He entered his chosen profession by way of the slave trade in Jamaica, but found his first command by accident, when he was a passanger on a ship that lost both its captain and first mate en route to Scotland.
After one of his victories, the King of France awarded him a gold-hilted sword, although he had gone to Paris for the purpose of seeking funds for continued raiding. He entered his chosen profession by way of the slave trade in Jamaica, but found his first command by accident, when he was a passanger on a ship that lost both its captain and first mate en route to Scotland. Despite being accused of murdering Mungo Maxwell, he went on to command the Alfred, the Providence and the Ranger, though he would not captain the ship he made famous until 1779. When taking a British convoy defended by the Countess of Scarborough and more famously, the Serapis, he delivered a famous line. FTP, name the "father of the American navy" and captain of the Bonhomme Richard, who declared "I have not yet begun to fight."
After one of his victories, the King of France awarded him a gold-hilted sword, although he had gone to Paris for the purpose of seeking funds for continued raiding.
John Paul Jones