John Paul Jones: "I have not yet begun to fight!"

FYI: This week in American History I got to study the American Revolution, and in particular, the naval officer John Paul Jones. Here's an essay I wrote about him. ~Photobug

John Paul Jones, about 1781

Who was John Paul Jones? Some people may know nothing about him. For those that do remember him, they may remember his famous quote, “I have not begun to fight” as his ship Bonhomme Richard was being bombarded and almost sinking.

John Paul Jones was an excellent sailor and really the founder of the almost non-existent American Navy. Why was there almost no American Navy? The answer is really quite simple. There were plenty of sailors from the colonies. They just decided to become privateers, not join the Navy.

One might wonder why no one would want to join the Navy. See, being a privateer was a lot more fun and more profitable than being in the Navy. In the privateer business, you would find yourself some partners, buy a ship, and sail the seas until you found a ship laden with goods from afar. You would pull up next to that ship, kindly ask the captain to show you his goods, and take whatever you wanted. You could take the whole ship if you wanted, and had enough weapons. Escorting your captive ship into port, you could sell the goods and pocket the difference. Being a privateer was very good business. You certainly didn’t get paid so well when you worked for the Navy!

But back to John Paul Jones. He was an excellent sailor. Coming to America, he assessed the situation and decided to take the battle right to the England Isles.

He planned a raid on Whitehaven, England where he grew up. Jones knew the harbor like the back of his hand. His plan was to sink around 250 of the ships in the harbor. Unfortunately Jones’ plan did not work out. His men were totally against the idea. But Jones led on. In the dead of night, he commanded two boats, fifteen men into Whitehaven harbor. Bad fortune struck right away. The other boat that Jones was not leading landed on the shore and the men snuck away and got drunk. Jones led on. He scampered up and into the fort, but more bad luck struck. A person started yelling, “The Americans are coming!” and alerted the entire area. Everyone came running to put out the fires which Jones was desperately trying to start. Jones escaped, but not without sinking the coal ship Thompson.

Despite the failure of the raid, John Paul Jones became the toast of Europe along with Benjamin Franklin. Jones continued his naval career and became quite legendary. He owned and sailed several different ships, first The Ranger and later the Bonhomme Richard from which his famous war cry was issued. Jones was highly feared and respected as his little ships could take on and outmaneuver larger British ships.

Battle of the Serapis and Bonhomme Richard, 1779

John Paul Jones became so successful perhaps because he would not give up, even to the bitter, fighting, and bloody end. This fact is illustrated in the battle between the British ship HMS Serapis and Jones’ ship the Bonhomme Richard, named after Ben Franklin’s character of Poor Richard.

Both ships came together, really close and fired at each other. Other ships from both sides fired upon the Serapis and Richard, doing damage to both. At one point a crewman of the Serapis asked Jones if he would surrender. This was when Jones uttered his famous, now-remembered-forever quote, “I have not begun to fight!” Many blows later, the Serapis finally surrendered. Jones took command, and transferred his men onto the Serapis from the sinking Richard.

Why was John Paul Jones so successful as a naval officer? Perhaps it was because of his daring plans. Perhaps it was because his little ships could win against larger British ships. Or perhaps it was because of his never-say-die attitude.