John Paul Jones: Father of the American Navy

<BODY> <h2>John Paul Jones: Father of the American Navy</h2><br> <B>Associated Article:</B> <I>Home is the Sailor: John Paul Jones</I> -Smithsonian Magazine<BR> <B>Jack McKenzie</B> stars in this historical re-enactment on the life of the Revolutionary War hero, <B>John Paul Jones</B> (1747 - 1792), the "father of the American Navy." <B>Andrew Faulds</B> hosts and narrates throughout the biography, as we learn the story of the man who, as Commodore of the <I>Bonhomme Richard</I>, rejected the British demand for surrender, uttering the famous saying, "I have not yet begun to fight," and went on to defeat the larger vessel, the <I>Serapis</I>. Here we learn the story of this heroic American, who was actually born John Paul in Scotland. Having killed a mutinous crewman in the West Indies, he escaped to Virginia and added the surname of Jones before joining the Continental Navy. Though hailed a hero in Paris and Philadelphia for his great cunning and courage, he encountered such stiff political rivalry at home that after the Revolution he never again held a major American command at sea. Victimized in Russia, he retired and died in Paris, where his remains stayed buried until after much effort, when they were ceremoniously returned to America in 1913 and today are interred in a bronze and marble sarcophagus at the United States Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Maryland. Produced by Interama, Inc. 08DR/CL IJSCA 30 min. <A HREF="index.htm" target=_top>Home</a><br> </BODY>