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Title: The Logs of the Serapis-Allance-Ariel under the Command of John Paul Jones 1779-1780

Author: Anonymous

Editor: John S. Barnes

Release Date: February 25, 2014 [EBook #45011]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

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THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVAL HISTORY
SOCIETY CERTIFIES THAT THIS COPY OF THE
LOGS OF THE SERAPIS, ALLIANCE, AND ARIEL IS

No. 175

OF THREE HUNDRED COPIES, PRINTED FOR
THE SOCIETY ONLY

John Paul Jones

Tels hommes rarement se peuvent présenter,
Et quand le Ciel les donne, il faut en profiter.

(p. ix) CONTENTS

(p. xi) ILLUSTRATIONS

(p. xiii) FOREWORD

The executive committee of the Naval History Society having decided to publish for its initial volume the logs of the three ships commanded by John Paul Jones during the years 1779 and 1780, the owner has consented to edit this publication, with a description of the book itself, together with its history, so far as it can be ascertained, believing that it will add something of interest to the voluminous records and the literature relating to the life and services of the distinguished hero of our Revolutionary navy.

Besides these logs of the Serapis, Alliance, and Ariel, there are, in the Library of the Navy Department, copies of the log of the Ranger, beginning November 26, 1777, and ending May 18, 1778; also of the log of the Bon Homme Richard, beginning at L'Orient May 18, 1779, and ending September 24, 1779.

The original log-books, as shown by notes and a copy of a letter accompanying and attached to them, are stated to have been purchased by Captain Boyd, of Greenock, from a person of the name of Harding, a baker, in New York, in 1824; and to have been presented to Lady Isabella Helen Douglas, daughter of the fifth Earl of Selkirk, by William John, ninth Lord Napier, on March 17, 1830; they are now supposed to rest among the manuscripts of the Selkirk family.

Had the editor known of the existence of this log of the Bon Homme Richard, covering the period of her commissioning and cruise prior to the engagement with the Serapis, he would have deemed it proper to have included it in this publication. The information came to him too late to have it fully transcribed and prepared for the printer. A few excerpts from it are placed in the Appendix.[1]

(p. xiv) The log-book now published is one of the few relics known to exist of the engagement between the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis, as most of the records and official papers of both ships were lost when the Bon Homme Richard sank, or following the confusion on the Serapis after her capture.

The book is fourteen inches tall, nine and one quarter inches wide, bound in old vellum, stained, warped, worn with age and hard usage on land and sea. The paper is rough, greenish in color, the hand-made linen paper of the period, with a watermark showing it to be of English manufacture.

Upon the exterior of both covers are numerous scribblings: "R. D. June 2d, 1779"—"R. D. June 26, 1779"—"Richard Dales book"—"September the 3d—1780—This book belongs to Mr. Henry Lunt, Lieutenant of the Ship of War, the (Ariel)." Richard Dale's name is also found in several places on the pages of the book.

It was first used to enter the names of the officers and crew of the Bon Homme Richard, giving their rank, rating, and the dates and places of their enlistment.[2] It evidently constituted the muster-roll of that ship when Robert Robinson was the first lieutenant, and, after the dismissal of that officer by sentence of court martial for "negligence of duty," it passed into the keeping of Richard Dale, who succeeded Robinson as first lieutenant, he entering therein, on the pages immediately following the muster-roll: "A List of The Men Names that has Desarted from The Bone Homme Richard, Lorient July, 19th. 1779"[3]

When the Richard sank off Flamborough Head, the muster-roll was saved and taken on board the Serapis, as constituting the official list of those entitled to prize money—then as now the great incentive to naval enlistment and activity.

As may well be imagined, a blank-book suitable for a log was not available at that moment of supreme confusion, so that the muster-roll book of the Richard, with only a few of its pages in use, was seized upon and used to enter the daily transactions (p. xv) on board the Serapis, from the time of her capture until, as a result of the political situation between Holland and England, she was turned over to the French, and, under the command of Captain Cottineau, hoisted the French colors in the Texel Roads.

The book was reversed, and the log of the Serapis begun at the other end, preceded by a brief memorandum—"Some Remarkable Occurrences that happened on the 23d day of September, 1779,"—which briefly records the capture of the Serapis.

No other or more circumstantial account of the fight existed in the book when it came into the possession of its later owners, but a close examination showed that, besides minor mutilations, two leaves, immediately preceding that containing the statement of "Some Remarkable Occurrences," had, at some time, been torn out. In order to incorporate into the book a clearer and more circumstantial account of the fight, a former owner caused to be copied on several blank leaves the narrative found amongst the Peter Force Collection of Manuscripts, "John Paul Jones Papers," Volume VI, number 29.

The authorship and penmanship of this document have been ascribed by various biographers of Jones to Richard Dale.[4]

The present owner's attention was specially called to it by seeing a small photographic reproduction, published in a book by Professor Marion entitled, "John Paul Jones' Last Cruise and Final Resting Place," Washington, 1906. The author describes this valuable and historical document as a "manuscript written on two pages of rough, greenish paper, evidently torn out of a log book," and attributes it to Richard Dale, the first lieutenant of the Bon Homme Richard. The compiler of the "John Paul Jones Manuscripts" in the Library of Congress attributes it possibly to Jones' secretary.[5] The author of the (p. xvi) "Memoirs of Rear-Admiral Paul Jones," published in Edinburgh and London, 1830, Volume I, page 192, states "that the fact of Landais' firing into the Bon Homme Richard is also confirmed by the log-book, which was preserved when the ship sunk, and by a very interesting and seaman-like narrative of the engagement, drawn up by Mr. Dale." He adds in a footnote in reference to the log-book: "This battered volume, after many adventures by land and water, is now (1830) in the possession of Mr. Richard Napier, Advocate."

As this author bases his book upon documents then in the possession of Mrs. Jeanette Taylor, the sister of Paul Jones, which she came into possession of when he died in Paris, the "battered volume" referred to must have been amongst Jones' papers, and is undoubtedly the same log-book now under review. As will be shown later, it was surely in the possession of Richard Dale as late as 1782, and at some time after the war he probably restored it to Jones, who certainly had a good claim to it, as the muster-roll of the Bon Homme Richard, contained in it, was necessary in the prosecution of his prize-money claims in France.

However this may be, the present owner procured a photograph of the narrative of the engagement, of the exact dimensions of the sheets upon which it was written, and on comparison of these sheets with the leaves of the log-book it was found that in dimensions, in the color and quality of the paper, even in the indenture of the torn edges, there could be no possible doubt that the document was torn from this log-book, and found its way into the Peter Force Collection, and thence to the possession of the Congressional Library. The facsimile is now where the original was, and the narrative is included in this publication of the Serapis' log.[6] Still there was doubt as to its authorship. A comparison of the handwriting with that of Richard Dale, to whom it was attributed, showed conclusively that he was not the writer. Amongst the various scribblings upon the covers of the log-book is found:

(p. xvii) September the 3d, 1780. This book belongs to Mr. Henry Lunt, Lieutenant of the Ship of War, the (Ariel)

a memorandum undoubtedly written by Lunt himself, who was, on the date named, the second lieutenant of the Ariel, commanded by Jones, Dale being her first lieutenant.[7]

Comparisons of letters of Henry Lunt, also in the Peter Force Collection, with the narrative establish beyond any doubt that it is the penmanship of Lieutenant Henry Lunt. Mr. Gaillard Hunt, chief of the Manuscripts Division of the Library of Congress, in a letter to the editor, in reply to his suggestion that Lunt may have been the writer, states as follows:

That the two pages of the Serapis log are in the hand of Lieutenant Henry Lunt. They have been compared with a letter of Lunt to Jones, October 7, 1779, and there can be no question of the identity of the hand.

A few words as to Lieutenant Henry Lunt. As is well known, he was not on board the Bon Homme Richard during the engagement, having been sent, with fifteen of the crew, to take possession of a brigantine which had been chased inshore, and, although recalled by signal, he did not return until after the action. His conduct in this respect has been properly criticized. He states himself:

Having, on the 23d of September, 1779, been ordered in a pilot boat with a party of men after a brig, but some time after I set out from alongside, a signal was made for me to return back to the Bon homme Richard, she being then in chase of two British ships-of-war, the Serapis and Countess of Scarborough, and before I could get on board the Bon homme Richard she commenced the engagement with the Serapis. It being night, I thought it not prudent to go alongside in time of action....

This is signed, "On board the Serapis, at the Texel, 25th of October, 1779. Henry Lunt."

Jones indorses this as follows:

(p. xviii) The question naturally arises, Who dictated the narrative of the fight which Lunt wrote in the Serapis' log? It is an authentic and truthful narration of the principal occurrences, and corresponds with Jones' own accounts of the battle. It is written in the first person, and must have been written by some one who was on board the Bon Homme Richard, and copied by Lunt into the Serapis' log at some time subsequent to the engagement, in order to have a circumstantial account recorded in the log. Lunt's statement that the log-book belonged to him on September 3, 1780, when second lieutenant of the Ariel, nearly a year after the fight, would lead us to suppose that, as he was surrounded by the officers who were on the Bon Homme Richard, he simply copied a description dictated by one of them, probably by Jones himself, as the latter's well-known proclivity for self-adulation would naturally show itself in a desire to have his personal efforts spread upon the official record. It is further worthy of note that almost the only tributes to the officers of the Bon Homme Richard, or recognition of their services, are to be found in Jones' charges and proofs against Landais, where his object was to give force to their testimony.[9] His apparent unwillingness to commend others, or award to each of his officers a just meed of praise, has been noted by some of his biographers as his great fault.

It is a matter of interest to a collector to be able to identify the author or writer of this narrative of the engagement, and to place it, after a long separation, where it originally was written.

The first regular entry in the Serapis' log is on the 26th of September, when, dismasted, crowded with prisoners, and encumbered with wounded, her people, assisted by men from the other ships of the squadron, were employed in erecting jury masts and repairing the damages sustained in the action. The wind was for several days light, from the southwest, and the sea fairly smooth, the speed recorded being from two to four knots. Jones decided to make the port of Dunkirk, but his (p. xix) colleagues overruled him, and upon making the land, owing to bad weather and contrary winds, the squadron, after being tossed to and fro by contrary winds for seven days, anchored in the Texel Roads on the 3d of October. That the ship should have been safely taken to a harbor under such circumstances is not the least of Jones' exploits as a seaman; while the failure of the English cruisers to intercept and recapture her brought much obloquy upon the British admiralty.

Safely anchored in the Texel, Sir Joseph Yorke, the British ambassador at The Hague, who persistently referred to Jones as "that pirate, Paul Jones: a rebel subject and criminal of State," immediately demanded the surrender of the prizes and the release of the prisoners.[10] The demand was refused by the High Commissioners, and after much correspondence Jones obtained permission, under certain restrictions, to land his prisoners and wounded, and to mount guard over them on an island in the Texel. Jones may fairly be said to have added to his fame by being mainly instrumental in bringing about an open rupture between England and Holland by the stand taken by him during this trying period.

As will be seen by the entries in the log, the crew, with assistance from the other ships, were for many days busily employed in cleaning up her decks and in repairing and refitting the ship. She was in a dreadful condition of filth and disorder. Jones desired to refit her, and again to cruise in English waters, as she was a fine, stanch ship, recently built, and would have been a valuable substitute for the lost Richard. Jones states that she was the best ship he ever saw of her kind.

Complications between the Dutch and English governments, however, became acute. Jones was ordered to sail from the Texel, then blockaded by an English fleet, and the Dutch Admiral was ordered to use forcible measures, if found necessary, to compel him to do so. With Dr. Franklin's approval it was decided to turn over to the French the prizes, and all the ships except the Alliance, which, having been built in America, was (p. xx) accepted as a properly commissioned Continental ship-of-war. In pursuance of this decision Jones turned over to Captain Cottineau the command of the Serapis, who hoisted the French flag over her on November 21, 1779. Landais was deposed from the command of the Alliance, to which ship Jones transferred his flag, having first stripped the Serapis of everything movable and useful and sent the same on board the Alliance.[11]

The log-book now continues with "A Journall Kept on Board the American Continental Frigate of War, Alliance, of 36 guns, under the Command of the Honble. John Paul Jones, Commencing in the Road of Texel in Holland."

Commencing on the 22d of November, the log states the daily occurrences until June 12, 1780. According to Jones' account the ship was in a deplorable condition, which he attributed to the incapacity of Landais, whom he had supplanted, and with whom he was on bad terms, having charged him with being responsible, in part, for the collision with the Richard on her first cruise; with cowardice during the action with the Serapis; with intentionally firing upon the Richard; with disobedience of orders, disrespect, and insolence. Jones states that the Alliance had not a good cable or sail; the officers and men were intemperate and idle; filth, insubordination, and epidemic diseases prevailed among the crew; she was badly supplied with arms; and her powder was of bad quality. Some of these deficiences Jones supplied from the Serapis.

The remaining officers and crew of the Richard were transferred to the Alliance, except the French volunteers; and the French volunteers and marines on the Alliance were sent to the Serapis, as it had been arranged that no French subject was to remain on the Alliance. Until the 27th of December the ship's company and mechanics from shore were busily employed in making necessary repairs, refitting the rigging, making new yards, and altering the old ones. Every effort was apparently made to get the ship ready for sea. Gales of wind and rotten (p. xxi) cables placed her often in peril. Her bottom being foul, the ship was careened and the bottom scrubbed.

The English kept a squadron cruising off the port, but Jones determined to get to sea as soon as the weather would permit. He thought he had recovered the trim of the ship which had been lost under Landais. He states that the ship was well manned, and would not be given away; that the Holland squadron had been drawn up ready for battle for more than a month to drive him out if he should attempt to remain after the wind became fair, while the English fleet was almost constantly in sight of the harbor.

He was requested by the Dutch Admiral to declare whether the Alliance was a French or an American vessel, and if French to display the French flag, and to omit no occasion of departing. To this Jones replied, declining to display French colors, and saying that he would get to sea whenever a pilot would take the ship out of the harbor.

On the 27th of December, the wind serving, he set sail from the Texel, fell foul of a Dutch merchant ship, lost the best bower-anchor and cable, and had other mishaps, owing to the ignorance or drunkenness of the old pilot.

The Alliance passed along the Flemish banks, got to windward of the enemy's fleet in the North Sea, and passed through the Strait of Dover in full view of the enemy's fleet in the Downs. He then ran the Alliance past the Isle of Wight, in view of the enemy's fleet at Spithead, got safe through the Channel, and cruised about the Bay of Biscay and Cape Finisterre, overhauling many neutral ships and making a few unimportant prizes. On the 17th of January he came to anchor in the harbor of Corunna, Spain. Here he remained until the 28th of January. He received and entertained visitors; again careened the ship and scrubbed her bottom; made changes in her spars; obtained a new anchor; and gave his men liberty. The men were complaining that their wages and prize money had not been paid, and were in a mutinous condition. On the 19th of January they all refused doing duty, but Jones succeeded (p. xxii) in satisfying them, and they returned to duty the following day.[12]

On the 28th of January, after entertaining the governor, the Alliance again put to sea, and cruised in the neighboring waters, overhauling several ships, capturing a few unimportant prizes. She met the American letter-of-marque ship Livingston, and in company with her anchored within the Isle of Groix on the 11th of February, and on the 19th moved up to the harbor of L'Orient, and moored the Alliance to the King's Moorings.

Jones' first object now appears to have been to repair and refit the ship and make extensive alterations, the extent and cost of which were the subject of remonstrance on the part of Benjamin Franklin, who positively forbids his sheathing the ship's bottom with copper, buying new canvas and cordage, thus adding to the extraordinary expenses already incurred in Holland, especially as Jones seemed to impute the damages the Alliance had sustained more to Landais' negligence than to accidents of the cruise; Franklin concludes his admonitions with an appeal to Jones—"For God's sake be sparing unless you mean to make me a bankrupt, or have your drafts dishonoured for want of money in my hands to pay them."[13]

Notwithstanding this appeal for economy, from the 19th of February to the 12th of June the Alliance remained at anchor at L'Orient, and the repairs, renewals, and refitting were prosecuted with energy by the crew of the ship, assisted by carpenters and mechanics from shore. The log relates the work done day by day with some precision. The essential repairs were completed in April, and Jones states that, when finished, judges allowed that everything about the frigate was perfect, and that he knew not what was the amount of disbursements. In his journal for the King he says: "She was thought one of the completest frigates in France."

Meantime, it was Mr. Franklin's intention to send the Alliance (p. xxiii) back to America with large supplies of arms and clothing. Mr. Arthur Lee, one of our commissioners, also desired to return in her. Landais was annoying Franklin with importunities to such an extent that the latter wrote Jones that he was determined to have nothing further to do with him.

On the 4th of March Franklin wrote the President of Congress that Jones would carry the Alliance home, and that Landais had not applied to be replaced in her, but on the 17th of March he asked Franklin to be replaced in command of the Alliance. To this request Franklin replied that he considered him so imprudent, so litigious and quarrelsome a man, that if he had twenty ships-of-war in his disposition, he would not give him command of one of them. Franklin, on the 18th of March, states that he knew of nothing to prevent Jones from proceeding immediately to such part of North America as he could reach in safety.

The prize-money question was in abeyance; Franklin in his letters to Jones referred to it, and stated that the ships-of-war he had taken were to be valued, the King intending to purchase them, but that the muster-roll of the Bon Homme Richard was wanting in order to regulate the proportions to each ship. At the same time Franklin authorized Jones to draw on him for 24,000 livres in advance to the people of the Bon Homme Richard, and stated that M. LeRay de Chaumont had authorized his correspondent in L'Orient to advance 100,000 livres for the Americans of the Alliance and Bon Homme Richard, on account.

This prize-money question, as shown by the voluminous correspondence of the time, was a troublesome matter, the cause of dissension, controversy, and insubordination amounting to mutiny in the ship's company.

The subject is fully treated in the various biographies of Jones, and it is unnecessary to do more than allude to it here. It was, however, the cause which induced Jones to go frequently to Paris, ostensibly to hasten proceedings for the adjustment of the claims for prize money. In his absence on (p. xxiv) shore at L'Orient Captain Landais, acting under the advice of Arthur Lee and Commodore Gillon, of the South Carolina navy, took possession of the Alliance on the 12th of June. The log entry on that day is the last of the Alliance's journal. It forms a terse but accurate account of this extraordinary transaction. A more detailed account, by a participant in this event, will be found in the Appendix.[14]

It appears from the correspondence of Mr. Franklin that Landais had been furnished with money to enable him to return to America for trial upon the charges preferred by Jones, and Franklin had, in May, expressed his astonishment that he continued to remain at L'Orient. To this Landais, on the 29th of May, coolly replied that he had been waiting for orders to retake command of the Alliance! Franklin replied to this, "I charge you not to meddle with the command, or create any disturbance on board her, as you will answer the contrary at your peril."

Arthur Lee, as well as Commodore Gillon, had previously quarreled with Jones, and detested him. Lee, in a written opinion discussing constitutional questions as to the authority of Congress, and that of Mr. Franklin, advised Landais that he might lawfully treat our minister's orders with contempt. As Jones was constantly absent from his ship, spending much time in Paris, where he was the recipient of marked attentions, it was not difficult for Landais to work upon the mutinous spirit of the crew by charging Jones with neglect of their interests regarding prize money due them, to such effect that they addressed a letter to Franklin, signed by one hundred and (p. xxv) fifteen of the crew, declaring that they would not raise the anchor, nor depart from L'Orient, until their wages and the utmost farthing of their prize money had been paid them, and until their legal captain, P. Landais, was restored to them. This mutinous document was undoubtedly instigated by Landais; it bore unmistakable evidence of being penned, and was forwarded to Franklin, by Landais himself.

On the morning of the 12th of June Jones, at L'Orient, assembled his crew, before going on shore, and asked them if they could say a word to his disadvantage. They answered that they could not, and, according to Jones' account, showed every appearance of contentment and subordination. Jones then went on shore, and Landais, taking advantage of his absence, seized the command during the afternoon of that day. Jones heard of the transaction from Dale, who informed him that he and some others had just been turned ashore.

Jones immediately despatched by express to Franklin a statement of the occurrence. Upon its receipt Franklin procured an order from Versailles for the arrest and imprisonment of Landais, as a Frenchman and subject to French laws. Lee, under whose legal advice Landais had acted, wrote a long letter to Jones, in which he claimed that it was clear that Landais commanded the Alliance under the full and express order of Congress, and no other authority existed which could dismiss him from the command.

Some attempt was made by the commandant of the port to arrest Landais and prevent the departure of the Alliance. Jones declined to employ means to prevent her departure, interposing, he says, "to prevent bloodshed between the subjects of allied powers." The Alliance was hurried out of port with a mutinous crew—many of them in irons—taking Arthur Lee and a number of civilians as passengers. On the voyage homeward the officers and crew became dissatisfied with Landais' conduct, and compelled him to relinquish the command. Mr. Arthur Lee was particularly incensed against him, and principally upon his testimony, on his trial by court martial, Landais (p. xxvi) was dismissed from the service on the score that he was insane.

The conduct of Jones in thus abandoning his command has been commented upon at length by his biographers, and variously accounted for, the consensus of opinion being that, had he really wished to recover the command, he could have gone on board the Alliance with his officers as soon as he heard that Landais had taken possession of her, and would have met with no opposition from Landais, or, if he had ventured upon personal violence, Jones, being in the right, would not have been blamable for the consequences. The conduct of Jones during this extraordinary transaction seems inconsistent with his general character as a bold and determined fighter, and does not add to his reputation.

Following the entry in the Alliance's journal, recording the taking possession of her by Landais, the log continues with "An account of occurrences in L'Orient, respecting the Bon Homme Richards Officers & Crew" during the three days they were on shore waiting for orders. On the 16th of June they were ordered to, and removed on board the Ariel frigate, that ship having been loaned by the French to assist in transporting to America clothing and munitions of war, for which room could not be found on the Alliance and of which our army was sorely in need. The Ariel was a small frigate, formerly captured from the English by the squadron under d'Estaing.

The log-book now contains

A Journall Kept on Board the American Continental Ship of War, Ariel, of 26—Nine Pounders, Commanded by the Honble. John Paul Jones Esqr. commencing in the Port of L'Orient June the 16th: 1780.

Although under the date of the 16th, in the account of the occurrences on shore, is written "Commencement of the Ariels Journall," the first entry following the complete heading is on June 18th.

The remarks on the following days are full of interest. The (p. xxvii) ship could hardly have been more than a hulk, in no way prepared for sea, for until the 8th of October—nearly three months—they show that she was remasted, sparred, altered, repaired, and refitted with sails and new rigging, besides receiving on board quantities of stores, clothing, and munitions of war, destined for America, that the Alliance had been unable to take. The movements of the Alliance under Landais are also recorded prior to her departure. On the 2d of September a grand entertainment was given by Jones, during which he endeavored to represent the battle with the Serapis to a large and distinguished company. An amusing description of another entertainment, about December 10th, appears in Fanning's narrative,[15] who figures in the log entry on the 2d of September as having been kicked by Jones and ordered below.

Although apparently ready for sea early in September, the ship was moved only to the Roads of Groix, where she lay until the 8th of October, apparently detained by contrary winds or foul weather. On that day she got to sea, and on the very night of her departure encountered a heavy gale which increased to a hurricane the following day, in which the ship was nearly lost.

The remarks of the 9th and 10th of October describe the distress of the ship, with some particularity for a formal log entry, but a more detailed account of this great storm is found in a report signed by the officers of the Ariel which Jones procured, possibly to confirm his own report of the gale and its effects, which he gives in his journal for the King.

He sailed from the Roads of Groix with such a quantity of arms and powder as filled the ship even between decks; the wind was fair and weather pleasant, but the next night the Ariel was driven by the violent tempest close to the rocks of Penmarque, a terrible ledge between L'Orient and Brest. The ship could show no sail, but was almost buried under water, (p. xxviii) not having room to run before the wind, and having several feet of water in the hold. Finding the depth of water diminishing fast, Jones in the last extremity cast anchor, but could not bring the ship's head to the wind. Sometimes the lower yard-arms touched the water, and Jones had no remedy left but to cut away the foremast. This had the desired effect, and the ship immediately came head to the wind. The mainmast had got out of the step, and now reeled about like a drunken man. Foreseeing the danger of its either breaking off below the gun-deck or going through the ship's bottom, Jones ordered it to be cut away, but, before this could be done, the chain plates gave way, and the mainmast breaking off by the gun-deck carried with it the mizzenmast, and the mizzenmast carried away the quarter-gallery; two additional cables were spliced and veered out. In that situation the Ariel rode in the open ocean to windward of perhaps the most dangerous ledge of rocks in the world, for two days and two nights, in a tempest that covered the shore with wrecks and dead bodies, and that drove ships ashore from their anchors, even in the port of L'Orient.[16]

This terrible gale was felt nearly all over Europe. In the Gentleman's Magazine for November, 1780, it is stated that "this dreadful hurricane was one of those tremendous tempests of which two or three occur in an age." In England it occurred on the night of Sunday, October 8th, and did immense damage by sea and land. It is a singular coincidence that, while Jones was experiencing this dreadful hurricane on the French coast, his opponent of a twelvemonth before equally felt its effects on the English coast.

In a letter to the Admiralty, dated on board the Alarm, at Plymouth, October 10, 1780, Sir Richard Pearson states as follows:

I arrived here on the evening of the 8th, it blowing very hard at S. E.; the next morning the wind shifted suddenly to W. N. W. and blew a gale all yesterday from that to W. S. W. and S. W. and continued until one or two (p. xxix) o'clock this morning; in which I had the misfortune to part my two Bowers and Sheet Cable, and was reduced to my spare anchor, which I had providentially got two cables on, which brought me up at eleven o'clock last night, when I found myself under the necessity of cutting away all my masts for the preservation of his Majesty's ship and the lives of my people. I am now in the same distressing situation as I was last night.[17]

The storm continuing until the morning of the 10th, notwithstanding the heavy sea Jones succeeded on that and the following day in getting up jury, fore, and mizzen masts, and on the 11th, at noon, cut the cable, got under way, and anchored the Ariel on the 13th of October in the harbor of L'Orient.

The journal of the Ariel ends on the 14th of October. She remained at L'Orient until the 18th of December, when she again sailed, and arrived safely in the United States, having encountered an enemy's ship, supposed by Jones to be named the Triumph, which, after a short resistance, struck her colors, and a few minutes afterward (according to Jones) her captain had the baseness to fill his sails and run away. This voyage in the Ariel was the last service at sea performed by John Paul Jones under the American flag. He arrived in Philadelphia on February 18, 1781, having been absent from the United States three years, three months, and eighteen days.

Following the last entry of the Ariel's log, several leaves have been torn out. The book was reversed again, and immediately following "A List of The Men Names that has Desarted from The Bone Homme Richard, Lorient July, 19th. 1779" we find, in the identical handwriting of the logs of the Serapis, Alliance, and Ariel, "A List of Officers, & Men, belonging to the American Continental Ship of War, Ariel, Commanded, by the Honble, John Paul Jones." A comparison (p. xxx) of this list with the muster-roll of the Bon Homme Richard shows that most of the officers and many of the crew of the former still followed the fortunes of Jones.

Upon several pages are also inscribed the following receipts:[18]

and

Another log is also contained in the book. It immediately follows the "List of the Officers and Crew of the Ariel," and is headed, "A Journal Kept on Board the Ship Queen of France, from Cape Henlopen towards Lorient." Beginning on August 20, 1782, it records the courses, distances run, the latitudes and longitudes of each day, up to and including September 10th, when the ship was in latitude 47° 19' N. and longitude 19° 15' W. There are no entries in the column under "Remarks."

Importance is attached to this log because it shows conclusively that the book was in the possession of Dale until the end of the cruise of the Queen of France, in February, 1783, about the time of the end of the Revolution.

From Cooper's "Life of Richard Dale" we learn that after his return to the United States in the Ariel Jones was anxious to take him with him to the ship America, to which Jones had been appointed, but Dale declined the service and was employed on the Trumbull, which was captured by an English (p. xxxi) fleet, and for the fourth time Dale was made prisoner, but was exchanged in November, 1781. No new service in the regular navy offering, Dale obtained a furlough and joined a large letter-of-marque called the Queen of France, that carried twelve guns, as her first officer. Soon after he was appointed to the command of her and, in company with several other letters-of-marque, sailed for France, making many captures by the way. Dale's ship, however, parted from the fleet, and, falling in with an English privateer of fourteen guns, a severe engagement followed, in which both parties were much cut up, and they parted by mutual consent.[19]

Upon the termination of hostilities, in common with most of the officers of the navy, Dale was "disbanded," and engaged in the East India trade until 1792, when he was restored to the navy as captain in the reorganized marine.

It was probably during this period that our log-book passed into the possession of Jones, who was urging his claims for rank and prize money before Congress.[20] Failing to obtain what he termed "proper consideration," after a cruise with the French fleet Jones was commissioned as agent to look after the prizes made on his cruises in European waters and sailed for France November 10, 1783, in the Washington, late General Monk, the ship captured by Barney in the Hyder-Ally and then commanded by Barney. Jones left in the care of a Mr. Hyslop of New York a portion of his papers, being the same which later turned up in the keeping of the baker in New York, and upon which Sherburne based his life of Jones, and from him the logs of the Ranger and Bon Homme Richard appear to have been purchased in 1824 by Captain Boyd, before alluded to. But Jones took with him those papers which he deemed most important to the discharge of his mission to France, not the least of which was the book containing (p. xxxii) the muster-roll of the Bon Homme Richard, which probably was the only authentic and official list then in existence, and indispensable to the proceedings in the French prize courts.

The papers and property of Jones, upon his death in Paris in 1792, passed to his sister Mrs. Taylor, and upon them as a base followed the Edinburgh "Life of Jones," also that by Sands—by all conceded to be the best of the numerous biographies of Jones—while Sherburne's book, published in 1825, is properly criticized as a chaotic compilation, creating inextricable confusion in the mind of a reader.

There has always been some difficulty in finding a correct muster-roll of the Bon Homme Richard.[21] The list published by Sherburne he states is made from "official sources," and is shown by the correspondence on the subject to have been made from "a certified copy of a copy." This is undoubtedly the document now in the Congressional Library, being a copy, written by a Frenchman, of the muster-roll filed by Jones in the French prize courts and certified to by him as correct. As this list corresponds with great exactness to the muster-roll of the officers and crew of the Bon Homme Richard, making due allowances for desertions, men sent away in prizes, and possibly new enlistments, it seems evident that the original basis of the lists was that contained in the log-book. The names of the French volunteers and marines were not entered in the muster-roll, but were probably ascertained by Jones in France, and added to the copy filed by him.

The editor has alluded to the fact that the logs of the Serapis, Alliance, and Ariel, as well as the list of the officers and crew of the Ariel, are all written by the same hand. The penmanship is remarkably good, the orthography correct, showing the writer to have had some pretensions to scholarship and clerical ability, much more than that shown by either Dale or Lunt. It had been conjectured that the writer was Midshipman Nathaniel Fanning, who served under an appointment by Jones (p. xxxiii) on the Richard, Serapis, Alliance, and Ariel. He it was who, stationed in the maintop, threw, or caused to be thrown, the bomb which, exploding on the gun-deck of the Serapis, created such havoc as to have been largely instrumental in bringing the action to a close.

Fanning has left a narrative of his life, in which he claims to have been Jones' private secretary, and to have had close and intimate relations with him. He also refers to the journal kept by him, and the dates of the occurrences, as stated at length in his narrative, correspond with some accuracy with the same events as recorded in the several logs.[22] The journal of the Ariel ceases when Fanning left the Ariel, probably because of the slight misunderstanding recorded in the Ariel's log on the 2d of September, an occurrence which sufficiently accounts for Fanning's severe criticisms of Jones, given in his narrative, with frequent allusions to his ungovernable temper.

Another reason for the conjecture arose from the fact that the name of Nathaniel Fanning, as well as that of Beaumont Groube, both in the muster-roll of the Richard and the Ariel, are in the unmistakable handwriting of the penman of the logs. As opposed to the conjecture, however, the name of Nathaniel Fanning is spelled Fenning in the Richard's list, while in that of the Ariel it is correctly spelled.

This caused the editor to make further investigations, as it was apparent that if Fanning was not, possibly Midshipman Groube was, the writer of the logs, particularly as he had been considered competent to act as judge-advocate of a number of courts martial, and, inferentially, was a better scholar than other officers under Jones' command.

Availing himself of the cordial assistance of Mr. Putnam, the Librarian of Congress, and Mr. Hunt, chief of the Manuscripts Division, the editor procured a facsimile of a long letter written by Beaumont Groube to Captain Bell, commanding (p. xxxiv) the privateer Luzerne, then at L'Orient, dated May 3, 1780, when both Groube and Fanning were attached to the Alliance, asking his good offices in accommodating a quarrel with Lieutenant Degge, one of the officers then on the Alliance.

Upon comparison of the penmanship of this letter with that of the logs, it was established, beyond any possible doubt, that Midshipman Groube was the scribe of all three logs, the handwriting being identical.[23]

There is a certain amount of interest attached to Midshipman Groube, growing out of the fact that there are a great many contemporaneous prints which represent Jones in the act of shooting a Lieutenant Grubb for attempting to haul down the colors of the Richard. As there was no Lieutenant Grubb in the ship, Groube has been made, by writers of numerous chap-books, the victim of this act of Jones. These chap-books are mainly fabrications of their authors and engravers, and may properly be called the "dime novels" of the period.

Groube probably returned to the United States with Jones in the Ariel, although he discontinued keeping the log on the 14th of October, 1780. He seems to have disappeared, as no further trace of him can be found, nor is there any account of his previous life. It is evident, however, that he was a young man of good education, as shown by his handwriting and correct spelling—unusual accomplishments of the sailors of that period—as well as from his selection as judge-advocate of the many courts martial held on the officers and men of the Richard[24] when that ship was fitting for sea at L'Orient.

The editor would call attention to the fact that, although the greater part of Jones' voluminous correspondence is now deposited in the Library of Congress, Mrs. Taylor, or her daughter Jeanette Taylor, parted with many interesting documents, and there are also to be found in the hands of individuals many others which have never been published. Besides the log-books (p. xli) here printed—as well as the log-books of the Ranger and Bon Homme Richard heretofore referred to—Miss Taylor informed Mr. Cooper that she had given Jones' original commission as lieutenant, dated August 8, 1776, to some one in Scotland as an autograph of President Hancock. The original certificate of Hancock, appointing him to the command of the Providence, is in the editor's collection, while his commission, dated October 10, 1776, of which Sherburne in his edition of 1851 prints a facsimile, is now in private hands.

On the following four pages are reproduced for the purpose of a comparison of the handwriting facsimiles of the first page of the Serapis' log, and opposite it a page from a letter by Beaumont Groube. On the two subsequent pages are the continuation of the letter and a page from the ship's muster-roll. Almost at a glance it can be seen that the two signatures were written by the same hand and that the writing in the log and that in the letter are identical as to penmanship.

Miss Taylor also presented to a relative the original certificate of Jones' membership in the Society of the Cincinnati, signed by Washington, dated October 31, 1785, which is now owned by Colonel N. Arnott of Edinburgh, a descendant of the Paul family.[25] The original commission of Jones authorizing him to arrange the difficulties with the Barbary powers is in the remarkable collection of Mr. Grenville Kane, of New York. Eighteen autograph letters from and to Jones are now offered for sale by a London dealer for the modest sum of $5,000; these evidently escaped from the Taylor family.

The editor has deemed it not uninteresting, although not immediately connected with the principal object of this publication, to refer to the dispersion of Jones' letters and public documents, and to print in the Appendix an interesting letter to Commodore Esek Hopkins,[26] also a letter from Captain James Nicholson to Commodore John Barry relating to Jones' efforts before Congress to be placed at the head of the navy, both of which are in the editor's collection of manuscripts. In the Appendix will also be found a copy of a letter of Jones, addressed to John Wendell—which as a composition may be considered as one of the most remarkable of all his epistolary effusions. The original letter is now in the possession of the Wendell family. None of these letters have ever been published.[27]

(p. xlii) In concluding this preamble to the logs, it will be noted that the editor has supplemented the ship's stories by drawing largely upon the accounts of the events, barely touched upon in the remarks to be found in the numerous biographies of John Paul Jones, and upon the papers relating to his career now deposited in the Congressional Library. This has been done because it was possible that, as the biographies are out of print and rather scarce, they might not be readily available to many of the readers.

The first authentic "Life of Jones," throwing aside the numerous so-called chap-books, was that of André, published in French in Paris, 1798, translated and republished in "Niles' Register" for the year 1812. Following the discovery of Jones' letters, Sherburne produced his first edition in 1825. The manuscript of this first edition he sent also to John Murray in London, who caused it to be edited by Disraeli, later the Earl of Beaconsfield, and published the book in the same year, 1825.[28] The preface of this book, according to the editor of the "Life of Disraeli," was the earliest appearance of Disraeli as an author. Sherburne was aware of the existence of the papers in the possession of the Taylor family, and endeavored to obtain them; but his request was refused, as they were already in the hands of the author of the Edinburgh "Life of Jones," published in 1830.

Then followed the "Life of Jones" by Robert C. Sands, from the original letters and manuscripts in the possession of Miss Jeanette Taylor—New York, 1830. Mackenzie's "Life," in 1845, and Cooper's "Life," in 1846—both based upon Sands and Sherburne—contain but few additional matters of interest. Sherburne's "Life," published in 1825, was so freely criticized that a second edition, corrected and enlarged, was published in 1851.

(p. xliii) Several other lives of Paul Jones, simply reproductions of the foregoing, with illustrations, and in cheaper popular form, have also appeared, worthy of place only in a bibliography. Later we have the "Life" by Buell, which, although he calls it a history, is simply a pleasing, popular romance.

The history of the logs here reproduced may be thought somewhat obscure, being founded upon some conjectures, deductions, and probabilities, as well as absolute facts. The editor purchased the log-book at the sale of the library of Mr. S. L. M. Barlow, of New York, in 1889, it being item No. 2760 in the catalogue prepared by Mr. J. O. Wright. Mr. Wright states that Mr. Barlow acquired the book through Mr. Harrisse or Mr. Stevens, of London, some time previous to 1869.

The portrait facing the title-page has been selected from the numerous engraved portraits of Jones as not only the best authentic likeness taken from life, excepting perhaps the bust by Houdon, but the earliest in point of execution, having been drawn by a celebrated artist, Moreau le Jeune, in May, 1780, when Jones was in command of the Alliance, at L'Orient.

The portrait by Charles W. Peale, now in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, was executed seven years later, and has been reproduced many times. A comparison of the two with the Houdon bust demonstrates at once that the Moreau le Jeune portrait is by far the more faithful likeness, and of a greater personality than Peale's painting, with which we are more familiar. The great number of engraved contemporaneous so-called portraits of Jones attest the interest attached to his career in Europe. Many of them are purely imaginative, and exist in all forms of engraving from the grand folio mezzotint to the absurd caricature, and have formed the special object of pursuit by many collectors of Americana, with the result of extraordinary values for the rare ones, including the one here reproduced.

The most remarkable collection of Jones' portraits, and pictures (p. xliv) relating to Jones' career, is that of Mr. Grenville Kane, of New York.

The picture of the engagement is a rare print, and has been selected instead of the more familiar one taken from the painting by Richard Paton.

The original painting by Paton is owned by the heirs of Lord Amherst, whose ancestral estate included Flamborough Head, off which the famous battle was fought. It has recently been offered for sale for the sum of £3000.

In concluding this introduction to the logs, it has been the editor's purpose to avoid repeating the incidents of Jones' life related in his numerous biographies or quoting literally from his voluminous correspondence, but he has referred to them only in so far as they seemed to be connected in some measure with the log stories. The letters given in the Appendix have been copied from the originals and have never before been printed, while the extracts from Fanning's narrative are taken from a book of which very few copies are in existence.

A reprint of this narrative has been contemplated by the executive committee as one of the future publications of the Society, it being the only known autobiography of a man and officer who served under Jones in European waters.

It remains for the editor to express his acknowledgments to Mr. Robert W. Neeser, the secretary of the Society, for his very able assistance in the preparation of this volume for the press, in correcting and revising the proof-sheets, and in verifying the references.

To Mr. Herbert Putnam, Librarian of the Congressional Library, and his able assistants Mr. Gaillard Hunt and Mr. J. C. Fitzpatrick, the editor's thanks are due for their interest and assistance, as well as to Mr. Charles W. Stewart, the Librarian of the Navy Department.

The absence of Rear-admiral Goodrich, at whose instance the Naval History Society was organized, this publication undertaken, and whose coöperation was expected, has contributed to the delay in the publication, for which the editor begs the indulgence of the members of the Society.

Print Published in London, First of December, 1781
By John Harris, Sweetings Alley, Cornhill.

"To the Merchants trading to Russia, this Print representing the gallant Defence of Capt.ⁿ Pearson in his Majesty's Ship Serapis, and the Countess of Scarborough Arm'd Ship Capt.ⁿ Piercy, against Paul Jones's Squadron, whereby a valuable Fleet from the Baltic were prevented from falling into the hands of the Enemy, is with the greatest respect Inscribed by their Humble Servant.

John Harris."

(p. 1) THE LOGS OF THE
SERAPIS—ALLIANCE—ARIEL

(p. 3) (List of Officers and Men of the Continental Ship, Bon Homme Richard)
(July the 26th, 1779)

(p. 17) A List of Officers and Men, belonging to the American Continental Ship of War (Ariel) Commanded by the Honble John Paul Jones Esqr[29]

(p. 18) A List of The Men Names that has Desarted from
The Bone Homme Richard, Lorient July. 19th. 1779

(p. 20) A List of Officers, & Men, belonging to the American Continental Ship of War, Ariel, Commanded, by the Honble, John Paul Jones

(p. 22) Remarks on Friday 24th, Sepr. 1779

The first part of this 24 Hours light Breese of Wind and clear Weather At 2 P.M. sent away the Pilot Boat with the 2d. Lieutenant and a number of Marines Arm'd; after a Brigg to the Windward lying too under her Fore Topsail At 3 P.M. saw a Fleet to the leeward among them appear'd to be two Ship's of War made a Signal for the Alliance to give Chase at ½ past 3 P.M. fir'd a Gun at the Boat for the Boat her to return to us; she Bore away for us & at Do. we made Sail gave Chase to the two Ships that were to the leeward of us that appeard to be Arm'd Ships of War; The Pallas and Brigg Vengeance gave Chase likewise at 5 P.M. The Fleet stood in for the Land & the two Arm'd Ships of War hove too ready for engaging of us we Bore away for to meet them & got the Ship ready for engaging (all Hands being at their Quarters) at 6 P.M. spoke the Pallas and Ordered her to Keep astern of us; at ½ past 6 P.M. hoisted a Signal for the rest of the Squadron to form a line at Do. hailed the largest Ship One of the Ships hailed us; Answers of no great Consequence return'd. The The Capt. of the Ship; that appeard to be the largest said tell me Instantly from whence You came and who You be or i'll fire a Broad side into You; finding her to be an Enemy discharg'd a Broadside into her which She return'd after exchanging three or four Broadsides came to Yard Arm, & Yard Arm, in which posture both ships lay the rest of the engagement; lash'd the Enemies Ship to Ours; after we had engag'd about an Hour the Alliance came up and rak'd us twice; kill'd and wounded a Number of our Men; The engagement was so hot that both Ships got on fire several times; which was put out with as much expedition as possible by the Men belonging to each Ship; all this time the engagement was exceeding warm. Both ships keeping up a heavy fire with Cannon and small Arms; just before the engagement ended saw the Alliance coming down upon us hailed her and Orderd her to Board the Enemy immediately but she return'd no answer; shot ahead of us and raked Both Ships; the Enemy then crying for Quarters Capt. Jones said, haul your Colours down then; which was granted immediately & our People took possession of her; She afterwards fir'd three Guns & wounded several of Our Men while they were Boarding of her; She struck to us at ½ past 10 P.M. at Do. cast the Ship off from us, and as soon as we got Clear of her; her Main Mast fell over her Side; She prov'd to be the Serapis of 46 Guns the latter part of the Night all employed in putting out the fire in different parts of the Ship and in Pomping she having not less than two three foot of Water in her Hold; The Carpenters employed in stoping the leeks with the assistance of the Carpenters from the Other Ships; The leek still gaining on us; we were supply'd with Men from the other Ships; who assisted in heaving the Lower Deck Guns overboard & the Dead Men &c——

25th. The first part of this 24 Hours Moderate Breeses & Clear Weather. The leak still increasing got assistance from the other Ships of Officers & Men some of whom assisted in Pomping The leak still gaining on us Notwithstanding all the Pomps were at work. The Carpenters crying out that it was impossible to stop the leak At 2 P.M. Capt. Jones with the Capt. & Lieutenant of the Prize; quitted the Ship & left Orders (p. 23) to keep the Pomps agoing & the Carpenters at Work; at 7 He return'd and found the leak increasing in Consequence of which He Order'd the wounded to be Carried on Board the different Vessels & things that was most Necessary to be taken out of the Ship; Boats from the rest of the Squadron were employed for that purpose. At ½ past 7 P.M. the Capt. left the Ship with several more of the Officers & repar'd on Board of the Prize; At 10 P.M. the Capt. sent for the Master of the Ship; & Orders for the Officers then on Board that did not belong to her, to repair on Board their respective Ships with their Men, they immediately quitted the Pomps and Obeyed Orders; Boats were employed the latter part of the Night in Carrying the Men & things that were most Necessary from the Ship to the different Vessels in the Squadron; At 4 A.M. quitted the Pomps the Water then being almost up to the lower Deck; At 10 Do. every Man left the Ship At ½ Past 10 A.M. there was a Boat sent from the Commodore The Serapis to go on Board the Bon homme Richard But before the Boat got along side She Sunk which was about 11 A.M. latter Part Fresh Breeses and a large Sea——

Note:—This account, in the handwriting of Lieutenant Henry Lunt, was originally written in the Serapis' log, from which it was torn, and now is in the John Paul Jones Papers, Peter Force Collection, Vol. VI., No. 29. These pages, in facsimile, have now been inserted in their proper place in the original logs.

(p. 24) Some Remarkable Occurrences that happened on the 23d day of September 1779—relative to the Bon Homme Richard, and the Serapis.—Commanded by Richard Pearson Esqr

At ½ Past 1 being off Scarborough, discovered the Serapis, and a Number of Vessels under her Convoy—

The Bon Homme Richard at ½ Past 7. P M. came up with and Engaged her, at 8 P M. Laid the Serapis along side and lashed the Bon Homme Richard to her,

At ½ Past 12 at Night the Serapis' Colours, were Halled down and some of the Bon Homme Richards Officers & Men boarded her,

(p. 25) A Journall Kept on Board the Serapis, an English Ship of War, of 44 Guns taken the 23rd. of September, (by the Bon Homme Richd.,) now Commanded by the Honble. John Paul Jones

(p. 42) A Journall Kept on Board the American Continental Frigate of War, Alliance of 36 Guns, under, the Command of the Honble, John Paul Jones. Commencing in the Road of Texel, in Holland,—