Commodore Paul Jones 18

Commodore Paul Jones 18

The Minister of Marine, M. de Sartine, lent an attentive ear to all of

the plans which were proposed, and Jones returned to Brest with high

hopes that he should be soon employed in an expedition to carry out

one or the other of these plans with adequate means to do it well. It

is quite likely that the minister was as earnest and honest in his

intentions as the king in his desire to make use of Jones, but the

formal declaration of war rendered it possible to prosecute the

enterprises which had been suggested by Jones, if it were thought

expedient to attempt them, under the French flag and with French

officers. As France had only intended to use him under the cover of

the American flag to harass England before war was declared, and as

that could now be done openly under her own flag, they did not see the

same necessity for his services as before.

 

The matter of finding employment for him was further complicated by

the fact that since a state of actual war existed the ministry was

besieged with applications from numbers of French officers for

command, and the ships which had been proposed for Jones were

naturally appropriated to the French themselves. Even if a command

could have been found for the American, there would have been a

natural disinclination, so great as to be nearly prohibitive of

success, on the part of the French officers to serving under a

foreigner. Time brought him nothing but disappointment, and the high

hopes he had cherished gradually waned.

 

Always a persistent and voluminous letter writer, in his desperation

he overwhelmed everybody with correspondence. Inaction was killing to

him. Not to be employed was like death itself to a man of his

intensely energetic temperament. His pride would not permit him to

return to the United States and seek a command when he had

specifically announced, in a letter to Congress by the returning

Ranger, that the King of France asked that he might make use of his

services, and therefore no command in America need be reserved for

him; and yet he now found himself a hanger on the outskirts of a court

and a ministry which had no further use for him.

 

The delicate situation of the commissioners, who had been themselves

scarcely more than on sufferance, did not permit them, in the

interests of expediency and diplomacy, to insist as strongly as they

would have liked to do, that the king and the ministry should keep

their engagement with Jones, which was, of course, an engagement with

them and with the United States. Diplomacy and persuasion were the

only weapons at their command. They certainly made good use of them.

Franklin, pending something else, procured the minister's order that

Jones should be received on the great French fleet of D'Orvilliers,

which was about to put to sea to engage the English fleet under

Keppel. He was very desirous of availing himself of this invitation,

which he himself sought, for it would give him an opportunity he could

not otherwise hope to enjoy, of perfecting himself in naval tactics

and the fine art of maneuvering and governing a great fleet. He never

allowed anything to interfere--so far as he was able to prevent

it--with his advancement in professional study. The permission,

however, to D'Orvilliers' great regret, arrived too late, for the

fleet sailed without him. The French admiral seems to have appreciated

the American captain, and to have highly esteemed him. It is stated

that the delay in transmitting the permission was intentional, and was

due to the jealousy of the French naval service.

 

Jones was exasperated by all these happenings almost to the breaking

point. In one letter he says: "I think of going to L'Orient, being

heartily sick of Brest." I should think he would be! As days passed

without bringing him any nearer to the fruition of his hope, he became

more modest in his demands and propositions. One significant phrase

culled from one of his letters well indicates the bold, dashing

character of the man: "I do not wish to have command of any ship that

does not sail fast, _for I intend to go in harm's way_."[7] In the

sentence which follows this statement, we get another touch of that

entire consciousness of his own ability and high quality which, though

warranted, it were better, perhaps, for his reputation if it were not

so evident in his writing: "I know, I believe, that this is no other

person's intention. Therefore, buy a frigate that sails fast and is

sufficiently large to carry twenty-six or twenty-eight guns on one

deck."

 

His state of mind may well be understood from this citation: "I have,

to show my gratitude to France, lost so much time, and with it such

opportunities as I can not regain. I have almost killed myself with

grief."

 

Chafing, fretting, writing letters, the time dragged on. At last he

addressed to the Minister of Marine, M. de Sartine, this emphatic

protest and statement which he calls, and justly, an explicit letter.

It is certainly sufficiently definite and clear, and shows that rank

and position did not deter him from a free and somewhat sarcastic

__EXPRESSION__ of his grievances and wrongs:

 

 

"Brest, _September 13, 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 alliance between 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 proposed for America, by putting so fine a ship as the

Indien under my command, and under its flag, with unlimited orders.

 

"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 sea;

but when the Prince [de Nassau] returned I received from him a

different account; I was told that the Indien 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

reject. 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 Baudouin 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 projects 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 proposed 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 dreadful 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 moment 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

curiosity 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 disappointment, as that ship, both

in sailing and equipment, is far inferior to the Ranger.

 

"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 informed that you

attribute my not being in the fleet to my stay at L'Orient.

 

"I am not a mere adventurer of fortune. Stimulated by principles of

reason and philanthropy, I laid aside my enjoyments 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 I 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 lieutenant 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

admiralty, because they expected me to pay another visit with four

ships. Therefore I trust that, if the Indien 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 sailing to any of the enemy's

cruising ships.

 

"I 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, 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."

 

 

His intense, burning desire for action, however, did not permit him to

degrade, as he thought, his Government and station by accepting the

command of a privateer which was tendered to him. In the command of a

speedy, smart privateer there is no limit to the plundering he might

have done and the treasure he might have gained, if that had been what

he wished. Many naval officers before and since his time have done

this and thought it not derogatory to their dignity. It is therefore

to Jones' credit that he was very jealous in this and many other

instances on the point of honor of serving in no ship, under no flag,

and with no commission save that of the United States. We shall see

this spirit again and again. The citizen of the world was beginning to

feel that the world as his country was hardly adequate to his needs;

in theory it was a very pretty proposition, but in practice it was

necessary to form and maintain a more definite and particular

relationship. As a final effort to better his condition and secure

that opportunity for which he thirsted, he prepared the following

letter to the king: