Dewey and Other Naval Commanders by Edward S. (Edward Sylvester) Ellis
page 41 of 251 (16%)
page 41 of 251 (16%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
richest sort of prizes. In the single year 1776 these privateers
captured 342 British vessels and wrought great havoc among the English shipping. In January, 1778, one of these privateers entered the harbor of New Providence, in the Bahamas, and captured the fort and a sixteen-gun man-of-war. Many other valiant exploits were performed and before long some of the more daring privateers boldly crossed the Atlantic and by their deeds threw the coast of Great Britain into consternation. Among the most remarkable of these naval heroes was a young Scotchman, not quite thirty years old. [Illustration] He had been trained in the merchant service and had become a skilful sailor before he removed to Virginia, where he made his home. He devotedly loved his adopted country, and, when the war broke out between the colonies and Great Britain, and the long, hard struggle for independence began, he was among the very first to offer his services on the side of liberty. His character was so well known and appreciated that he was appointed a first lieutenant. I am sure you have all heard of him, for his name was John Paul Jones, though since, for some reason or other, he dropped his first name and is generally referred to simply as Paul Jones. His first service was on the _Alfred_, which helped in the capture of the fort at New Providence, already spoken of. Jones with his own hands hoisted the first flag displayed on an American man-of-war. It was of yellow silk, with the device of a rattlesnake, and bore the motto, |
|