Commodore Paul Jones 14

Commodore Paul Jones 14

Then, in order that the fire already kindled might have sufficient

time to develop, the undaunted captain stood alone on the wharf,

pistol in hand, confronting the ever-increasing crowd. Impelled by

pressure from behind, those in front finally made a movement toward

him. He gave no ground whatever. Pointing his weapons at the front

rank, he sternly bade them retire, which they did with precipitation.

I should think so. Having remained a sufficient time, as he thought,

he calmly entered the boat and was rowed to the Ranger.

 

Some of the inhabitants promptly made a dash for the burning ship, and

succeeded by hard work in confining the fire to that one vessel.

Others released the prisoners which Jones left bound on the wharf,

taking, as he said, only two or three for a sample. The soldiers ran

to the fort and managed to draw the hastily applied spikes from two or

three of the guns, which they loaded and fired after the retreating

boats. Answering the harmless fusillade with a few derisive musket

shots, Jones returned to the Ranger; having had, he says, the pleasure

of neither inflicting nor receiving any loss in killed or wounded.

 

The desertion and treachery of David Freeman undoubtedly saved the

shipping. The enterprise was well conceived and carried out with the

utmost coolness. Had the orders of Captain Jones been obeyed, the

shipping would have been completely destroyed. As it was, the descent

created the greatest consternation in England. No enemy had landed on

those shores for generations, and the expedition by Jones was like

slapping the face of the king on his throne. A burning wave of

indignation swept over England, as the news was carried from town to

town, from hall to hall, and from hamlet to hamlet. It was all very

well to burn property in America, but the matter had a different

aspect entirely when the burning took place in England. A universal

demand arose for the capture of this audacious seaman, who was called

many hard names by the infuriated British.

 

From Whitehaven the Ranger ran over to St. Mary's Isle, a beautifully

wooded promontory at the mouth of the River Dee, which was the seat of

the Earl of Selkirk. In furtherance of his usual desire to ameliorate

the wretched condition of the Americans in British prisons, Jones

determined to seize the earl. He cherished the hope that by securing

the person of a peer of the realm, who could be either held as a

hostage or exchanged for some prominent American captive, he could

thus effect a recognition of the principle of exchange, which the

British had refused to consider. It was a wild hope, to be sure, but

not without a certain plausibility.

 

Two boat crews under the command of Lieutenants Simpson and Hall, with

himself in charge of the expedition, landed on the shore. Before

moving toward the hall, Jones learned that the earl was not at home.

He proposed, therefore, to return to the ship, but the mutinous men

demurred fiercely to this suggestion, and demanded that they be

permitted to enjoy the opportunity for plunder presented. The

situation was a precarious one, and Jones finally agreed, although

very reluctantly, that they should demand the family silver from the

Countess of Selkirk, who was at home. He did this with the full

intention of purchasing the silver on his own account when the prizes

were disposed of, and returning it to the earl. A party of the men,

therefore, with Simpson and Hall, went up to the house, leaving Jones

pacing to and fro near the shore under the oaks and chestnuts of the

estate. By Jones' orders the seamen did not enter the house. Simpson

and Hall were ushered into the presence of the Lady Selkirk, made

their demand upon her ladyship, received the silver, which the butler

gathered up for them, and retired without molesting or harming any of

the inmates or endeavoring to appropriate anything except what was

given them. The men drank her ladyship's health in good Scots whisky,

which was served them by the countess' orders. The party then embarked

on the Ranger.

 

One of his biographers has said that the whole transaction was an

evidence of the singular ability of Jones in creating difficulties

which it afterward required greater labor to overcome; but the

criticism is unfair. The only way in which he could satisfy the

demands of his men and maintain even that precarious authority which

the peculiar constitution of the crew and the character of his

officers enabled him to have, was by permitting them to take something

of value which could be turned into prize money. He could buy it from

the prize court, or from the prize master, as well as any other man,

and after it became his own property he could return it to its proper

owners at his pleasure.

 

It was a perfectly legitimate transaction on his part, and he could

only obviate the necessity by taking the proposed value of the silver

out of his own pocket and handing it to his men, a proceeding which

would have been subversive of the last remains of discipline, and

therefore could not be considered for a moment. It would establish a

precedent which could not be carried out in the future unless he were

willing to abrogate his right of command; if he began that way he

would have to buy their acquiescence to every command--bribe them to

obey orders; so he said nothing whatever to them about his intentions

with regard to the plate at present.

 

Standing away from St. Mary's Isle on the morning of the 24th, the

Ranger came in sight once more of Carrickfergus. By this time her

presence on the Irish coast had become well known, and expresses had

been sent to the Drake with information of the propinquity of the

enemy. In the afternoon the Ranger appeared in the offing easily

visible from the Drake. The commander of the Drake, Captain George

Burdon, with singular stupidity, sent a lieutenant and a boat off

toward the Ranger to investigate and report what she was, meanwhile

getting his ship under way and clearing for action. The boat foolishly

came alongside the Ranger and was captured. As Burdon weighed anchor

he was joined by Lieutenant William Dobbs, engaged on recruiting duty

in the vicinity, and a band of volunteers ranging in number, according

to different reports, from ten to forty.

 

The regular complement of the Drake was one hundred and fifty officers

and men. This re-enforcement raised her crew to between one hundred

and sixty and one hundred and ninety. It was developed at the

court-martial, which was held upon the survivors some months after for

the loss of the ship, that the Drake was poorly prepared for action;

that she was short of commissioned and warrant officers and skilled

men; that her powder charges were bad, matches poor, cartridges

unfilled, and that her guns were badly mounted, so that they were

easily "overset," and so on. In short, the whole catalogue of usual

excuses for failure is given. It is true that although the Drake

carried two more guns than the Ranger, they were of smaller caliber,

being 4-pounders. Still, the two ships were well matched, and

preparedness for action has always been considered a test of naval

ability as much as capacity in maneuvering and courage in the actual

fight.

 

The wind was now blowing toward the shore, and the Drake made but slow

progress in ratching toward the sea. While the Ranger awaited her, the

guns were run in and the English flag hoisted on the approach of the

Drake's boat, and the character of the American disguised as much as

possible. I presume that, save for her armament, she looked more like

a merchant vessel than anything else, and, as Jones skillfully kept

the sloop end on to the cutter, the British suspected, or at least

discovered, nothing. Indeed, so well was the deception carried out

that the Drake's officer actually boarded the Ranger and was made

prisoner with his crew before he discovered her quality.

 

Meanwhile things were almost in a state of mutiny. Jones states in his

journal that he was in peril of his life from his recalcitrant crew,

who, under the leadership of Simpson, were apparently appalled at the

prospect of encountering a regular man-of-war, and therefore

manifested a great unwillingness to fight. Plunder without danger was

the end of their ambition. However, after the capture of the Drake's

boat, by putting a bold front on the situation, Jones succeeded in

restoring comparative order and getting his men to their quarters. His

power of persuasive and inspiring speech never stood him in better

stead than on this occasion, and he actually seems to have succeeded

in infusing some of his own spirit into the refractory men.

 

It was late in the evening before the Drake neared the Ranger. Jones

had stood out to sea to draw his pursuer far away from the land to

prevent his escape in case of defeat, and now awaited his advance. The

Drake was accompanied by several pleasure yachts filled with people

who were desirous of seeing the English victory, which was almost

universally attendant upon single ship actions in which the British

navy participated; but, not liking the look of things in this

instance, they one by one dropped astern and returned to the land.

 

Between five and six o'clock, having come within easy distance, an

officer of the Drake sprang on the rail and hailed, demanding to know

the name of the stranger. Jones, still keeping the stern of his ship

toward the bow of the enemy, seized the trumpet and replied:

 

"This is the American Continental ship Ranger. We are waiting for you.

The sun is scarce an hour high. It is time to begin. Come on!"

 

While he was amusing the English captain with this rather lengthy

rejoinder for the purpose of gaining time, the Stars and Stripes

supplanted the red ensign of England, the helm of the Ranger, which

was to windward of her antagonist, was suddenly put up, and by smart

handling, in the twinkling of an eye she was rushed across the bow of

the Drake, which was severely raked by a prompt broadside at short

range. As Jones shifted his helm so as not to lose the weather gauge,

the advantage of the first hard blow was clearly with the Americans.

The English captain, after an attempt to cross her stern, which was

frustrated by Jones' promptness, ran off by the side of the Ranger,

and the combat resolved itself into a fair and square yardarm to

yardarm fight, which was continued with the most determined

persistence on both sides. The two ships under the gentle breeze

sailed side by side, gradually nearing, and poured a furious fire upon

each other. The lack of preparedness on the English ship was

manifested in the slowness and inaccuracy of her gun practice. That of

the Ranger, however, was very effective. An hour and five minutes

after the first broadside the enemy called for quarter and hauled down

the flag. The Drake was a wreck. Her fore and main topsail yards were

cut adrift and lying on the caps; the fore topgallant yard and the

spanker gaff were hanging up and down their respective masts; two

ensigns had been shot away, and another one was hanging over the

quarter galley and dragging in the water. The jib was dragging under

her forefoot; her sails and rigging were entirely cut to pieces, most

of the yards wounded, and her hull very much shattered. Many of her

guns were dismounted, and she had lost, according to the statement of