JOHN PAUL JONES RELICS
There are but three articles in the National Museum which serve as relics of the great naval hero of revolutionary times, whose remains were recently unearthed in Paris by Ambassador Porter. The three articles are in a case containing mementos of the Revolution, and they consist of an old flag which flew at the masthead of the Bon Homme Richard, an old flintlock musket, and a fierce-looking cutlass, both of which were captured from the Serapis when Jones took that ship in the famous engagement of September, 1779.
The flag of the Bon Homme Richard is an interesting relic of the period. It was originally sixteen feet long. It has twelve white stars, and four red and four white stripes. During the battle between the Richard and the Serapis this flag was worn by Jones’ ship, and it was saved by Jones when he and his crew left his sinking vessel for the Serapis—Washington Star.