between the con-
tracting parties shall not disturb the confederation. It would
be worthy of the august Sovereign of this empi^-e to place
herself at the head of an alliance so honourable, and of which
the consequences must be so useful to Russia. It would give
me peculiar satisfaction if your Excellency thought fit to ap-
point me to make known the intentions of the Empress to the
United States on these two points, and I trust I should
be able to acquit myself of so honourable a duty to your
contentment.
" I have the honour to be, with sincere attachment and high
consideration," &c, &c.
His Excellency did not " think fit" to make the solicited ap-
pointment.
The Rear- Admiral, as unfortunate in his attempts to obtain
a diplomatic mission as a naval command, was now obliged
to turn his back on Russia, and devour his chagrin and dis-
appointment as he best could. He had, however, the honour
of an audience of leave, though he found considerable diffi-
culty in obtaining his pay and arrears. " When," he says in a
letter to M. Genet, " the Count de Bruce sent for me on the
27th June," (two days only after his letter to Besborodko,)
** he told me, on the part of the Empress, that her Imperial
Majesty had granted me a leave for two years, with the ap-
pointments belonging to my military rank during my absence.
COUNT SEGUR'S LETTER. 319
The Count de Besborodko wrote me, 30th July, informing me
that M. de Strekalow had received her Majesty's orders with
respect to my appointments and arrearages. I have not been
able to see M. de Strekalow, though I have called frequently
at the cabinet. I have only received my appointments from
the time of my entry into the service to the 1st of July, at the
rate of 1800 roubles* a-year ; and I was told yesterday at the
cabinet, that her Majesty likewise mentions nothing but the
appointments then due. If I could believe that this was her
Majesty's intention I should remain silent ; for I certainly did
not accept the service her Majesty offered me on account of
my appointments or the usual emoluments of my grade."
He was satisfied in this respect, and thus left St. Peters-
burgh.
The reader, in possession of the real circumstances attending
the departure of Paul Jones from Russia, will be able to esti-
mate aright the following letter and paragraph, put forth from
the kindest motives by Count de Segur, immediately before
the Rear- Admiral left that country : —
Count de Segur to Count Montmorln.
" St. Petersburgh, 21st July, 1789.
** The enemies of the Vice- Admiral Paul Jones having
caused to be circulated reports entirely destitute of foundation,
concerning the journey which this general officer is about to
undertake, I would wish the enclosed article, the authenticity
of which I guarantee, should be inserted in the Gazette of
France, and in the other public papers which are submitted
to the inspection of your department. This article will unde-
ceive those who have believed the calumny, and will prove to
the friends and to the compatriots of the Vice- Admiral, that
he has sustained the reputation acquired by his bravery and
his talents during the last war ; that the Empress desires to
* A rouble was in 1789 worth about four shillings English money.
320 JONES LEAVES ST. PETERSRURGH.
retain him in her service ; and that if he absents himself at
this moment, it is with his own free-will, and for particular
reasons, which cannot leave any stain on his honour.
" The glorious marks of the satisfaction and bounty of the
King towards M. Paul Jones, his attachment to France, which
he has served so usefully in the common cause, his rights as
a subject and as an admiral of the United States, the protec-
tion of the ministers of the King and my personal friendship
for this distinguished officer, with whom I made a campaign
in America, are so many reasons which appear to me to jus-
tify the interest which I took in all that concerned him during
his stay in Russia.
" The Count de Segur."
" Article to be inserted in the Pullic Prints, and particularly in the Gazette
of France.
" St. Petersburgh, 21st July, 1789.— The Vice-Admiral Paul
Jones being on the point of returning to France, where private
affairs require his presence, had the honour to take leave of
the Empress the 7th of this month, and to be admitted to kiss
the hand of her Imperial Majesty, * who confided to him the
command of her vessels of war stationed on the Liman during
the campaign of 1788. As a mark of favour for his conduct
during this campaign, the Empress has decorated him with
the insignia of the order of St. Anne ; and her Imperial
Majesty, satisfied with his services, only grants him permission
to absent himself for a limited time, and still preserves for
him his emoluments and his rank."
This was putting the best face on the affair ; and the par-
agraph appeared in the Gazette of France, and in many other
journals.
Early in September Jones left St. Petersburgh for Warsaw,
* " This general officer, so celebrated by his brilliant actions during the
rourse of the American war, was Called, in 1787, to the service of her Impe-
rial Majesty." — Note to the Newspaper Paragraph.
M. DE GENET'S CONDUCT. 321
furnished with letters of introduction, explanation, and vindi-
cation, from the Count de Segur to different individuals, all
written in the same generous spirit as the above. The kind-
ness of Count Segur to a man placed in a situation generally
so fatal to court-friendships does him great honour. His
original letters still remain among the papers of the Rear- Ad-
miral, who, however, transmitted copies of them to many of
his friends. Count Segur was not the only Frenchman who
sustained the calumniated stranger under the base attempts
of his enemies. M. de Genet, the younger, was at this time
the secretary of legation at St. Petersburgh. Paul Jones, at
a former period, had been intimate v;ith the father and
family of this gentleman at Versailles^ and the young French-
man did not now forget his father's former friend. M. de
Genet undertook the arrangement of his pecuniary affairs
with the Russian government, and gave him a letter to his
sister, the celebrated Madame Campan, explaining the
atrocious slanders propagated in St. Petersburgh, and placing
the innocence of the calumniated individual beyond all
suspicion. This original letter also remains among the papers
of the Rear-Admiral. It was some months before he re-
turned to Paris, and he might then have felt reluctant to
revive the recollection of a charge so disgusting as to make
the task of vindication both humiliating and painful to a mind
of any delicacy.
In 1791, in writing from Paris to Mr. Jefferson, then in
America, Jones gives the following clue to the mystery of his
treatment in Russia. " Chevaher Littlepage, now here on
his way from Spain to the north, has promised me a letter to
you on my subject, which I presume will show you the mean-
ness and absurdity of the intrigues that were practised for
my persecution at St. Petersburgh. I did not myself com-
prehend all the blackness of that business till he came here,
and related to me the information he received from a gentle-
man of high rank in the diplomatic department, with whom
322 LETTER TO JEFFERSON.
he had travelled in company from Madrid to Paris. That
gentleman had long resided in a public character at St.
Petersburgh, and was there all the time of the pitiful complot
against me, which was conducted by a little great man be-
hind the curtain. The unequalled reception with which I
had at first been honoured by the Empress had been ex-
tremely mortifying and painful to the English at St. Peters-
burgh ; and the courtier just mentioned, (finding that politics
had taken a turn far more alarming than he had expected at
the beginning of the war,) wishing to soothe the Court of
London into a pacific humour, found no first step so expedient
as that of sacrificing me. But, instead of producing the
effect he wished, this base conduct, on which he pretended to
ground a conciliation, rather tended to widen the political
breach, and made him despised by the Enghsh minister, by
the Enghsh cabinet, and by the gentleman who related the
secret to Mr. Littlepage." The letter of Mr. Littlepage,
transmitted to Mr. Jefferson along with the above, in part
confirms this solution of an intrigue, so essentially Rus-
sian. Yet there remains some secret cause and move-
ment which it is impossible to fathom. " The campaign,
upon the Liman," says Chevalier Littlepage, " added lustre
to the arms of Russia, and ought to have established for
ever the reputation and fortune of the gallant officer to whose
conduct those successes were owing." (Littlepage attributes
to the Rear-Admiral the entire success of the campaign of
1788 ; not, like Count Segur, dividing his laurels with Nas-
sau ; and it is to be remembered, that Littlepage was an eye
witness of an important part of it.) " Unfortunately," he
continues, " in Russia, more perhaps than elsewhere, every-
thing is governed by intrigue. Some political motives, I
have reason to think, concurred in depriving Rear-Admiral
Paul Jones of the fruits of his service ; he was thought to
be particularly obnoxious to the English nation, and the idea
of paying a servile compliment to a power whose emnity oc-
JONES AT WARSAW. 323
casions all the present embarrassments of Russia Induced
some leading persons to ruin him, in the opinion of the Em-
press, by an accusation too ridiculous to be mentioned."
On leaving Warsaw, it was the intention of Paul Jones to
return to France by Copenhagen and Berlin ; but, as it was
known that he had left Russia dissatisfied, he deemed it best
to avoid all farther occasion of giving his enemies any handle
against him, and accordingly kept away from places where it
might be presumed that he was tempted to tell tales, or utter
complaints.
Disgrace at Petersburgh did not at this juncture imply a
cold reception at Warsaw ; and in this capital — soon to be a
capital no more — Jones was well received, and remained for
two months. From Warsaw he despatched the Journal of
his American Campaigns for the perusal of the Empress, and
also an abridgment of the Journal of his Campaign on the
Liman. Her Imperial Majesty had, it seems, at some former
period, civilly expressed a desire to see his Journal of the
American war. The old spirit was not yet quite subdued.
" I have added," he says, " some testimonies of the high and
unanimous consideration of the United States, and of the pri-
vate esteem with which I was honoured by several great men
to whom I am perfectly known, such as M. Malsherbes and the
Count d'Estaing of France, and Mr. Morris, minister of the
American marine. I owe to my own reputation and to truth,
to accompany this Journal with an abridgment of that of
the campaign of the Liman. If. you, Madam, read it with
attention, you will see how Httle I have deserved the mortifi-
cations I have suffered, — mortifications which the justice and
goodness of your Majesty can alone make me forget.
" As I never offended in word or thought against the laws
of the strictest delicacy, it would assuredly be most desirable
to me to have the happiness of regaining, in spite of the
malice of my enemies, the precious esteem of your Majesty.
[ would have taken leave with a heart fully satisfied, had I
324 LETTER TO THE EMPRESS.
been sent to fight the enemies of the Empress, instead of oc-
cupying myself with my own private affairs.
" Trusting entirely on the gracious promise that your Ma-
jesty gave me, * never to condemn me without a hearing,' and
being devoted to you, heart and soul,
" I am with profound respect," &c. &c.
To ensure the Journal reaching the hands of the Empress,
this postscript is added to the above loyal effusion: — " I shall
have the honour of sending the Journal by the courier of Wed-
nesday next, with the proofs of every separate article. It will
be sealed with my arms, and addressed to your Majesty, and
sent under a second cover, to the address of M. de Chrapo-
witzky." With all these precautions he feared that his Jour-
nal w^as intercepted, as it contained such " damning proofs
against his enemies."
LETTER TO KOSCIUSKO.
325
CHAPTER XII.
URING his stay in Warsaw,
Paul Jones became known to
the celebrated Kosciusko. On
leaving Poland he sent a fare-
well note to this noble patriot
and determined hater of Rus*
sia, which was followed by a
rather singular correspondence.
Sweden was at this time in the
heat of war, and it had been
rumoured that the discontented American, who had for a brief
space prided himself on being a Russian officer, was now
ready to take service with Gustavus III. This report was
one reason for Jones avoiding the route of Copenhagen on his
way to Holland, and choosing rather to go by Vienna.
" Rear-Admiral Paul Janes to Major General Kosciusko.
Warsaw, November 2d, 1789.
" My dear General, — I intend to set out this day for Vienna,
where I shall only stop a few days. I shall then go to
Strasburgh, and from thence to Holland, where I expect to
I arrive before the 1st of December. My address in Holland
I is under cover to Messieurs Nic. and Jacob Stophorst, Am-
sterdam.
" As I shall be in relation with our friends in America,
I shall not fail to mention on all occasions the honourable
employment and the respect you have attained in your own
28
326
LETTER TO KOSCIUSKO.
Kosciusko.
country, and the great regard you retain for the natives of
America, where your character is esteemed, and your name
justly beloved for your services. — I am," &c.
KOSCIUSKO'S ANSWER. 327
The letter of General Kosciusko* is written in English, a
language which he wrote but imperfectly. The original or-
thography is retained.
" General Kosciusko to Rear-Admiral Paul Jones, Amsterdam.
"Warsaw, 15th February, 1790.
" My dear Sir, — I had the honour to write you the 1st or
3d of February. I do not recollect ; but I gave you the in-
formation to apply to the minister of Sweden at the Hague,
for the propositions (according to what M. D'Engestrom told
me) they both had order to coQimunicate you. I wish with
all my heart that could answer your expectation. I am totaly
' * Thaddeus Kosciusko was a native of Poland, and of good birth. He was
educated at the Cadet-School of Warsaw, and was one of four pupils annually
chosen by the king, and sent to complete their military studies in France or
Germany. He was instructed at the Military Academy of Versailles, and ac-
quired a thorough knowledge of every department of military science, particu-
larly engineering. It is related, that on returning home he fell desperately in
love with a young lady, who eloped with him. The lovers were pursued and
( overtaken before they could pass the frontiers of Poland ; and as Kosciusko
' could only retain his mistress by killing her father, he resigned her. In con-
j sequence, it is said, of this adventure, but more probably from the love of era-
I ployment and distinction, the young Pole went to America, and was appointed by
General Washington one of his aides-de-camp. He continued there till the end
I of the war. The part he afterwards acted in his native country is well known.
j In the battle in which he was made prisoner, he had three horses killed under
i him, and was captured as he fell wounded from the last. He was kept in a
I Russian dungeon till the death of the Empress Catherine, and only liberated
I by Paul at his accession. He afterwards visited America and England, and
j was received with the highest distinction. When Bonaparte entered Poland
' he tried to move the nation by a proclamation issued in the name of the pa-
triot chief; but Kosciusko disowned it, and refused to have any alliance either
with the French conqueror or with the Russian Emperor, Alexander. "He
j lived," says his biographer, " in proud independence, superior to fortune and to
1 kings." His latter years were passed at Soleure, where he distinguished hira-
self by generosity to the poor. He possessed a highly-cultivated mind, and was
passionately fond of poetry, particularly the works of the English poets, with
which he became well acquainted. He died in October 1817, in the 65th
year of his age.
328 LETTER TO KOSCIUSKO.
ignorant what they are ; but I could see you to fight against
the opression and tyranny. Give me news of everything.
— I am, dear Sir,
" Your most humble and most
" obedient servant,
" J. Kosciusko, G. M."
" Write me, if you please, who is minister from America
at Paris : I want to know his name."
In answer to this letter Jones wrote from Amsterdam in
the following month : —
" My dear Sir, — The letter you did me the honour to
write me the 2d February, was delivered to my bankers here,
by a man who demanded from them a receipt. I was then
at the Ha^ue, and your letter was transmitted to me. On
my return here, some days ago, I found another letter from
you of the 15th February. This letter had, by the same
man, been put into the hands of my bankers. You propose,
if I am not mistaken, that I should apply to a gentleman at
the Hague, who has something to communicate to me. But
a moment's reflection will convince you that considerations
of what I owe to myself, as well as the delicacy of my situa-
tion, do not permit me to take such a step. If that gentleman
has anything to communicate to me, he can either do it by
writing, by desiring a personal conference, or by the media-
tion of a third person. I have shown your letter to my
bankers, and they have said this much to the gentleman from
whom they received it ; but this message, they say, he re-
ceived with an air of indifierence."
Thus terminated the enigmatical correspondence between
Paul Jones and the illustrious Pole. Reckoning a little on the
disinterested love of freedom, common to all Americans,
and somewhat more, probably, on the avowed discontent
of the Rear-Admiral, Kosciusko may have wished to draw
him into some of those daring schemes with which his
JONES'S LETTERS. 329
own mind, on the highest and purest motives, was now
anxiously occupied. But the Ungering hope and ardent desire
of being again recalled to serve in Russia, cherished in spite
of all he had seen and suffered, had not yet left the mind of
Jones. To this delusive hope he indeed clung, to the very
close of his hfe. Prudence, besides, forbade a negotiation of
so mysterious and suspicious a kind; and there was both
honesty and discretion in avoiding it.
While in Holland, Jones wrote many letters to different
quarters, desirous to re-establish himself in the good opinion
of some old friends, and to revive himself in the memory of
others from whom he had been estranged during his Russian
bondage, or splendid exile, — for it may be called indifferently
by either name. His letters about this time exhibit a curious
struggle between the desire of domestic peace and the am-
bition of again launching into the heady current of public life.
He appears at a loss what plan to pursue, whether to purchase
a small estate in America, and seek the enjoyments of that
tranquil life which in reality possessed no charms for him ; to
marry a rich wife, or to drag on an existence in the longing,
lingering hope of bemg recalled to Russia. His letters reflect
the exact complexion of his thoughts, disturbed, broken, and
changeful.
He, however, once more felt in security, and gave his pen
such scope, that innumerable letters bear date at the Hague
or Amsterdam, between December 1789, and March 1790.
A selection from the important part of his copious corres-
pondence at this period must be more satisfactory to the reader
than any detail we can give; his letters of a private kind
written at this time are reserved for the limited portion of
this memoir devoted to the domestic history of its subject.
28*
330
LETTER TO WASHINGTON.
Washington.
" Rear- Admiral PaulJones to General Washington, President of the
United States.
. '' Amsterdam, December 20, 1789.
" Sir, — I avail myself of the departure of the Philadelphia
packet, Captain Earle, to transmit to your Excellency a letter
I received for you on leaving Russia in August last, from my
friend, the Count de Segur, minister of France at St. Peters-
burgh. That gentleman and myself have frequently conversed
on subjects that regard America ; and the most pleasing re-
flection of all has been, the happy establishment of the new-
constitution, and that you are so deservedly placed at the
head of the government by the unanimous voice of America.
Your name alone, Sir, has established in Europe a confidence
LETTER TO MR. ROSS. 331
that was for some time before entirely wanting in American
concerns ; and I am assured, that the happy effects of your
administration are still more sensibly felt throughout the
United States. This is more glorious for you than all the
laurels that your sword so nobly won in support of the rights
of human nature. In war your fame is immortal as the hero
of Liberty ! In peace you are her patron, and the firmest sup-
porter of her rights ! Your greatest admirers, and even your
best friends, have now but one wish left for you, — that you
may long enjoy health and your present happiness.
"Mr. Jefferson can inform you respecting my mission to
I the court of Denmark. I was received and treated there with
marked politeness ; and if the fine words I received are true,
the business will soon be settled. I own, however, that I
should have stronger hopes if America had created a respecta-
ble marine ; for that argument would give weight to every
transaction with Europe. I acquitted myself of the commis-
I sion with which you honoured me when last in America, by
( delivering your letters with my own hands at Paris to the
, persons to whom they were addressed."
I He also wrote Franklin and Mr. Ross. Both of these let-
( ters have interest. i
" Amsterdam, December 27, 1789.
i *' Dear Sir, — I beg leave to refer you to Doctor Franklin
or to General St. Clair for an explanation of my reasons for
having left Russia. I have by this opportunity sent to those
gentlemen testimonies in French that cannot fail to justify me
in the eyes of my friends in America.
" You have no doubt been informed, perhaps by Mr.
Parish, of the unhandsome conduct of Le Conteulex and Co.
with regard to the letter of credit you gave me on them
"when I was last in America for six thousand Hvres. As I
Was landed in England instead of France, I went to London
to make an arrangement with Dr. Bancroft for supplying the
332 LETTER TO FRANKLIN.
expense of my mission to Denmark. He promised to place
funds for my use at Amsterdam. I went to Paris, and took
a letter of credit from Le Conteulex on Amsterdam hy way
of precaution. On my arrival at Amsterdam I found that
Bancroft had not kept his word, nor ever wrote me a line.
I then depended on the credit that Le Conteulex had, without
the least difficulty, given me in an open letter ; but his cor-
respondent imformed me he had received orders to pay me
nothing till more explicit and satisfactory accounts should be
received from you ! I had then no funds in my hands ; and
if I had not had the fortune to be immediately relieved from
a quarter on which I had no claim, I should have found my-
self in great distress.
" I should be glad to know the state of the bank, &c.,
though I at present want no remittance. My address is, un-
der cover, to Messrs. N. and J. Van-Stophorst and Hubbard,
Amsterdam. Present my respectful compliments to Mrs.
Ross and the young ladies. I may perhaps return to America
in the latter end of the summer ; and in that case I shall wish
to purchase a little farm, where I may live in peace. I am
always aftectionately yours.
" John Ross, Esq., Philadelphia.
" JV. B. — I presume you have received my bust, as Mr.
Jefferson has forwarded it for you."
Paul Jones to Dr. Franklin.
" Amsterdam, December 27, 1789.
" Dear Sir, — The enclosed documents from my friend,
the Count de Segur, Minister Plenipotentiary of France at
St. Petersburgli, will explain to you in some degree my
reasons for leaving Russia, and the danger to which I was
exposed by the dark intrigues and mean subterfuges of Asiatic
jealousy and malice. Your former friendship for me, which
I remember with particular satisfaction, and have ever been
ambitious to merit, will, I am sure, be exerted in the kind use
LETTER TO MR. PARISH. 3S3
you will make of the three pieces I now send you, for my
justification in the eyes of my friends in America, whose
good opinion is dearer to me than anything else. I wrote to
the Empress from Warsaw in the beginning of October, with
a copy of my journal, which will show her Majesty how
much she has been deceived by the account she had of our
maritime operations last campaign. I can easily prove to the
world that I have been treated unjustly ; but I intend to re-
main silent at least till I know the fate of my journal.
" I shall remain in Europe till after the opening of the
next campaign, and perhaps longer, before I return to Ame-
rica. From the troubles m Brabant, and the measures now
pursuing by the King of Prussia, &c., I presume that peace
is yet a distant object, and that the Baltic will witness warm-
er work than it has yet done. On the death of Admiral
Greig, I was last year called from the Black Sea by the Em-
press to command a squadron in the Baltic, &c. This set
the invention of all my enemies and rivals at work, and the
event has proved tha't the Empress cannot always do as she
pleases. If you do me the favour to write to me, my ad-
dress is, under cover, to Messieurs N. and J. Van Stophorst
and Hubbard at Amsterdam.
" I am, with sincere affection, dear sir, your most obedient
and most humble servant.
" His Excellency B, Franklin, <^c., ^c.
Philadelphia.
" JV. B. — It is this day ten years since I left the Texel m
the Alliance."
To Mr. Parish, the well-known Hamburgh merchant, with
whom Paul Jones had become acquainted on his journey to
Russia, he thus wrote under a vague idea of going to Ham-
burgh till his fate was determined: — "My departure from
Copenhagen was so sudden, that I omitted writing to you,
intending to have done it from St. Petersburgh. There I found
334 LETTER TO MR. PARISH.
myself in such a round of feasting and business till the mo-
ment of my departure for the Black Sea, that I again post-
poned.
" Had T wrote you after my arrival at Cherson, I have every
reason to think my letters would have been intercepted ; but,
notwithstanding my past silence, I can truly assure you, that
I have constantly entertained the most perfect and grateful
sense of your friendly and polite behaviour to me at Hamburgh
and Copenhagen. I will now thankfully pay to your order
the cost of the smoked beef you were so obliging as to send
to my friend, Mn Jefferson, at my request. The kind interest
you have taken in my concerns, and the great desire to culti-
vate your esteem and friendship, are my present inducements
f r troubling you with the enclosed packet for the Chevalier
Bourgoingi (the French resident at Hamburgh,) which I leave
under a flying seal for your perusal, praying you to shut the
exterior cover before you dehver it. I shall make no com-
ments on the documents I send for the Baron de la Houze
but let the simple truth speak for herself. I shall show you,
when we meet, things that will surprise you, for you can
scarcely have an idea how much our operations have been
misrepresented.
" As I am for the present the master of my time, I shall
perhaps make you a visit in the spring, and pay my court to
some of your kind, rich old ladies. To be serious^ I must
stay in Europe till it is seen what changes the present politics
will produce, and till I can hear from America; and if you
think I can pass my time quietly, agreeably, and at a small
expense at Hamburgh, I should prefer it to the fluctuating
prospects of other places."
The documents above referred to were copies of the letters
of Count Segur for Baron de la Houze, the French minister
at Copenhagen : from him they drew a polite and soothing
replv : —
. JONES'S PROPERTY. 335
" Baron de la Houze to Paul Jones.
" Copenhagen, 9th February, 1790.
" It is but a few days since I received, with the letter with
which you have honoured nrie of the 29th December, the
copies of that of the Count de Segur, which you have been
pleased to communicate to me, and which were accompanied
by the article inserted on your account in the Gazette of
France, and which I had read. This article, which has been
repeated in many foreign gazettes, has entirely destroyed all
the venomous effects which calumny had employed to tarnish
the distinguished reputation which you have acquired by your
talents and valour. In consequence, pubHc opinion still con-
tinues to render you justice, and the most noble revenge you
can take on your enemies is to gather fresh laurels. The cele-
brated Athenian general, Themistocles, has said, — ' I do not
envy the situation of the man v^ho is not envied.' "
Baron Krudner had been actively useful to Paul Jones while
in Copenhagen, both in promoting his views in entering the Rus-
sian service, and in the affair of the Danish pension. Though
we are aware that the Rear- Admiral had property of different
descriptions, the state of his finances must, about this time, have
been embarrassed by his large disbursements during the Rus-
sian camp-iign, his long journeys, indisposition, and other
causes of expenses. In writing from America to a lady in
whom he took a strong interest, he represents himself, im-
mediately previous to his last voyage in 1787, as " almost
without money, and puzzled to obtain a supply." He wrote,
as has been seen, in this emergency to Dr. Bancroft,* who af-
terwards, in London, promised him assistance, but failed to
* Dr. Bancroft had pecuniary transactions with Paul Jones, and at this time
may have owed him money. The Doctor was addicted to gamblings in the
English funds, and on this account lost the confidence of Congress, and the
diplomatic appointment which he held. It is probable that he employed the
money of his friends in the same speculations, partly for his own advantage,
and partly for theirs.
336 LETTER TO KRUDNER.
keep his word. He intimates to Mr. Parish, that he could
wish " to live at small expense ;" and there are other reasons
to conclude, that his finances, at least so far as regarded ready
money, were not flourishing. This circumstance of actual
exigency may, as was formerly hinted, account for the anx-
iety respecting the Danish pension manifested in this letter to
Baron Krudner ; it is in other respects curious : —
" Rear-Admiral Paul Jones to Baron Krudner^ Russian Envoy at
Copenhagen.
" Amsterdam, 29tb December, 1789.
" My dear Sir, — Though I have not written to your Ex-
cellency since I set out on my first journey to St. Petersbuigh,
yet I have constantly retained the most lively sense of your
kind behaviour to me at Copenhagen. I must beg to refer
you to his Excellency the Baron de la Houze, to whom I now
transmit three documents for my justification in the eyes of
my friends in Denmark. Notwithstanding the unjust treat-
ment I received in Russia, the warm attachment with which
the Empress inspired me at the beginning still remains rooted
in my heart. You kno\y, Sir, that her Imperial Majesty
thought my sword an object worthy of her attention, sought
it with the most flattering eagerness, and treated me the first
time I was at her court with unexampled distinction. That
sword has been successfully and frequently drawn on critical
occasions, to render the most essential services to her empire,
and to cover her flag with fresh laurels. For this I have
greatly exposed my reputation, and entirely sacrificed my
military pride. Yet I have seen the credit of my services
bestowed on others, and I am the only officer who made the
campaign of the Liman without being advanced. In a letter
I wrote the Empress the 17th of May last, I mentioned that
her Majesty would soon receive a direct proof froui America
of the unanimous approbation with which I am honoured by
the United States. I alluded to the gold medal which I am
LETTER TO KRUDNER. 3g^
to receive, and respecting which you have in your hands a
copy of the unanimous act of Congress. That medal is now
elegantly executed, and is ready for me at Paris. The United
States have ordered an example of my medal to be presented
to every sovereign in Europe, Great Britain excepted. When
we meet, I shall produce clear proof of all I have said re-
specting Russia. The only promise I asked from the Em-
press at the beginning, and, indeed, the only condition I made
with her Majesty, was, that ' she should not condemn me loiih-
out having heard me.'' I need make no remark to a man of
your clear understanding. You advised me to itrlte to the
Empress by the post. I wrote several letters while in the de-
partment of the Black Sea to my friend Mr. Jefferson, at
Paris, containing no detail of our operations, yet they were
all intercepted. I have, I think, reason to apprehend that
there will be no peace this winter, and that the Baltic will
witness ivarmer work than it has yet done.
" You remember that Count B (Bernstorf ) showecl
you a paper which he sent, to be delivered to me by the
Danish Minister at St. Petersburgh. I received that paper
without any alteration whatever, either in the ' date^ or other-
wise. If I understood you right, it was intended that ' a yeafs
'payment icould he made in advance,^ but I have not since
heard a word in that respect. I wish to be informed how the
payment is intended to be made. It cannot surely be in^
Danish bank-paper. You will do me a great favour if you
can obtain an explicit answer, and it would be much more
agreeable if the payment could be made here, instead of being
made at any other place. I have not yet mentioned this affair
to any person whatever, except yourself. You are no stranger
to my sentiments. You know the present happy state of
America. That nation will soon create a respectable marine.
It is now a year since I gave a plan to the court of St. Peters-
burgh, for forming a political and commercial connexion witn
the United States. The Empress approved this much, and
29
338 ARREARS OF PAY.
there was question of sending me to America in consequence
But a great man told me, ' que cela enrageroit les Anglais
davantage contre la Russie, et qu'il falloit auparavant faire
la paix avec les Turcs.' Accept my warm congratulations
on the well-merited advancement you have received in the
Order of St. Wolodimer. I hear that your lady* is at Paris.
I beg you to assure her of my great respect," &c. &c.
Baron Krudner replied, entirely blinking the memorial
touching Russian affairs, but assuring his correspondent of
success in obtaining the Danish pension, of which he had
spoken to Count Bernstorf, and obtained a promise of imme-
diate payment ; — which promise, it is to be inferred, was never
meant to be kept, — as it certainly never was.
Paul Jones appears to have gone to England in the spring
of this year, (1790,) but did not remain long. The object of
his visit does not transpire ; and that he had been there only
comes out incidentally in his correspondence, especially in a
letter to M. de Genet, written in June, when he had reached
Paris. In this letter he informs that gentleman, that he had
not yet paid his respects to his sister, (Madame Campan,) but
intended doing so, and presenting the lady with his bust, as
a mark of personal regard for her father and brother. He
continues, " I have shown M. de Simolin proof that, if I have
not sought to avenge myself of the unjust and cruel treatment
I met with in Russia, my forbearance has been only the result
of my delicate attachment towards the Empress. You will
oblige me by inquiring at the cabinet, and demanding the ap-
pointments due to me for the current year, which ends the
1st of July, agreeably to the promise of the Empress, com-
municated to me by the Counts de Bruce and Besborodko.
I wish to have that money immediately transmitted to me."
* The afterwards well-known Madame Krudner, who was still enchanting
Parisian circles with her charms and attitudes in the " shawl-dance," not hav-
ing as yet assumed the part of devotee, or prophetess, in which she afterwards
made an equally remarkable figure.
LETTER TO A LADY. 339
While in Amsterdam the Rear-Admiral received letters
from Madame Le Mair d'Altigny, a lady who appears to have
taken a peculiar interest in his welfare. This lady w^as prob-
ably a widow ; but her actual condition as wife or widow
we have no means of verifying, and leave it entirely to the
penetration of our fair readers. o,^^
" Rear-Admiral Paul Jones to Madame Le Mair d'Altigny, at Avignon.
"Amsterdam, 8th February, 1790.
** I have received, my dear Madam, the two obliging letters
you did me the honour to address to me from Avignon on
the 18th and 22d of December. Accept also, I pray you, my
sincere acknowledgments for the two letters you had the
kindness to send me at Strasburgh. I am infinitely flattered
by the interest with which I have the happiness to have inspired
you, and your good wishes in my concerns give me true
pleasure. I am not come here on account of anything connect-
ed "with military operations ; and though I think it right to
retain my rank, I have always regarded war as the scourge
of the human race. I am very happy that you are once
more above your difficulties. Past events will enable you to
value the blessings of Providence, among which, to a sensible
heart, there are none greater than health and independence,
enjoyed in the agreeable society of persons of merit. As
soon as circumstances permit, I shall feel eager to join the
delightful society in which you are. As you have not sent
me your address at Avignon, I beg of you to do so, and to be
assured of my entire esteem."
The lady, to visit whom the Rear-Admiral was willing to
make so long a journey, when circumstances permitted, ap-
pears to have replied in the following month; but it was
not till December in the same year that she obtained an
answer.
340 LETTER TO A LADY.
"Paris, December 27th, 1790.
" My dear Madam, — I have received your charming letter
of the 2d March. Having an affair of business to arrange in
England, I went from Amsterdam to London at the beginning
of May, to settle it. I escaped being murdered on landing.*
From London I came hither, and have not had an hour of
health since my arrival. I now feel convalescent, otherwise
I would not have dared to write, for fear of giving pain to
your feeling heart. In leaving Holland my plan was to re-
pair to Avignon, in compliance with your obliging invitation.
My health formed an invincible obstacle, but I still hope to
indemnify myself on the return of the fine weather. I was
for a long time very much alarmed by the disturbances which
interrupted the peace of your city, and am very glad to see
they are ended. I have learned, with lively satisfaction, that
they have had no disagreeable consequences so far as regards
you. Give me news of yourself, I pray you, and of those in-
teresting persons of whom you speak in your last letter. Ac-
cept the assurance of the sincere sentiments which you are
formed to inspire.
" My address is, under cover, to M. Dorbery, No 42, Rue
Tournon, Paris.
" JV.B. — Have you not sufficient confidence in my discre-
tion to explain ' the enigma' of the happmess with which you
say ' I will be loaded, and which will astonish me so soon as
I know^ it V "
Of Madame Le Mair d'Altigny we hear nothing more,
so that her enigma in all probability remained unexpounded.
It might be presumed that the mind of Jones was now
effectually weaned from the service of the country where he
had been so " unjustly and cruelly treated;" but such was not
* This is undoubtedly meant in jest ; Paul Jones was by no means so
eenseless as to fear assassination in England.
LETTER TO POTEMKIN. 341
the fact. At intervals, during the last ten years of his life,
he had been subject to severe attacks of indisposition, and
about this time he was labouring under that illness which,
with brief intermission, never again left him ; yet was his
mind as ardently occupied as ever with hopes of serving in Rus-
sia. He addressed Prince Poiemkin,he addressed the Empress:
— his mind on this subject appears to have been possessed ; his
very eagerness must have tended to defeat his anxious wishes.
These letters from Paris, together with one other document,
conclude the history of his unfortunate connexion with Rus-
sia,— a connexion which one cannot help regarding as the
cause of his premature death. The generous reader must
be pained to see a man of unquestioned bravery, and of very
considerable talent and professional skill, who, in his own
adopted country of America, might have lived to old age in
peace and honour, fighting her battles in the senate, as he had
already done on the ocean, clinging thus in hopeless pertina-
city to the delusion which had undone him.
" To his Highness the Prince-Marshal Potemkin.
" Paris, 24th July, 1790.
" My Lord, — I do not think it becomes me to let pass the
occasion of the return of your aide-de-camp, to congratulate
you on the brilHant success of your operations since I had
the honour to serve under your orders, and to express to you
in all the sincerity of my heart, the regret I feel in not being
fortunate enough to contribute thereto. After the campaign
of Liman, when I had leave, according to the special desire
of her Imperial Majesty, to return to the department of the
Northern Seas, your Highness did me the favour to grant
me a letter of recommendation to the Empress, and to speak
to me these words, ' Rely upon my attachment. I am dis-
posed to grant you the most solid proofs of my friendship
for the present and for the future.' Do you recollect them ?
This disclosure was too flattering for me to forget it, and I
29*
042 LETTER TO POTEMKIN.
hope you will permit me to remind you of it. Circumstances
and the high rank of my enemies have deprived me of the
benefits which I had dared to hope from the esteem which
you had expressed for me, and which I had endeavoured to
merit by my services. You know the disagreeable situation
in which I was placed ; but if, as I dared to believe, I have
preserved your good opinion, I may still hope to see it fol-
lowed by advantages, which it will be my glory to owe to you.
M. de Simolin can testify to you that my attachment to Rus-
sia, and to the great Princess who is its sovereign, has always
been constant and durable ; I attended to my duties, and not
to my fortune. I have been wrong, and I avow it with a
frankness which carries with it its own excuse — 1st, That I did
not request of you a carte-blanche, and the absolute command
of all the forces of the Liman. 2d, To have written to your
Highness under feelings highly excited, on the 5th October,
1788. These are my faults. If my enemies have wished
to impute others to me, I swear before God that they are a
calumny. It only rests with me, my Lord, to unmask the
villany of my enemies, by publishing my journal of the
operations of the campaign of Liman, with the proofs, clear
as the day, and which I have in my hands. It only rests
with me to prove that I directed, under your orders, all the
useful operations against the Capitan Pacha ; that it was I
who beat him on the 7th June ; that it w^as I and the brave
men I commanded who conquered him on the 17th June, and
who chased into the sands two of his largest galleys, before
our flotilla was ready to fire a single shot, and during the
time a very considerable part of the foi'ce of the enemy re-
mained at anchor immediately in rear of my squadron; that
it was I who gave to General Suwarrow, (he had the noble-
ness to declare it at court before me, to the most respectable
witnesses,) the first project to establish the battery and breast-
works on the Isthmus of Kinbourn, and which were of such
great utility on the night of the 17-1 8th June ; that it was I, in
LETTER TO POTEMKIN. 343
person, who towed, with my sloops and other vessels, the bat-
teries which were the nearest to the place, the 1st July, and
who took the Turkish galleys by boarding, very much in ad-
vance of our Hne, whilst some gentlemen, who have been too
highly rewarded in consequence of it, were content to re-
main in the rear of the struggles of our line, if I may be
allowed to use the expression, sheltered from danger. You
have seen, yourself, my Lord, that I never valued my
person on any occasion where I had the good fortune to act
under your eye. The whole of Europe acknowledges my
veracity, and grants me some military talents, which it would
give me pleasure to employ in the service of Russia, under
your orders. The time will arrive, my Lord, when you will
know the exact truth of what I have told you. Time is a
sovereign master. It will teach you to appreciate the man,
who, loaded with your benefits, departed from the court of
Russia with a memorial prepared by other hands and the
enemies of your glory, and of which memorial he made no
use, because your brilliant success at the taking of Oczakow,
which he learned on his arrival in White Russia, 2;ave the
lie to all the horrors which had been brought forward to
enrage the Empress against you. You know it was the echo
of another intriguer at the court of Vienna. In fine, time
will teach you, my Lord, that I am neither a mountebank nor
a swindler, but a man true and loyal. I rely upon the
attachment and friendship which you promised me. I rely
on it, because I feel myself worthy of it. I reclaim your
promise, because you are just, and I know you are a lover of
truth. I commanded, and was the only responsible person in
the campaign of the Liman, the others being only of inferior
rank, or simple volunteers ; and I am, however, the only one
who has not been promoted or rewarded. I am extremely
thankful for the order of St. Anne which you procured for
me^ according to your letter of thanks, /or my conduct in iht
affair of the 7th June, which was not decisive. The 17th
344 LETTER TO POTEMKIN.
June I gained over the Capitan Pacha a complete victory,
which saved Cherson and Kinbourn, the terror of which
caused the enemy to lose nine vessels of war in their preci-
pitate flight on the following night, under the cannon of the
battery and breast-work which I had caused to be erected in
the Isthmus of Kinbourn. On this occasion I had the honour
again to receive a letter of thanks; but my enemies and rivals
have found means to abuse your confidence, since they have
been exclusively rewarded. They merited rather to have
been punished for having burnt nine armed prizes, with their
crews, which were absolutely in our power, having pre-
viously run aground under our guns.
" I have been informed that, according to the institution of
the order of St. George, I have the right to clann its decora-
tions in the second class for the victory of the 17th June, but
I rely upon your justice and generosity. I regret that a
secret project, which I addressed to the Count,de Besborodko
the 6th of June of the last year, has not been adopted. I com-
municated this project to the Baron de Beichler, who has
promised me to speak to you of it. I was detained in St.
Petersburgh until the end of August, in order to hinder me, as
I have heard, from proceeding into the service of Sweden.
My poor enemies, how I pity them ' But for this circumstance
my intention was to have presented myself at your head-
quarters in the hope to be of some utility ; and the Baron de
Beichler, in departing from St. Petersburgh in order to join
you, promised me to assure you of my devotion for the ser-
vice of your department, and that I should hold myself ready
to return to you the instant I was called. My conduct has
not since changed, although I hold in my hand a parole for
two years, and I regard eighteen months of this parole, in a
time of war, more as a punishment than as a favour. I hope
that your Highness will succeed in concluding peace this
year with the Turks ; but, in a contrary case, if it should
please you to recall me to take command of the fleet in the
LETTER TO CATHERINE II. 345
jnsuing campaign, I would ask permission to bring with me
'.he French officer concerning whom I spoke to you, with one
or two others, who are good tacticians, and who have some
knowledge of war. On my return here I received a gold
medal, granted me by the unanimous voice of Congress, at
the moment I received a parole /rom this honourable body.
The United States have decreed me this honour, in order to
perpetuate the remembrance of the services which I rendered
to America eight years previous, and have ordered a copy
to be presented to all the sovereigns and all the academies of
Europe, with the exception of Great Britain. There is reason
to believe that your Highness will be numbered among the
sovereigns of Europe, in consequence of the treaty of peace
which you are about to conclude with the Turks ; but in any
case, if a copy of my medal will be acceptable to you as a
mark of my attachment for your person, it will do me an
'honour to offer it to you. Paul Jones."
The Rear-Admiral suffered much bodily illness during the
interval which elapsed between the despatch of this letter and
the period w^hen he sent off his forlorn hope, the subjoined
epistle, in the spring of the following year : —
To her Imperial Majesty of all the Russias.
25th Feb.
" Madam, — If I could imagine that the letter which I had
the honour to write to your Majesty from Warsaw, the 25th
September, 1789, had come to hand, it would be without
doubt indiscreet in me to beg you to cast your eyes on the
documents enclosed, which accuse no person,* and the only
* In a letter from Warsaw to Mr. Littlepage, he says, the Count de B ;
(we know not whether De Bruce or De Besborodko, though it is probably the
latter,) had intercepted his despatch to the Empress till orders could be got
from Potemkin.
346 LETTER TO CATHERINE II.
intent of which is, to let you see that in the important cam
paign of Liman, the part which I played was not either that
of a zero or of a harlequin, who required to be made a colonel
at the tail o^ his regiment. I have in my hands the means
to prove, incontestably, that I directed all the useful operations
against the Capitan Pacl\a. The task which was given to
me at this critical conjunction was very difficult. I was
obliged to sacrifice my own opinion and risk my military re-
putation for the benefit of your empire. But I hope you will be
satisfied with the manner in which I conducted myself, and
also of the subsequent arrangements, of which I am persuaded
you have not been acquainted until this moment. The gra-
cious counsel which your Majesty has often done me the
honour to repeat to me before my departure for the Black
Sea, and in the letter which you deigned to write to me after-
wards, has since been the rule of my conduct ; and the faithfiil
attachment with which you had inspired me for your person,
was the only reason which hindered me from requesting my
dismissal when I wrote to you from Warsaw ; for I confess
that I was extremely afflicted, and even offended, at having
received a parole for two years in time of war, — a parole
which it has never entered into my mind to wish for, and still
less to ask, and of which I have not profited to go to Amer-
ica, or even to Denmark, where I had important business ; for
I had always hoped to be usefully employed in your service,
before the expiration of this parole, which has done me so
much injury; and although in public I would not have failed
to have spoken to you at the last audience which you granted
me, yet I was unfortunately led to believe the repeated prom-
ises made me, that I should have a private audience in order
to lay before you my military projects, and to speak of them
in detail.
" I hope that the brilHant success with which Providence
has blessed your arms will enable you to grant peace to your
enemies without shedding more of human blood, but in a
BARON GRIMM. 347
contrary case your Majesty can be well instructed from my
project, No. 12, of the last year.
" As I have mjr fenemies, and as the term of my paioie is
about to expire, I await the orders of your Majesty, and
should be flattered, if it is your pleasure for me to come and
render you an account in person. Mr. , who has the
goodness to charge himself with this packet, which I have ad-
dressed to him, sealed with my arms, will also undertake to
forward me your orders ; I therefore pray you to withdraw
me as soon as possible from the cruel uncertainty in which I
am placed. Should you deign, Madam, to inform me that you
are pleased with the services which I have had the happiness
to render you, I will console myself for the misfortunes which
I have suffered, as I drew my sword for you from personal
attachment and ambition, but not for interest. My fortune,
as you know, is not very considerable ; but as I am philosopher
enough to confine myself to my means, I shall be always rich.
" I have the honour to be,
Madam,
Of your Imperial Majesty
The most faithful and
Obedient servant,
Paul Jones.'*
' So late as the month of July of the same year, we finri
"Paul Jones still in Paris, and now in very bad health, but even
yet occupied with Russia. His next and final letter is address-
ed to Baron Grimm, the literary correspondent of the Em-
press, who, a dozen years before, had celebrated his praises.*
* In the original correspondence of Grimm we find the following- passage,
which does not appear in the much-abridged edition of his voluminous works
published in England. This passage shows that both Mr. Sherburne and
the present editor are mistaken in supposing that the bust of Paul Jones was
originally taken at his own suggestion. The letter of Baron Grimm bears
date January, 1780, at which time he says Paul Jones had been some weeks in
348 LETTER TO GRIMM.
His former attempts having been so utterly unsuccessful, he
discovers considerable address in trying his fortune in a new
tack. The Empress, it may be premised, had long shown
herself ambitious of being considered the munificent patroness
of science and of scientific men, in whatever regarded the im-
provement of her country, and particularly of her navy.
•' Rear- Admiral Paul Jones to Baron Grimm.
" Paris, 9th July, 1791.
" Sir, — M. Houdon has. sent to your house the bust which
you have done me the honour to accept.* Mademoiselle
Paris. This cannot be correct, as it was among the very last days of Decem-
ber when he escaped from the Texel ; the only error, however, is of a few
weeks. " The intrepid Paul Jones," says the Baron, " has been here for some
weeks. He has had the honour to be presented to the King. He has been
applauded with transport at all the public places where he has shown himself,
and particularly at the opera. It is a singularity worthy of remark, that this
brave Corsair, who has given multiplied proofs of possessing a soul the most
firm, and courage the most determined, is at the same time the most feeling
and mild man in the world, and that he has made a great many verses full of
elegance and softness, the sort of poetry which appears most congenial to his
taste being the elegy and the pastoral. The Lodge of the Nine Sisters, of
which he is a member, have employed M. Houdon to take his bust. This re-
semblance is a new masterpiece worthy of the chisel which appears destined
to consecrate to immortality illustrious men of all kinds."
* His own bust, " now decorated," he says, " with the order of St. Aime, on
the American uniform, one reason why I wish to be authorized by the Ame-
rican States to wear that order." This is said in a letter to Mr. Jefferson,
written soon after his final epistle to the Empress, and when he had formed
the design of again entering the French fleet of evolution, if bodily indisposi-
tion, and the worse sickness of hope deferred, left him power to form an/ con-
siderate or consistent plan of future conduct. There were five orders of
knighthood in Russia, three of which were instituted by Peter the Great, and
two, that of St. George and St. Vladimir, by the Empress Catherine die
Second. The order of St. Anne was a Holstein, and not a Russian o.der
The Empress never conferred this order herself. She left it to the Grand Duke
Paul, as Duke of Holstein, and from him Paul Jones received it. It was ac-
cordingly less valued than those of her own institution bestowed by herself
NEW-FASHIONED SHIPS. 349
Marchais has told me all the obliging things you have said
regarding me.
" As it is my duty to interest myself in objects that may be
useful to Russia, I must inform you that I have met with a
man here, whom I have known for fifteen years, who has in-
vented a new construction of ships of war, which has small
resemblance, either externally or internally, to our present
war-ships, and which will, he says, possess the following ad-
vantages over them : —
" I. The crew will be better sheltered during an engage-
ment.
'* II. The lodging-room of the crew will be more spacious ;
every individual may have a bed or a hammock, and there may
be as much air as is wished for, night and day, in the sleep-
ing apartments.
" III. There will be less smoke curing an engagement."
The enumeration of all the rare qualities of this heau ideal
of a war-ship might prove tedious ; suffice it, that a ship of
the new construction, of 54 guns, if well armed and com-
manded, might have faced one of the old make carrying 100
guns ; that it would cost less both in artillery and timber, be
a better sailer, go nearer the wind, and possess many other
advantages. " For a long time," the Rear- Admiral states,
** he had, in conjunction with his friend Dr. Franklin, tried to
construct a ship combining the advantages of being a fast
sailer, not driving to leeward, drawing little water, &c. ; but
they always encountered great obstacles. From the death of
that great philosopher," he continues, " having rather too
much time on my hands, (a very gentle hint,) I think I have
surmounted the difficulties which baffled us and stopped our
progress The ship-builder of whom I have spoken has ex-
plained nothing to me in detail, and I can form no idea on
the subject. He wishes to preserve his invention, and to draw
emolument from it ; and nothing can be more just, if on ex
periment his discovery holds. As this is a thing which ap-
30
350 NEW-FASHIONED SHIPS.
pears to me to deserve the attention of the Empress, I beg of
you to acquaint her Majesty as soon as possible. This person
wished to go to England to offer his discovery, where I think
it would have been received ; but, as I have some influence
with him, I have persuaded him to remain here, and wait
your reply. If he receive any encouragement, he will com-
municate his ideas more fully to me. But in every case I
dedicate to the Empress, without any stipulation, all that my
feeble genius has accomplished in naval architecture." The
Rear- Admiral then relates his own supposed discovery, and,
like a skilful orator, winds up, by pressing hard the main
point of his argument. " Will not this, presuming it correct,
be of great advantage to the infant marine of the Black Sea,
and consequently to the prosperity of the Russian Empire 1"
It appears that Baron Grimm received an answer from the
Empress in relation to this first appHcation, though it can
scarcely be called a satisfactory one. She says there was a
prospect of a speedy peace ; but if peace did not take place,
she would let M. Paul Jones know her intentions respecting
himself: and she tacitly reproves Grimm's interference by
saying, that she would not choose him as the medium of her
communicdtions with Paul Jones.
STYLE OF JONES'S LETTERS.
351
CHAPTER XIII.
HE voluminous papers lelt by
Paul Jones afford very scanty
materials for his domestic his-
tory. From boyhood his place
in society was completely iso-
lated. His extensive corres-
pondence, as it came into the
hands of his relatives, is chiefly
that of business, or of the cere-
^^^vw^t*-- ^^>^/yV'^^'^^^ monial connected with business,
and with the courtesies of acquaintanceship. His intercourse
with society amounted to little more than the exchange of
the customary offices of kindness and civility. He was early
separated, by insurmountable circumstances, from his own
relatives ; he never afterwards found a fixed home, nor does
his correspondence afford any trace of the kindly, genial, un-
bending, and cordial familiarity of confidential friendship.
His letters consequently want the charm of a particular or
individual interest. Few of them contain a single observa-
tion on men or manners, or even the expression of an opinion
not merely professional. His journals, in like manner, are
strictly confined to professional affairs, and contain little that
can either extend the range of knowledge or gratify a liberal
curiosity. With the fields of observation, whether in America,
France, or Russia, that were presented to a mind so active
352 JONES'S GALLANTRY.
and acute, this is much to be regretted. As it is, the interest
of this memoir must rest wholly on the public life of its sub-
ject. The few of his private confidential letters which exist,
do, however, unfold his character in a very amiable way.
Those to his relations in Scotland, written in the latter years
of his life, display the most affectionate solicitude for the
happiness of those who could but little add to his, and much
good sense in his endeavours to promote it.
According to his London or American biographer, Paul
Jones was " as chivalrous in love as in war." This is as-
sumed, it is probable, on the principle that every seaman is
bound to be so, as a point of professional duty, — from Nelson
of the Nile down to Jack or Ben just paid off at Portsmouth.
" Paul Jones," we are gravely told, " was always seriously in
love," and, what is more singular, '' often with women he had
never seen." This contradicts all ordinarv experience, and
even goes beyond romantic tradition. Though seamen are
not remarkable for tedious or roundabout modes of courtship,
they are seldom so far spiritualized as not to require at least
one passing glance of the fair objects that kindle the sudden
flame. That among all existing unknown beauties, Paul
Jones should have singled out Lady Selkirk as the object of
his romantic and passionate admiration, appears, at least on
this, the frigid side of the Atlantic, too absurd for serious refu-
tation. His gallantry of disposition, and the disagreeable
and derogatory imputations to which his descent on St. Mary's
Isle was Uable, sufficiently account for the address to Lady
Selkirk of a man w^ho had so quick a sense of dishonour, and
so tenacious a regard for reputation, as Paul Jones evinced
in every transaction of his life. It is therefore quite unneces-
sary to account for his conduct in this memorable affair, by
raising the ridiculous hypothesis of his having fallen in love
with a married lady of high rank, whom he had never seen,
and whose eldest son was at that time of an age to have act-
ed as his lieutenant. It is indeed just possible, that, while
JONES'S GALLANTRY. 35^
Paul Jones was still a lad, sailing to the port of Kirkcudbright,
he might have seen the lady of St. Mary's Isle, though even
then it would be preposterous to imagine such long-lived and
romantic consequences from this transient vision, however
fair and captivating.
Paul Jones wars by no means so great a fool as his historian,
no doubt to do him honour, would insinuate. A man " in the
singular situation of being in love with every woman in
Paris," and " often with women he had never seen," was
evidently in no imminent peril from the attractions of any in-
dividual charmer, however powerful these might be. In the
present case this seems to have been the fact. The true, and,
it may be said, the only mistress to whom Paul Jones was
sver devoted with all the powers of his heart and mind was
— GtLORY, in pursuit of whom he made no scruple at any time
to set his foot on the neck of " the gentle Cupid," or, if need
were, to use that " soft integument" as a stepping-stone in his
mounting path.
It is said that John Paul Jones, soon after entering the
navy, formed an ardent attachment to an American lady.
Their affection was mutual, but circumstances forbade their
union ; and from this period he formed the resolution of never
marrying. There is, however, much to intervene between
the cradle and the grave of the passions; and when a man
expresses resolutions of this kind, his friends generally know
with what proper degree of credit or allowance to receive
them. He sent a message to his sisters, by Mr. Kennedy, —
the French teacher of Dumfries, who waited on him with
letters from his relations, about the year 1784, — purporting
that he would never marry ; yet shortly after this we find
him expressing a very tender and anxious interest for a French
lady (Madame T ,) with whom he w^as in corres-
pondence.
The most brilliant period of the bonnes fortunes of Paul
Jones was during his residence at Paris and Versailles in
30*
354 COUNTESS DE LAVENDAL.
1780, and immediately after his escape from the Texel; the
period commemorated by Baron Grimm, the era of' his court
favour, militaiy order, and gold sword. He at this time
engaged in Ymous flirtations ^ of the kind and complexion
which no man of his age and profession, moving in gay
society in Paris, could have avoided, if he wished to live in
the odour of gallantry. His acquaintance with the lady who
assumes, or who received the poetical appellation of Delia,
must have commenced about this time, as the hottest fire of
her love-letters appears to have fallen upon the Chevalier at
L'Orient during the existence of Landais' mutiny.
The conduct of the Chevalier at this time was, it is to be
feared, more creditable to his general spirit of gallantry than
to his fidelity to the fair and devoted Delia. Among the
ladies whom he met most frequently in the society he fre-
quented at Versailles was the Countess of Lavendal, a mar-
ried woman, (and marriage in Paris at this time made an in-
dispensable ingredient in the attractions of a mistress,) young,
beautiful, witty, and withal a little intriguing. To the good
graces of this lady the Chevalier Paul Jones anxiously and
assiduously recommended himself. There is, however, rea-
son to surmise, that the gentleman might have been some-
what of a self-seeker even in his admiration of the beautiful
Countess. It is undeniable, that he owed all the distinction
he had just obtained solely to court-favour, — to the French
ministry he owed nothing. " La belle Comtesse," indeed,
appeared to have looked to him as the medium of advance-
ment or employment for her husband, without affecting to
possess court-patronage herself; but there was no limiting the
influence of a clever and beautiful woman at the Court of
Versailles, where, although the reigning sovereign was unas-
sailable, there were always so many open channels, through
ministers and favourites, high and low, male and female.
When the lady, whose object was to obtain employment for
her husband, in conjunction with the American hero, but who
JONES'S POETRY- 358
nad no objection to the by-play of a little harmless coquetry,
thought it prudent to draw back, after a course of very pro-
mising encouragement, her admirer appears to have borne his
disappointment with great philosophy; and to have turned
the tables upon the fickle charmer, and extricated himself
from the affair with a cool dexterity that might command
the applause of Chesterfield himself.
This Parisian " course of true love" is fully elucidated by
the following extracts of pubHshed letters, attributed to a young
English lady, a Miss Edes, residing at the time in Versailles.
They were written early in June and July, 1780. Coupling
the fact of their immediate publication in England, with the
staple of their composition, if left to our own instincts, and
not positively assured that they were originally the private
letters of a young lady, we would be inclined to attribute
them to some of the gentlemen of the press who flourished
fifty years ago ; and who then exported the scandal of Paris
to London, in a somewhat clumsier way than the same busi-
ness is still managed, but exactly in the same spirit.
" The famous Paul Jones dines and sups here often," says
Miss Edes ; " he is a smart man of thirty-six, speaks but little
French, appears to be an extraordinary genius, a poet as well
as a hero ; a few days ago he wrote some verses extempore,
of which I send you a copy. He is greatly admired here,
especially by the ladies, who are all wild for love of him, as
he for tliem ; but he adores Lady , (the Countess La-
vendal,) who has honoured him with every mark of polite-
ness and distinction."
" Verses addressed to the Ladies who have done me the Honour of their polite
Attention .'" Presented by Paul Jones to Mademoiselle G *
" Insulted Freedom bled, — I felt her cause,
And drew my sword to vindicate her laws,
From prmciple, and not from vain applause.
* This is supposed to be one of the daughters of M. Genet, but could not
have been his eldest daughter, who was by this time married to M. Campan,
and a woman of the bedchamber to the Queen.
356 JONES'S POETRY.
I 've done my best ; self-interest far apart,
And self-reproach a stranger to my heart ;
My zeal still prompts, ambitious to pursue
The foe, ye fair ! of liberty and you :
Grateful for praise, spontaneous and unbought,
A generous people's love not meanly sought ;
To merit this, and bend the knee to beauty,
Shall be my earliest and my latest duty."
In this, and other effusions fully more creditable to his
muse, Paul Jones, we presume, makes no worse figure than
other clever men have done, when, departing from their true
character, they choose to engage in the solemn fooleries or
trifling puerilities of a part for which neither nature, educa-
tion, nor habit, has fitted them.*
* In vindication of the critical opinions of Grimm, who praises the "grace
and softness" of the verses of Paul Jones, we subjoin what is considered a tole-
rably fair specimen of his poetical vein. It is no disparagement of our own
great naval hero to say, that the verses of Paul Jones are far superior to those
of Nelson. Indeed, of all such effusions the opinion of Byron ought to be
adopted as quite canonical — they are so good, that — " bad were better." The
only use of the verses of Paul Jones is the evidence they afford, that their au-
thor could not liave been the brutal, ignorant, and ferocious pirate he is fre-
quently described. In this view they are invaluable to truth and to his honest
fame : —
^Verses written on Board the Alliance off Ushant, the 1st Day of January
1780, immediately after escaping out of the Texel from the Blockade of the
British Fleet ; being in Ansicer to a Piece written and sent to the Texel by
a young Lady at the Hague.
TO MISS DUMAS.
I.
" Were I, Paul Jones, dear maid, the ' king of sea,'
I find such merit in thy virgin song,
A coral crown with bays I 'd give to thee,
A car which on the waves should smoothly glide along ;
The Nereids all about thy side should wait,
And gladly sing in triumph of thy state,
* Vivat, vivat' the happy virgm muse !
Of Liberty the friend, whom tyrant power pursues !
LOVE-LETTERS. Sol
The same young lady, supposed to be the Miss Edes, some-
times noticed in the correspondence of the Chevalier with the
Genet family, on another occasion, and after further acquaint-
ance, writes thus: —
" Since my last, Paul Jones drank tea and supped here. If
I am in love with him, for love I may die ; I have as many
rivals as there are ladies, but the most formidable is still
Lady , (the Countess Lavendal,) who possesses all his
heart. This lady is of high rank and virtue, very sensible,
good-natured, and affable. Besides this, she is possessed of
youth, beauty, and wit, and every other female accomplish-
ment. He is gone, I suppose, for America. They corres-
I pond, and his letters are replete with elegance, sentiment, and
deHcacy. She drew his picture, (a striking likeness,) and
wrote some lines under it, which are much admired, and pre-
sented it to him, who, since he received it, is, he says, like a
, second Narcissus, in love with his own resemblance ; to be
I ^^
( " Or, happier lot ! were fair Columbia free
j From British tyranny, and youth still mine,
I I 'd tell a tender tale to one like thee
Witli artless looks, and breast as pure as thine.
If she approved my flame, distrust apart,
Like faithful turtles, we 'd have but one heart ;
Together then we 'd tune the silver lyre,
As Love or sacred Freedom should our lays inspire.
IIL
" But since, alas ! the rage of war prevails,
And cruel Britons desolate our land,
For Freedom still I spread my willing sails.
My unsheathed sword my injured country shall command
Go on, bright maid, the Muses all attend
Genius like thine, and wish to be its friend.
Trust me, although convey 'd through this poor shifl.
My new-year's thoughts are grateful for thy virgin gift."*
♦This gallant effusion was despatched from Corogne, where Jones put in for a short tiaie
on his way to Groix. The lady was the daughter of M. Dumas, the American agent a
Amsterdam.
358 LOVE-LETTERS.
sure he is the most agreeable sea-wolf one would wish to
meet with. As to his verses, you may do with them what
you please. The Ring had given him a magnificent gold
sword, which, lest it should fall into the hands of the enemy,
he has begged leave to commit it to the care of her ladyship, —
a piece of gallantry which is here highly applauded. If any
further account of this singular genius should reach my ..ands,
you shah have it."
We believe that even the most finished French v^.oquet
would feel rather startled at the eclat of an appearance like
the above in an English periodical published within the month.
The Countess must have been alarmed, and she took her
measures accordingly.
When Jones was compelled to return to L'Orient, and in
the prospect of an immediate departure for America, he took
courage to speak more plainly to this condescending Countess.
Though, as has been noticed, he found it afterwards expedient
to give the affair another turn, his first letter, which follows,
cannot be mistaken : —
" I am deeply concerned," he says, " in all that respects
your happiness ; I therefore have been and am much affected
at some words that fell in private conversation from Miss
Edes the evening I left Versailles. I am afraid that you are
less happy than I wish, and am sure you deserve to be. I am
composing a cipher for a key to our future correspondence,
so that you will be able to write me very freely, and without
risk. It is a small dictionary of particular words, with a
number annexed to each of them. In our letters we will write
sometimes the corresponding number instead of the w^ord, so
that the meaning can never 'be understood until the corres-
ponding words are interlined over the numbers.
" I beseech you to accept the within lock. I am sorry that
it is now eighteen inches shorter than it was three months
ago. If I could send you my heart itself, or anything else
that could afford you pleasure, it would be my happiness to
LOVE-LETTERS. 359
do it. Before I had the honour of seeing you, I wished to
comply with the invitation of my lodge,* and I need not add
that I have since found stronger reasons that have compelled
me to seek the means of returning to France again as soon
as possible."
There was a manifest want o{ retenue in this epistle. The
lady, it is said, kept the trophies, namely, the cipher, the let-
ter, and the lock of hair, but wrote to Jones, expressing her
astonishment at his audacity, and her conjecture that his
packet had been misdirected when sent to herelf. She begged,
at the same time, to introduce to him the Count her husband,
who was to pass through L'Orient. " She should be obliged
to the Chevalier to show him every civility." This he did,
and afterwards wrote the Countess : —
" L'Orient, July 14, 1780.
" Madam, — Since I had the honour to receive your packet
from Versailles, I have carefully examined the copy of my
letter from Nantes, but am still at a loss, and cannot conceive,
what part of the letter itself could have occasioned your
imagining I had mistaken the address. As for the little
packet it contained, perhaps it might better have been omitted :
if so, it is easily destroyed. If my letter has given you even
a moment's uneasiness, I can assure you, that to think so
would be as severe a punishment as could be inflicted upon
me. However I may have been mistaken, my intention
could never have been to give you the most distant ofl^ence
I was greatly honoured by the visit of the Count your hus
band, and am so well convinced of his superior understand
ing, that I am glad to believe Miss Edes was mistaken. I
admire him so much, that I should esteem myself very happy
indeed to have a joint expedition with him by sea and land,
though I am certain that his laurels would far exceed mine.
♦Probably the lodge of the Neuf Soeurs, of which he was a member.
360 LOVE-LETTERS.
I mention this, because M. de Genet has both spoken and
written to me on the subject as from the Count himself.
" I had the honour to lay a project before the King's
ministers in the month of May, for future combined expedi-
tions under the flag of America, and had the satisfaction to
find that my ideas were approved by them. If the Count
your husband will do me the honour to concert with M. de
Genet, that the court may send with me to America the ap-
plication that was intended to be made to Congress, con-
formable to the proposal I made, it would afford me a pleasing
opportunity of showing my gratitude to the King, to his
ministers, and to this generous-minded nation. I should be
greatly proud to owe my success to your own good offices ;
and would gladly share with your husband the honour that
might result from our operations. I have within these few
days had the honour to receive from his Majesty the cross of
Military Merit, with a sword that is worthy the royal giver,
and a letter which I ardently wish to deserve. I hold the
sword in too high estimation to risk its being taken by the
enemy ; and therefore propose to deposite it in the care of a
friend. None can be more worthy of that sacred deposite
than you, Madam ; and if you will do me the honour to be its
guardian, 1 shall esteem myself under an additional obligation
to deserve your ribbon, and to prove myself worthy of the title
of your knight. I promised to send you a particular account of
my late expedition ; but the late extraordinary events that have
taken place, with respect to the frigate Alliance, make me wish
to postpone that relation until after a court-martial in America
shall have furnished evidence for many circumstances that
would, from a simple assertion, appear romance and founded
on vanity. The only reason for the revolt on board the
Alliance was, because the men were not paid either wages
or prize-money; and because one or two envious persons
persuaded them that I had concurred with M. de Chaumont
to defraud them, and to keep them in Europe during the war,
LOVE-LETTERS. 361
which, God knows, was not true. For I was bound directly
for America ; and far from concurring with M. de Chaumont,
I had not even written or spoken to him, but had highly re-
sented his mean endeavours to keep the poor men out of their
just rights, which was the only business that brought me to
court in April.
" If I am to have the honour of writing you from beyond
sea, you will find that the cipher I had the honour to send
you may be necessary : because I would not wish all my in-
formations to be understood, in case my letters should fall
into the hands of the enemy. I shall communicate no idea in
cipher that will offend even such great delicacy as yours ;
but as you are a philosopher, and as friendship has nothing to
do with sex, pray what harm is there in wishing to have the
picture of a friend ? Present, I pray, my best respects to the
Count. If we are hereafter to be concerned together in war,
I hope my conduct will give him satisfaction ; at any rate I
hope for the honour of his friendship. Be assured that I shall
ever preserve for you the most profound esteem and the most
grateful respect. Paul Jones."
The lady waived the honour of being constituted guardian
of the gold sword : and whatever her influence with the
Chevalier might have been, it now declined rapidly. From
the Road of Groix Jones wrote to her in the following well-
considered and measured terms ; and, from his next letters,
it appears that the correspondence henceforth languished on
his side : —
" Paul Jones to the Countess de Lavendal.
" Ariel, Road of Groix, September 21, 1780.
" Madam, — I was honoured with the very polite letter that
your Ladyship condescended to write me on the 5th of last
month. I am sorry that you have found it necessary to refuse
me the honour of accepting the deposite mentioned in my last,
31
362 COUNTESS DE LAVENDAL.
but am determined to follow your advice, and be myself its
guardian. I have been detained in this open road by contrary
and stormy winds since the 4th of this month. There is this
moment an appearance of a fair opportunity, and I will
eagerly embrace it. I have received a letter from the first
minister, very favourable to the project I mentioned to you,
and you may depend on my utmost interest with Congress to
bring the matter to issue. I am sure that assembly will with
pleasure say ^11 yourself or the Count could wish respecting
the Count, if my scheme is adopted.
" I have the satisfaction to infjorm you, that, by the testi-
mony of all the persons just arrived in four ships at L'Orient
from Philadelphia, the Congress and all America appeared to
be warmly my friends ; and my heart, conscious of its own
uprightness, tells me I shall be well received. Deeply and
gratefully impressed with a sense of what I owe to you and
your husband's attentions and good wishes, and ardently
desiring to merit your friendship and the love of this nation by
my whole conduct through life,
" I remain. Madam, &c. &c.
" P. S. — I will not fail to write whenever I have anything
worth your reading ; at the same time, may I hope to be
honoured now and then with a letter from you, directed to
Philadelphia. I was selfish in begging you to write me in
French, because your letters would serve me as an exercise.
Your English is correct and even elegant."*
Long afterwards his correspondence with the Countess is
thus ceremoniously resumed : —
* The above letter is addressed, in the copy before us, to tlie Countess de
Bourbon. It is, however, obviously intended for the Countess de Lavendal.
Paul Jones could not have been in correspondence with two different ladies to
whom he would have wished to intrust " the deposite."
M. GENET. 36©
Captain Paul Jones to M. de Genet^ enclosing Letters to the Countess de
Lavendal and the Marquis de Castries.
" Triomphant, Porto la Bello, February 28, 1783.
** Dear Sir, — I had the honour to receive your favour of
the 16th May, 1781, only a few days before I launched the
America at Portsmouth. Perhaps Colonel Lawrence, (who
is no more,) in the warmth of his public zeal, had forgot my
letter, and carried it with him to the fate of Corfiwallis. My
mind was so much on the stretch from receiving your letter
till I reached Boston, that you will, I hope, excuse my silence.
I expected to have written by the Iris; but the stormy
weather after leaving Boston rendered it impossible to put
letters on board, and I had not a moment's time before we
left the port. I leave the seal of my letter to the Marquis de
Castries open, that you may read it yourself, and show it to
the Countess de Lavendal before you seal and deliver it. She
will there see that invincible obstacles have defeated my pro-
jects, which I have pursued with unremitting attention. I am
happy that my little present was accepted by Miss Sophy*
with so much favour, and that it was taken in good part by
her family and intended husband. I am not surprised that
your son-in-law is a worthy man. It could not be otherwise,
since he has your approbation, and is the choice of the young
lady. From the complexion of the King of England's speech
of the 5th December, the war ought now to be at an end. I
hope and sincerely wish it, for humanity has need of peace.
But if the war should continue, it is not impossible that I may
command again before it is finished. Returning my respect-
ful compliments to all your family, and to Miss Edes ; and
still hoping to revisit France, T am,
" Dear Sir, &c. &c.
*' M. de Genet, Versailles."
A daughter of M. Genet.
364 ~ COUNTESS DE LAVENDAL.
" Captain Paul Jones to the Countess de Lavendal, enclosed in the above.
" Triomphant, Porto Cabello, February 28, 1783.
" I RECEIVED, Madam, a short time before I left North
America, from M. Genet, a letter, dated Versailles, 18th May,
1781, containing a message from your Ladyship respecting
the military projects I had in contemplation in connexion
with the Count when I left Versailles. As nothing could add
more to my disappointment than a supposition on your part
that I had not pursued these objects with constant zeal, I
have desired M. Genet to put into your hands, before it is
delivered to the person for whom it is directed, a letter, by
which you will see that invincible obstacles alone have pre-
vented the full operation of my schemes, which, till very
lately, have always been supported by hope. I now think
the war at an end ; but if it should continue, I shall not volun-
tarily remain out of the busy scene, and I am still of opinion
my former projects might be adopted with public utility. I
can, however, promise nothing, but that my principles are
invariably the same. I hope to return to France, and am
persuaded you will rather feel compassion for my disap-
pointment than withdraw from me any part of your esteem.
" I am, Madam, with sentiments of the most profound re-
spect, &c. &c.
" To the Countess de Lavendaiy
In reference to her husband, this lady had evidently formed
expectations from Paul Jones which he never possessed the
power to realize ; and which, it is to be presumed, arose
rather from the strength of her own wishes, than from false
hopes held out by her admirer. How he could have proposed
to connect himself with a man of no professional eminence,
whom, when the idea was formed, he had never seen, and,
from Miss Edes' report, supposed a fool, must be left to
MARQUIS DE CASTRIES. 365
the sagacity of the reader, and will, perhaps, require his in-
dulgence.
The letter sent for the perusal of the Countess does not ap-
pear much in point, nor could it have proved very satisfac-
tory to her.
" Captain Paul Jones to the Marquis de Castries, enclosed to M. Genet, for
the perusal of the Countess de Lavendal.
" Triomphant, Porto Cabello, 28th February, 1783.
" My Lord Marquis, — You have no doubt been officially
informed of the act of Congress presenting the America to
his Majesty, to replace the Magnifique, when that ship was
lost at Boston. Perhaps you may have also heard, that soon
after my return from France to Philadelphia, in the Ariel, I
was unanimously elected by Congress to command the
America. It was proposed by his Excellency, Mr. Morris,
Minister of Marine, to arm the America en Jlute, and send
her to Bresl in December, 1781, with a cargo of large masts,
fit for ships of the line, to be armed for war, &c. But when
I arrived at Portsmouth, I found the ship not half built, and
all the materials were wanting to finish the construction.
Instead of commanding a fine ship, and being attended by
frigates belonging to the continent, the inspection of the con-
struction fell entirely upon me, almost without money or
materials to carry it on. I had been thus employed tor six-
teen months before the act of Congress presenting ihe Ame-
rica to the King deprived me of that command. It was
thought that act of Congress must give me pain, but those
who were of that opinion did not well know my character.
It was a sacrifice I made with pleasure, to testify my grate-
ful regard for his Majesty, and my invariable attention and
zeal to promote the common cause. I continued my inspec-
tion till the America was launched, and having then di^livered
her to M. de Martigne, appointed by his Ex.-^.dleiicy the
Marquis de Vaudreuil, I set out for Philadelphia. A project
31 *
366 COUNTESS DE LAVENDAL.
was then in contemplation between Mr. Morris and tlie
Chevalier de la Luzerne, for employing me immediately with
a command of some frigates ; but not being able to get the
South Carolina frigate out of the hands of Mr. Gillan, their
project did' not succeed. Thus disappointed, I applied to
Congress to send me back to Boston to make a campaign for
my instruction on board his Majesty's fleet. Congress having
passed an act for that purpose, I returned to Boston the day
before the fleet sailed, with letters from the Minister of
Marine, and the Chevalier de la Luzerne, to his Excellency
the Marquis de Vaudreuil, who kindly received me as a
volunteer on board of his ship. I have been so handsomely
treated, both by him and the officers, both of tlie fleet and
army, that they leave me nothing more to wish for from
them. I am directed to return to Philadelphia when the cam-
paign is ended, unless, in the meantime, I should receive
orders to the contrary. I beseech you to assure his Majesty,
that I will eagerly embrace every opportunity to testify by
my conduct the high sense I have of the honourable marks
conferred on me of his favour and esteem, and that I feel
a superior obligation for the many marks of his bounty. —
I am,
"My Lord Marquis,
with profound respect, &c.
" To his Excellency the Marquis
de Castries,''^ <^c.
Of the Countess de Lavendal we learn no more ; nor would
the aflair have been worth notice, were it not already before
the public. The motives which led to the earlier part of this
correspondence cannot be mistaken ; nor is the address dis-
played in the attempt to give the affair a turn much to be
commended, unless, as seems extremely probable, the coquetry
of the lady, and her retention of the gifts she disclaims in
words, justify the affected astonishment of an admirer whose
DELIA'S ATTACHMENT. 367
vanity was to all appearance more interested than his serious
affections. If the apology be offered for this correspondence,
that Paul Jones did not understand French naanners, this will
more strongly justify the lady than her admirer ; and it is to
be feared that another aggravation is its being simultaneous
with that of the devoted Delia, the anonymous lady already
mentioned.
Delia has so dexterously preserved her incognita, that it is
scarce possible, even if it were important, to ascertain her
real condition. Her letters which are preserved appear to
have been written to Jones while at L'Orient, and when he
was supposed on the eve of saiHng for America. These
epistles, which are warmly passionate, breathe the eloquence
of deep and genuine feeling, and display the boundless gene-
rosity of a devoted if not very discreet attachment ; but they,
at the same time, discover a larger experience in " affairs of
the heart" than was likely to be possessed or acknowledged
by a very young woman, and habits of life which intimate
more independence and freedom than custom permitted to
any unmarried French girl, if above the very lowest rank.
DeHa appears to have received the visits of gentlemen, — a
privilege enjoyed only by married women or widows ; and
she alludes to her income of eight thousand Kvres (no small
fortune in those days) as if it were under her sole and uncon-
trolled command. She alleges her liberality of disposition as
the cause of her narrow fortune, and thus warrants the con-
clusion, that her conduct was perfectly independent of control.
Her extreme apprehension lest her letters or her portrait
should be seen, which is repeatedly expressed, is but a natural
and becoming female feeUng, from which nothing can be sur-
mised of her real character and condition. It was a duty
that her lover owed to her memory, or, if she survived hin),
to the memory of their attachment, to have placed this warm
and animated correspondence beyond the power of either
misrepresentation or derision.
368 DELIA'S ATTACHMENT.
In the American Memoir of Paul Jones republished in Lon-
don, it is said, *' the Commodore grew alarmed when the lady
proposed to follow him to America." Her original letters,
which Paul Jones has preserved with a care he was not likely
to have bestowed on those of a person to whom he was in-
different, bear no trace of any proposition so indecorous. In
the most fervid of her eloquent compositions, with an abund-
ant lack of discretion, there is no symptom of indehcacy.
Her distress, her agonies at parting with her lover, are very
frankly proclaimed, but she contemplates no such termination
of her misery as an elopement. " Heaven," she says, " will
reunite us, and watch over the fate of two beings who love
faithfully, and whose upright hearts deserve to be happy. I
incessantly address myself to heaven for your safe arrival in
America. If you are satisfied with that government you will
continue in its service; if not, resign, and rejoin your faithful
friend. The whole world besides may forsake you, but her
heart is eternally yours. You inquire how you can render
me happy 1 — take care of yourself, love me, study the means
of enabling us to pass our lives together, and never forget
that my life is bound up in yours." Delia makes her lover
repeated offers of such assistance as she had the power of
affording during the exigency of his affairs at L'Orient : —
" She had trinkets, she had effects," and with the most disin-
terested spirit she is willing to sacrifice them all. These offers
are made with grace and delicacy, but it does not appear that
they were accepted ; and, from a passage in one of her let-
ters, it would seem that Paul Jones had given her assistance
of a pecuniary nature.
It is said by the poet, —
" Those who greatly love must greatly fear ;" —
the love of Delia was extreme, and her fears corresponded to
its excess. The letters of Jones were tolerably frequent for a
man engaged in quelling a mutiny, and corresponding w^ith a
THE IRRESISTIBLE LOVE-LETTERS. 369
coquetish Countess. They appear to have soothed the fears
of Delia, and filled her with rapturous delight for the mo-
ment. She alludes to his responding tears, sighs, and verses ;
envies her ov^^n portrait in his possession, but as regularly
relapses into a state of distracting doubt if his silence ex-
ceeded the period she had fixed for receiving a letter.
We can perceive no reason for believing " Delia a young
and high lady of the court ;" but her early letters possess
those indelible marks of sincerity, and of warmth and gene-
rosity of feeling, which could not fail to interest, were it pos-
sible to ascertain who the writer really was. Her memory,
nevertheless, possesses some claim with that class of readers
pre-eminently called " gentle ;" nor is it possible to look on
the tear-stains that blot those crooked characters, traced by
a hand then trembling with youthful passion, and over which
the grave must long since have closed, without a feeling of
pity and kindness for the fair writer, so devoted, so eloquent,
and probably so unfortunate.
Of the " irresistible love-letters" of Paul Jones, commem-
orated by Miss Edes and the London editor, we subjoin one
specimen, as they have given none. It, we fear, does not
lessen the suspicion, that, in the case of Delia, the attachment
at this time was strongest on the wrong side. It is written
on Christmas-day, — a season for which lovers seldom wait,
though parted friends often choose on it to make quittance of
neglected correspondence.
Paul Jones to Delia.
"December 25th, 1781.
" I wrote, my lovely Delia, various letters from Philadel
phia, the last of which was dated the 20th of June. On the
26th of that month I was unanimotjsly elected |?y Congress
to command the America of 74 guns, on the stocks at Ports-
mouth, New Hampshire. I superintended the building, which
I find so much more backward than I expected, that a plan
370 RETURN TO PARIS.
*of operations which I had in view is entirely defeated. I ex-
pected to have been at sea this winter, but the building does
not go on with the vigour I could wish. Since I came here
I have not had a single good opportunity to write to Europe.
This situation is doubly irksome to me, my lovely friend, as it
stops my pursuit of honour as well as love. It is now more
than twelve months since I left France, yet I have not re-
ceived a single letter from thee in all that time, except the
one written in answer to my letter at taking leave. That
one is a tender letter indeed, and does honour to thy match-
less heart. I read often, and always with transport, the many
charming things that are expressed in thy letters, but especially
the last. Thy adieu has in it all the finer feelings blended with
the noblest sentiments of the heart. Providence, all just and
good, has given thee a soul worthy to animate nature's fairest
work. I rest, therefore, assured, that absence will not di-
minish but refine the pure and spotless friendship that binds
our souls together, and will ever impress each to merit the
affection of the other. Remember and believe my letter at
parting ; it was but a faint picture of my heart. I will find
opportunities to write, and be everything thou canst wish.
My address is under cover to the Hon. Robert Morris, Esq.,
Minister of Finance, Philadelphia.
" I have not since heard of your relation I left behind, but
suppose he is with the army."
We cannot tell whether Delia profited or not by this ad-
dress ; but three years afterwards, when the Chevalier arrived
in Paris as agent for prize-money, we find her still alive and
faithful. Paul Jones has preserved her first note, and in his
own handwriting aflfixed the date to it : — " From her apart-
ments in the Boulevard," &c. &c. He had some reason to
be proud of her fidelity :— this was Paris in 1783. Delia's
note is exceedingly characteristic of her country, though we
like its tone much less than that of the earlier effusions of
MADAME T . 371
its author : — " Is it possible that you are then so near me, and
that I am deprived of the sight of a mortal who has constituted
the misery of my life for four years ? — O ! most amiable and
most ungrateful of men, come to your best friend, who burns
with the desire of seeing you. You ought to know that it is
but eight days since your Delia was at the brink of the grave^
Come, in the name of Heaven !"
It is probable that the Chevalier obeyed this summons, since
he thought it worth while to preserve the billet in which it is
conveyed.
Delia now disappears from the scene as abruptly as the
*' beautiful Countess," unless we are able to indentify her with
Madame T , a lady for whom, about this time, the Chev-
alier evinces a warm interest. The Supposition, that Madame
T , a widow, it may be presumed, from her friendless
and unprotected state, and Delia, are the same individual, is
feasible in itself, creditable to both parties, and readily ac-
counts for all the ambiguities in the letters/ and still more in
the situation of Delia. With Madame T Jones cor-
responded after his return to America in 1786. Her letters
to him were sent to the care of the American minister, as
those of Delia had formerly been. The reader has the ad-
vantage of being introduced to this lady by Paul Jones him-
self in the following letter to Mr. Jefferson : —
" I am much obliged to you for the letter from Madame
T , which you forwarded by the June packet. I now
take the liberty to enclose a letter for that worthy lady ; and,
as I had not the happiness to introduce you to her, (because
I wished her fortune to have been previously established,) I
shall now tell you in confidence, that she is the daughter of
the late King and a lady of quality, on whom his Majesty-
bestowed a very large fortune on his daughter's account.
Unfortunately the father died while the daughter (his great
favourite) was very young, and the mother has never since
372 MADAME T .
shown her either justice or natural affection. She was long
the silent victim of that injustice ; but I had the pleasure to
be instrumental in putting her in a fair way to obtain redress.
His present Majesty received her last year with great kindness.
He gave her afterwards several particular audiences, and
said ' he charged himself with her fortune.' Some things
were, as I have understood, fixed on, that depended solely on
the King, and he said he would dictate the justice to be ren-
dered by the mother. But the letter you sent me left the
feeling author all in tears ! Her friend, her protectress, her
introductress to the King, was suddenly dead ! She was in
despair ! She lost more than a mother ! A loss, indeed, that
nothing can repair ; for fortune and favour are never to be
compared to tried friendship. I hope, however, she has gone
to visil the King in July, agreeably to his appointment given
her in the month of March. I am persuaded that he would
receive her with additional kindness, and that her loss would,
in his mind, be a new claim to his protection, especially as he
well knows, and has acknowledged, her superior merit and
just pretensions. As I feel the greatest concern for the situa-
tion of this worthy lady, you will render me a great favour
by writing her a note, requesting her to call on you, as you
have something to communicate from me. When she comes,
be so good as to deUver the within letter, and show her this,
that she may see both my confidence in you and my advice
to her."
Living so long in Paris or Versailles, it is scarcely possi-
ble that Paul Jones could have been deceived in the charac-
ter or pretensions of Madame T , though such is not
the way in which the daughters " of Louis XV., by ladies of
quality," were usually treated. It might also be supposed,
that some trace of this daughter would be found in the nume-
rous memoirs, letters, and secret histories of the Court of
France. We are not aware that any such evidence does
exist. It would, however, be high presumption to limit the num-
MADAME T . 373
ber of the illegitimate children of so patriarchal a monarch
as Louis XV. Madame T • was therefore, in all proba-
bility, one of his numerous descendants, the only inexplicable
circumstance being, that a daughter, " his great favourite,'*
should not otherwise be ever heard of; and that, " very
young" when her father died, (in 1774,) we should find in her
either the Deha of I780,or the Madame T , a widow un-
known or unfriended, of 1786. The lady, her protectress, to
whom Paul Jones alludes, was, we are incidentally informed,
the Marchioness de Marssan, to whom he introduced her.
This lady we should presume to be her of the same name,
governess to the grand-daughters of Louis XV., and sisters of
his unfortunate successor. There is, in short, something inex-
plicable to us in the history of Madame T : The sen-
timents entertained for her by Paul Jones are, however, abun-
dantly clear ; they breathe a far more anxious interest than
that of friendship. The subjoined letter is a copy of that en-
I closed to Madame T in the letter to Mr. Jefferson ; the
( other letter was written to her shortly afterwards.
I
i
I *' Paul Jones to Madame T .
I " New York, September 4th, 1787.
" No language can convey to my fair mourner the tender
; sorrow I feel on her account ! The loss of our worthy friend
I is indeed a fatal stroke ! It is an irreparable misfortune which
' can only be alleviated by this one reflection, that it is the will
I of God, whose providence has, I hope, other blessings in store
I for us. She was a tried friend, and more than a mother to
you ! She would have been a mother to me also had she
1 lived. We have lost her ! Let us cherish her memory, and
jj send up grateful thanks to the Almighty that we once had such
a friend. I cannot but flatter myself that you have yourself
gone to the K in July as he had appointed. 1 am sure your
joss will be a new inducement for him to protect you, and
32
374 LETTER TO MADAME T .
render you justice. He will hear you, I am sure ; and you
may safely unbosom yourself to him, and ask his advice,
which cannot but be flattering to him to give you. Tell him
you must look on him as your father and protector. If it
were necessary, I think, too, that the Count d'A ,* his
brother, would, on your personal appHcation, render you good
offices by speaking in your favour. I should like it better,
however, if you can do without him. Mr. Jefferson will show
you my letter of this date to him. You will see by it how
disgracefully I have been detained here by the board of
Treasury. It is impossible for me to stir from this place till
I obtain their settlement on the business I have already per-
formed ; and as the season is already far advanced, I expect
to be ordered to embark directly for the place of my destina-
tion in the North. Mr. Jefferson will forward me your letters.
I am almost without money, and much puzzled to obtain a
supply. I have written to Dr. B.,f to endeavour to assist me.
I mention this with infinite regret, and for no other reason
than because it is impossible for me to transmit you a supply
under my present circumstances. This is my fifth letter to
you since I left Paris. The two last were from France, and
I sent them by duplicates. But you say nothing of having
received any letters from me ! Summon, my dear friend, all
your resolution ! Exert yourself, and plead your own cause.
You cannot fail of success — your cause would move a heart
of flint ! Present my best respects to your sister. You did
not mention her in your letter ; but I persuade myself she will
continue her tender care of her sweet god-son, and that you
will cover him all over with kisses from me: they come
warm to you both from the heart !"
* Count d'Artois, afterwards Charles X. + Bancroft-
LETTER TO MADAME T . 375
To the same.
New York, October 24, 1787.
" The last French packet brought no letter to me from the
person whose happiness is dearer to me than anything else.
I have been on the rack of fear and apprehension, and am
totally unable to account for that silence ! My business is
done here, and the moment of my return to Europe ap-
proaches. My sentiments are unchanged, and my impatience
can better be imagined than expressed. I have been honoured
here beyond my ow^n expectations.* But your silence makes
even honours insipid. I am, however, far from blaming
you ; want of health, or some other misfortune, must have
interposed. If this reaches you, remember me affectionately
. to your sister and her god-son. May Heaven avert all trouble
from you !"
Paul Jones almost immediately followed this letter to
Europe. During his short stay in Paris in the winter of
1787, he must in all probability have again seen the lady to
wbom it was addressed. Both the letters, as well as that
sent to Mr. Jefferson, bear testimony how deeply his feelings
were involved in this attachment, by whatever name it is
called, love or friendship. Yet it must have terminated un-
satisfactorily, if not unhappily. From the period of his set-
ting out for Denmark and Russia, his correspondence bears
no ti'ace of Madame T — ; and by the time he reached
Amsterdam on his return, this lady must either have been
forgotten, or deemed unworthy of remembrance. Whether
this arose from his own conduct or fickleness, or the incon-
stancy of that friend of whose silence while in America he
had complained as " making even honours insipid," it is now
impossible to determine, though on this occasion we are in-
* See page 198.
376 DISAPPOINTMENT.
clined to decide against the lady, should she even be, as we
have surmised, the " eternally devoted" Delia herself.
From a letter written by Paul Jones to two ladies whom
he numbered among his friends, and who had pointedly
alluded to the supposed state of his affections, and his engage-
ments in Paris, there is reason to suppose that he may, in ad-
dition to baffled professional hopes, have suffered disappoint-
ment of a more tender kind.
" Paul Jones to Mesdames Le Grande and Rinsby, a, Trevoux, pres
de Lion.
"Paris, Feb. 25, 1791.
" Dear and amiable Ladies, — Madame Clement has read
me a part of a letter from you, in which you conclude that I
prefer love to friendship, and Paris to Trevoux. As to the
first part you may be right, for love frequently communicates
divine qualities, and in that light may be considered as the
cordial that Providence has bestowed on mortals, to help
them to digest the nauseous draught of life. Friendship,
they say, has more solid qualities than love. This is a ques-
tion I shall not attempt to resolve ; but sad experience generdly
shows that where we expect to find a friend we have only
been treacherously deluded by false appearances, and that
the goddess herself very seldom confers her charms on any
of the human race. As to the second, I am too much a
philosopher to prefer noise to tranquillity : if this does not
determine the preference between Paris and Trevoux, 1 will
add, that I have had very bad health almost ever since your
departure, and that other circumstances have conspired to
detain me here, which have nothing to do either with love or
friendship. My health is now recovering, and as what is re-
tarded is not always lost, I hope soon to have the happiness
of paying you my personal homage, and of renewing the
assurance of that undiminished attachment which women of
A FRANK LETTER. 377
such distinguished worth and talents naturally inspire. I am,
in the mean time, dear and amiable Ladies,
" Your most obedient and most humble
servant,
" Paul Jones."
The lady's answer merits to be preserved. It displays the
true kindness of female friendship, and the frank politeness of
a Frenchwoman.
« Trevoux, 6th March, 179 it
" Sir, — I had given up the hope of receiving any intelligence
of your Excellency, and I acknowledge it cost me much be-
fore I could believe that the promise of a great man was no
more to be relied on than that of the herd of mankind. The
letter with which you have honoured me convinces me that
my heart knew you better than my head ; for though my
reason whispered that you had quite forgotten us, I w^as un-
willing to believe it.
" Madame Wolfe, as well as myself, is much concerned for
the bad state of your health. I am sorry that, like myself,
your Excellency is taught the value of health by sickness.
Come to us. Sir; if you do not find here the pleasures you
enjoy in Paris, you will find a good air, frugal meals, freedom,
^nd hearts that can appreciate you.
" I am concerned to perceive that your Excellency is an
unbeliever in friendship. Alas, if you want friends, who shall
pretend to possess them ! I hope you will recover from this
error, and be convinced that friendship is something more
than a chimera of Plato.
" Do me the favour to acquaint me with the time we may
expect the honour of seeing you. I must be absent for some
days, and I would not for anything in the world that I should
not habere on your arrival. If I knew the time, I would send
32*
378 JONES'S LETTERS TO HIS SISTER.
my little carriage to meet the stage-coach, as I suppose you
will take that conveyance.
" Madame Wolfe expects the moment of your arrival with
as much eagerness as myself, (she says ;) but as I best know
my own feelings, I am certain I go beyond her. Of this I
am certain, that we shall both count the day till we have the
happiness of seeing you. Come quickly then, I pray you.
" I beg you. Sir, to receive the assurance of the respectful
consideration with which I have the honour to be your Ex-
cellency's most humble and obedient servant."
The letters of Paul Jones to his sisters in Scotland are those
in which his private character is most truly and advantage-
ously seen. With them he had no part to act, no interest to
pursue. His fraternal feelings were warm and steady, and
the advice he conveyed to his discordant family, who ac-
quainted him with their dissensions, as a person to whom
both parties were disposed to appeal, does equal credit to his
head and heart. That these letters should display any traits
of the affectionate, confidential cordiality which render the
familiar letters of near relatives so delightful, is not to be ex-
pected. With his sisters he had enjoyed no domestic inter-
course from boyhood, and he could know little of them by an
unfrequent interchange of letters. Though not alienated from
his affections, they were strangers to his tastes, his habits, his
friends, and modes of life, and it is therefore of their own in-
terests and affairs only that he chooses to speak to them.
" Paul Jones to his Sister, Mrs. Taylor.
" Amsterdam, March 26, 1790.
" I wrote you, my dear friend, from Paris, by Mr. Ken-
nedy, who delivered me the kind letter you wrote me by him.
Circumstances obliged me to return soon afterwards to
America, and on my arrival at New York, Mr. Thomson
delivered me a letter that had been intrusted to his care by
Mrs. Loudon. It would be superfluous to mention the great
EDUCATION. 379
satisfaction I received in hearing from two persons I so much
love and esteem, and whose worthy conduct as wives and
mothers is so respectable in my eyes. Since my return to
Europe, a train of circumstances and changes of residence
have combined to keep me silent. This has given me more
pain than I can express ; for I have a tender regard for you
both, and nothing can be indifferent to me that regards your
happiness and the welfare of your children. I wish for a par-
ticular detail of their age, respective talents, characters, and
education. I do not desire this information merely from curi-
osity. It would afford me real satisfaction to be useful to their
establishment in life. We must study the genius and inclina-
tion of the boys, and try to fit them, by a suitable educa-
tion, for the pursuits we may be able to adopt for their
advantage. When their education shall be advanced to a
proper stage, at the school of Dumfries for instance, it must
then be determined whether it may be most economical and
advantageous for them to go to Edinburgh or France to finish
their studies. All this is supposing them to have great natural
genius and goodness of disposition ; for without these they
can never become eminent. For the females, they require
an education suited to the delicacy of character that is be-
coming in their sex. I wish I had a fortune to offer to each
of them ; but though this is not the case, I may yet be useful
to them. And I desire particularly to be useful to the two
young women, who have a double claim to my regard, as
they have lost their father. Present my kind compliments
to Mrs. Loudon, to her husband, to Mr. Taylor, and your
two families, and depend on my affectionate attachment.
" Write me without delay, and having sealed and directed
your letter as you did the one you sent me by Mr. Kennedy,
let it be enclosed in a cover, and direct the cover thus, * To
Messieurs Stophorst and Hubbard, Amsterdam.' You will
inquire if it be necessary to pay a part of the postage in order
that the letter may be sent to Holland in the packet. I should
390 JONES'S LETTERS TO HIS SISTER.
be glad if the two Miss Youngs* would do me the favour to
write me each a paragraph in your letter, or to write me, if
they prefer it, each a separate letter, and I should be glad to
find that they understand and can write the French."
This letter, hke all those to his own family, has no sig-
nature.
In the end of this year (1790) we find another of his letters,
from which, with very great pleasure, we give the following
extract. The sisters of the Rear- Admiral, who were proba-
bly both in the wrong, had, it appears, appealed to him in
their disputes. It is to be hoped they profited by his ad-
monitions.
"Paris, December 27th, 1790.
" I duly received, my dear Mrs. Taylor, your letter of the
16th August, but ever since that time I have been unable to
answer it, not having been capable to go out of my chamber,
and having been for the most part obliged to keep my bed.
I have now no doubt but that I am in a fair way of a perfect
recovery, though it will require time and patience.
" I shall not conceal from you that your family discord
aggravates infinitely all my pains. My grief is inexpressible,
that two sisters, whose happiness is so interesting to me, do
not live together in that mutual tenderness and affection which
would do so much honour to themselves and to the memory
of their worthy relations. Permit me to recommend to your
serious study and application Pope's Universal Prayer. You
will find more morality in that little piece than in many
volumes that have been written by great divines —
• Teach me to feel another's wo,
To hide the fault I see ;
That mercy I to others show,
Such mercy show to me ."
" This is not the language of a weak superstitious mind,
* His orphan nieces alluded to above.
ILL HEALTH IN PARIS. 381
Dut the spontaneous offspring of true religion, springing from
a heart sincerely inspired by charity, and deeply impressed
with a sense of the calamities and frailties of human nature.
If the sphere in which Providence has placed us as members
of society requires the exercise of brotherly kindness and
charity towards our neighbour in general, how much more
is this our duty with respect to individuals with whom we are
connected by the near and tender ties of nature as well as
moral obligation. Every lesser virtue may pass away, but
charity comes from heaven, and is immortal. Though I wish
to be the instrument of making family-peace, which I flatter
myself would tend to promote the happiness of you all, yet I
by no means desire you to do violence to your own feelings,
by taking any step that is contrary to your own judgment
and inclination. Your reconciliation must come free from
your heart, otherwise it will not last, and therefore it will be
better not to attempt it. Should a reconciliation take place,
I recommend it of all things, that you never mention past
grievances, nor show, by icord, looh, or action, that you have
not forgot them."
From this time Paul Jones never quitted Paris. His con-
tinual bad health, and the state of France, and of the capital,
torn by faction, — the threatening shadow of those evil days,
which were so soon to follow, already lowering over it, —
alike enjoined retirement from society. It does not appear
to what political party he was attached, though it is probable
that of the Girondists, which was the legitimate offspring of
the American revolution, had his good wishes, tempered by
strong feelings of personal attachment and gratitude towards
the amiable Prince who had shown him such distinguished
marks of favour. He had never appeared at court from the
time of his return from Russia ; and if he appeared at all, it
was only once, which must have been a very few months be-
fore his death. The scroll of a letter, dated December 7th,
1791, to the Marquis of La Fayette, remains among his
382 ATTACHMENT TO LOUIS XVI.
papers, and explains his situation and his loyal and grateful
feelings, and proves that, as this crisis drew near, he took the
generous part. The Marquis at this time, from his official
situation, was constantly in the Palace.
" Rear- Admiral Paul Jones to the Marquis de La Fayette*
" Paris, December 7th, 1791.
"Deae. General, — My ill health for some time past has
prevented me from the pleasure of paying you my personal
respects, but I hope shortly to indulge myself with that satis-
faction.
" I hope you approve the quality of the fur-linings I brought
from Russia for the King and yourself I flatter myself that
his Majesty will accept from your hand that little mark of
the sincere attachment I feel for his person ; and be assured,
that I shall be always ready to draw the sword with which
he honoured me for the service of the virtuous and illustrious
* Protector of the Rights of Human Nature.'
" When my health shall be re-established, M. Simolin will
do me the honour to present me to his Majesty as a Russian
Admiral. Afterwards it will be my duty, .as an American
officer, to wait on his Majesty with the letter which I am
directed to present to him from the United States.
" I am, dear General,
With sincere friendship,
Your affectionate and
Most humble servant."
From the mutilated fragment of an angry but very ener-
getic letter, addressed to the Minister of Marine, we gather
that the claims of Paul Jones on the French government still
remained unsettled, which was indeed the case at his death,
and that he had been treated with indignity as well as denied
justice. The following letter, which introduces this warm
statement of injuries, has peculiar interest, as it is presumed
CLAIMS ON FRENCH GOVERNMENT. 383
to be the last effusion of his pen. It does not appear to
whom this letter was addressed, though it might probably be
to the Minister of Marine for the time. It proves that, how-
ever sunk in health and hope, the writer retained the same
keenness of temper and acuteness of mind which distinguished
him at all periods.
" Rear-Admiral Paul Jones to the Minister of the French Marine.
" Pakis, March, 1792.
" Sir, — In the beginning of the administration of your pre-
decessor, I informed him, that this government, not having
paid the salary due to a part of the crew of the Bon Homme
Richard at the time when they were discharged from the
service, they had been paid on their arrival at Boston ; and
having myself been sent back here after the war, under a
special commission from the United States, to settle the claims
of my crews, I presented a memorial, reclaiming that part
of the salary that had never been reimbursed. The Minister
held me in suspense for about five months, and then, to my
great surprise, instead of satisfying my just demand, he ad-
dressed me m a very uncivil letter, treating me, as I con-
ceive, like a schoolboy, and permitting himself to cast unjust
and uncivil reflections on my past conduct. My health did
not permit me to answer him immediately ; but I had pre-
pared a letter, and was just going to send it, when I learned
that he had resigned his place as the Minister of the Marine,
and that you were named as his successor.
" I request the favour, sir, that you may read his letter and
my answer ; after which I persuade myself you will do jus-
tice to my first demand, which is merely official. As to my
personal pretensions, I never should have set up a claim on
that score under circumstances less affecting to my sensibility.
Of this I need offer no other proof than my silence in that
respect for twelve years past. My losses and unavoidable
expenses during my long connexion with this nation amount
384 SERVICES RECOUNTED,
to a large sum, and have greatly lessened my fortune. 1
have given solemn proofs of my great attachment tow^ards
France, and that attachment still remains undiminished. I
persuade myself that I may with full assurance repose my
interests through your ministry on the national justice.
" I have the honour to be," &c. &c.
The beginning of the letter referred to above is wanting,
as well as the letter of the minister which drew forth the
following pithy reply. What of it remains entire commences
with the " risks" of the writer in the Texel " for three m.onths
together, blocked," he says, " within by the fleet of Holland,
and without by the fleets of England, while my head was
rendered a prize to excite private treachery and avarice.
My fortitude and self-denial alone dragged Holland into the
war, — a service of the greatest importance to this nation ;
for without that great event no calculation can ascertain
when the war would have ended.
" Would you suppose, sir, that my prisoners, 600 in num-
ber, were treacherously taken out of my hands in the Texel,
with two of my prizes, a new ship of war, pierced for 56
guns, and a frigate of 24 guns in one battery ? — Would you
suppose that I was driven out of the Texel in a single frigate
belonging to the United States, in the face of 42 EngHsh
ships, and vessels posted to cut off my retreat ? — My prisoners
were disposed of without my consent, and contrary to my
mtention. My prizes were all wrested out of my hands, and
some of them, particularly the ship of 56 guns, degraded
and cut to pieces before my eyes, and in contempt of my
authority, though that ship, by the laws of the American flag,
was the exclusive property of the captors.
" You appear, sir, to treat me like a school-boy, when you
say, — ^J^ai Vhonneur de vous observer, monsieur, qu^il est
toujours (fusage de 'payer directement aux marins le decompte
des salaires qui leur reviennent au desarmement des hatimens*
COMPLAINTS. 38f,
I could not have supposed, sir, that you had thought me so
ignorant as to need that information seventeen years alter I
was first honoured with tiie rank of captain in the navy. *•
* * # * # *
" Though my crews were almost naked, and I had no
money to administer to their wants, yet my constant appli-
cation to Court for two months produced no relief, no pay-
ment whatever, either for salary or prize-money. I was on
the point of sailing back to America, without any appearance
of obtaining justice, — without the least acknowledgment,
direct or indirect, that the Court was satisfied wtth my ser-
vices! — Under these circumstances, in a moment of despair
I came to Court to demand satisfaction.
" The Minister of the United States accompanied me to
M. Sartine, who gave us a reception as cold as ice, did not
say to me a single word, nor ask me if my health had not
suffered from my wounds and the uncommon fatigue I had
undergone. The public did me more justice than the
minister ; and I owe to the King alone the flattering marks
of distinction with w^hich I w^as honoured, — a gold sword,
and the Order of Military Merit.'
" But I solicited in vain for salary and prize-money ; and
the Minister of Marine detained me so long at Court, that
the crew of the American frigate I had left at L'Orient,
despairing to obtain redress, revolted, and carried that frigate
back to America. * * * *
" It is true, the Marquis de Castries pretended for a long
time that I should give him security for the prize-money ;
but I at last made him recede from the absurdity of that de
mand. I was detained in Europe four years ; and having in
that time spent sixty thousand Kvres of my own money, I re •
ceived for my share of all the prizes, as commander of the
Bon Homme, thirteen thousand livres ! * * *
Permit me, by way of comparison, just to mention the treat-
ment the French officers received who served in the Ameri-
33
386 LAST ILLNESS.
can army. The war had been carried on for several years
by the Americans alone, and there is no instance where the
United States invited a Fren( h officer to enter into their ser-
vice. Such as presented thv^mselves and were accepted, have
all of them bettered their situation by that connexion. At
the end of the war they received a gratification of five years'
pay, the Order of Cincinnatus, and a lot of land ; and they
now enjoy grades far superior to what they could have
attained under other circumstances. If we except the Mar-
quis de la Fayette, none of them were rich when they vi^ent
to America. They are all now in easy circumstances. In
short, they have been treated much better than the Americans
themselves, who served from the beginning to the end of the
Revolution.
" I hope and desire, sir, that you may lay this letter before
the King. It contains many things out of the general rule
of dehcacy which marks my proceedings, and which, on any
occasion less affecting to my sensibility, would never have
escaped from my tongue or pen."
From about this time the health of Paul Jones sunk
rapidly. Symptoms of jaundice appeared, — a disease which
not unfrequently follows mental chagrin and disappointment.
h does not, however, appear that he was long confined.
About the beginning of July dropsical symptoms supervened
on his other disorders, and he expired on the evening of the
18th of that month. Though far from those on whose aflfec-
lion he had a natural claim, his dying hours were not un-
Bolaced by the constant and tender offices of friendship.
Many idle rumours connected with his death have been
circulated, as if his latter days had been spent in extreme pov-
erty, chilling neglect, and entire abandonment. These are of
a piece with the other calumnies and marks of obloquy with
which his memory and character have been loaded. The
subjoined letters and documents afford a simple and an ample
PROPERTY. 387
refutation of charges and assumptions made, probably, as
much in ignorance as malice.
" Letter of M. Beaupoil to either Mrs. Taylor or Mrs. Loudon^ Sisters of Paul
JoneSy Esq., Admiral in the Russian Service.
" Madam, — I am sorry to acquaint you that your brother,
Admiral Paul Jones, my friend, paid, yesterday, the debt we
ail owe to nature. He has made a will, which is deposited in
the hands of Mr. Badinier, notary, St. Servin Street, Paris.
The will was drawn in Enghsh, by Mr. Gouverneur Morris,
Minister of the United States, and translated faithfully by
the French notary aforesaid. The Admiral leaves his pro-
perty, real and personal, to his two sisters and their children.
They are named in the will as being married, one to William
Taylor, and the other to Loudon, of Dumfries. The
executor is Mr. Robert Morris of Philadelphia. If I could be
of any service to you in this business, out of the friendship I
bore your brother, I '11 do it with pleasure. I am a French-
man and an officer. I am sincerely yours,
" Beaupoil.
" Paris, July 19, 1792, No. 7, H6tel Anglais,
- Passage des Petits Pdres.
" The English will is signed by Colonels Swan, Blackden,
and myself. The schedule of his property lying in Denmark,
Russia, France, America, and elsewhere, is signed by Mr.
Morris, and deposited by me. in his bureau, with the original
will. Everything is sealed up at his lodgings, Tournon Street,
No. 42, Paris.
" You may depend also on the good services of Colonel
Blackden, who was an intimate friend of the Admiral's. That
gentleman is setting out for London, where you may hear of
him at No. 18, Great Tichfield Street, London."
On receiving this letter, Mrs. Taylor wrote to Colonel
Blackden in London, and obtained a reply in course of post.
388 COL. BLACKDEN'S LETTER.
" Colonel Blackden to Mrs. Taylor of Dumfries, eldest Sister of Admiral
Paul Jones.
" Great Tichfield Street,
London, Aug. 9th.
" Madam, — I had the honour of receiving your letter of the
3d instant, and shall answer you most readily. Your brother,
Admiral Jones, was not in good health for about a year, but
had not been so unwell as to keep house. For two months
past he began to lose his appetite, to grow yellow, and show
signs of the jaundice ; for this he took medicine, and seemed
to grow better ; but about ten days before his death his legs
began to swell, which increased upwards, so that two days
before his exit he could not button his waistcoat, and had
great difficulty of breathing.
" I visited him every day, and, beginning to be apprehen-
sive of his danger, desired him to settle his affairs ; but this
he put off till the afternoon of his death, when he was pre-
vailed on to send for a notaire, and made his will. Mr. Beau-
poil and myself witnessed it at about eight o'clock in the eve-
ning, and left him sitting in a chair. A few minutes after we
retired he walked into his chamber, and laid himself upon his
face, on the bed-side, with his feet on the floor ; after the
Queen's physician arrived, they went into the room, and found
him in that position, and upon taking him up, they found he
had expired.
" His disorder had terminated in dropsy of the breast. His
body was put into a leaden coffin on the tw^entieth, that in
case the United States, whom he had so essentially served,
and with so much honour to himself, should claim his remains,
they might be more easily removed. This is all. Madam, that
I can say concerning his illness and death.
" I most sincerely condole with you. Madam, upon the loss
of my dear and respectable friend, for whom I entertained the
greatest affection, and as a proof of it, you may command the
ELOGE. 389
utmost exertion of my feeble abilities, which shall be rendered
with cheerfulness.
" I have the honour to be,
Madam,
Your most obedient humble servant,
*' S. Blackden.''
The American Ambassador, Gouverneur Morris, did not
think it necessary to claim the remains of Admiral Jones, nor
did the United States. As a protestant and heretic, it was
still, we believe, necessary to obtain liberty of burial in con-
secrated ground, and this was probably done. The National
Assembly paid his memory the honour of sending a deputation
of twelve of their body to attend the funeral. He was buried
at Paris on the 20th July, and the following funeral discourse
was pronounced over his grave by Mr. Marron, a protestant
clergyman of Paris.
(Translation.)
" Discourse pronounced by Mr. Marron^ officiating Protestant Clergyman^ at
the Funeral of Admiral Paul Jones, July 20, 1 792, in Paris.
" Legislators ! citizens ! soldiers ! friends ! brethren ! and
Frenchmen ! we have just returned to the earth the remains
of an illustrious stranger, one of the first champions of the
liberty of America, of that liberty which so gloriously ushered
in our own. The Semiramis of the north had drawn him
under her standard, but Paul Jones could not long breathe the
pestilential air of despotism ; he preferred the sweets of a
private life in France, now free, to the eclat of titles and of
honours, which, from an usurped throne^ were lavished upon
him by Catherine. The fame of the brave outlives him, his
portion is immortality. What more flattering homage could
we pay to the manes of Paul Jones, than to swear on his
tomb to live or to die free 1 It is the vow, it is the watchword
of every Frenchman.
38*
890 PAUL JONES'S WILL.
" Let never tyrants, nor their satellites, pollute this sacred
earth ! May the ashes of the great man, too soon lost to
humanity, and eager to be free, enjoy here an undisturbed re-
pose ! Let his example teach posterity the efforts which noble
souls are capable of making, when stimulated by hatred to
oppression. Friends and brethren, a noble emulation bright-
ens in your looks ; your time is precious, the country is in
danger ! Who amongst us would not shed the last drop of
their blood to save it? Associate yourselves to the glory of
Paul Jones, in imitating him in his contempt of dangers, in
his devoted ness to his country, in his noble heroism, which,
after having astonished the present age, will continue to be
the imperishable object of the veneration of future genera-
tions !"
(Translated from the French.)
" Testament of Paul Jones, 1 Qth July, 1792.
" Before the undersigned notaries, at Paris, appeared Mr.
John Paul Jones, citizen of the United States of America, re-
sident at present in Paris, lodged in the street of Tonrnon,
No. 42, at the house of Mr. Dorberque, huissier audiancier
of the tribunal of the third arrondissement, found in a parlour
in the first story above the floor, lighted by two windows
opening on the said street of Tournon, sitting in an arm-chair,
sick of body, but sound of mind, memory, and understanding,
as it appeared to the undersigned notaries by his discourse
and conversation, —
" Who, in view of death, has made, dictated, and worded,
TO the undersigned notaries, his testament as follows : —
" I give and bequeath all the goods, as well moveable as
neritable, and all, generally, whatever may appertain to me at
my decease, in whatever country they may be situated, to
my two sisters, Janet, spouse to William Taylor, and Mary,
wife to Mr. Loudon, and to the children of my said sisters, to
PAUL JONES'S WILL. 891
divide them into as many portions as my said sisters and their
children shall make up individuals, and to be enjoyed by them
'in the following manner : —
" My sisters, and those of their children, who on the day
of my death shall have reached the age of twenty-one, will
enjoy their share in full property from the date of decease.
As for those of my nephews and nieces who at that period
of time may not reach the age of twenty-one years, their
mothers w'ill enjoy their shares till such time as they attain
that said age, with charge to them to provide for their food,
maintenance, and education; and as soon as any of my
nephews or nieces will have reached the age of twenty-one
years, the same will enjoy his share in full property.
" If one or more of my nephews and nieces should happen
to die without children before having reached the age of
twenty-one, the share of those of them who may have de-
ceased shall be divided betwixt my said sisters and my other
nephews and nieces by equal portions.
" I name the honourable Robert Morris, Esq. of Philadel-
phia, my only testamentary executor.
" I revoke all other testaments or codicils which I may
have made before the present, which alone I stand by as con-
taining my last will
'' So made, dictated, and worded, by said testator, to the
said notaries undersigned, and afterwards read, and read over
again to him by one of them, the other being present, wnich
he well understood, and persevered in, at Paris, the year
1792, the 18th July, about five o'clock afternoon, in the room
heretofore described, and the said testator signed the original
of the present, unregistrated, at Paris the 25th September,
1792, by Defrance, who received one livre, provisionally,
save to determine definitively the right after the declaration
of the revenue of the testator. The original remained with
Mr. Pettier, one of the notaries at Paris, undersigned, who
392 SCHEDULE OF JONES'S PROPERTY,
delivered these presents this day, 26th September, 1792, first
of the French RepubUc. . Pottier.
" (Signed) L'Avernier."
(Copy.)
*^ Schedule of the Property of Admiral John Paul Jones, as stated hy him to
me this 18lh of July, 1792.
" 1st, Bank stock in the Bank of North America, at Phila-
delphia, 6000 dollars, with sundry dividends.
" 2d, Loan-Office certificate left with my friend John Ross
of Philadelphia, for 2000 dollars at par, with great arrear-
ages of interest, being for ten or twelve years.
" 3d, Such balance as may be in the hands of my said
friend, John Ross, belonging to me, and sundry effects left in
his care.
" 4th, My lands in the State of Vermont.
" 5th, Shares in the Ohio Company.
" 6th, Shares in the Indiana Company.
" 7th, About 1800/. sterling due to me from Edward Ban-
croft, unless paid by him to Sir Robert Herries, and is then
in his hands.
" 8th, Upwards of four years of my pension due from
Denmark, to be asked from the Count de Bernstorf
" 9th, Arrearages of my pay from the Empress of Russia,
and all my prize-money.
" 10th, The balance due to me by the United States of
America, and sundry claims in Europe, which will appear
from my papers.
" This is taken from his mouth.
(Signed) " Govr. Morris,
" Ambassador from the United States
to the Court of France."
The manners and moral character of Paul Jones have been
the frequent subject of discussion and of very contradictory
CHARACTER. 3^3
Statements. His professional talents and personal appearance
are less the topics of dispute. It is agreed that he was about the
middle size, slightly made, but active and agile, and in youth
capable of considerable exertion and fatigue. In advancing
life, though he continued equally hardy and active in his habits,
it was the vehement, fiery spirit that o'er-informed its shattered
tenement ; and after almost every journey we find him suffer-
ing from cold and fatigue, or having serious illnesses. He was
of the complexion usually united with dark hair and eyes,
which his were; but his skin had become embrowned by
exposure from boyhood to all varieties of weather and
of climate. His physiognomical expression indicated that
promptitude and decision in action which w^ere striking
characteristics of his mind. His bust is said to be a good
likeness ; his portrait, painted in America, and probably a
very indifferent resemblance, exhibits a rather precise-looking
little man. The style of the highly-powdered hair, or wig,
would, however, convert Achilles himself into a pedant or a
petit maitj-e.
In manners Paul Jones has been described by one party
as stiff, finical, and conceited ; by another as arrogant, brutal,
and quarrelsome. The first statement may have some colour
of truth, the last is impossible. He had reached manhood
before he could have had much intercourse with polite society ;
and manners, formed so late in life on the fashionable models
of Paris and Versailles, may have sat somewhat stiffly on the
Anglo-American, who, in giving up his own republican sim-
plicity, and professional openness and freedom, might not have
acquired all the ease and grace, even if he did attain the ele-
gance and polish of French manners ; but his appearance and
manners must have been those of a gentleman. Mauvais ton,
to a certain degree, might have been tolerated in a seaman
and a foreigner ; but " rudeness, arrogance, and brutality,"
must have proved an effectual barrier of exclusion from those
polite and courtly circles where Paul Jones was not only
394 CHARACTER.
received but welcomed; and into which he made his owk
way, and maintained his place, long after he had lost the
gloss and resistless attraction of novelty. The letter of Ma-
dame Rinsby, and other published documents, prove the foot-
ing he held in respectable French female society to his death,
and are quite conclusive as to the propriety of his manners.
He has again been described as "grossly ignorant." No one
who pursues his career, or peruses his letters, can for a mo-
ment believe a charge so absurd. From his first appearance
as a ship-boy he must have been set down as a very clever
and promising lad ; and if not a prodigy of learning, which
was an impossibihty, he had far more literature than was Lt
all usual in his day, even in the very highest ranks of his pro-
fession. His verses are far from despicable. Baron Grimm,
we think, overrates them, yet he was an admirable critic.
They were found amusing and agreeable in polished society,
which is the very best test and use of occasional verse, namely,
of all such verse as the public can well spare, and his muse
was humanizing to his own mind. We like his prose better
than his verse. It is often admirable if struck off at one hit,
particularly when the writer gets warm, and gives way to
his feelings of indignation. It is said, that a minister, in read-
ing the despatches of Lord Collingwood, who went to sea at
twelve years of age, used to ask, " Where has Collingwood
got his style ? — He writes better than any of us." With fully
more propriety many of the members of Congress, so far as
regarded their own compositions and resolves, might have put
a similar question in relation to Paul Jones. He is allowed
to have been kind and attentive to his crews, and generous
and liberal in all pecuniary transactions of a private nature ;
though his correspondence shows that he was commendably
tenacious of his pecuniary claims on states and pubHc bodies.
His memoirs afford some pleasing instances of his kindness
to his prisoners, and of his desire to^ rescue them from the
fangs of agents and commissaries. So far as discipline de-
CHARACTER. 395
scends, Paul Jones was a rigid and strict disciplinarian. In
his own 'person he appears to have been so impatient of all
control and check as to be unfit for any regularly organized
service, though admirably adapted to the singular crisis at
which he appeared. To his dress he was, or at least latterly
became, so attentive as to have it remarked. It was a better
trait that his ship was at all times remarkable for cleanliness
and neatness, and for the same good order and arrangement
which pervaded all his private affairs. He is said to have
been fond of music, and to have performed himself.
The acute understanding of Paul Jones perpetually con-
flicting with his natural keenness and warmth of temper, gave
at times the appearance of vacillation to his conduct, and the
unpleasant and unwise alternation of bold defiance with undue
submission. This is painfully conspicuous in his unhappy and
heart-breaking connexion with Potemkin. On other occa-
sions, as on the sailing of Landais in the mutiny, he showed
a remarkable degree of self-command and forbearance. The
self-eulogium which so frequently obtrudes itself in his writ-
ing, was, it should be recollected, generally called forth by
pecuUar circumstances. A man has every right to bring
forward his services, when those who should remember
appear disposed to forget them. Besides, what is here con-
centrated into one small volume, was in reality diffused over
the correspondence of twenty years of an active life. Boast-
ing, for some reason which we leave to philosophy to inves-
tigate, appears an inherent quality in great naval command-
ers. Nelson, Rodney, Drake, were all, in one sense, arrant
braggarts.
It is a less amiable trait in the character of Paul Jones,
that we find him very frequently quarrelling with rival and
associate commanders, and never once bestowing hearty
cordial praise on any one of them. His avarice of fame, like
the same vice of a more sordid kind, not only gave him the
insatiable desire of accumulation, but tempted him, if not to
396
CHARACTER.
defraud, at least to trench on the rights of others ; and his
nostihty, though open, was often far from generous : yet his
squabbles were wholly professional. In private life there
appears to have been no reason to fasten on him the. odious
imputation of being quarrelsome, which some have attempted.
He was fonder, not of glory alone, but of its trappings and
badges, than quite became the champion of a republic, and
the -pupil of Franklin; but this is a mere subject of opinion.
He may have considered these symbols as the seals with
which Fame ratifies her bonds.
The moral character of Paul Jones, at all stages of his
career, has been in England the subject of violent abuse and
of gross misrepresentation. If this has been done by English-
men from a mistaken love of their country, they dishonour
their country and themselves. If it is, as we hope, to be at-
tributed to ignorance of facts, such statements should hence-
forth cease. His faiUngs were precisely such as he must
have been a moral monster to have escaped ; they arose from
his natural character and from his profession : — it is the ut-
most malice could say, and more than is warranted by truth,
that he was
" Jealous in honour ; sudden and quick in quarrel :
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth."
THE END
APPENDIX.
(Page 29.)
"On board of that ship, before Philadelphia, Mr. Jones hoisted the flag
of America with his own hands, the first time it was ever displayed."
With respect to this claim so often made on behalf of Admiral Paul
Jones, the American editor ventures to publish the following very curi-
ous correspondence. It consists of a letter from the late President John
Adams to the Hon. John Langdon, Governor of New Hampshire, and the
governor's answer. For these documents the editor is indebted to the
politeness of Dr. Elwyn of Philadelphia, a grandson of Governor Langdon.
« QuiNCY, January 24, 1813.
" Dear Sir, — I feel an irresistible propensity to compare notes with
you, in order to ascertain whether your memory and mine coincide in iaQ
recollection of the circumstances of a particular transaction in the history
of this country. As it lies in my mind. Captain John Manly applied to
General Washington, in Cambridge, in 1775, informed him that British
transports and merchant ships were frequently passing and repassing un-
armed, and asked leave to put a few guns aboard a vessel to cruise for
them. Washington either shrinking from the boldness of the enterprise,
or doubting his authority, prudently transmitted the information to Con-
gress in a letter. When the letter was read, many members seemed
much surprised ; but a motion was made, and seconded, to commit it to a
special committee. Opposition was made to this motion, and a debate
ensued ; but the motion prevailed by a small majority. The committee
appointed were John Langdon, Silas Deane, and John Adams. We met and
at once agreed to report a resolution authorizing General Washington to
34 (397)
398 APPENDIX.
fit and arm one or more vessels for the purpose. A more animated op-
position and debate arose upon this report, but the resolution was carried
by a small majority. Under the authority of this resolution, Washington
fitted out Manly, who soon brought in several prizes, the most important
of which was that transport loaded with soldiers, arms, ammunition, and
that immortal mortar, which was called the Congress, and finally drove
the British army out of Boston and their fleet out of the harbour. This
rfplendid success inspired new courage into Congress. They appointed
a new committee, consisting of yourself. Governor Hopkins, Richard
Henry Lee, Mr. Gadsden and me, to purchase, arm, and equip, officer
and man ships. We met every night, and in a short time, had the Al-
fi-ed, Columbus, Cabot, Andrew Doria, Providence, &c., at sea, under
Commodore Hopkins. The naval enterprise of Congress increased fast.
They soon appointed a committee of one from each state, of whom you
were one, and ordered twelve frigates to be built. My recollection has
been incited by late information from Philadelphia, that Paul Jones has
written in his Journal, ' My hand first hoisted the American Flag ;' and
that Captain Barry used to say, that the ♦ first British flag struck to him.*
Both these vain boasts I know to be false ; and as you know them to be
BO, I wish to have your testimony to corroborate mine.
" It is not decent nor just that those emigrant foreigners of the South,
should falsely arrogate to themselves merit that belongs to New England
sailors, officers and men.
" Wishing you a healthy pleasant year,
" I remain your obedient friend,
"JOHN ADAMS.
" John Langdon, Esq.,
" Late Governor of New Hampshire, Portsmouth."
" Portsmouth, January 27th, 1813.
" Respected Sir, — I had the honour of receiving by the last mail,
your letter of the 24th instant, by which I see your time is taken up, and
your mind continually on the stretch, for the support and honour of our
beloved country. You request me to call to mind * the circumstances of
a particular transaction in the history of this country;' to which I an-
swer, that upon reading your correct statement of the proceedings of
Congress? on our naval matters, the appointment of committees, of which
we were a part, the struggle we had to begin our little navy, and the
opposition that was made by many members of Congress, brings to my
recollection the circumstances that took place in 1775, in all which, as fax
APPENDIX.
as I can recollect, I most perfectly coincide with you. The appointment
of Manly, and his successes, must be well known throughout the United
States. As to Paul Jones, if my memory serves me, pretending to say
that * his hand first hoisted the American Flag,' and Captain Barry, • the
first British flag struck to him,* are both unfounded, as it is impressed on
my mind that many prizes were brought into the New England States,
before their names were mentioned. I am, dear sir, always happy to
hear from you, that you are in good health, and able still to continue your
pre-eminent services to your country. Mrs. Langdon, who, I am sorry to
say, has been very unwell for sometime past, joins me in our most sincere
respects to yourself and your good lady, whom we have in grateful re-
membrance.
" That your last days may be your best and happiest, is the wish of
your old firiend and humble servant,
"JOHN LANGDON.
" Honourable John Adams,
*^Late Presidentj &c.'
Jones saving the Boats.— (P. 254.)
CATALOGUE
OF
VALUABLE BOOKS,
PUBLISHED BY
LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.,
(SUCCESSOHS TO GRiGG, ELLIOT & CO.)
NO. 11 NORTH FOUllTII STiiEl!:r, PHILADELPHIA;
coNsisTi:va of a large assokt^ient of
Bibles, Prayer-Books, Commeutarles, Standard Poets,
MEDICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS WORKS, ETC.,
PARTICULARLY SUITABLE FOR
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES.
FOR SALE BY BOOKSELLERS AND COUNTRY MERCHANTS GENERALLY THROUGH-
OUT THE UNITED STATES.
THE BEST & IVIOST COMPLET_E FAMILY COMMENTARY.
Tlie Comprelieiisiye Commentary on the Holy Bible;
CONTAINING
THE TEXT ACCORDING TO THE AUTHORIZED VERSION,
SCOTTS MARGINAL REFERENCES; MATTHEW HENRY'S COMMENTARY,
CONDENSED, BUT RETAINING EVERY USEFUL THOUGHT; THE
PRACTICAL OnSERVATIONS OF REV. THOMAS SCOTT, D. D. ;
WITH EXTENSIVE
EXPLANATORY, CRITICAL AND PHILOLOGICAL NOTES,
Selected from Scott, Doddridge, Gill, Adam Clarke, Patrick, PooIe, Lowih,
Burder, Harmer, Calmet, Rosenmueller, Bloomfield, Stuart, Bush, Dwight,
and many other writers on the Scriptures.
The whole designed to be a digest and combination of the advantages of
the best Bible Commentaries, and embracing nearly all that is valuable in
HENRY, SCOTT, AND DODDRIDGE.
Conveniently arranged for family and private reading, and, at the same time,
particularly adapted to the wants of Sabbath-School Teachers and Bible
Classes ; with numerous useful tables, and a neatly engraved Family Record.
Edited by Rev. William Jenks, D. D.,
PASTOR OF GREEN STREET CHURCH, BOSTON.
Embellished with five portraits, and other elegant engravings, from steel
plates; with several maps and many wood-cuts, illustrative of Scripture
Manners, Customs, Antiquities, &c. In 6 vols.^super- royal 8vo.
Including Supplement, bound in cloth, sheep, calf, &c., varying in
Price from $10 to $15.
The whole forming the most valuable as well as the cheapest Commentary
published in the world.
1
LIFPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
NOTICES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
OF THE
COMPREHENSIVE COMMENTAEY.
The Publishers select the following from the testimonials they have received
as to the value of the work :
We, the subscribers, having examined the Comprehensive Commentary, issued from the press of
Messrs. L., G. & Co., and highly approving its character, would cheerfully and confidently recom-
mend it as containing more matter and more advantages than any other with which we are
acquainted ; and considering the expense incurred, and the excellent manner of its mechanical
execution, we believe it to be one of the cheapest works ever issued from the press. We hope the
publishers will be sustained by a liberal patronage, in their expensive and useful undertaking. We
should be pleased to learn that every family in the United States had procured a copy.
B. B. WISNER, D. D., Secretary of Am. Board of Com. for For. Missions.
WM. COGSWELL, D. D., " " Education Society.
JOHN CODMAN, D. D., Pastor of Congregational Church, Dorchester.
Rev. HUBBARD WINSLOW, " " Bowdoin street, Dorchester.
Rev. SEWALL HARDING, Pastor of T. C. Church, Waltham.
Rev. J. H. FAIRCHILD, Pastor of Congregational Church, South Boston.
GARDINER SPRING, D. D., Pastor of Presbyterian Church, New York city.
CYRUS MASON, D. D., " • " " " "
THOS. M'AULEY, D. D., " •. » « «
JOHN WOODBRIDGE, D. D., " " " " "
THOS. DEWITT, D. D., " Dutch Ref. " " "
E. W. BALDWIN, D. D., " " " " "
Rev. J. M. M'KREBS, " Presbyterian " " "
Rev. ERSKINE MASON, « " " " "
Rev. J. S. SPENCER, " " " Brooklyn.
EZRA STILES ELY, D. D., Stated Clerk of Gen. Assem. of Presbyterian Church.
JOHN M'DOWELL, D. D., Permanent » " "
JOHN BRECKENRIDGE, Corresponding Secretary of Assembly's Board of Education.
SAMUEL B. WYLIE, D. D., Pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church.
N. LORD, D. D., President of Dartmouth College.
JOSHUA BATES, D. D., President of Middlebury College.
IL HUMPHREY, D. D., " Amherst College.
E. D. GRIFFIN, D. D., " Williamstowa College.
J. WHEELER, D. D., " Univei-sity of Vermont, at Burlington.
J. M. MATTHEWS, D. D., " New York City University.
GEORGE E. PIERCE, D. D., " Western Reserve College, Ohio.
Rev. Dr. BROWN, " Jeffersort College, Penn.
LEONARD WOODS, D. D., Professor of Theology, Andover Seminary.
THOS. H. SKINNER, D. D., « Sac. Rhet. "
Rev. RALPH EMERSON, " Eccl. Hist. " "
Rev. JOEL PARKER, Pastor of Presbyterian Church, New Orleans.
JOEL HAWES, D. D., " Congregational Church, Hartford, Conn.
N. S. S. BEAMAN, D. D., " Presbyterian Church, Troy, N. Y.
MARK TUCKER, D. D., " " " " "
Rev. E. N. KIRK, " " " Albany, N. Y.
Rev. E. B. EDWARDS, Editor of Quarterly Observer.
Rev. STEPHEN MASON, Pastor Fust Congregational Church, Nantucket.
Rev, ORIN FOWLER, " " " " Fall River.
GEORGE W. BETHUNE, D. D., Pastor of the First Reformed Dutch Church, Philada.
Rev. LYMAN BEECHER, D. D., Cincinnati, Ohio.
Rev. C. D. MALLORY, Pastor Baptist Church, Augusta, Ga. ,
Rev. S. M. NOEL, " " " Frankfort, Ky.
From the Professors at Princeton Theological Seminary.
The Comprehensive Commentary contains the whole of Henrj-'s Exposition in a condensed form,
Scott's Practical Observations and Marginal References, and a large number of very valuable philo-
logical and critical notes, selected from various authors. The work appears to be executed with
judgment, fidelity, and care ; an4 will furnish a rich treasure of scriptural knowledge to the
Biblical student, and to the teachers of Sabbath-Schools and Bible Classes.
A. ALEXANDER, D. D.
SAMUEL MILLEU, D. D.
CHARLES HODGE, D. D
1
LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
In one super-royal volume.
DESIGNED TO ACCOMPANY
THE FAMILY BOLE,
OR HENRY'S, SCOTT'S, CLARKE'S, GILL'S, OR OTHER COMMENTARIES:
CONTAINING-
1. A new, full, and complete Concordance;
Illustrated with monumental, traditional, and oriental engravings, founded on Butterworth's, with
Cruden's definitions; forming, it is believed, on many accounts, a more valuable work than either
Butterworth, Cruden, or any other similar book in the language.
The value of a Concordance is now generally understood ; and those who have used one, con-
sider it indispensable in connection with the Bible.
2. A Guide to the Reading and Study of the Bible ;
being Carpenter's valuable Biblical Companion, lately published in London, containing a complete
history of the Bible, and forming a most excellent introduction to its study. It embraces the evi-
dences of Christianity, Jevirish antiquities, manners, customs, arts, natural history, «tc., of the Bible,
with notes and engravings added.
3. Complete Biographies of Henry, by Williams; Scott, by his
son ; Doddridge, by Orton ;
with sketches of the lives and characters, and notices of the works, of the writers on the Scriptures
who are quoted in the Commentary, living and dead, American and foreign.
This part of the volume not only affords a large quantity of interesting and useful reading for
pious families, but will also be a source of gratification to all those who are in the habit of consult-
ing the Commentary ; every one naturally feeling a desire to know some particulars of the lives and
characters of those whose opinions he seeks. Appended to this part, will be a
BIBLIOTHECA BIBLICA,
or list of the best works on the Bible, of all kinds, arranged under their appropriate heads.
4. A complete Index of the Matter contained in the Bible Text.
6. A Symbolical Dictionary.
A' very comprehensive and valuable Dictionary of Scripture Symbols, (occupying about fifty-six
closely printed pages,) by Thomas Wemyss, (author of "Biblical Gleanings," &c.) Comprising
Daubuz, Lancaster, Hutcheson, <tc.
6. The Work contains several other Articles,
Indexes, Tables, 6ix:. &c., and is,
7. Illustrated by a large Plan of Jerusalem,
identifying, as far as tradition, &c., gc, the original sites, drawn on the spot by F. Catherwood, of
London, architect. Also, two steel engravings of portraits of seven foreign and eight American
theological writers, and numerous wood engravings.
The whole forms a desirable and necessary fund of instruction for the use not only of clergymen
and Sabbath-school teachers, but also for families. When the great amount of matter it must
contain is considered, it will be deemed exceedingly cheap.
" I have examined ' The Companion to the Bible,' and have been surprised to find so much inform-
ation introduced into a volume of so moderate a size. It contains a librarv of sacred knowledge
and criticism. It will be useful to ministers who own large libraries, and cannot fail to be an
invaluable help to every reader of the Bible." HENRY JIORRIS,
Pastor of Congregational Chirch, Vermont.
The above work can be had in several styles of binding. Price varying
from $1 75 to $5 (X).
LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES,
In one super-royal volume.
riERIYED PRINCIPALLY FROM THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ANTIQUITIES, TRADITIONS,
AND FORMS OF SPEECH, RITES, CLIMATE, WORKS OF ART, AND
LITERATURE OF THE EASTERN NATIONS :
EMBODYING ALL THAT IS VALUABLE IN THE WORKS OF
ROBERTS, HARIVIER, BURDER, PAXTON, CHANDLER,
And the most celebrated oriental travellers. Embracing: also the subject of the Fulfilment of
Prophecy, as exhibited by Keith and others ; with descriptions of the present state
of countries and places mentioned in the Sacred Writings.
ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS LANDSCAPE ENGRAVINGS,
FROM SKETCHES TAKEN ON THE SPOT.
Edited by Rev. George Bush,
Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Literature in the New York City University.
The importance of this work must be obvious, and, being altofrether illustrative, without reference
to doctrines, or other points in which Christians differ, it is hoped it will meet with favour from all
who love the sacred volume, and that it will be sufficiently interesting and attractive to recommend
itself, not only to professed Christians of all denominations, but also to the general reader. The
arrangement of the texts illustrated with the notes, in the order of the chapters and verses of the
authorized version of the Bible, will render it convenient for reference to particular passages;
while the copious Iridex at the end will at once enable the reader to turn to every subject discussed
in the volume.
This volume is not designed to take the place of Commentaries, but is a distinct department of biblical
instruction, and may be used as a companion to the Comprehensive or any other Commentary, or tht
Holy Bible.
THE ENGRAVINGS
in this volume, it is believed, will form no small part of its attractions. No pains have been spared
to procure such as should embellish the work, and, at the same time, illustrate the text. Objec-
tions that have been made to the pictures commonly introduced into the Bible, as being mere crea-
tions of fancy and the imagination, often unlike nature, and frequently conveying false impressions,
cannot be urged against the pictorial illustrations of this volume. Here the fine arts are made
subservient to utility, the landscape views being, without an exception, matter-of-fact views of places
mentioned in Scripture, as they appear at the present day ; thus in many instances exhibiting, in the
most forcible manner, to the eye, the strict and literal fulfilment of the remarkable prophecies ; " the
present ruined and desolate condition of the cities of Babylon, Nineveh, Selah, Sic, and the coun-
tries of Edom and Egypt, are astonishing examples, and so completely exemplify, in the most
minute particulars, every thing which was foretold of them in the height of their prosperity, that
no better description can now be given of them than a simple quotation from a chapter and verse
of the Bible written nearly two or three thousand years ago." The publishers are enabled to select
from several collections lately published in London, the proprietor of one of which says that " seve-
ral distinguished travellers have afforded him the use of nearly Tliree Hundred Original Sketches"
of Scripture places, made upon the spot. " The land of Palestine, it is well known, abounds in
scenes of the most picturesque beauty. Syria comprehends the snowy heights of Lebanon, and the
majestic ruins of Tadmor and Baalbec."
The above work can be had in various styles of binding.
Price from $1 50 to $5 00.
THE ILLUSTRATED CONCORDANCE,
In one volume, royal 8vo.
A new, full, and complete Concordance ; illustrated with monumental, traditional, and oriental
engravings, founded on Butterworth's, vnth Cruden's definitions ; forming, it is believed, on many
accounts, a more valuable work than either Butterworth, Cruden, or any other similar book in the
language.
The value of a Concordance is now generally understood ; and those who have used one, con-
sider it indispensable in connection with the Bible. Some of the many advantages the Illustrated
Concordance has over all the others, are, that it contains near two hundred appropriate engravings :
it is printed on fine white paper, \vith beautiful large type.
Price One Dollar.
4
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LIPPINCOTT'S EDITION OF
BAGSTER'S COMPBEHENSIVE BIBLE.
In order to develope the peculiar nature of the Compreliensive Bible, it will only be necessary
to embrace its more prominent features. ^
1st. The SACRED TEXT is that of the- Authorized Version, and is printed from the edition cor-
rected and improved by Dr. Blaney, which, from its accuracy, is considered the standard edition.
2"!. The V.4RI0US READINGS are faithfully printed from the edition of Dr. Blaney, inclusive
of the translation of the proper names, witliout the addition or diminution of one.
3d. In the CHRONOLOGY, great care has been taken to fix the date of the particular transac-
tions, which has seldom been done with any degree of exactness in any former edition of the Bible.
4th. The NOTES are exclusively philological and explanatory, and are not tinctured with senti-
ments of any sect or party. They are selected from the most eminent Bibhcal critics and com-
mentators.
It is hoped that this edition of the Holy Bible will be found to contain the essence of Biblical
research and criticism, tiiat lies dispersed througli an immense number of volumes.
Such is the nature and design of this edition of the Sacred V^olume, which, from tlie various
objects it embraces, the freedom of its pages from all sectarian pecuUarities, and the beauty, plain-
ness, and correctness of the typography, that it cannot fail of proving acceptable and useful to
Christians of every denomination.
In addition to the usual references to parallel passages, which are quite full and numerous, the
student has all the marginal readings, together with a rich selection of Philological, Critical, Histo-
rical, Geographical, and other valuable notes and remarks, which explain and illustrate the sacred
text. Besides the general introduction, containing valuable essays on the genuineness, authenticity,
and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and other topics of interest, there are introductory and con-
cluding remarks to each book — a table of the contents of the Bible, by which the dilTerent portions
are so arranged as to read in an historical order.
Arranged at the top of each page is the period in which the prominent events of sacred history
took place. The calculations are made for the year of the world before and after Christ, Juliaa
Period, the year of the Olympiad, the year of the building of Rome, and other notations of time.
At the close is inserted a Chronological Index of the Bible, according to the computation of Arch-
bishop Ussher. Also, a full and valuable index of the subjects contained in the Old and New Testa-
ments, with a careful analysis and arrangement of texts under their appropriate subjects.
Mr. Greenfield, the editor of this work, and for some time previous to his death tlie superintend-
ent of the editorial department of the British and Foreign Bible Society, was a most extraordinary
man. In editing the Comprehensive Bible, Ins varied and extensive learning was called into suc-
cessful exercise, and appeal's in happy combination with sincere piety and a sound judgment. The
Editor of the Christian Observer, alluding to this work, in an obituary notice of its author, speaks
of it as a work of " prodigious labour and research, at once exhibiting his varied talents and pro-
found erudition."
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OPINIONS OP THE PRESS.
"In our opinion, the Christian public generally will feel under great ohlig.itions to the publishers
of this work for the beautiful taste, arrangement, and delicate neatness with which they have got
it out. The intrinsic merit of the Bil)le recommends itself; it needs no tinsel ornament to adorn
its sacred pages. In this edition every supertiuous ornament has been avoided, and we have pre-
sented us a perfectly chaste specimen of the Bible, without note or comment. It appears to be just
what is needed in every family — 'the unsophisticated word of God.'
" The size is quarto, printed v/ith beautiful type, on white, sized vellum pa^er, of the finest texture
and most beaiitiful surface. The publishers seem to have been solicitous to make a perfectly
unique hook, and they have accomplished the object very successfully. We trust that a liberal
community will afford them ample remuneration for all the.expense and outlay they have necessa-
rily incurred in its publication. It is a standard Bible.
"The publishers are Messrs. Lippincott, Grambo & Co., No. 14 North Fourth street, Philadel-
phia." — Baptist Record.
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over fifty steel engravings, by the first artists.
Baxter's Comprehensive Bible,
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In neat plain binding, from $4 00 to $5 00. —In Turkey morocco, extra, gilt edges, from $8 00 to
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CONSTANTLY ON HAND,
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A liberal disco:.mt made to Booksellers and Agents by the Publishers.
ENCYCLOP/EDIA OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE;
OR, DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE. THEOLOGY, RELIGIOUS BIOGRAPHY, ALL RELIGIONS,
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, AND MISSIONS.
Designed as a complete Book of Reference on all Religious Suljocts. and Companion to the Bible;
forming a cheap and compact Library of Religious Knowledge. Edited by Rev. J. Newton Brown.
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The Errors of Modern Infidelity Illustrated and Refuted.
BIT S. 3VC. SCHIVEUCKER, A. IVE.
» In one volume, 12mo. ; cloth. Just published.
We cannot but regard this work, in whatever light we view it in reference to its design, as one
of the most masterly productions of the age, and fitted to uproot one of the most fondly cherished
and dangerous of all ancient or modern errors. God must bless such a work, armed with his own
truth, and doing fierce and successful battle against black infidelity, which would bring His Majesty
and Woi-d down to the tribunal of human reason, for condenmation and annihilation.— AZ6. Spectator.
Chrgi] nf ^mnira:
CONSISTING OF
ANECDOTES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE CHARACTER OF MINISTERS OF RELI-
GION IN THE UNITED STATES.
BY JOSEPH BELCHER, D.D.,
Editor of "The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller," "Robert Hall," &c.
"This very interestinjr and instructive co'.leclion of pleasins; and solemn remembrances of many
pious men, illustrates the character of the day in which they lived, and defines the men more
clearly than very elaborate essiiys." — Baltimore American.
" We regard the collection as highly interesting, and judiciously made." — Presbyterian.
JOSEPHUS'S (FLA¥IUS) WORKS,
FAMILY EDITION.
BY THE LATE WILLIAIVI VTHISTON, A. IVT.
FROM THE LAST LONDON EDITION, COMPLETE.
One volume, beautifully illustrated with Steel Plates, and the only readable edition
published in this country.
As a matter of course, every family in our country has a copy of the Holy Bible ; and as the pre-
sumption is that the greater partion often consult its pages, we take the liberty of saying to all those
that do, that the perusal of the writings of Josephus will be found very interesting and instructive.
All those who wish to possess a beautiful and correct copy of this valuable work, would do well
to purchase this edition. It is for sale at all the principal bookstores in the United States, and by
country merchants generally in the Southern and Western States.
Also, the above work in two volumes.
BURDER^S VILLAGE SERMONS;
Or, 101 Plain and Short Discourses on the Principal Doctrines of the Gospel.
INTENDED FOR THE USE OF FAMILIES, SUNDAY-SCHOOLS, OR COMPANIES ASSEM-
BLED FOR RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN COUNTRY VILLAGES.
BY GEORGE BURDER.
To which is added to each Sermon, a Short Prayer, with some General Prayers for Families,
Schools, &.C., at the end of the work.
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO.
These sermons, which are characterized by a beautiful simplicity, the entire absence of contro-
versy, and a true evangelical spirit, have gone through many and large editions, and been translated
into several of the continental languages. " They have also been the honoured means not only of
converting many individuals, but also of introducing the Gospel into districts, and even into parish
churches, where before it was comparatively unknown."
" This work fully deserves the immortality it has attained."
This is a fine library edition of this invaluable work ; and when we say that it should be found in
the possession of every famOy, we only reiterate the sentiments and sincere wishes of all who take
a deep interest in the eternal welfare of mankind.
FAMILY PRAYERS AND HYMNS,
ADAPTED TO FAMILY WORSHIP,
AND
TABLES FOR THE REGULAR READING OF THE SCRIPTURES.
By Rev. S. C. Winchester, A. M., *
Late Pastor of the Sixth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia; and the Presbyterian Church at
Natchez, Miss. ■*'
One volume, 12mo.
LTPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
SPLENDID LIBRARY EDITIONS.
ILLUSTRATED STANDARD POETS.
ELEGANTLY PRINTED, ON FINE PAPER, AND UNIFORM IN SIZE AND
STYLE.
The following Editions of Standard British Poets are illustrated with numerous Steel
Engravings, and ma}' be had in all varieties of binding.
BYRON'S WORKS.
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO.
INCLUDING ALL HIS SUPPRESSED AND ATTRIBUTED POEMS ; WITH SIX BEAUTIFUL
ENGRAVINGS.
This edition has been carefully compared with the renent London edition of Mr. Murray, and
made complete by the addition of more than fifty pages of poems heretofore unpubli.shed in Eng-
land. Among these there are a number that have never appeared in any American edition ; and
the publishers believe they are warranted in saying that this is the most complete edition of Lord
Byron's Poetical Works ever published in the United Slates.
Ije ^^Mml IBorks of fe. I^Eniniis.
Complete in one volume, octavo ; with seven beautiful Engravings.
This is a new and complete edition, with a splendid engraved likeness of Mrs. Hemans, on steel,
and contains all the Poems in the last London and American editions. With a Critical Prefact; by
Mr. Thatcher, of Boston.
"As no work in the English language can be commended with more confidence, it will argue bad
taste in a female in this country to be without a complete edition of the writings of one who was
an honour to her sex and to humanity, and whose productions, from first to last, contain no syllable
calculated to call a blush to the cheek of modesty and virtue. There is, moreover, in ^frs. Hemans's
poetry, a moral purity and a religious feeling which commend it, in an especial manner, to the dis-
criminating reader. Nf) parent or guardian will be under the necessity of imposing restrictions
with regard to the free perusal of every production emanating from this gifted woman. There
breathes throughout the whole a most eminent exemption froui impropriety of thought or diction;
and there is at times a pensiveness of tone, a winning sadness in her more serious compositions,
which tells of a soul which has been lifted from the contemplation of terrestrial things, to divine
^onnnunings with beings of a purer world."
r/IILTON, YOUNG, GRAY, BEATTIE, AND COLLINS'S
POETICAL WORKS.
COMPLETE IN 0\E VOLUME, OCTAVO.
V/ITH SIX BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS.
(Knmpn* itnlr €l]niii5iiif3 ^km nnii iMml iBnr
vii.
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO.
Including two hundred and fifty Letters, and sundry Poems of Cowper, never before published in
this country; and of Thomson a new and interesting Memoir, and upwards of twenty
new Poems, for the first time printed from his own Manuscripts, taken from
• a late Edition of the Aldiue Poels, now publishing in London.
WITH SEVEN BEAUTIFUL ENG-R A VING-S.
The distinguished Professor Silliman, speaking of this edition, observes: "I am as much gratified
by the elegance and fine taste of your edition, as by the noble tribute of genius and moral excel-
lence which these delightful authors have left for all future generations ; and Cowper, especially,
is not less conspicuous as a true Christian, moralist and teacher, than as a poet of great power and
exquisite taste."
LIPPINCOTT, (JRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
THE POETICAL WORKS OF ROGERS, CAMPBEIJ., MONTGOMERY,
LAMB, AND K!RKE WHITE.
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO.
WITH SIX BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS.
The beauty, correctness, and convenience of this favourite edition of these standard authors are
so well known, that it is scarcely necessary to add a word in its favour. It is only necessary to say,
that the publishers have now issued an illustrated edition, which greatly enhances its former value.
The engravings are excellent and well selected. It is the best library edition extant.
CRABBE, HEBER, AND POLLOFS POETICAL WORKS.
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO.
WITH SIX BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS.
A writer in the Boston Traveller holds the following language with reference to these valuable
editions : —
" Mr. Editor : — I wish, without any idea of puffing, to say a word or two upon the ' Library of
English Poets' that is now published at Philadelphia, by Lippincott, Grambo &, Co. It is certainly,
taking into consideration the elegant manner in wliich it is printed, and the reasonable price at
which it is afforded to purchasers, the best edition of the modern British Poets that has ever been
published in this country. E^ach volume is an octavo of about 500 pages, double columns, stereo-
typed, and accompanied with fine engravmgs and biographical sketches ; and most of them are
reprinted from Gali^nani's ©fench edition. As to its value, we need only mention that it contains
the entire works of Montgomery, Gray, Beatlie, Collins, Byron, Cowper, Thomson, Milton, Young,
itogers, Campbell, Lamb, Hemans, Heber, Kirke White, Crabbe, the Miscellaneous Works of Gold-
smith, and other masters of the lyre. The publishers are doing a great service by their publication,
and their volumes are almost in as great demand as the fashionable novels of the day ; and they
deserv^to be so : for they are certainly printed in a style superior to that in which we have before
had the works of tlie English Poets."
No library can be considered complete without a copy of the above beautiful and cheap editions
of the English Poets; and persons ordering all or any of them, will please say Lippincott, Grambo
Si Co.'s illustrated editions.
A COMPLETE
llrtionni'i] of |^ottiml (l^notafiDna:
COMPRISING THE MOST EXCELLENT AND APPROPRIATE PASSAGES IN
THE OLD BRITISH POETS; WITH CHOICE AND COPIOUS SELEC-
TIONS FROM THE BEST MODERN BRITISH AND
AMERICAN POETS.
EDITED BY SARAH JOSEPHA HALE.
As nightingales do upon glow-worms feed,
So poets live upon the living light
Of Nature and of Beauty.
Baiky^s Festus.
Beautifully illustrated with Engravings. In one super-royal octavo volume^, in various
bindings.
The puV)lishers extract, from the many highly complimentary notices of the above valuable and
beautiful work, the following:
" We have at last a volume of Poetical Quotations wortliy of the name. It contains nearly si.t
hundred octavo pages, carefully and tastefully selected from all the home and foreig# authors of
celebrity. It is invaluable to a writer, while to the ordinary reader it presents every subject at a
glance."— Godet/'s Lady's Book.
"The plan or idea of Mrs. Hole's work is felicitous. It is one for which her fine taste, her orderly
habit.'s of njind, and her long occupation with literature, has given hor peculiar ficilities ; and tho-
roughly has she accomplished her- task in the work before ns." — Sar loin's Magazine.
"It is a choice collection of poetical extracts from every English and American author worth
perusing, from the days of Chaucer to the present iixnQ." — Woshington Union.
" There is nothing negative about this work ; it is posilivdy good." — Eventng Bulletin.
10
LIPPINCOTT, GR.iMEO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
THE DIAMOND EDITION OF BYRON.
THE POETICAL WORKS OF LORD BYRON,
"WITH A SKETCH OP HIS LIFE.
COMPLETE IN ONE NEAT DUODECIMO VOLUME, WITH STEEL PLATES.
The type of this edition is so perfect, and it is printed with so much care, on fine white paper,
that it can be read with as much ease as most of the larger editions. This work is to be had in
plain and superb binding, making a beautiful volume for a gift.
" The Poeiical Works of Lord Byron, complete in one volume : published by L., G. & Co., Phila-
delphia. We hazard nothing in saying that, take it altogether, this is the most elegant work ever
issued from the American press.
" ' In a single volume, not larger than an ordinary duodecimo, the publishers have embraced the
whole of Lord Byron's Poems, usually printed in ten or twelve volumes; and, what is more remark-
able, have done it with a type so clear and distinct, that, notwilhstauding its necessarily small size,
it may be read with the utmost f.icility, even by failing eyes. The book is stereotyped ; and never
have we seen a finer specimen of that art. Everything about it is perfect — tlie paper, the print-
ing, the binding, all correspond with each other ; and it is embellished with two fine engravings,
well worthy the companionship in which they are placed.
" 'This will make a beautiful Christmas present.'
"We extract the above from Godey's Lady's Book. The notice itself, we are given to understand,
is written by Mrs. Hale.
" We have, to add our commendation in favour of this beantiful volume, a copy of which has
been sent us by the publishers. The admirers of the noble bard will feel obliged to the enterprise
which has prompted the publishers to dare a competition with the numerous editions of his works
already in circulation ; and we sliall be surprised if this convenient travelling edition does not in a
great degree supersede the use of the large octavo works, which have little advantage in size and
openness of type, and are much inferior in the qualities of portability and lightness." — Inlelligencer.
THE DIAMOND EDITION OF MOORE.
(CORIIE.SPONDING WITH BYRON.)
THE POETICAL WORKSHOP THOMAS MOORE,
COLLECTED BY HIMSELF.
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME.
This work is published uniform with Byron, from the last London edition, and is the most com-
plete printed in the country.
THE DIAMOND EDITION OF SHAKSPEARE,
(complete in ONE VOLUME,)
ZKCZiUBi^ra il skstoh of his Xiirx:.
UNIFORM WITH BYRON AND MOORE,
THE ABOVE WORKS CAN BE HAD IN SEVERAL VARIETIES OF BINDING.
GOLDSMITH'S ANIMATED NATURE.
IN TWO VOLUME.?, OCTAVO.
BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED WITH 385 PLATES.
CONTATNING A HISTORY OF THE EARTH, ANIMALS, BIRDS, AND FISHE3-; FORMING
THE MOST COMPLETE NATURAL HISTORY EVER PUBLISHED.
This is a work that should be in the library of every family, having been written by one of the
most talented authors in the English language.
" Goldsmith can never be made obsolete while delicate genius, exquisite feeling, fine invention,
the most harmonious metre, and the happiest diction, are at all valued."
BIGLAND'S NATURxVL HISTORY
Of Animals, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles, and Insects. Illustrated with numerous and beautiful Engrav-
mgs. By JOHN BIGLAND, author of a " View of the World," "Letters on
Universal History," &g. Complete in 1 vol., 12mo.
11
L.irii'lJNUUTT, liJKAMiJU & CU.'H FUJ3LiUATlUiNS.
THE POWER AND PROGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
THE UNITED STATES; lis Power and Progress.
BY GUILLAUIVEE TELL POUSSIN,
LATE MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE TO THE UNITED STATES.
FIRST AMERICAN, FROM THE THIRD PARIS EDITION.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY EDMOND L. DU BARRY, M. D.,
SURGEON U. S, NAVY.
In one large octavo volume.
SCHOOLCRAFT'S GREAT NATIONAL WORK ON THE INDIAN TRIBES OF
THE UNITED STATES.
WITH BEAUTIFUL AND ACCURATE COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS.
HISTORSOAL AND STATISTiGAL INFORMATION
RESPECTING THE
HISTORY, CONDITION AND PHOSPECTS
OF THE
f iiMnn €t\htB of tlje ilnlUh §>UUb,
COLLECTED AND PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE BUREAU OF INDIAN
AFFAIRS, PER ACT OF MARCH 3, 1847,
BIT HESTRir Ho SOHOOLCRjarT, IiIi.D.
ILLUSTRATED BY S. EASTMAN, Capt. U. S. A.
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF CONGRESS.
THE AMERICAN GARDENER'S CALENDAR,
ADAPTED TO THE CLIMATE AND SEASONS OF THE UNITED STATES.
Containing: a complete account of all the work necessary to be done in tlie Kitclien Garden, Fruit
Garden, Orchard, Vinej'ard, Nursery, Pleasure-Ground, Flower Garden, Green-house, Hot-house,
and Forcing Frames, for every month in the year ; with ample Practical Directions for performing
the same.
Also, general as well as minute instructions for laying out or erecting each and every of the above
departments, according to modern taste and the most approved plans; the Ornamental Planting of
Pleasure Grounds, in the ancient and modern style; the cultivation of Thorn Quicks, and other
plants suitable for Live Hedges, with the best methods of making them, &c. To which are annexed
catalogues of Kitchen Garden Plants and Herbs; Aromatic. Pot, and Sweet Herbs; Medicinal
Plants, and the most important Grapes, &c., used in rural economy; with the soil best adapted to
their cultivation. Together wiMi a copious Inde.x to the body of the work.
BY BERNARD M'MAHON.
Tenth Edition, greatly improved. In one volume, octavo.
THE PORTFOLIO OF A SOUTHERN MEDICAL STUDENT.
BY GEORGE M. WHARTON, M. D.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY CROOME.
One volume, 12 mo.
12
LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
THE FARMER'S AND PLANTER'S ENCYCL0P7EDIA.
€^t famn'B HHi! Ic^lanbr's cUnntrlniitEiiia flf Etiral affairs*
BY CUTHBERT W. JOHNSON.
ADAPTED TO THE UNITED STATES BY GOUVERNEUR EMERSON.
Illustrated by seventeen beautiful Engravings of Cattle, Horses, Slieep, the varieties of Wheat,
Barley, Oats, Grasses, the Weeds of Agriculture, &c. ; besides numerous Engrav-
ings on wood of the most important implements of Agriculture, &c.
This standard work contains the latest and best information upon all subjects connected with
fanning, and appertaining to the country ; treating of the great crops of grain, hay, cotton, hemp,
tobacco, rice, sugar, &c. &;c. ; of horses and mules ; of cattle, with minute particulars relating to
cheese and butter-making; of fowls, including a description of capon-making, with drawings of the
instruments employed ; of bees, and the Russian and other systems of managing bees and con-
structing hives. Long arti-cles on the uses and preparation of bones, lime, guano, and all sorts of
animal, mineral, and vegetable substances employed as manures. Descriptions of the most approved
ploughs, harrows, threshers, and every other agricultural machine and implement; of fruit and
shade trees, forest trees, and shrubs; of weeds, and all kinds of flies, and destructive worms and
insects, and the best means of getting rid of them ; together with a thousand other matters relating
to rural life, about wliich information is so constantly desired by all residents of the country.
IN ONE LARGE OCTAVO VOLUME.
MASON'S FARRIER-FARMERS' EDITION.
Price, 62 cents.
THE PRACTICAL FARHIER, FOR FARMERS:
COMPRISING A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE NOBLE AND USEFUL ANIMAL,
THE HORSE;
WITH MODES OF MANAGEMENT IN ALL CASES, AND TREATMENT IN DISEASE.
TO WHICH TS ADDED,
A PRIZE ESSAY ON MULES | AND AN APPENDIX,
Containing Recipes for Diseases of Horses, Oxen, Cows, Calves, Sheep, Dogs, Swine, &.c. <tc.
BIT HZCHikBB :^JLSOM, M. D.,
Formerly of Surry County, Virginia.
In one volume, 12mo.; bound in cloth, gilt.
MASON'S FARRIER AND STUD-BOOK-NEW EDITION.
THE GENTLEMAN'S NEW POCKET FARRIER:
COMPRISING A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE NOBLE AND USEFUL ANIMAL,
THE HORSE;
WITH MODES OF MANAGEMENT IN ALL CASES, AND TREATMENT IN DISEASE.
BUT HZCHiLBB SyiASOST, M, D.,
Formerly of Surry County, Virginia.
To which is added, A PRIZE ESSAV ON MULES; and AN APPENDIX, contahiing Recipes for
Diseases of Horses, Oxen, Cows, Calves, Sheep, Dogs, Swine, &c. &c. ; with Annals
of the Turf, American Stud- Book, Rules for Training, Racing, 6lc.
WITH A SUPPLEMENT,
Comprising an Essay on Domestic Animals, especially the Horse ; with Remarks on Treatment and
Breeding ; together with Trotting and Racing Tables, showing the best time on record at one,
two, three and four mile heats ; Pedigrees of Winning Horses, since 1839, and of the most
celebrated Stallions and Mares ; with useful Calving and Lambing Tables. By
J. S. SKINNER, Editor now of the Farmer's Library, New York, iic. &c.
13
liiri-lJNO'OTT, UBAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
HINDS'S FARRIERY AND STUD-BOOK-NEW EDITION.
farrTery,
TAUGHT ON A NEW AND EASY PLAN :
BEING
% €xnlm m tljB Smmm ml Slrritets nf tjiB fmu;
With Instructions to the Shoeing: Smith, Farrier, and Groom ; preceded by a Popular Description of
the Animal Functions in Health, and how these are to be restored when disordered.
BY JOHN HINDS, VETERINARY SURGEON.
With considerable Additions and Improvements, particularly adapted to this country,
BY THOMAS M. SMITH,
"Veterinary Surgeon, and Jlember of the London Veterinary Medical Society.
The publishers have received numerous flattering notices of the great practical value of these
works. The distinguished editor of the Ameiican Farmer, speaking of them, observes:— "We
cannot too highly recommend these books, and therefore advise every owner of a horse to obtain
them."
"There are receipts in those books that show how Founder may be cured, and the traveller pur-
sue his journey the next day, by giving a tablespoonful ofahtni. This was got from Dr. P. Thornu^n,
ofMontpelier, Rappaliannock county, Virginia, as founded on his own observation in several cases."
" The constant demand for Mason's and Hinds's Farrier has induced the publishers, Messrs. Lip-
pincott, Grambo & Co., to put forth new editions, with a ' Supplement' of 100 pages, by J. S. Skinner,
Esq. We should have sought to render an acceptable service to our agricultural readers, by giving
a chapter from the Supplement, 'On the Relations between Man and the Domestic Animals, espe-
cially the Horse, and the Obligations they impose ;' or the one on 'The Form of Animals;' but that
either one of them would overrun the space here allotted to such subjects."
" Lists of Medicines, and other articles which ought to be at hand about every training and livery
stable, and every Farmer's and Breeder's establishment, will be found in these" valuable works."
TO CARPENTERS AND MECHANICS
Just Published.
A NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION OF
THE CARPENTER'S NEW GUIDE,
BEING A COMPLETE BOOK OF LINES FOR
Treating fully on Practical Geometry, Saffifs Brick and Plaster Groins, Niches of every description.
Sky-lights. Lines for Roofs and Domes ; with a great variety of Designs for Roofs,
Trussed Girders, Floors, Domes, Bridges, &c., Angle Bars for Shop
Fronts, &c., and Raking Mouldings.
ALSO,
Additional Plans for various Stair-Cases, with the Lines for producing the Face and Falling Moulds,
never before published, and greatly superior to those given in a former edition of this work.
BY WILLIAM JOHNSON, ARCHITECT,
OF PHILADELPHIA.
The whole founded on true Geometrical Principles; the Theory and Practice well explained and
fully exemplified, on eighty-three copper plates, including some Observations and Calculations on
the Strength of Timber.
BY PETER NICHOLSON,
Author of " The Carpenter and Joiner's Assistant," " The Student's Instructor to the Five
Orders," &c.
Thirteenth Edition. One volume, 4to., well bound.
14
LIFPIXCOTT, GRxVMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
A DICTIONARY OF SELECT AND POPULAR QUOTATIONS,
WHICH ARE IN DAILY USE.
TAKEN FROM THE LATIN, FRENCH, GREEK, SPANISH AND ITALIAN LANGUAGES.
Together with a copious Collection of Law Maxims and Law Terms, translated into
English, with Illustrations, Historical and Idiomatic.
NEW AMERICAN EDITION, CORRECTED. WITH ADDITIONS.
One volume, 12mo.
This volume comprises a copious collection of legal and other terms which are in common use,
with English translations and historical illustrations; and we should judge its author had surely
been to a great " Feast of Languages," and stole all the scraps. A work of this character should
have an extensive sale, as it entirely obviates a serious difficulty in which most readers are involved
by the frequent occurrence of Latin, Greek, and French passages, which we suppose are introduced
by autliors for a mere show of learning — a difficulty very perplexing to readers in general. This
" Dictionary of Quotations," concerning which too much cannot be said in its favour, effectually
removes the difficulty, and gives the reader an advantage over the author; for we believe a majority
are themselves ignorant of the meaning of the terms they employ. Very few truly learned authors
will insult their readers by introducing Latin or French quotations in their writings, when "plain
English" will do as well ; but we will not enlarge on this point.
If the book is useful to those unacquainted with other languages, it is no less valuable to the
classically educated as a book of reference, and answers all the purposes of a Lexicon — indeed, on
m.any accounts, it is better. It saves the trouble of tumbhng over the larger volumes, to which
every one, and especially those engaged in the legal profession, are verv often subjected. It should
have a place in every library in the country.
RUSCHENBERGER'S NATURAL HISTORY,
COMPLETE, WITH NEW GLOSSARY.
t (BUmtnb of 3l5ntiual listcri|j
EMBRACING ZOOLOGY, BOTANY AND GEOLOGY!
FOR SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND FAMILIES.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
WITH NEARLY ONE THOUSAND ILLUSTRATIONS, AND A COPIOUS GLOSSARY.
Vol. 1. contains Vertebrate Animals. Vol. II. contains Iiitervertebrate Animals, Botany, and Geology.
A Beautiful and Valuable Presentation Book.
THE POET'S OFFERING.
EDITED BY MRS. HALE.
With a Portrait of the Editress, a Splendid Illuminated Title-Page, and Twelve Beautiful Engrav-
ings by Sartain. Bound in rich Turkey Morocco, and Extra Cloth, Gilt Edge.
To those who wish to make a present that will never lose its value, this will be found the most
desirable Gift-Book ever published.
" We commend it to all who desire to present a friend with a volume not only very beautiful, but
of solid intrinsic value." — Washington Union.
"A perfect treasury of the thoughts and fancies of the best English and American Poets. The
paper and printing are beautiful, and the binding rich, elegant, and substantial ; the most sensible
and attractive of all the elegant gift-books we have 'seen." — Eveninij Bidlelui.
•' 'I'he publishers deserve the thanks of the pubhc for so happy a thought, so well executed. The
engravings are by the best artists, and the other portions of the work correspond in elegance." —
Fublic Ledger.
" There is no book of selections so diversified and appropriate within our knowledge."— Pe/iw^Zu'n.
" It is one of the most valuable as well as elegant books ever published in this country." — Godey's
Lady's Book. /
" It is the most beautiful and the most useful offering ever bestowed on the public. No individual
of literary taste will venture to be without it."— Th£ City Item.
15
LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.
THE YOUNG DOMINICAN;
OE, THE MYSTERIES OF THE INQUISITION,
AND OTHER SECRET SOCIETIES OF SPAIN.
BY M. V. DE FEREAL.
WITH HISTORICAL NOTES, BY M. MANUEL DE CUENDIAS.
TRANSLATED FROBI THE FRENCH.
ILLUSTRATED WITH TWENTY SPLENDID ENGRAVINGS BY FRENCH ARTISTS
One volume, octavo.
SAY'S POLITICAL ECONOMY.
A TREATISE ON POLITICAL ECONOMY;
Or, The Production, Distribution and Consumption of Wealtli.
BIT JUAN BAPTISTS SJLIT.
FIFTH AMERICAN EDITION, WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES,
BY C. C. BIDDLE, Esq.
In one volume, octavo.
It would be beneficial to our country if all those who are aspiring to office, were required by their
constituents to be familiar with the pag;es of Say.
The distinguished biographer of the author, in noticing this work, observes : " Happily for science,
he commenced that study which forms the basis of his admirable Treatise on Political Economy ; a
work which not only improved under his hand with every successive edition, but has been translated
into most of the European languages."
The Editor of the North American Review, speaking of S.ay, observes, that " he is the most
popular, and perhaps the most able writer on Political Economy, since the time of Smith."
LAURENCE STERNE'S V/ORKS,
WITH A LIFE OE THE AUTHOR:
WRITTEN EY HIMSELF.
WITH SEVEN BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS, ENGRAVED BY GILBERT AND GIHON,
FROM DESIGNS BY DARLEY.
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To commend or to criticise Sterne's Works, in this age of the world, would be all " wasteful and
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Captive — even the Dead Ass, — this is all we have to say of Sterne; and in the memory of these
characters, histories, and sketches, a thousand follies and worse than follies are forgotten. 1 he
volume is a very handsome one.
THE MEXICAN WAR AND ITS HEROES)
A COMPLETE HISTORy'oF THE MEXICAN WAR,
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ALSO,
AN ACCOUNT OF THE CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO.
Under Gen. Kearny, Cols. Doniphan and Fremont. Together with Numerous Anecdotes of the
War, and Personal Adventures of the Officers. Illustrated with Accurate
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16
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and numerous Preparations for Invalids.
BY MRS. BLISS.
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AND WAYS OP THE PEOPLE, &o.
BY RiOHARD M'SHERRY, M. D,, U. S. N.,
LATE ACTING SURGEON OF REGIMENT OF MARINES.
In one volume, 12mo.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS.
M0NEY-BA6S ANO TITLES ;
A HIT AT THE FOLLIES OF THE AGE.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF JULES SANDEAU.
BY LEONARD MYERS.
One volume, 12itio.
"'Money-Bags and Titles^ is quite a remarkable work, amounts to a kindly exposure of the folly
of human pride, and also presents at once the evil and the remedy. If good-natured ridicule of
the impostures practised by a set of self-styled reformers, who have nothing to lose, and to wliom
change must be gain — if, in short, a delineation of tlie mistaken ideas which prevent, and the
means wliich conduce to happiness, be traits <le.serving of commendation, — the reader vvill find
much to enlist his attention and win his ai)probation ia the pages of this unpretending, but truly
meritorious publication."
WHAT IS CHURCH HISTORY?
AVINDICATION OF THE IDEA OF HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS.
BY PHILIP SOHAF.
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN.
In one volume, 12mo,
17
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DODD'S LECTURES.
DISCOURSES TO YOUNG MEN.
ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS HIGHLY INTERESTING ANECDOTES.
BY ^VILLIAIVC DODD, LL. D.,
CHAPLAIN IN ORDINARY TO HIS MAJESTY GEORGE THE THIRD.
FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, WITH ENGRAVINGS.
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THE IRIS:
AN ORIGINAL SOUVENIR.
WitL Contributions from the First Writers in the Country.
EDITED BY PROF. JOHN S. HART.
Vl'ith Splendid Illuminations and Steel Engravings. Bound in Turkey Morocco and rich Papier
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IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO.
Its contents are entirely orig-Jnal. Among: the contributors are names well known in the republic
of letters ; such as Mr. Boker, Mr. Stoddard, Prof. Moffat, Edith May, ]\Irs. Sigourney, Caroline May,
Mrs. ffinney, Mrs. Butler, Mrs. Pease, Mrs. Swift, Mr. Van Biblnsr, Rev. Charles T. Brooks, Mrs.
Dorr, Erastus W. Ellsworth, Miss E. W. Barnes, Mrs. Williams, Mary Young-, Dr. Gardette, Alice
Carey, Phebe Carey, Augusta Browne, Hamilton Browne, CaroUne Eastis, Margaret Junkin, Maria
J. B. Browne, Miss Starr, Mrs. Brotiierson, Kate Campbell, A:c.
(drras from \^t §amh Minf;
OR, HOLY THOUaHTS UPON SACRED SUBJECTS.
BY CLERGYMEN OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
EDITED BY THOMAS WYATT, A.M.
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WITH SEVEN BEAUTIFUL STEEL ENGRAVINGS.
The contents of this work are chiefly by clergymen of the Episcopal Church. Among the con-
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Bishop Johns, and Bishop Doane ; and the Rev. Drs. H. V. D. Johns, Coleman, and Butler ; Rev. G.
T. Bedell, M'Cabe, Ogilsby, &c. The illustrations are rich and exquisitely wrought engravings upon
the following subjects: — "Samuel before Eli," "Peter and John healing the Lame Man," "The
Resurrection of Christ," "Joseph sold by his Brethren," "The Tables of the Law," "Christ's
Agony in the Garden," and "The Flight into Egypt." These subjects, with many others in prose
and verse, are ably treated throughout the work.
HAW-HO-NOO:
OR, THE RECORD'S OF A TOURIST.
BY CHARLES LANMAN,
Author of " A Summer in the Wilderness," &c. In one volume, ]2mo.
" In the present book, 'Haw-ho-noo,' (an Indian name, by the way, for America,) the author has
gathered up some of the relics of his former tours, and added to them other interesting matter. It
contains a number of carefully written and instructive articles upon the various kinds offish in our
country, whose capture affords sport for anglers ; reminiscences of unique incidents, manners, and
customs in different parts of the country ; and other articles, narrative, descriptive, and sentimental.
In a supplement are gathered many curious Indian legends. They are related with great simplicity
and clearness, and will be of service hereafter to the poem-makers of America. Many of th-em are
quite beautiful." — iVa/!0?iai Jtitelligencer.
18
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LONZ POWERS; Or, The Regulators.
A ROMANCE OF KENTUCKY.
FOUNDED ON FACT S .
BY JA3VIES WEIR, ESQ.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
The scenes, characters, and incidents in these volumes have been copied from nature, and from
real life. They are represented as taking place at that period in the history of Kentucky, when
the Indian, driven, after many a hard-fought field, from his favourite hunting-ground, vi^as succeeded
by a rude and unlettered population, interspersed with organized bands of desperadoes, scarcely
less savage than the red men they had displaced. The author possesses a vigorous and graphic
pen, and has produced a very interesting romance, which gives us a striking portrait of the times
he describes.
THE WESTERN MERCHANT.
A NAERATIVE,
Containing useful Instruction for the Western Man of Business, who makes his Purchases in the
East. Also, Information for the Eastern Man, whose Customers are in the West.
Likewise, Hints for those who design emigrating to the West. De-
duced from actual experience.
BY LUKE SHORTFIELD, A WESTERN MERCHANT.
Onevoliime,12mo.
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A, sprightly, pleasant book, with a vast amount of information in a very agreeable shape. Busi-
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The " moral" of the work is summed up in the following concluding sentences : " Adhere stead-
fastly to your business ; adhere steadfastly to your first love ; adhere steadfastly to the church."
A MANUAL OF POLITENESS,
COMPRISING THE
PRINCIPLES OF ETIQUETTE AND RULES OF BEHAVIOUR
IN GENTEEL SOCIETY, FOR PERSONS OF BOTH SEXES.
ISmo., with PLates.
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Translated from the Sizth Paris Edition; Enlarged and Improved,
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THE ANTEmLUYIANS; Or, The World Destroyed.
A NAllKATIVE POEM, IN TEN BOOKS.
BY JAMES M'HENRY, M.D.
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19
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Bennett's (Rev. John) Letters to a Young Lady,
ON A VARIETY OF SUBJECTS CALCULATED TO IMPROVE THE HEART,
TO FORM THE MANNERS, AND ENLIGHTEN THE UNDERSTANDING.
"That our daughters may be as polished corners of the temple."
The publishers sincerely hope (for the happiness of mankind) that a copy of this valuable little
work will be found the companion of every young: lady, as mucli of the happiness of every family
depends on the proper cultivation of the female mind.
THE DAUGHTER'S OWN BOOK:
OR, PEACTICAL HmiS FROM A FATHER TO HIS DAUGHTER.
One volume, 18mo.
This is one of the most practical and truly valuable treatises on the culture and discipline of the
female mind, which has hitherto been published in this country ; and the publishers are very confi-
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library of every young lady.
THE AMERICAN CHESTERFIELD :
Or, "Youth's Guide to the Way to Wealth, Honour, and Distinction/' k. ISmo.
CONTAINING ALSO A COMPLETE TREATISE ON THE ART OF CARVING.
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persons particularly, as one of the best works of the kind that has ever been published in this
country. It cannot be too highly appreciated, nor its perusal be unproductive of satisfaction and
usefulness."
SENECA'S MORALS.
BY WAY OF ABSTRACT TO WHICH IS ADDED. A DISCOURSE UNDER
THE TITLE OF AN AFTER-THOUGHT.
BYSIR ROGER L'ESTRANGE, KNT.
A new, fine edition ; one volume, 18mo.
A copy of this valuable little work should be found in every family library.
NEW Sm-BOOK.
(lrigg'0 loiitlieni nnh Wtslm longster;
BEING A CHOICE COLLECTION OF THE MOST FASHIONABLE SONGS, MANY OF WHICH
" ARE ORIGINAL.
In one volume, 18rao.
Great care was taken, in the selection, to admit no song that contained, in the slightest degree,
any indelicate or improper allusions ; and with great propriety it may claim the title of " The Pai -
lour Song-Book, or Songster." The immortal Shakspeare observes —
" The man that hath not music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils."
EOBOTHAM'S POCKET FRENCH DICTIONARY,
CAREFULLY REVISED,
AND THE PRONUNCIATION OF ALL THE DIFFICULT WORDS ADDED.
20
THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF TRISTRAM SHANDY, GENTLEMAN.
COMPRISING THE HUMOROUS ADVENTURES OF
UNCLE TOBY AND CORPORAL TRIM.
B3r Ii. STEHNH,
Beautifully Illustrated Ijy Oarley. Stitched.
A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY.
BY L. S.TERNE.
Illustrated as aljove l»y Darley. Stitclied*
The beauties of this author are so well known, and his errors in style and expression so few i
far between, that one reads with renewed delight his delicate turns, &c.
THE LIFE OF GENERAL JACKSON,
WITH A LIKENESS OF THE OLD HERO.
One volume, ISnio.
LIFE OF PAUL JONES.
In one volume, 12mo.
WITH ONE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS
BY JAMES HAMILTON.
The work is compiled from his original journals and correspondence, and includes an account of
his services in the American Revolution, and in the war between the Russians and Turks in the
Black Sea, There is scarcely any Naval Hero, of any age, who combined in his character so much
of the adventurous, skilful and daring, as Paul Jones. The incidents of his life are almost as start-
ling and absorbing as those of romance. His achievements during the American Revolution— the
fight between the Bon Homme Richard and Serapis, the most desperate naval action on record —
and the alarm into which, with so small a force, he threw the coasts of England and Scotland — are
matters comparatively well known to Americans ; but the incidents of liis subsequent career have
been veiled in obscurity, which is dissipated by this biography. A book like this, narrating the
actions of such a man, ought to meet with an extensive sale, and become as popular as Robinson
Crusoe in fiction, or Weems's Life of Marion and Washington, and similar books, in fact. It con-
tains 400 pages, has a handsome portrait and medallion likeness of Jones, and is illustrated with
numerous original wood engravings of naval scenes and distinguished men with whom he was
familiar.
THE GREEK EXILEj
Or, A Narrative of th^ Captivity and Escape of Cliristopliorus Plato Castanis,
DURING THE MASSACRE ON THE ISLAND OF SCIO BY THE TURKS.
TOGETHER WITH VARIOUS ADVENTURES IN GREECE AND AMERICA.
WRITTEN BY HIMSELF,
Author of an Essay on the Ancient and Modern Greek Languages; Interpretation of the Attributes
of the Principal Fabulous Deities ; The Jewish Maiden of Scio's Citadel ; and
the Greek Boy in the Sunday-School.
One volume, 12mo.
THE YOUNG CHORISTER;
k Collection of New and Beautiful Tunes, adapted to the use of Sabbath-Schools, from some of the
most distinguished composers ; togetlier witli many of the author's compositions.
EDITED BY MINAKD W. WILSON.
21
CAfflP LIFE OF A VOLUNTEER.
A Campaign in Mexico; Or, A Glimpse at Life in Camp.
BY "ONE WHO HAS SEEN THE ELEPHANT."
X\tt of (Irnttnl $LK[niri| ^aqlcr,
COMPRISING A NARRATIVE OF EVENTS CONNECTED WITH HIS PROFESSIONAL
CiUlEER, AND AUTHENTIC INCIDENTS OF HIS EARLY YEARS.
BY J. REESE FRY AND R. T, CONRAD.
With an original and accurate Portrait, and eleven elegant Illustrations, by Darley.
In one handsome 12mo. volume.
" It is by far the fullest and most interesting biography of General Taylor that we have ever seen."
^■Richmond ( Whig) Chromcle.
" On the whole, we are satisfied that this volume is the most correct and comprehensive one yet
published." — Hunt's Merchants^ Magazine.
" The superiority of this edition over the ephemeral publications of the day consists in fuller and
more authentic accounts of his family, his early life, and Indian wars. The narrative of his pro-
ceedings in Mexico is drawn partly from reliable private letters, but chiefly from his own official
correspondence."
"It forms a cheap, substantial, and attractive volume, and one which should be read at the fire-
side of every family who desire a faithful and true life of the Old General."
GENERAL TAYLOR ANB HIS STAFF:
Comprising Memoirs of Generals Taylor, Worth, Wool, and Butler; Cols. May, Cross, Clay, Hardin,
Yell, Hays, and other distinguished Officers attached to General Taylor's
Army. Interspersed with
NUMEROUS ANECDOTES OF THE MEXiCAJ^ WAR,
and Personal Adventures of the Officers. Compiled from Public Documents and Private Corre-
spondence. With
ACCURATE PORTRAITS, AND OTHER BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS.
In one volume, 12mo.
GENERAL SCOTT AND HIS STAFF!
Comprismg Memoirs of Generals Scott, Twiggs, Smith, Quitman, Shields, Pillow, Lane, Cadwalader,
Patterson, and Pierce ; Cols. Childs, Riley, Harney, and Butler ; and other
distinguished officers attached to General Scott's Army.
TOGETHER WITH
Notices of General Kearny, Col. Doniphan, Col. Fremont, and othe* officers distinguished in the
Conquest of California and New Mexico ; and Personal Adventures of the Officers. Com-^
piled from Public Documents and Private Correspondence. With
ACCURATE PORTRAITS, AND OTHER BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS.
In one volume, 12mo.
THE FAMILY DENTIST,
INCLUDING THE SURGICAL, MEDICAL AND MECHANICAL TREATMENT
OF THE TEETH.
Illustrated with tliirty-one X^ngravings*
By CHAHLES A. DU BOUCHET, M. D., Dental Surgeon.
In one volume, 18mo.
22
MECHANICS FOR THE IVIILLWRIGHT, ENGINEER AND MACHINIST,
CIVIL ENGINEER, AND ARCHITECT:
CONTAINING
THE PRINCIPLES OP MCHMICS APPLIED TO MACHINERY
Of American models, Steam-Engmes, Water- Works, Mavigation, Bridge-building, &c. <kc. By
FREDERICK OVERMAN,
Author of " The Manufacture of Iron," and other scientific treatises.
Illustrated by 150 Engravings. In one large 12mo. volume.
WILLIAMS'S TRAVELLER'S AND TOURIST'S GUIDE
Through the United States, Canada, &c.
This book will be found replete with information, not only to the traveller, but likewise to the
man of business. In its preparation, ^n entirely new plan has been adopted, which, we are con-
vinced, needs only a trial to be fully appreciated.
Among' its many valuable features, are tables showing at a glance the distance, fare, and time
occupied in travelling from the principal cities to the most important places in the Union ; so that
the question frequently asked, without obtaining a satisfactory reply, is here answered in full.
Other tables show the distances from New York, &c., to domestic and foreign ports, by sea; and
also, by way of comparison, from New York and Liverpool to the principal ports beyond and around
Cape Horn, <5;:c., as well as via the Isthmus of Panama. Accompanied by a large and accurate Map
of the United States, including a separate Map of California, Oregon, New Mexico and Utah. Also,
a Map of the Island of Cuba, and Plan of the City and Harbor of Havana; and a Map of Niagara
River and Falls.
THE LEGISLATIVE GUIDE:
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United States; the Joint Rules of both Houses ; a Synopsis of Jefferson's Manual, and copious
Indices ; together with a concise system of Rules of Order, based on the regulations of the
U. S. Congress. Designed to economise time, secure uniformity and despatch in con-
ducting business in all secular meetings, and also in all religious, political, and
Legislative Assemblies.
BY JOSEPH BARTLETT BURLEIG-H, LL. D.
In one volume, 12mo.
This is considered by our Judges and Congressmen as decidedly the best work of the kind extant.
Every young man in the country should have a copy of this book.
THE INITIALS; A Story of Modern Life.
THREE VOLUMES OF THE LONDON EDITION COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME 12M0.
A new novel, equal to "Jane Eyre."
WILT) WESTERN SCENES!
A NARRATIVE OF ADVENTURES IN THE W/ESTERN WILDERNESS,
Wherein the Exploits of Daniel Boone, the Great American Pioneer, are particularly described
Also, Minute Accounts of Bear. Deer, and Buffalo Hunts — Desperate Conflicts with the
Savages — Fishing and Fowling Adventures — Encounters with Serpents, <kc.
By Luke Shortfield, Author of " The Western Merchant."
BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED. One volume, 12mo.
POEMS OF THE PLEASURES:
Coniisting of the PLEASURES OF IMAGINATION, by Akenside ; the PLEASURES OF MEMORY,
by Samuel Rogers ; the PLEASURES OF HOPE, by Campbell ; and the PLEASURES OF
FRIENDSHIP, by M'Henry. With a Memoir of each Author, prepared expressly
for this work. 18mo.
23
CALIFORNIA AND OREGON;
Or, Sights in the Gold Region, and Scenes by the Way.
BY THEODORE T. JOHNSON.
With a Map and Illustrations. Third Edition.
With AN APPENDIX, containing Full Instructions to Emig^rants by t)ie Overland Route to Oregon.
By Hon. SAMUEL R. THURSTON, Delegate to Congress from that Territory.
VALUABLE STANDARD MEDICAL BOOKS.
DISPENSATORY OF THE UNITED STATES.
BY DKS. WOOD AWD BACHE.
New Edilioii, much enlargfid and carefully revised. One volume, royal octavo.
A TREATISE ON THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE.
BY GEORGE B. WOOD, M. D.,
One of the Authors of the " Dispensatory of the U. S.," <S:c. New edition, improved. 2 vols. 8vo.
AN ILLUSTRATED SYSTEM OF HUMAN ANATOMY;
SPECIAL, MICROSCOPIC, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL.
BY SAMUEL GEORGE MORTON, M. D.
"With 391 beautiful Illustrations. One volume, royal octavo.
MATERIA MEDICA AND THERAPEUTICS,
With ample Illustrations of Practice in all the Departments of Medical Science, and copious No-
tices of Toxicology.
BIT THOMAS D. MITCMELL, A.Tft.^ BI.D.,
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THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF SURGERY.
By George M'Clellan, M. D. 1 vol. 8vo.
EBERLE'S PRACTICE OF MEDICINE.
New Edition. Improved by GEORGE M'CLELLAN, M. D. Two volumes in 1 vol. 8vo.
EBERLE'S THERAPEUTICS
TWO VOLUMES IN ONE.
A TREATISE ON THE DISEASES AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION OF CHILDREN.
By JOHN EBERLE, M. D., &c. Fourth Edition. With Notes and very large Additions,
By Thomas D. Mitchell, A. M., M. D., &c. 1 vol. 8vo.
EBERLE'S NOTES FOR STUDENTS-NEW EDITION.
•»* These worlcs are used as text-books in most of the Medical Schools in the United States.
A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON POISONS:
Their Symptoms, Antidotes, and Treatment. By 0. H. Costill, M. D. 18mo.
IDENTITIES OF LIGHT AND HEAT, OF CALORIC AND ELECTRICITY.
13 V" C. CAMPBELL COOPER.
UNITED STATES' PHARMACOPEIA,
Edition of 1851. Published by authority of the National Medical Convention. 1 vol. Svo
24
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
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