Keep On! A
Reminder from John Paul Jones
By Michaela Pieczynski
The brisk air of the British Atlantic coastline nipped at
the faces of the American crew aboard the Bonhomme Richard. As the
rising sun met the Americans, the gallant Captain John Paul Jones stood upon
the deck of his mighty vessel.
Sails with British colors glistened in the distance, outline two British
ships, the Serapis and the Countess
of Scarborough. The approaching vessels fired at the American ship, and the
presence of a second ship only increased the odds.
The sight of battle never startled Jones. Nevertheless, the single American ship
battled fairly with the two enemy ships.
Cannon fire echoed in the distance while strident men shouted
orders. The morning sky was filled
with cannon fire. The
three-and-a-half hour battle started poorly for the Americans, but courageous
Jones tried to overcome the British cannon fire by merging close to the enemy
vessel, yet the Serapis’s cannon fire
tore through the heart of Jones’s ship.
Just when victory seemed hopeless, a British officer exclaimed over the
crash of gunfire, “Do you ask for a quarter?”
American spirits were lifted as Captain John Paul Jones rose
up boldly and said, “I have not yet begun to fight!”
Although his ship was being engulfed by cold Atlantic
waters, Jones continued to pound away at the British. Finally, the British captain of the Serapis had fallen, causing the Countess of
Scarborough to flee from American
hands. The American crew
commandeered the British warship and watched the Bonhomme Richard sink beneath blood-stained waters.
Jones and his men hoisted American colors and set sail to
Paris, leaving an American victory at sea—the first great victory at sea.
John Paul Jones had the courage and heart of a true American. Though his life was at stake, Jones
never gave up—even when his ship was sinking. All of Jones’s energy he channeled into his duty. As a result of his faith, loyalty, and
love to America, John Paul Jones helped his nation to win her first naval battle. From John Paul Jones, I have been
encouraged never to give up, no matter how hopeless the battle may seem.
