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The FReeper Foxhole Remembers John Paul Jones - Jan 6th, 2003
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/traditions/html/jpjones.html ^

Posted on 01/06/2003 5:37:15 AM PST by SAMWolf

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

Resource Links For Veterans


Click on the pix

John Paul Jones
A founder of the U.S. Navy


John Paul was born at Arbigland, Kirkbean, Kirkcudbright, Scotland, 6 July 1747. Apprenticed to a merchant at age 13, he went to sea in the brig Friendship to learn the art of seamanship. At 21, he received his first command, the brig John.



After several successful years as a merchant skipper in the West Indies trade, John Paul emigrated to the British colonies in North America and there added "Jones" to his name. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, Jones was in Virginia. He cast his lot with the rebels, and on 7 December 1775, he was commissioned first lieutenant in the Continental Navy, serving aboard Esek Hopkins' flagship Alfred.

As First Lieutenant in Alfred, he was the first to hoist the Grand Union flag on a Continental warship. On 1 November 1777, he commanded the Ranger, sailing for France. Sailing into Quiberon Bay, France, 14 February 1778, Jones and Admiral La Motte Piquet changed gun salutes — the first time that the Stars and Stripes, the flag of the new nation, was officially recognized by a foreign government.

Early in 1779, the French King gave Jones an ancient East Indiaman Duc de Duras, which Jones refitted, repaired, and renamed Bon Homme Richard as a compliment to his patron Benjamin Franklin. Commanding four other ships and two French privateers, he sailed 14 August 1779 to raid English shipping.

On 23 September 1779, his ship engaged the HMS Serapis in the North Sea off Famborough Head, England. Richard was blasted in the initial broadside the two ships exchanged, losing much of her firepower and many of her gunners. Captain Richard Pearson, commanding Serapis, called out to Jones, asking if he surrendered. Jones' reply: "I have not yet begun to fight!"



It was a bloody battle with the two ship literally locked in combat. Sharpshooting Marines and seamen in Richard's tops raked Serapis with gunfire, clearing the weather decks. Jones and his crew tenaciously fought on , even though their ship was sinking beneath them. Finally, Capt. Pearson tore down his colors and Serapis surrendered.

Bon Homme Richard sunk the next day and Jones was forced to transfer to Serapis.

After the American Revolution, Jones served as a Rear Admiral in the service of Empress Catherine of Russia, but returned to Paris in 1790. He died in Paris at the age of 45 on 18 July 1792. He was buried in St. Louis Cemetery, which belonged to the French royal family. Four years later, France's revolutionary government sold the property and the cemetery was forgotten.

In 1845, Col. John H. Sherburne began a campaign to return Jones' remains to the United States. He wrote Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft and requested the body be brought home aboard a ship of the Mediterrean Squadron. Six years later, preliminary arrangements were made, but the plans fell through when several of Jones' Scottish relatives objected. Had they not, another problem would have arisen. Jones was in an unmarked grave and no one knew exactly where that was.

American Ambassador Horace Porter began a systematic search for it in 1899. The burial place and Jones' body was discovered in April 1905. President Theodore Roosevelt sent four cruisers to bring it back to the U.S., and these ships were escorted up the Chesapeake Bay by seven battleships.



TOPICS: VetsCoR
KEYWORDS: bonhommerichard; freeperfoxhole; godsgravesglyphs; johnpauljones; navy; therevolution; usnavy
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To: E.G.C.
Thanks for the heads-up, E.G.C.

Somehow the Foxhole wouldn't be quite the same without your morning bump.
21 posted on 01/06/2003 7:26:09 AM PST by SAMWolf
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To: SAMWolf
Compared to Reno, of course Ashcroft looks like a Saint, but there is work to be done in the Justice Department and as long as Ashcroft's there--fearing the slings and arrows of the DemonRAT Left--no Justice will occur and Dubyuh's gonna get blamed fer being Complicit in the Coverup of Clinton Corruption!! And NOBODY wants THAT, IMHO.

FReegards...MUD

22 posted on 01/06/2003 7:26:13 AM PST by Mudboy Slim
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To: BlueLancer
Thanks for the more detailed history on what happened after Jones death.
23 posted on 01/06/2003 7:28:08 AM PST by SAMWolf
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To: SAMWolf
Historical Flags - First Navy Jack AKA "Continental Navy Jack" This is the stripes with the snake and "don't tread on me" which flew on the Alfred. not sure if this is what Jones raised.
24 posted on 01/06/2003 7:28:44 AM PST by larryjohnson
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To: HiJinx
Good morning HiJinx and everyone.


25 posted on 01/06/2003 7:31:03 AM PST by Aeronaut
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To: SAMWolf
Historical Flags - First Navy Jack AKA "Continental Navy Jack"
Address:http://www.anyflag.com/history/firstnav.htm Changed:2:45 PM on Monday, November 11, 2002
26 posted on 01/06/2003 7:31:53 AM PST by larryjohnson
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To: BlueLancer
Sending to a USNA grad friend of mine.
27 posted on 01/06/2003 7:36:59 AM PST by larryjohnson
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To: SAMWolf
Bump from a descendent of John Paul Jones!
28 posted on 01/06/2003 7:39:22 AM PST by nickcarraway
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To: BlueLancer
Sending to a USNA grad friend of mine.
29 posted on 01/06/2003 7:39:33 AM PST by larryjohnson
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To: SAMWolf
Ya know, Sam, I don't know why I remembered that film. I just barely recalled there was a film about JPJ starring Robert Stack. Thanks again for all your efforts. The photos posted yesterday on the Berlin Airlift that everyone contributed were just great!
30 posted on 01/06/2003 7:40:58 AM PST by top of the world ma
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To: SAMWolf
Good morning SAM. Thank you for this very interesting thread. What makes it even more intereting to me is that my father also served on the Bon Homme some time between 1944 and 1946. From what I have read, there have been only two ships to carry this name.
31 posted on 01/06/2003 7:47:17 AM PST by Wednesday's Child
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To: BlueLancer
The Crypt was the first place I visited when I spent the first of many long weekends in Annapolis. My cousin's husband is a graduate- (Class of '75.) My wife & I have spent hours walking around the yard, looking for memorials, dedications, etc. Every time "Patriot Games" is on TV, we always laugh at the fact that we've walked throught that gate and seen the spot where Harrison Ford nearly got shot.
We're going back on MLK weekend- Looking forward the oyster shooters & crab cakes at Middleton's!
Matt
32 posted on 01/06/2003 8:30:16 AM PST by LoneConservative
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To: SAMWolf
"I always figured he got the position as a political payback."

Payback fer what?! Tanking it on the fight for the Missouri Senate seat that allowed D'Asshole's RATS to control the Senate fer almost two years?!

FReegards...MUD

33 posted on 01/06/2003 9:35:04 AM PST by Mudboy Slim
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To: souris; AntiJen; Victoria Delsoul; MistyCA; SpookBrat; SassyMom; bentfeather; GatorGirl; ...
Current Military News
Saying Farewell


US Marine Ssgt Jose Salazar gets a goodbye kiss from his seven-year-old daughter Brittany before he departed on the USS Tarawa along with 4,000 other marines and sailors from the San Diego Naval Station on January 6, 2002. The USS Tarawa, USS Duluth, and USS Rushmore are embarking on a regularly scheduled six-month tour that will take them to the Arabian Gulf as well as to the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific. REUTERS/Fred Greaves


Lance Cpl. John Sanger, of Cincinnati, Ohio, gets his last visit with his wife, Ange, before leaving aboard the USS Tarawa for deployment Monday, Jan. 6, 2003, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)


AE1 Daniel Zepeda, bottom right, says goodbye to his daughter, Malia, 3, as his son, Dylen, 8, top left, is comforted by his mother, Dymel, as he wipes his eyes prior to Zepeda's departure aboard the USS Tarawa Monday, Jan. 6, 2003, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)


Staff Sgt. Scott Berrier, Force Protection with the 621 Air Mobility Operations Group, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, says farewell to family members prior to deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2003, at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force, Scott H. Spitzer)


34 posted on 01/06/2003 10:31:29 AM PST by SAMWolf
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To: SAMWolf; All
Fabulous oh Fabulous I love it!!

35 posted on 01/06/2003 10:38:18 AM PST by Soaring Feather
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To: SAMWolf

Today's classic warship, USS Cincinnati

Cairo class ironclad river gunboat
Displacement. 512 t.
Lenght. 175'
Beam. 51'2"
Draft. 6'
Speed. 8 k.
Complement. 251
Armament. 4 42-pdr. r., 3 8" sb., 6 32-pdr. sb., 1 12 pdr.

The USS Cincinnati , a stern-wheel casemate gunboat, was built in 1861 under a War Department contract by James Eads, St. Louis, Mo., and commissioned at Mound City, Ill., 16 January 1862, naval Lieutenant G. M. Bache in command.

Assigned to duty with the Army in the Western Gunboat Flotilla under naval Flag Officer A. H. Foote, Cincinnati participated in the attack and capture of Fort Henry (6 February 1862); the operations against Island No. 10 (12 March-7 April 1862); the engagement with the Confederate gunboat fleet at Plum Point Bend and the bombardment of Fort Pillow (10 May 1862). This important series of operations was aimed at splitting the Confederacy. During the last engagement Cincinnati, the lead vessel, was repeatedly struck by enemy rams and sunk.

Raised and returned to service, Cincinnati was transferred to the Navy Department 1 October 1862 with other vessels of the Western Gunboat Flotilla. She participated in the Army-Navy operation against Port of Arkansas and installations on the White River in January 1863, then was ordered to the Yazoo River where she took part in Steele's Bayou Expedition (14-27 March 1863). Joining the attack on the Vicksburg batteries (27 May 1863), Cincinnati came under heavy fire and was sunk for the second time, suffering 40 casualties.

Raised again in August 1863 Cincinnati returned to patrol duty on the Mississippi River and its tributaries until February 1865 when she was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. She patrolled off Mobile Bay and in the Mississippi Sounds until placed out of commission 4 August 1865 at Algiers, La. She was sold at New Orleans 28 March 1866. She sank for the final time later that year.

36 posted on 01/06/2003 10:49:48 AM PST by aomagrat
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To: SAMWolf
thanks for the ping....
37 posted on 01/06/2003 11:03:50 AM PST by firewalk
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To: aomagrat
Sunk 3 times! That's some record.
38 posted on 01/06/2003 11:46:59 AM PST by SAMWolf
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To: Wednesday's Child
I thank your dad for his service.
USS Bon Homme Richard

USS Bon Homme Richard, a 27,100-ton Essex class aircraft carrier, was built at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York. Commissioned in November 1944, she went to the Pacific in March 1945 and in June joined the fast carriers in the combat zone and took part in the final raids on Japan. With the end of hostilities in mid-August, Bon Homme Richard continued operations off Japan until September, when she returned to the United States. "Magic Carpet" personnel transportation service occupied her into 1946. She was thereafter generally inactive until decommissioning at Seattle, Washington, in January 1947.

The outbreak of the Korean War in late June 1950 called Bon Homme Richard back to active duty. She recommissioned in January 1951 and deployed to the Western Pacific that May, launching her planes against enemy targets in Korea until the deployment ended late in the year. A second combat tour followed in May-December 1952, during which she was redesignated CVA-31. The carrier decommissioned in May 1953 to undergo a major conversion to equip her to operate high-performance jet aircraft.

Bon Homme Richard emerged from the shipyard with an angled and strengthened flight deck, enclosed "hurricane" bow, steam catapults, a new island, wider beam and many other improvements. Recommissioned in September 1955, she began the first of a long series of Seventh Fleet deployments. Additional Western Pacific cruises followed in 1957, 1958-1959, 1959-60, 1961, 1962-63, and 1964, with the last including a voyage into the Indian Ocean.

The Vietnam war escalation in early 1965 brought Bon Homme Richard into a third armed conflict, and she deployed on five Southeast Asia combat tours over the next six years. Her aircraft battled North Vietnamese MiGs on many occasions, downing several, as well as striking transportation and infrastructure targets. Occasional excursions to other Asian areas provided some variety to her operations. Bon Homme Richard was ordered inactivated at the end of her 1970 deployment. She decommissioned in July 1971, becoming part of the Reserve Fleet at Bremerton, Washington. Following two decades in "mothballs" she was sold for scrapping in March 1992.

39 posted on 01/06/2003 11:50:54 AM PST by SAMWolf
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To: nickcarraway
That has to be so interesting, to be able to trace your lineage to our Revolutionary times.
40 posted on 01/06/2003 11:51:40 AM PST by SAMWolf
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