John Paul Jones (6 July 1747-18 July 1792) was a Captain of the Continental Navy and a Rear Admiral of the Russian Navy during the American Revolutionary War and the Russo-Turkish Wars. Born in Scotland as John Paul, he served in the Royal Navy until he murdered a fellow sailor in a quarrel, forcing him to change his name to "John Paul Jones" and flee to the Thirteen Colonies. Jones commanded the United States' ship Bonhomme Richard during the country's war of independence against Great Britain, and he is most famous for his capture of HMS Serapis and his raid on Whitehaven in 1779, which brought the war closer to England itself. After the war's end in 1783, an unemployed Jones entered the service of Catherine the Great of Russia, and he distinguished himself as a Russian admiral. However, he was forced to leave Russian service after jealous officers dismissed him and accused him of rape, and he died in Paris, France in 1792.
Biography[]
John Paul Jones in 1775
John Paul was from Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, and he joinined the Royal Navy. Paul was thrown out because he murdered another sailor in a quarrel, and he changed his name from John Paul to "John Paul Jones" to escape arrest. Jones fled to the Thirteen Colonies in North America, offering his services to the nascent Continental Navy at the start of the American Revolutionary War. Jones was given command of the ship Bonhomme Richard, and he launched several attacks on Great Britain from ports in France, with his greatest feats being the Battle of Flamborough Head and the Raid on Whitehaven, both in 1779. While Bonhomme Richard was sunk at Flamborough Head, he managed to capture HMS Serapis, and he headed to Holland with Serapis.
Following the war's end in 1783, Jones found himself unemployed as the navy was disbanded, and he entered the service of Catherine the Great of Russia. Jones fought against the Ottoman Empire along the Southern Bug and Dnieper rivers along the Black Sea, fighting alongside fellow foreigner Karl Heinrich von Nassau-Siegen. However, the jealous Prince Nassau-Siegen convinced Prince Grigory Potemkin to remove Jones from command, as Potemkin did not trust the renegade Jones. In 1790, Jones would move to Paris, France, where he died in 1792.