John Paul Jones Sails Back from the War

John Paul was the son of a Scottish gardener, denied a career as an officer in the Royal Navy due to his humble origins. Falsely accused of murder —twice — he abandoned a career as a successful merchant captain and ran to Fredericksburg, Virginia where he added the most common name he could find in order to hide from the authorities. When the American Revolution began, this experienced seaman now known as John Paul Jones volunteered his services to the new republic. Using third rate ships and often mutinous crews, he took the American Revolution to the citizens of Great Britain, raiding coastal ports and causing panic throughout Great Britain. He fought, and won, two duels with the Royal Navy in their home waters, and in one of them, as his ship was sinking beneath him, his British opponent called across over the musket and cannon fire to inquire if he had surrendered. “I have not yet begun to fight!” he replied. Through matchless heroism, John Paul Jones, alone, made it clear to the British that the Americans could never be defeated because they were so much like themselves.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices