William P. Leeman
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807833834
- eISBN:
- 9781469604039
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807895825_leeman.5
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter focuses on John Paul Jones, who at first glance, might seem to be an unlikely advocate of naval professionalism. Americans best remember him as the daring sea captain of the ...
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This chapter focuses on John Paul Jones, who at first glance, might seem to be an unlikely advocate of naval professionalism. Americans best remember him as the daring sea captain of the Revolutionary War who, according to legend, defiantly shouted “I have not yet begun to fight!” during his famous battle against the HMS Serapis in 1779. To his enemy, Jones was little more than a glorified pirate who raided the British coast and brought a distant colonial war to the front doorsteps of British civilians. While John Paul Jones was indeed a swashbuckling naval adventurer, he was also a “complete naval officer.” Undeniably a great combat leader, Jones was also a student of the naval science of his time, a self-taught expert on navigation, tactics, and naval architecture.Less
This chapter focuses on John Paul Jones, who at first glance, might seem to be an unlikely advocate of naval professionalism. Americans best remember him as the daring sea captain of the Revolutionary War who, according to legend, defiantly shouted “I have not yet begun to fight!” during his famous battle against the HMS Serapis in 1779. To his enemy, Jones was little more than a glorified pirate who raided the British coast and brought a distant colonial war to the front doorsteps of British civilians. While John Paul Jones was indeed a swashbuckling naval adventurer, he was also a “complete naval officer.” Undeniably a great combat leader, Jones was also a student of the naval science of his time, a self-taught expert on navigation, tactics, and naval architecture.
William P. Leeman
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807833834
- eISBN:
- 9781469604039
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807895825_leeman.13
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This chapter focuses on John Paul Jones's leaving the United States in search of martial glory elsewhere. Jones was disillusioned with the Continental Congress's lack of interest in developing ...
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This chapter focuses on John Paul Jones's leaving the United States in search of martial glory elsewhere. Jones was disillusioned with the Continental Congress's lack of interest in developing American naval power after the Revolutionary War. Catherine the Great of Russia, in need of a strong naval leader in her war against the Ottoman Turks, made Jones an offer he could not refuse—a rear admiral's flag and a fleet command in the Russian navy. After serving for a relatively brief period as commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet, Jones took up residence in Paris, where he died bitter and alone in 1792. Seemingly forgotten, he was buried in a simple, unmarked grave in a cemetery on the outskirts of the city.Less
This chapter focuses on John Paul Jones's leaving the United States in search of martial glory elsewhere. Jones was disillusioned with the Continental Congress's lack of interest in developing American naval power after the Revolutionary War. Catherine the Great of Russia, in need of a strong naval leader in her war against the Ottoman Turks, made Jones an offer he could not refuse—a rear admiral's flag and a fleet command in the Russian navy. After serving for a relatively brief period as commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet, Jones took up residence in Paris, where he died bitter and alone in 1792. Seemingly forgotten, he was buried in a simple, unmarked grave in a cemetery on the outskirts of the city.
Edward G. Gray
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300110555
- eISBN:
- 9780300137811
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300110555.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
During the course of his short but extraordinary life, John Ledyard (1751–1789) came into contact with some of the most remarkable figures of his era: the British explorer Captain James Cook, ...
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During the course of his short but extraordinary life, John Ledyard (1751–1789) came into contact with some of the most remarkable figures of his era: the British explorer Captain James Cook, American financier Robert Morris, Revolutionary naval commander John Paul Jones, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and others. He lived and traveled in remarkable places as well, journeying from the New England backcountry to Tahiti, Hawaii, the American Northwest coast, Alaska, and the Russian Far East. This biography offers not only a full account of Ledyard's eventful life but also an illuminating view of the late eighteenth-century world in which he lived. It shows that Ledyard was both a product of empire and an agent in its creation, and that through this adventurer's life, it is possible to discern the many ways in which empire shaped the lives of nations, peoples, and individuals in the era of the American Revolution, the world's first modern revolt against empire.Less
During the course of his short but extraordinary life, John Ledyard (1751–1789) came into contact with some of the most remarkable figures of his era: the British explorer Captain James Cook, American financier Robert Morris, Revolutionary naval commander John Paul Jones, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and others. He lived and traveled in remarkable places as well, journeying from the New England backcountry to Tahiti, Hawaii, the American Northwest coast, Alaska, and the Russian Far East. This biography offers not only a full account of Ledyard's eventful life but also an illuminating view of the late eighteenth-century world in which he lived. It shows that Ledyard was both a product of empire and an agent in its creation, and that through this adventurer's life, it is possible to discern the many ways in which empire shaped the lives of nations, peoples, and individuals in the era of the American Revolution, the world's first modern revolt against empire.
