John Paul Jones T-Shirt

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The first 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. The first man to raise the U.S. standard on a naval vessel. The first American commander to attack Great Britain during the Revolutionary War. The first man to defeat and capture a British Naval Warship of any substance.

John Paul Jones was kind of a badass. Starting his career on the high seas at the age of 13 on slave ships, Jones quickly became an invaluable asset on every ship he stepped foot on, rapidly achieving the rank of 1st mate. Jones rapidly came to detest the slave trade and quit outright, essentially starting his career over again. He came to prominence on the brig John, when both the captain and first mate died of yellow fever and Jones successfully returned the boat with a decimated crew back to England.

Shortly thereafter he left for America and never looked back, leaving his wealth behind and taking one of the first commands in the U.S. Navy against the British. In that role he was nothing if not aggressive, attacking all forms of British vessels, attacking several town in the Britain at great personal risk, and famously capturing the HMS Drake with his ship the U.S.S. Ranger (that’s right – the Ranger – named after Roger’s Rangers).

Jones was the first naval hero in our country’s history and while he was often overly aggressive and controversial (he beat two men to death for disobedience and attempted to court martial his first mate in the capture of the Drake) his bold actions and fearless charges into battle, often against significant odds, set the standard for U.S. Naval Warefare.