Jones John Paul - John Paul Jones: sailor, hero, father of the American Navy

Praise for Evan Thomass John Paul Jones

Thomas has written a superb life of John Paul Jones, one that might have been subtitled A Study in Character. He knows his subject so well.

Chicago Tribune

Thomas is that rare writer whose prose nearly jumps off the page, and in John Paul Jones he showcases his deep knowledge of U.S. Navy history and sea lore. Even his nautical terminology is right on the mark.

The Boston Globe

Military buffs should rejoice. Those who are passionate about fast-paced narratives bristling with personal derring-do and smoky, bloody battles will thrill to the naval exploits of John Paul Jones as Evans has him sail through history once again.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

This superlative biography can hold its own on the shelf with Samuel Eliot Morrisons Pulitzer Prize-winning Jones bio. It adds interpretations and dimensions to practically every event that has been recorded elsewhere. Both Jones and his latest biographer can justly be praised as masters of their respective fields.

Publishers Weekly

Amazing Jones has now come vividly alive in this superb story Thomas, whose enthusiasm for his subject is simply contagious, presents page after page of compelling details. The highlight of this book is without question the authors minute-by-minute account of the classic sea battle between Joness Bonhomme Richard and the British man-o-war Serapis off the coast of England in 1779. Joness story is uniquely told here by a superb biographer who portrays the sailor as a man who advanced by his own merits and drivenot by pedigree or his place in society.

The Louisville Courier-Journal

Thomas draws the reader deep into Joness character, sexual escapades, shipboard life, bloody sea battles, and various military adventures. In the first good, balanced biography in several years for both lay readers and scholars, Thomas masterfully narrates the life of a clever, bold, social-climbing hero. Recommended to public and academic libraries.

Library Journal

The complex portrait is rendered with nautical precisionthe author knows his topsail from his topgallantand a lively eye for such details as the Enlightenment virtues espoused by Free-masonry or the proper way to kiss a French lady in the eighteenth century.

The New Yorker

Absorbing Evan Thomas has taken a complex, frustrated (and frustrating) man and assembled a biography that reads like a novel. One of the finest contemporary biographies of that great naval hero John Paul Jones.

San Francisco Chronicle

A LSO BY E VAN T HOMAS

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Edward Bennett Williams

Ultimate Insider; Legendary Trial Lawyer

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Robert Kennedy

His Life

SAILOR, HERO, FATHER OF THE AMERICAN NAVY

EVAN THOMAS

SIMON & SCHUSTER
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SIMON & SCHUSTER
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Copyright 2003 by Evan Thomas

Maps and illustrations copyright 2003 by David Cain

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

First Simon & Schuster trade paperback edition 2004

S IMON & S CHUSTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales: 1-800-456-6798 or business@simonandschuster.com

Book design by Ellen R. Sasahara

Manufactured in the United States of America

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover as follows:

Thomas, Evandate.

John Paul Jones : sailor, hero, father of the American Navy / Evan Thomas.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Jones, John Paul, 1747-1792. 2. AdmiralsUnited StatesBiography. 3. United States. NavyBiography. 4. United StatesHistoryRevolution, 01775-1783Naval operations. I. Title

E207J7T48 2003

973.35092dc21

[B] 2003042411

ISBN 0-7432-0583-9
eISBN: 978-1-451-60399-6

0-7432-5804-5 (Pbk)

To my mother Anne D. R. Thomas

Introduction
My Desire for Fame Is Infinite

Chapter One
You Meet a Gentleman

Chapter Two
That Great Misfortune

Chapter Three
Proof of Madness

Chapter Four
Determined at All Hazards

Chapter Five
Delicate Notions of Honor

Chapter Six
A Rash Thing

Chapter Seven
Officer of Fine Feelings

Chapter Eight
Lay It in Ashes

Chapter Nine
Weve Got Her Now!

Chapter Ten
No Sooner Seen Than Lost

Chapter Eleven
Caressed by All the World

Chapter Twelve
The Gale Still Increasing

Chapter Thirteen
Cover Him With Kisses

Chapter Fourteen
Conquer or Die

Chapter Fifteen
The Ghost of Himself

Epilogue
Envy of the World

Every officer in our navy should know by heart the deeds of John Paul Jones.

PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT April 24, 1906

John Paul Jones

J OHN P AUL J ONES, the captain of the Continental Navy ship Bonhomme Richard, first sighted his Brittanic Majestys Ship Serapis at 3 P.M. on September 23, 1779. The Serapis was about ten miles away. The wind was light, a gentle southwest breeze, and in the rush of the tide off of Flamborough Head on Englands east coast, the two ships crept toward each other. No captain of an American navy ship had ever defeated and captured a British man-of-war of any real size or strength. Jones ached to be the first. He had about four hours to contemplate his chances for immortality.

At 5 P.M., drummers marched the deck of the Bonhomme Richard, beating a rattling cadence. The ship was cleared for action: bulkheads, chairs, tables, bunks, any objects that were portable and wooden, were stowed in the hold, in part to reduce the risk of flying splinters that could impale a man. The decks were sprinkled with sand to keep them from becoming slick with blood. Down in the dim cockpit, far belowdeck where the surgeons worked, tubs were put out for discarding amputated limbs. At each gangway, marines were posted to stop cowards from fleeing below. For courage, the men were issued an extra ration of rum.

Jones could see, through the light haze, two warships, one largea heavy frigate, perhapsand one small, probably a sloop-of-war. Captain Joness squadron comprised four ships: the Bonhomme Richard, forty guns; the Alliance, thirty-six guns; the Pallas, thirty-two guns; and the Vengeance, twelve guns. Their combined firepower could hurl more than a thousand pounds of metal in a single broadside. The odds heavily favored Jones. He could squeeze the larger British ship in a vise, hammering her from both sides, or run along in line of battle, discharging broadside after broadside before the enemy could reload.