[Footnote 18]: It has been incorrectly stated that many wounded and prisoners were carried down with the ship. Jones, who was in a position to know, asserts the contrary.
[Footnote 19]: See Appendix No. III.
[Footnote 20]: Thackeray told an American friend that the account of the amazing capture of the Serapis by Paul Jones was one of the most extraordinary stories in naval annals, and Mrs. Ritchie, writing of her father's last days, says: "Sometimes we found him in great spirits, as when he had been reading about the famous fight of the Serapis, a stirring thing indeed."--Editor.
[Footnote 21]: Captain A. T. Mahan, U. S. N. (retired). The greatest authority, living or dead, on warfare on the sea, especially from the philosophical standpoint.
[Footnote 22]: She could only have engaged to starboard by crossing the path of the Richard, in which event she would have raked her, of course, with her port battery, and then have brought her starboard battery in play when she got alongside again.
[Footnote 23]: Italics mine.
[Footnote 24]: By resolution of the Marine Committee, dated September 5, 1776, this was, for captains: "A coat of blue cloth with red lapels, slashed cuffs, a stand-up collar, flat yellow buttons, blue breeches, and a red waistcoat with yellow lace." In Jones' case the "flat yellow buttons" were made of gold and the lace was woven of the same precious tissue. Nothing was too good for him, for the rank he supported, and the cause he upheld.
[Footnote 25]: See Appendix No. IV.
[Footnote 26]: Italics mine.
[Footnote 27]: Italics mine.