Jones, John Paul
Jones, John Paul (1747–1792), Continental navy officer.Born in Scotland, John Paul Jones signed on as a British merchantman at the age of thirteen. After sailing on several vessels in the West Indian trade, he became a captain in 1768. Discipline problems plagued his command. In 1770, one of his men died after a flogging, and he later killed another sailor during a mutiny. Fearing that he would be charged with murder, Jones fled to Virginia in 1774.
The American Revolutionary War offered him a second chance at command. Appointed first lieutenant in the Continental navy in 1775, Jones received the command of the eighteen‐gun sloop Ranger in 1777. Based in France, Jones captured the twenty‐gun HMS Drake and attacked the northern British port of Whitehaven during a cruise in 1778. The next year, he took command of the forty‐gun converted...
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