Commodore Paul Jones 7

Commodore Paul Jones 7

The coal fleet had assembled at Boston instead of Newburyport, and in

pursuance of his original orders Jones brought them safely to the

capes of the Delaware on the 1st of August. The run to Philadelphia

was soon made, and Hopkins' appointment, under which he was acting,

was ratified by the Congress, and the commission of captain was given

him, dated the 8th of August, 1776.

 

Hitherto Jones, like all the others engaged in the war, had been a

subject of England, a colonist in rebellion against the crown. By the

Declaration of Independence he had become a citizen of the United

States engaged in maintaining the independence and securing the

liberty of his adopted country. The change was most agreeable to him.

It added a dignity and value to his commission which could not fail to

be acceptable to a man of his temperament. It was pleasant to him also

to have the confidence of his commander-in-chief, which had been shown

in the appointment to the command of the Providence, justified by the

government in the commission which had been issued to him.

 

Jones had made choice of his course of action in the struggle between

kingdom and colony deliberately, not carried away by any enthusiasm of

the moment, but moved by the most generous sentiments of liberty and

independence. He had much at stake, and he was embarked in that

particular profession fraught with peculiar dangers not incident to

the life of a soldier. It must have been, therefore, with the greatest

satisfaction that he perceived opportunities opening before him in

that cause to which he had devoted himself, and in that service of

which he was a master. A foreigner with but scant acquaintance and

little influence in America, he had to make his way by sheer merit.

The value of what has been subsequently called "a political pull" with

the Congress was as well known then as it is now, and nearly as much

used, too. He practically had none. Nevertheless, his foot was already

upon that ladder upon which he intended to mount to the highest round

eventually. He was not destined to realize his ambition, however,

without a heartbreaking struggle against uncalled-for restraint, and a

continued protest against active injustice which tried his very soul.

 

It was first proposed by the Marine Committee that he return to New

England and assume command of the Hampden, but he wisely preferred to

remain in the Providence for the time being. He thoroughly knew the

ship and the crew, over which he had gained that ascendency he always

enjoyed with those who sailed under his command. Not so much by

mistaken kindness or indulgence did he win the devotion of his

men--for he was ever a stern and severe, though by no means a

merciless, disciplinarian--but because of his undoubted courage,

brilliant seamanship, splendid audacity, and uniform success. There is

an attraction about these qualities which is exercised perhaps more

powerfully upon seamen than upon any other class. The profession of a

sailor is one in which immediate decision, address, resource, and

courage are more in evidence than in any other. The seaman in an

emergency has but little time for reflection, and in the hour of

peril, when the demand is made upon him, he must choose the right

course instantly--as it were by instinct.

 

With large discretion in his orders, which were practically to cruise

at pleasure and destroy the enemy's commerce, the Providence left the

Delaware on the 21st of August. In the first week of the cruise she

captured the brigs Sea Nymph, Favorite, and Britannia; the first two

laden with rum, sugar, etc., and the last a whaler. These rich prizes

were all manned and sent in.

 

On the morning of the 1st of September, being in the latitude of the

Bermudas, five vessels were sighted to leeward. The sea was moderately

smooth, with a fresh breeze blowing at the time, and the Providence

immediately ran off toward the strangers to investigate. It appeared

to the observers on Jones' brig that the largest was an East Indiaman

and the others ordinary merchant vessels. They were in error, however,

in their conclusions, for a nearer approach disclosed the fact that

the supposed East Indiaman was a frigate of twenty-eight guns, called

the Solebay. Jones immediately hauled his wind and clapped on sail.

The frigate, which had endeavored to conceal her force with the hope

of enticing the Providence under her guns, at once made sail in

pursuit. The Providence was a smart goer, and so was the Solebay. The

two vessels settled down for a long chase. On the wind it became

painfully evident that the frigate had the heels of the brig. With

burning anxiety Jones and his officers saw the latter gradually

closing with them. Shot from her bow-chasers, as she came within

range, rushed through the air at the little American sloop of war,

which now hoisted her colors and returned the fire. Seeing this, the

Solebay set an American ensign, and fired one or two guns to leeward

in token of amity, but Jones was not to be taken in by any transparent

ruse of this character. He held on, grimly determined. As the Solebay

drew nearer she ceased firing, confident in her ability to capture the

chase, for which, indeed, there appeared no escape.

 

An ordinary seaman, even though a brave man, would probably have given

up the game in his mind, though his devotion to duty would have

compelled him to continue the fight until actually overhauled, but

Jones had no idea of being captured then. Already a plan of escape had

developed in his fertile brain. Communicating his intentions to his

officers, he completed his preparations, and only awaited the

favorable moment for action. The Solebay had crept up to within one

hundred yards of the lee quarter of the Providence. If the frigate

yawed and delivered a broadside the brig would be sunk or crippled and

captured. Now was the time, if ever, to put his plan in operation. If

the maneuver failed, it would be all up with the Americans. As usual,

Jones boldly staked all on the issue of the moment. As a preliminary

the helm had been put slightly a-weather, and the brig allowed to

fall off to leeward a little, so bringing the Solebay almost dead

astern--if anything, a little to windward. In anticipation of close

action, as Jones had imagined, the English captain had loaded his guns

with grape shot, which, of course, would only be effective at short

range. Should the Englishman get the Providence under his broadside, a

well-aimed discharge of grape would clear her decks and enable him to

capture the handsome brig without appreciably damaging her.

 

From his knowledge of the qualities of the Providence, Jones felt sure

that going free--that is, with the wind aft, or on the quarter--he

could run away from his pursuer. The men, of course, had been sent to

their stations long since. The six 4-pounders, which constituted the

lee battery, were quietly manned, the guns being double-shotted with

grape and solid shot. The studding sails--light sails calculated to

give a great increase in the spread of canvas to augment the speed of

the ship in a light breeze, which could be used to advantage going

free and in moderate winds--were brought out and prepared for

immediate use. Everything having been made ready, and the men

cautioned to pay strict attention to orders, and to execute them with

the greatest promptitude and celerity, Jones suddenly put his helm

hard up.

 

The handy Providence spun around on her heel like a top, and in a

trice was standing boldly across the forefoot of the onrushing English

frigate. When she lay squarely athwart the bows of the Solebay Jones

gave the order to fire, and the little battery of 4-pounders barked

out its gallant salute and poured its solid shot and grape into the

eyes of the frigate. In the confusion of the moment, owing to the

suddenness of the unexpected maneuver, and the raking he had received,

the English captain lost his head. Before he could realize what had

happened, the Providence, partially concealed by the smoke from her

own guns, had drawn past him, and, covered with great wide-reaching

clouds of light canvas by the nimble fingers of her anxious crew, was

ripping through the water at a great rate at a right angle to her

former direction.

 

When the Solebay, rapidly forging ahead, crossed the stern of the

saucy American a few moments after, she delivered a broadside, which

at that range, as the guns were loaded with grape shot, did little

damage to the brig and harmed no one. The distance was too great and

the guns were badly aimed. By the time the Solebay had emulated the

maneuvers of the Providence and had run off, the latter had gained so

great a lead that her escape was practically effected. The English

frigate proved to be unable to outfoot the American brig on this

course, and after firing upward of a hundred shot at her the Solebay

gave over the pursuit. This escape has ever been counted one of the

most daring and subtle pieces of seamanship and skill among the many

with which the records of the American navy abound. As subsequent

events proved, the failure to capture Jones was most unfortunate on

the part of the English.

 

Jones now shaped his course for the Banks of Newfoundland, to break up

the fishing industry and let the British know that ravaging the coast,

which they had begun, was a game at which two could play. On the 16th

and 17th of the month he ran into a heavy gale, so severe in character

that he was forced to strike his guns into the hold on account of the

rolling of the brig. The gale abated on the 19th, and on the 20th of

September, the day being pleasant, the Providence was hove to and the

men were preparing to enjoy a day of rest and amusement, fishing for

cod, when in the morning two sail appeared to windward. As Jones was

preparing to beat up and investigate them, they saved him that trouble

by changing their course and running down toward him. They proved to

be a merchant ship and a British frigate, the Milford, 32.

 

Jones kept the Providence under easy canvas until he learned the force

of the enemy, and then made all sail to escape. Finding that he was

very much faster than his pursuer, he amused himself during one whole

day by ranging ahead and then checking his speed until the frigate

would get almost within range, when he would run off again and repeat

the performance. It was naturally most tantalizing to the officers of

the Milford, and they vented their wrath in futile broadsides whenever

there appeared the least possibility of reaching the Providence. After

causing the enemy to expend a large quantity of powder and shot,

having tired of the game, Jones contemptuously discharged a musket at

them and sailed away.

 

On the 21st of September he appeared off the island of Canso, one of

the principal fishing depots of the Grand Banks. He sent his boat in

that night to gain information, and on the 22d he anchored in the

harbor. There were three fishing schooners there, one of which he

burned, one he scuttled, and the third, called the Ebenezer, he loaded

with the fish taken from the two he had destroyed, and manned as a

prize. After replenishing his wood and water, on the 23d he sailed up

to Isle Madame, having learned that the fishing fleet was lying there

dismantled for the winter. Beating to and fro with the Providence off

the island, on that same evening he sent an expedition of twenty-five

men in a shallop which he had captured at Canso, accompanied by a