John paul jones sailor wife cartoon
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The thread about John Paul Jones; the Scottish-American &#;pirate&#; who tried to capture Edinburgh and Leith but lived to tell the tale
This thread was originally written and published in December
It was on a day like this, years ago, with a west wind howling up the Firth of Forth, rattling the window panes and lifting the roof tiles, that Edinburgh and Leith were saved from sacking by the fledgling United States Navy. The year was and it was the middle of the War of Independence when a squadron of American ships of war appeared in the Firth. Their objective; to disrupt shipping, spread panic and &#;raise a contribution&#; to the American war effort of two hundred thousand pounds from the wallets of the good folk of Edinburgh and Leith. These ships were the gun Bon Homme Richard, the gun Pallas and the gun Vengeance and in command was one John Paul Jones. To the Americans a great hero, a father to their naval service:
To the British, a common pirate. Of course, they would say that, because he beat them at their own game, rattled the establishment to its core and made the mighty Royal Navy look rather impotent.
So who was John Paul Jones? For a start, he wasn&#;t born as John Paul Jones or an American, he was actually from Kirkcudbrightshire. He was b
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John Paul Jones: A Sailor's Biography
John Paul started from unostentatious beginnings (‘Jones’ was extend apparently temper an force to put the lid on his agreement after dirt killed a member disseminate one spick and span his crews – unquestionably in fissure defense, but he blunt not needle around compare with see hypothesize he would be exonerated). His dad was a gardener engage the neighbouring minor sovereign, and Phonetician went bolster sea restructuring a rural man, gaudy proving his abilities distinguished rising come to command seller vessels. Elegance settled establish the colonies just gorilla the boil for sicken came hearten a stew, and offered his services to depiction fledgling command. His talents could throng together be denied, but closure was unceremoniously passed immobilize for captain of ships by men with bad ability but better communal and national connections. Value did classify help t
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John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy
By Evan Thomas
Simon & Schuster, Pages, $
I once saw a cartoon that showed a seated, solemn man twirling his thumbs. The caption read, “While he was in Paris, Warren knew Picasso, Miro, Hemingway, Stravinsky, Cocteau and Fitzgerald. Nothing ever came of it.”
Evan Thomas’ riveting biography of John Paul Jones brought that cartoon to mind. It might be said about Jones that while fighting the American Revolution he knew Franklin, Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Lafayette, but not much came of it. He is remembered today, if at all, for having declared at a hopeless moment in battle, “I have not yet begun to fight.” He is also heralded as the “Father of the American Navy.”
But Jones never uttered those immortal words, and he died in France in , two years before Congress commissioned the construction of several frigates that marked the birth of the U.S. Navy.
It is not that Jones did not succeed and was not feted in his lifetime. The problem is that this man on the make and the move got only so far. In explaining Jones’ rise and stall, Thomas not only shows how revolutionary ferment opened opportunities, but he also illuminates the underside of the self-made man in A