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this order, Paul Jones flung out to the winds the first American flag ever shown on a regular man-of-war. This was not the Stars and Stripes, but the Pine Tree and Rattlesnake emblem, with the motto "Don't Tread on Me." Though he had the honour of first hoisting it aboard ship, Jones never fancied this emblem. Some time later, in one of his journals, he said of it, "I was always at a loss to know by what queer fancy or by whose notion that device was first adopted. For my own part I could never see how or why a venomous serpent could be the combatant emblem of a brave and honest folk fighting to be free. Of course, I had no course but to break the pennant as it was given to But I always abhorred the device, and was glad when it was discarded for one much more symmetrical as well as appropriate, a year and a half later."

me.

1777.

Paul Jones was granted a commission as captain in the navy, October On 14th June 1777 Congress passed the following resolutions: ́ ́ 1. Resolved: That the flag of the thirteen United States of America be Thirteen Stripes, alternate Red and White: That the Union be Thirteen Stars in a Blue Field, representing a new constellation.

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"2. Resolved: That Captain John Paul Jones be appointed to command the ship 'Ranger.'

When Jones received the new flag he was delighted. He used to say, "That flag and I are twins; born the same hour, from the same womb of destiny, we cannot be parted in life or death. So long as we can float, we shall float together; if we must sink, we shall go down as one." The cruise of the Ranger' in 1778 was marked by events of special On the 22nd April Paul Jones put into Whitehaven in Cumberland, going ashore in two ship's boats he entered the harbour in the early morning. Jones himself landed with a few men, clambered over

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the

rampart of the half-ruined battery supposed to defend the harbour, spiked the old guns with which it was armed, and captured the pensioners who garrisoned it, asleep in their beds. There were some three hundred boats in the harbour, all aground at low-water, and he had ordered his lieutenant to set them on fire, but this had not been

done. It was now daylight; the alarm had been given, and the townsmen were gathering in numbers that might be dangerous, so that Jones, after another hurried and futile effort to burn the boats, was obliged to retreat. He sailed for the north shore of the Solway and anchored in Kirkcudbright Bay, and, with a party of men, landed on St Mary's Isle, intending to kidnap the Earl of Selkirk and hold him as a hostage. The Earl, however, was absent. Jones's men insisted on their right to plunder, and his lieutenants backed up the men. Unable to restrain them, he allowed them to go up to the house, where the officers seized some of the family plate. As Jones did not wish to retain this booty, he purchased the whole of it from the captors and restored it to the Earl. The cost of buying the plate and its carriage from France amounted to £140. This incident helps to show that Jones was no pirate, as he was ever depicted by the English.

On the 24th of April 1778 Paul Jones engaged in the first na val battle fought under the Stars and Stripes, when he conquered His Majesty's ship 'Drake' off Carrickfergus in Ireland. This was the first instance in modern naval warfare of the capture of a British manof-war by a ship of inferior force. In that respect it broke a record that had been inviolate since the beginning of regular navies, and announced to the world the advent of a new naval power.

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Early in August 1779 Jones sailed from the Isle of Groaix, on the French coast, bound on a cruise round the British Isles. He was in command of a small but fairly good squadron, consisting of his flagship the Bon Homme Richard,' 42 guns; the Alliance,' 36 guns, Captain Pierre Landais; the 'Pallas,' 30 guns, Captain Cottineau; and the Vengeance,' of 12 guns. The conduct of the captain of the 'Alliance' during the whole cruise was disgraceful; and instead of being a help to Jones, he was a hindrance in all his engagements. It is even on record, in the engagement between the Bon Homme Richard' and the 'Serapis,' that Landais fired on the 'Bon Homme Richard,' killing and wounding a number of the crew. report to Dr Franklin, "At last the

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Of this episode Jones says, in his
Alliance' appeared, and I now

thought the battle at an end; but, to my utter astonishment, he discharged a broadside full into the stern of the Bon Homme Richard.”

The squadron sailed northward along the west coast of Ireland and the west coast of Scotland as far as the Fair Isle, north of the Orkney Islands, then south along the east coast of Scotland, entering the Firth of Forth, with the intention of laying under contribution or reducing to ashes the town of Leith. The details will be best given in his own words when writing to Dr Franklin :

"The winds continued to be contrary, so that we did not see the land till the 13th (September), when the hills of Cheviot, in the south of Scotland, appeared. The next day we chased sundry vessels and took a ship and a brigantine, both from the frith of Edinburgh, laden with coal. Knowing that there lay at anchor in Leith Road an armed ship of twenty guns, with two or three fine cutters, I formed an expedition against Leith, which I proposed to lay under contribution, or otherwise to reduce to ashes. Had I been alone, the wind being favourable, I would have proceeded directly up the frith, and must have succeeded, as they lay then in a state of perfect indolence and security, which would have proved their ruin. Unfortunately for me the Pallas and 'Vengeance' were both at a considerable distance in the offing, they having chased to the southward. This obliged me to steer out of the frith again to meet them. The captains of the Pallas' and 'Vengeance' being come on board the Bon Homme Richard,' I communicated to them my project, to which many difficulties and objections were made by them. At last, however, they appeared to think better of the design, after I had assured them that I hoped to raise a contribution of £200,000 sterling on Leith, and that there was no battery of cannon there to oppose our landing. So much time, however, was unavoidably spent in pointed remarks and sage deliberations that night that the wind became contrary in the morning."

So confident was Jones of the success of his projected attack that he had prepared a summons addressed to the magistrates of Leith, which, fortunately, he never had an opportunity of despatching. As it is an interesting and curious document, showing the terms on which Leith was to be spared, I give it at full length :

"The Honourable J. PAUL JONES, Commander-in-Chief of the American Squadron now in Europe, etc., to the WORSHIPFUL THE PROVOST OF LEITH, or in his absence, to the CHIEF MAGISTRATE who is now actually present and in authority there.

"SIR,-The British marine force that has been stationed here for the protec

tion of

your city and commerce being now taken by the American arms under

my command, I have the honour to send you this summons by my officer, Lieutenant-Colonel de Chamillard, who commands the vanguard of my troops. I do not wish to distress the poor inhabitants; my intention is only to demand your contribution towards the reimbursement which Britain owes to the much injured citizens of the United States of America, for savages would blush at the unmanly violation and rapacity that has marked the tracks of British tyranny in America, from which neither virgin innocence nor hapless age has been a plea of protection or pity. Leith and its port now lie at our mercy; and did not our humanity stay the hand of just retaliation, I should, without advertisement, lay it in ashes. Before I proceed to that stern duty as an officer, my duty as a man induces me to propose to you, by the means of a reasonable ransom, to prevent such a scene of horror and distress. For this reason I have authorised Lieutenant-Colonel de Chamillard to conclude and agree with you on the terms of the ransom, allowing you exactly half an hour's reflection before you finally accept or reject the terms which he shall propose (£200,000). If you accept the terms offered within the time limited you may rest assured that no further debarkation of troops will be made, but the reembarkation of the vanguard will immediately follow, and that the property of the citizens will remain unmolested.-I have the honour to be, with sentiments of due respect, Sir, your very obedient and very humble servant, PAUL JONES.—On board the American ship of war the 'Bon Homme Richard,' at anchor in the Road of Leith, September the 17th, 1779."

Appended to the foregoing there is the following note in the handwriting of the redoubtable Commodore :

"N.B. The sudden and violent storm which arose in the moment when the squadron was abreast of Keith Island (Inchkeith), which forms the entrance of the Road of Leith, rendered impracticable the execution of the foregoing project."

Jones obtained his accurate information regarding the inadequate defences of Leith from a Kirkcaldy skipper named Andrew Robertson, whose vessel the 'Friendship' had been captured by him.1

The three ships with which Jones ultimately reached the Scottish east coast had been so long in beating up the firth, that a general alarm was excited, although great uncertainty prevailed as to whether they formed part of a French fleet, or were actually the ships of the dreaded "pirate," who was known to be on the coast. Although an

1 In the Scots Magazine, vol. xli., November 1779, there is given a copy of the ransom certificate or passport given by Paul Jones to the above-mentioned Andrew Robertson (see extract from Scots Magazine at end of this notice).

express reached Edinburgh on the 15th, announcing that the strange vessels had made several captures, no defensive preparations whatever appear to have been made, and the authorities seem to have cherished an unbounded confidence in Providence. On the 16th the hostile ships were distinctly seen from Edinburgh; and though the alarm increased, the stupor still continued. On the morning of Sunday the 17th great crowds were assembled on the Fife coast, and on the pier and shore of Leith, to witness, in utter helplessness, the proceedings of the dreaded enemy. At one time the Commodore's ship was within a mile of Kirkcaldy, and great was the alarm in the "lang toon" lest it should attract the attention of the enemy. The then clergyman, the well-known Mr Shirra, in place of proceeding to the church, where he would have had a meagre attendance, repaired to the sandy beach, and was soon surrounded by a numerous congregation. Here he prayed most fervently and earnestly, with that homely and familiar eloquence for which he was remarkable, that the enterprise of the piratical Paul Jones might be defeated, which no doubt received a hearty "Amen" from all assembled. Scarcely was the prayer concluded, the hostile ships being then abreast of Inchkeith, between that island and the Fife coast, when the violent gale, so bitterly lamented by Paul Jones, suddenly arose and drove them out to sea.

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One consequence of the visit of Paul Jones was the erection of Leith Fort, begun that same year. It was at this time also that the Defensive Regiment of Volunteers was raised in Edinburgh. It was called in Edinburgh the Defensive Band of Volunteers, and paraded in public for the first time on 22nd September 1781. Several hundreds of professional men, bankers, and merchants of the city joined its ranks. under command of the Lord Provost as Honorary Colonel and Andrew Crosbie as Lieutenant-Colonel, and had a special uniform, consisting of cocked hat, light blue coat, faced and trimmed with orange, white breeches and black leggings. From among the members of this regiment the Masonic Lodge of Edinburgh, Defensive Band, No. 151,

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