An excellent example of one of the many portraits of John Paul Jones. His actions in the Revolutionary War were widely publicized and celebrated in portraits such as this one, which shows him in three quarters, mid-battle.
Born in Scotland in 1747, John Paul Jones distinguished himself as a sailor on merchant and slave ships running between England, the West Indies and America. However, a series of controversial incidents forced him to abandon his home and fortune and he initially settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia, before moving to Philadelphia and volunteering to help establish the Continental Navy. He was fortunate enough to have been recognised and endorsed by Richard Henry Lee and, through contacts in Congress, was appointed First Lieutenant on the 24 gun frigate Alfred in 1775.
Seriously disadvantaged against the British 44 gun Serapis, Jones manouevred his stricken vessel beside it and, with grappling hooks, tied the ships together. For over three hours the ships were locked together yet they continued to fire on each other and half of both crews were lost. Famously, Captain Pearson of the Seraphin, asked Jones “Do you strike?” His widely reported, and largely inaccurate reply was “I have not yet begun to fight!” This action not only made a hero out of John Paul Jones but established the Continental Navy as a force to be reckoned with. “He was to the American Navy what Lord Nelson became to the Royal Navy: a legend in his own lifetime” (Smith).
For all his heroics, Jones has always also had his detractors. His techniques of covert maritime combat courted accusations of piracy from his British foes, and this polarised reputation earned him his place in many a rogues’ gallery.
Smith, Edgar Newbold, American Naval Broadsides, 23.
