July 23, 2025 • 24 mins
John Paul Johns was a pirate, an insubordinent, and a brilliant naval officer. He stole the tea service from a British Earl and his wife. These schnanigans marked Jones' prowess as forefront in naval tactics. He showed England she could be had - and on its own shores.
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Speaker 1 (00:12):
Your tuned to Evergreen Media Network. I am Cindy Schwartz
and this is our Veterans Voice radio show with your host,
Ralph nathan Ilco.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
April seventeen seventy eight, US invades England. No, not nineteen
thirty eight, not h she Wells, not George Orwell War
of the Worlds, but one hundred and sixty years before
April seventeenth seventy eight, the US Navy invades England, and
(00:41):
here to hear the story is the international acclaimed worldwide
historical reporter, Our dear friend whose signature and autograph we
need in our collection, Patrick Patty McAllister.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Oh yeah, so yes, it was April seventeen seventy eight.
I want everybody to get into my time machine with me.
Don't worry, lots of room and we'll get you back
in time for dinner. An elite force of continental sailors
and marines predecessors of the modern Navy, seals and marine raiders,
(01:27):
slipped into an English port with a carefully crafted plan
to cripple the British merchant fleet and thus win the
War of Independence in one bold fail swoop. This mission
was dangerous. The entire war a New Nation's survival hung
(01:51):
in the balance. But the men were dedicated, They were trained,
They were ready with lightning speed, preternatural skill, and deadly accuracy.
The strikeforce emerged from the foggy black night. They ordered paints,
they got drunk, they took some kitchen stuff, and they
(02:14):
fought their way back to safety, well drunkenly fumbled their
way back to the ship. At least, no, it really happened.
Even if I am stretching things for comedy, you might
think the architect and commander of the only American incursion
into England itself during the War of Independence was an
(02:39):
incompetent ship captain fancying himself a privateer who dropped out
of the history book footnotes after the first draft, but
turns out to be a guy given the humble Moniker,
father of the American Navy, and the only known Mamori
(03:00):
mriole to the glorious American siege of white Haven is
in well, it's in white Haven, which is in England.
That's not in the United States. We just don't talk
about this underrated American operation, and really that's too bad.
(03:22):
So the architect was none other then I have not
yet begun to fight. John Paul Jones. No, not the
legendary led Zeppelin basin keyboard player. I'm talking about John
Paul Jones, the walking bad attitude with a captain's uniform,
(03:44):
that cantankerous old sea dog who was actually pretty good
at the whole naval warfare day. He just had a
pension for pissing off commanders, flogging subordinates, and never getting
the credit he deserved. He never made commodore, but did
achieve the rank of badass. John Paul Jones was one
(04:08):
of three sort of four men given the title Father
of the American Navy. Nobody's quite sure who the mother
of the American Navy is. She's never come forward to
claim that child. Others on the list are, of course,
Commodore John Barry, John Adams, and Commodore Esik Hopkins. To
(04:32):
understand Jones, you have to understand that he was born
John Paul John Paul Jones. That'll come later. He was
born John Paul on July sixth, seventeen forty seven. He
assumed the surname Jones later in life, coincidentally, after being
(04:54):
accused of a murder. I'm sure that's a coincidence. He
was a Scotsman born near his homeland's southwest coast. His
father was the head gardener on a large estate, so
Jones grew up the poor kid, wearing hand me downs
(05:14):
in a mansion. This gave him a perpetual disdain for
class divisions of nobility and commoner. To improve his prospects
in life, Jones got into merchant sailing when he was
(05:36):
thirteen years old. That was not an unusual time to
start apprenticeships back then. His first thirteen his first ship
sailed out of whitehn which is on England's northwest coast,
right next to Scotland. Failing eventually got Jones involved in
(05:59):
the Atlantic Antic slave trade, which turned him valiantly against
the Atlantic slave trade. Good now something to understand about Joanes.
Like I said, he was born to the poor kid
in the mansion, and he realized that the only thing
(06:21):
that was going to get him out of that commoner
station in life in the British Empire at that time
was a good education. And so he not only learned
how to sail from thirteen years old on, he really
(06:42):
committed himself to understanding everything there was to know about sailing.
And this is going to become very important. Jones got
a baptism of fire or baptism of boiling saltwater when
he took command of the Brig John in seventeen sixty eight.
(07:06):
Jones came to be on the John because he quit
a slave ship mid journey in Jamaica. Whether he quit
because he had just absolutely had it with the slave trade,
or whether it was you know, other factors on that
ship one way or the other. He got off that
(07:27):
ship in Jamaica and said, I am not stepping back
onto that ship.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
So good for him.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
He yeah, he's he's not really interesting. Yeah, he's got asking, yes,
he well, yeah, he had his controversy. Yeah, he hitched
a ride home in exchange for working on the John,
(07:54):
and he got an unexpected promotion to captain the first
time he stepped on the ship. Because the captain and
the ranking mate died of yellow fever on the voyage,
no one on the crew had navigational skills, so they
ended up turning to the twenty year old Jones to
(08:16):
get them home because he had committed himself to learning navigation,
so he was like the only guy on that ship
who knew how to get them home. Years Yeah, and
twenty years old. Because about what you know is whether
you know it at the right moment.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Right, pussy had been doing it seven years though, right
if he started at thirteen, now at twenty, he's been
doing it seven years.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Knew it, but it was it was actually very odd
that he would have had those navigational skills because captains
and first mates. This was very secretive, Like this was
trade secret. Okay, okay, this was like Coca Cola's you
know formula, because because if nobody else knows how to
(09:13):
get the ship anywhere, it's really hard to mutiny hmm exactly.
So anyhow, he got the John Holme and that impressed
the ship's owners, so they made him captain, uh you
(09:36):
know right away. Now, despite his early and uh chronic
reputation for logging crewman, that captaincy got him on his
way to eventually commanding an impressive West Indiaman with twenty
(09:56):
two guns. Now that was not a British military ship.
That was a that was a merchant ship. But when
you're sailing around the Caribbean, you kind of need to
have guns, right, So he's command he's commanding this ship
with twenty two guns and that's how he got into
the upstart United States Navy because he killed a mutinous
(10:21):
crewman and fled to Virginia just in time for the
American Revolution. Well, I'm going to correct myself. He fled
to Virginia with an eighteen month biolography gap in there,
during which many historians are certain he was a pirating
(10:42):
in the Caribbean. He biographically crops up in Virginia, which
is where his brother had lived in seventeen seventy four.
And I want to say, in fairness about the whole,
you know, murdering a mutinous crew member thing. Jones later
(11:04):
claimed to Benjamin Franklin and others that the killing was
in self defense, but he did not think he was
going to get a fair trial in the admirals court
due to his reputation as a hard nosed captain and
the dead man's political connections. And that is an entirely
(11:25):
plausible story.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yeah, yeah, that happens today too.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's a very plausitive story. So,
you know, we're coming up on seventeen seventy five here, right.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
You want to stay, you want to take a second,
we can take a break, Yeah, take a break, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
What Yeah, let's do the break and come back to
seventeen seventy five.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And I'm going to suggest when we come back with
a mother may be of the US Navy, We'll be
right back. Everybody of veterans Voice Radio the US invades England,
Dan seventy eight.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
I'm doctor Tim Iinitis at Treasure Coast Dermatology. At Treasure
Coast Dermatology, we believe in the prevention and early detection
of skin cancer. We are medical doctors and we focus
on the medical aspects of dermatology. You don't need a
sales pitch for botox, collagen or wrinkle creams. You needed
a doctor that cares about you and the health of
your skin. We feel by not trying to do too much,
(12:24):
we can do more for our patients.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Call Tolfree eight seven seven eight seven zero dirm that's
eight seven seven eight seven zero three three seven six.
Meet Henry Bach, patient of Florida I Institute.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
After having the cataracts removed, it was a whole new
world for me. The colors were brilliant, It was painless.
It could almost says like being born all over again.
When I'm coming here is like coming home. Every was
so friendly and nice. It's just a wonderful experience.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Are you ready to experience truly exceptional patient care Florida
I Institute.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Hey, did you hear the latest about our Florida Highwoman?
Speaker 1 (13:08):
No?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
What, there's a new High Woman art gallery in Vero Beach.
Really where eighteen seventy two Commerce Avenue?
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Wow?
Speaker 4 (13:15):
When's it open?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Seven days a week called nine five four five five
seven six two two six for an appointment any time?
No kidding, Just call for your appointment ninety five four
five five seven six two two six and then go
to eighteen seventy two Commerce Avenue.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Wow, that's good news. A member of the Itex trading community,
your text dollars are welcome.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
And we're back on Arvid and Swiss Radio Show with
Ralph Nathan Oko.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Remember the attack of the US invading England seventeen seventy eight.
You're talking about a couple of years after the Thirteen
Colonies declare independence of England. It's only two years so
the Revolutionary War is still taking place, but for a change,
not on American soil, but on English soil. The theory
(14:09):
and the thought is phenomenal, But I would like to
make a recommendation and reading the bio for John Paul
Jones the father. Who knows who the father is. But
I propose, even though you said John Adams maybe one
of the fathers, I think that John Adams may be
the mother who gave birth. And that is because John
(14:31):
Adams was in the Congress, in the Continental Congress Marine
Marine Committee, and he's the one that pushed and pushed
and the spouse and forced a vote to create the
American Navy.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Okay, so you're saying he's the mother the.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Mother, that's my mode because he gave birth to the
Navy indirectly by being a member of the Continental Congress,
and politically he was already influential enough to swing the vote.
I yield to our internationally acclaimed reporter who's on the scene.
(15:11):
Did you, by the way, Patty, did you get a
chance to interview John Paul Jones.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
You know, I consulted some mediums and we're still working
on now, and I was gonna mention what you did,
John Adams, like there was actually a lot of opposition
to the concept of creating a continental Navy. Uh. It
(15:39):
is important to remember Britannica rules the waves like Britain
had the pre eminent navy of the time, and so
instead of a navy, what a lot of people preferred
to do was to give you know, tons of letter
of mark to sea captains to be privateers, and that
(16:02):
a way, you know, they could have their their you know,
they could lose their ships and it wouldn't cost the
Continental Congress anything, right writing a letter of mark, you know,
as a freebeet. Creating a navy from scratch that was
going to be really expensive. But because of his role
in creating the Navy, John Adams was also the the
(16:27):
the driving force behind creation of the Marines as well,
the Continental Marines as well. And the other two guys
mentioned as father of the Navy, Commodore John Berry and
Commodore Esick Hopkins. Esick Hopkins was the George Washington of
the High Fees, remembered nowhere outside of Rhode Island. He
(16:51):
was the first commander in chief the Continental Navy. He'd
probably done better politically after the war if he hadn't
inspired the nation's first whistleblower protection law by arresting ensuing
subordinates who tattled on him for torturing enemy sailors. That's
the whole whole other or so on it some time.
(17:14):
So in seventeen seventy five, Jones is in Virginia. He's
listening to the radio and he hears the village people's song.
In the navy, he didn't want to wait to enter
the recruiting office lest they were signing up new semen fast.
So Jones went and got himself an endorsement for a
(17:36):
commission in the nascent Continental Navy from the guy who
would write the resolution for independence that created a new nation,
that being Virginia Delegate Richard Henry Leet. And with that endorsement,
Jones was appointed to be first lieutenant on the twenty
four gun frigate USS Alfred, which the week before had
(17:59):
been the Merchantman Black Prince. While serving aboard the Alfred,
Jones displayed unique prowess at unconventional warfare on the water
and in amphibious operations. Others might have better claims to
(18:20):
being the father of the American Navy, but he's definitely
the father of the naval special warfare and Marine Corps forces.
Special operation's need. The upstart Continental Navy was short on
armament and powder, so Jones said, well, let's just go
(18:41):
take some gunpowder and cannon balls. Another armment from the British,
who are shooting at us. So they failed down to
the Bahamas with a plan that Jones came up with
worthy of a modern joint fields and Marine raiders operation.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
And this was his old stopping grounds.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Now, he was probably familiar with the Bahamas because you know,
when somebody is shooting at you, you just walk over
and take his guns, all right. So because of that brilliance,
Jones rose to the captaincy of the Alfred. But he
(19:23):
managed to annoy Brass and got himself a sidewaist the
motion to the slope Uss Providence another connent converted merchantman.
Among other duties, the providence participated in regularly attacking Nova Scotia,
most notably for Jones and the Providence the raid on Canso.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
The Canadians are still mad at us about that, but
they're way too polite to say anything about it. And
by the way, during the Nova Scotia operations, Jones captured
ten thousand winter uniforms. Those uniforms and other captured Canadian
supplies went to Valley Forge and saved countless American lives.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Right now, So that to him.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
Yeah, so Jones got the Offord back for a little while,
but staying in character, he pissed off the Brass. He
got another sideways the motion to commanding the USS Ranger.
The Brass happily put Jones on the Ranger and kicked
it east on a long voyage to France, which was
(20:32):
far far away, giving Jones no means to call them right.
His main job was to get communicates to Benjamin Franklin
and other officials in Europe. But not wanting to waste
any war, Jones captured two British merchant ships along the way.
Not bad. In France, Jones was promised command of a
(20:59):
forty frigate the Dutch were building for the Americans. Now,
up to this point, most of America's warships were converted merchantmen,
and this was a four purpose built warship with forty guns,
and the British pressured its sail to France. So Jones,
(21:21):
who wouldn't get his big, bad forty gunship after all,
But he's still had his eighteen six pound gun Ranger
and his bad attitude. So in April of seventeen seventy eight,
the grumpy Jones and the ranger rolled out a breast France,
(21:45):
headed for the Irish Sea to take his frustrations out
on British merchant ships. Here and there the Irish Sea
with a port named white Haven on it, the same
white Men where Jones had started his tailing career eighteen
years earlier. The white Haven Jones knew like the back
(22:10):
of his hand. So a week into the sortie, Jones
brought up an idea with the crew to invade England itself.
And Jones had just the place for such an assault
in mind. He knew where there'd be literally hundreds of
(22:34):
British fishing and merchant ships doc right white Haven. And
this was catnipped to the pissed off captain without a
forty gun. Frigate promised him. It's possible likely even that
Jones had secretly planned to attack white Haven before launching
(22:58):
to the Irish Seat. He just had to get the
crew drunk enough to think it was a good idea.
Bring on the drug. Yeah, now, I know we're coming
up on the second break and I want to get
into the white Haven raid after that break. So in
(23:21):
the meantime, Jones showed brilliance throughout his his naval career.
Probably his most famous moment was the Battle of Flamborough
Head in seventeen seventy nine. I have not yet begun
(23:44):
the fight, right, that's the quote we all remember from Jones.
That is not exactly what he said, but in seventeen
seventy nine. So we're jumping fireworks a year here he took.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
I think, go ahead, let's leave it a clip hanger.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Yeah yeah, okay, fact.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Time and we'll come back to the mouse roared. This
is our Veterans Voice Radio, April seventeen seventy eight. We'll
be right back. Everybody dry
Your tuned to Evergreen Media Network. I am Cindy Schwartz
and this is our Veterans Voice radio show with your host,
Ralph nathan Ilco.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
April seventeen seventy eight, US invades England. No, not nineteen
thirty eight, not h she Wells, not George Orwell War
of the Worlds, but one hundred and sixty years before
April seventeenth seventy eight, the US Navy invades England, and
(00:41):
here to hear the story is the international acclaimed worldwide
historical reporter, Our dear friend whose signature and autograph we
need in our collection, Patrick Patty McAllister.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Oh yeah, so yes, it was April seventeen seventy eight.
I want everybody to get into my time machine with me.
Don't worry, lots of room and we'll get you back
in time for dinner. An elite force of continental sailors
and marines predecessors of the modern Navy, seals and marine raiders,
(01:27):
slipped into an English port with a carefully crafted plan
to cripple the British merchant fleet and thus win the
War of Independence in one bold fail swoop. This mission
was dangerous. The entire war a New Nation's survival hung
(01:51):
in the balance. But the men were dedicated, They were trained,
They were ready with lightning speed, preternatural skill, and deadly accuracy.
The strikeforce emerged from the foggy black night. They ordered paints,
they got drunk, they took some kitchen stuff, and they
(02:14):
fought their way back to safety, well drunkenly fumbled their
way back to the ship. At least, no, it really happened.
Even if I am stretching things for comedy, you might
think the architect and commander of the only American incursion
into England itself during the War of Independence was an
(02:39):
incompetent ship captain fancying himself a privateer who dropped out
of the history book footnotes after the first draft, but
turns out to be a guy given the humble Moniker,
father of the American Navy, and the only known Mamori
(03:00):
mriole to the glorious American siege of white Haven is
in well, it's in white Haven, which is in England.
That's not in the United States. We just don't talk
about this underrated American operation, and really that's too bad.
(03:22):
So the architect was none other then I have not
yet begun to fight. John Paul Jones. No, not the
legendary led Zeppelin basin keyboard player. I'm talking about John
Paul Jones, the walking bad attitude with a captain's uniform,
(03:44):
that cantankerous old sea dog who was actually pretty good
at the whole naval warfare day. He just had a
pension for pissing off commanders, flogging subordinates, and never getting
the credit he deserved. He never made commodore, but did
achieve the rank of badass. John Paul Jones was one
(04:08):
of three sort of four men given the title Father
of the American Navy. Nobody's quite sure who the mother
of the American Navy is. She's never come forward to
claim that child. Others on the list are, of course,
Commodore John Barry, John Adams, and Commodore Esik Hopkins. To
(04:32):
understand Jones, you have to understand that he was born
John Paul John Paul Jones. That'll come later. He was
born John Paul on July sixth, seventeen forty seven. He
assumed the surname Jones later in life, coincidentally, after being
(04:54):
accused of a murder. I'm sure that's a coincidence. He
was a Scotsman born near his homeland's southwest coast. His
father was the head gardener on a large estate, so
Jones grew up the poor kid, wearing hand me downs
(05:14):
in a mansion. This gave him a perpetual disdain for
class divisions of nobility and commoner. To improve his prospects
in life, Jones got into merchant sailing when he was
(05:36):
thirteen years old. That was not an unusual time to
start apprenticeships back then. His first thirteen his first ship
sailed out of whitehn which is on England's northwest coast,
right next to Scotland. Failing eventually got Jones involved in
(05:59):
the Atlantic Antic slave trade, which turned him valiantly against
the Atlantic slave trade. Good now something to understand about Joanes.
Like I said, he was born to the poor kid
in the mansion, and he realized that the only thing
(06:21):
that was going to get him out of that commoner
station in life in the British Empire at that time
was a good education. And so he not only learned
how to sail from thirteen years old on, he really
(06:42):
committed himself to understanding everything there was to know about sailing.
And this is going to become very important. Jones got
a baptism of fire or baptism of boiling saltwater when
he took command of the Brig John in seventeen sixty eight.
(07:06):
Jones came to be on the John because he quit
a slave ship mid journey in Jamaica. Whether he quit
because he had just absolutely had it with the slave trade,
or whether it was you know, other factors on that
ship one way or the other. He got off that
(07:27):
ship in Jamaica and said, I am not stepping back
onto that ship.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
So good for him.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
He yeah, he's he's not really interesting. Yeah, he's got asking, yes,
he well, yeah, he had his controversy. Yeah, he hitched
a ride home in exchange for working on the John,
(07:54):
and he got an unexpected promotion to captain the first
time he stepped on the ship. Because the captain and
the ranking mate died of yellow fever on the voyage,
no one on the crew had navigational skills, so they
ended up turning to the twenty year old Jones to
(08:16):
get them home because he had committed himself to learning navigation,
so he was like the only guy on that ship
who knew how to get them home. Years Yeah, and
twenty years old. Because about what you know is whether
you know it at the right moment.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Right, pussy had been doing it seven years though, right
if he started at thirteen, now at twenty, he's been
doing it seven years.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Knew it, but it was it was actually very odd
that he would have had those navigational skills because captains
and first mates. This was very secretive, Like this was
trade secret. Okay, okay, this was like Coca Cola's you
know formula, because because if nobody else knows how to
(09:13):
get the ship anywhere, it's really hard to mutiny hmm exactly.
So anyhow, he got the John Holme and that impressed
the ship's owners, so they made him captain, uh you
(09:36):
know right away. Now, despite his early and uh chronic
reputation for logging crewman, that captaincy got him on his
way to eventually commanding an impressive West Indiaman with twenty
(09:56):
two guns. Now that was not a British military ship.
That was a that was a merchant ship. But when
you're sailing around the Caribbean, you kind of need to
have guns, right, So he's command he's commanding this ship
with twenty two guns and that's how he got into
the upstart United States Navy because he killed a mutinous
(10:21):
crewman and fled to Virginia just in time for the
American Revolution. Well, I'm going to correct myself. He fled
to Virginia with an eighteen month biolography gap in there,
during which many historians are certain he was a pirating
(10:42):
in the Caribbean. He biographically crops up in Virginia, which
is where his brother had lived in seventeen seventy four.
And I want to say, in fairness about the whole,
you know, murdering a mutinous crew member thing. Jones later
(11:04):
claimed to Benjamin Franklin and others that the killing was
in self defense, but he did not think he was
going to get a fair trial in the admirals court
due to his reputation as a hard nosed captain and
the dead man's political connections. And that is an entirely
(11:25):
plausible story.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yeah, yeah, that happens today too.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's a very plausitive story. So,
you know, we're coming up on seventeen seventy five here, right.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
You want to stay, you want to take a second,
we can take a break, Yeah, take a break, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
What Yeah, let's do the break and come back to
seventeen seventy five.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And I'm going to suggest when we come back with
a mother may be of the US Navy, We'll be
right back. Everybody of veterans Voice Radio the US invades England,
Dan seventy eight.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
I'm doctor Tim Iinitis at Treasure Coast Dermatology. At Treasure
Coast Dermatology, we believe in the prevention and early detection
of skin cancer. We are medical doctors and we focus
on the medical aspects of dermatology. You don't need a
sales pitch for botox, collagen or wrinkle creams. You needed
a doctor that cares about you and the health of
your skin. We feel by not trying to do too much,
(12:24):
we can do more for our patients.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Call Tolfree eight seven seven eight seven zero dirm that's
eight seven seven eight seven zero three three seven six.
Meet Henry Bach, patient of Florida I Institute.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
After having the cataracts removed, it was a whole new
world for me. The colors were brilliant, It was painless.
It could almost says like being born all over again.
When I'm coming here is like coming home. Every was
so friendly and nice. It's just a wonderful experience.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Are you ready to experience truly exceptional patient care Florida
I Institute.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Hey, did you hear the latest about our Florida Highwoman?
Speaker 1 (13:08):
No?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
What, there's a new High Woman art gallery in Vero Beach.
Really where eighteen seventy two Commerce Avenue?
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Wow?
Speaker 4 (13:15):
When's it open?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Seven days a week called nine five four five five
seven six two two six for an appointment any time?
No kidding, Just call for your appointment ninety five four
five five seven six two two six and then go
to eighteen seventy two Commerce Avenue.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Wow, that's good news. A member of the Itex trading community,
your text dollars are welcome.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
And we're back on Arvid and Swiss Radio Show with
Ralph Nathan Oko.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Remember the attack of the US invading England seventeen seventy eight.
You're talking about a couple of years after the Thirteen
Colonies declare independence of England. It's only two years so
the Revolutionary War is still taking place, but for a change,
not on American soil, but on English soil. The theory
(14:09):
and the thought is phenomenal, But I would like to
make a recommendation and reading the bio for John Paul
Jones the father. Who knows who the father is. But
I propose, even though you said John Adams maybe one
of the fathers, I think that John Adams may be
the mother who gave birth. And that is because John
(14:31):
Adams was in the Congress, in the Continental Congress Marine
Marine Committee, and he's the one that pushed and pushed
and the spouse and forced a vote to create the
American Navy.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Okay, so you're saying he's the mother the.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Mother, that's my mode because he gave birth to the
Navy indirectly by being a member of the Continental Congress,
and politically he was already influential enough to swing the vote.
I yield to our internationally acclaimed reporter who's on the scene.
(15:11):
Did you, by the way, Patty, did you get a
chance to interview John Paul Jones.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
You know, I consulted some mediums and we're still working
on now, and I was gonna mention what you did,
John Adams, like there was actually a lot of opposition
to the concept of creating a continental Navy. Uh. It
(15:39):
is important to remember Britannica rules the waves like Britain
had the pre eminent navy of the time, and so
instead of a navy, what a lot of people preferred
to do was to give you know, tons of letter
of mark to sea captains to be privateers, and that
(16:02):
a way, you know, they could have their their you know,
they could lose their ships and it wouldn't cost the
Continental Congress anything, right writing a letter of mark, you know,
as a freebeet. Creating a navy from scratch that was
going to be really expensive. But because of his role
in creating the Navy, John Adams was also the the
(16:27):
the driving force behind creation of the Marines as well,
the Continental Marines as well. And the other two guys
mentioned as father of the Navy, Commodore John Berry and
Commodore Esick Hopkins. Esick Hopkins was the George Washington of
the High Fees, remembered nowhere outside of Rhode Island. He
(16:51):
was the first commander in chief the Continental Navy. He'd
probably done better politically after the war if he hadn't
inspired the nation's first whistleblower protection law by arresting ensuing
subordinates who tattled on him for torturing enemy sailors. That's
the whole whole other or so on it some time.
(17:14):
So in seventeen seventy five, Jones is in Virginia. He's
listening to the radio and he hears the village people's song.
In the navy, he didn't want to wait to enter
the recruiting office lest they were signing up new semen fast.
So Jones went and got himself an endorsement for a
(17:36):
commission in the nascent Continental Navy from the guy who
would write the resolution for independence that created a new nation,
that being Virginia Delegate Richard Henry Leet. And with that endorsement,
Jones was appointed to be first lieutenant on the twenty
four gun frigate USS Alfred, which the week before had
(17:59):
been the Merchantman Black Prince. While serving aboard the Alfred,
Jones displayed unique prowess at unconventional warfare on the water
and in amphibious operations. Others might have better claims to
(18:20):
being the father of the American Navy, but he's definitely
the father of the naval special warfare and Marine Corps forces.
Special operation's need. The upstart Continental Navy was short on
armament and powder, so Jones said, well, let's just go
(18:41):
take some gunpowder and cannon balls. Another armment from the British,
who are shooting at us. So they failed down to
the Bahamas with a plan that Jones came up with
worthy of a modern joint fields and Marine raiders operation.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
And this was his old stopping grounds.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Now, he was probably familiar with the Bahamas because you know,
when somebody is shooting at you, you just walk over
and take his guns, all right. So because of that brilliance,
Jones rose to the captaincy of the Alfred. But he
(19:23):
managed to annoy Brass and got himself a sidewaist the
motion to the slope Uss Providence another connent converted merchantman.
Among other duties, the providence participated in regularly attacking Nova Scotia,
most notably for Jones and the Providence the raid on Canso.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
The Canadians are still mad at us about that, but
they're way too polite to say anything about it. And
by the way, during the Nova Scotia operations, Jones captured
ten thousand winter uniforms. Those uniforms and other captured Canadian
supplies went to Valley Forge and saved countless American lives.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Right now, So that to him.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
Yeah, so Jones got the Offord back for a little while,
but staying in character, he pissed off the Brass. He
got another sideways the motion to commanding the USS Ranger.
The Brass happily put Jones on the Ranger and kicked
it east on a long voyage to France, which was
(20:32):
far far away, giving Jones no means to call them right.
His main job was to get communicates to Benjamin Franklin
and other officials in Europe. But not wanting to waste
any war, Jones captured two British merchant ships along the way.
Not bad. In France, Jones was promised command of a
(20:59):
forty frigate the Dutch were building for the Americans. Now,
up to this point, most of America's warships were converted merchantmen,
and this was a four purpose built warship with forty guns,
and the British pressured its sail to France. So Jones,
(21:21):
who wouldn't get his big, bad forty gunship after all,
But he's still had his eighteen six pound gun Ranger
and his bad attitude. So in April of seventeen seventy eight,
the grumpy Jones and the ranger rolled out a breast France,
(21:45):
headed for the Irish Sea to take his frustrations out
on British merchant ships. Here and there the Irish Sea
with a port named white Haven on it, the same
white Men where Jones had started his tailing career eighteen
years earlier. The white Haven Jones knew like the back
(22:10):
of his hand. So a week into the sortie, Jones
brought up an idea with the crew to invade England itself.
And Jones had just the place for such an assault
in mind. He knew where there'd be literally hundreds of
(22:34):
British fishing and merchant ships doc right white Haven. And
this was catnipped to the pissed off captain without a
forty gun. Frigate promised him. It's possible likely even that
Jones had secretly planned to attack white Haven before launching
(22:58):
to the Irish Seat. He just had to get the
crew drunk enough to think it was a good idea.
Bring on the drug. Yeah, now, I know we're coming
up on the second break and I want to get
into the white Haven raid after that break. So in
(23:21):
the meantime, Jones showed brilliance throughout his his naval career.
Probably his most famous moment was the Battle of Flamborough
Head in seventeen seventy nine. I have not yet begun
(23:44):
the fight, right, that's the quote we all remember from Jones.
That is not exactly what he said, but in seventeen
seventy nine. So we're jumping fireworks a year here he took.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
I think, go ahead, let's leave it a clip hanger.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Yeah yeah, okay, fact.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Time and we'll come back to the mouse roared. This
is our Veterans Voice Radio, April seventeen seventy eight. We'll
be right back. Everybody dry
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