|
 JOHN PAUL
JONES, the popular naval hero of the Revolution,
the son of John Paul, a gardener in Scotland, was
born July 6, 1747, at a cottage on the estate of
his father's employer, Mr. Craik, at Arbigland, in
the parish of Kirkbean. His parents belonged to a
respectable class of the population of the
country. The boy, as is wont with Scottish boys,
however humble, received the elements of
education, but could not have advanced very far
with his books, since we find him at the age of
twelve apprenticed to the sea. The situation of
Kirkbean, on the shore of the Solway, naturally
gave a youth of spirit an inclination to life on
the ocean; and he had not far to seek for
employment in the trading-port of Whitehaven, in
the opposite county of Cumberland. Paul's first
adventure--the appendix of Jones was an
after-thought of his career--was in the service of
Mr. Younger, a merchant in the American trade, who
sent his apprentice on a voyage to Virginia, where
an elder brother of Paul had profitably
established himself at Fredericksburg. This gave
him an early introduction to the country with
which the fame of the future soldier of fortune
was to be especially identified.
The person of Paul Jones is well
known by the numerous prints devoted to his
brilliant exploits. You will see him, a little
active man of medium height, not robust but
vigorous, a keen black eye, lighting a dark,
weather-beaten visage, compact and determined,
with a certain melancholy grace.
 John
Paul Jones
was one of nature's self-made men; that is, nature
gave the genius, and he supplied the industry, for
he knew how to labor, and must have often exerted
himself to secure the attainments which he
possessed. He was a good sea-man, as well as a
most gallant officer; sagacious in the application
of means; vain, indeed, and expensive, but natural
and generous; something of a poet in verse, much
more in the quickness and vivacity of his
imagination, which led him to plan nobly; an
accomplished writer; and as he was found worthy of
the warm and unchanging friendship of Franklin,
that sage who sought for excellence while he
looked with a kindly eye upon human infirmity, we,
too, may peruse the virtues of the man and smile
upon his frailties.
top
Introduction
| Apprenticeship
of John Paul Jones
| Early Adventures
| Return To Scotland
| John Paul
Jones Greatest Exploits
| Service in France
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