This our first naval battle was fought so near the Rhode Island shore, that the report of the guns was heard, and even the flashes were seen by those on the land. The Continental Gazette of May 29, 1776, gives the following quaint account of the conflict, from one who listened to the thunders booming over the waves.
“For several hours before and during the engagement, a vast number of cannon were heard from the southeast. About sunrise eight or ten sail of ships and brigs were seen a little to the eastward of Block Island. Indeed, the flashes of the cannon were seen by some people about daybreak. These things caused much speculation. But in a few hours the mystery was somewhat cleared up; for away came the poor Glasgow, under all the sail she could set, yelping from the mouths of her cannon like a broken-legged dog, as a signal of her being sadly wounded. And though she settled away, and handed most of her sails just before she came into the harbor, it was plainly perceived, by the holes in those she had standing, and by the hanging of her yards, that she had been treated in a very rough manner.”
Though Lieutenant Jones could not be blind to the want of nautical skill displayed in allowing the Glasgow to escape, he did not doubt that the commodore had done the best he could. Not a word of demur escaped his lips. In a letter to Hon. Mr. Hewes, he wrote:
“I have the pleasure of assuring you that the commander-in-chief is respected through the fleet. I verily believe that the officers, and men in general, would go any length to execute his orders.”
Another passage in the same letter throws such light upon the well-balanced and noble character of Lieutenant Jones that I cannot refrain from quoting it. He writes:
“It is certainly for the interests of the service that a cordial interchange of civilities should subsist between superior and inferior officers. Therefore it is bad policy in superiors to behave toward their inferiors as though they were of a lower species. Men of liberal minds, who have long been accustomed to command, can ill brook being thus set at naught by others who pretend to claim the monopoly of sense. The rude, ungentle treatment which they experience, creates such heart-burnings as are nowise consonant with that cheerful ardor and spirit which ought ever to be a characteristic of an officer. Therefore, whoever thinks himself hearty in the service, is widely mistaken when he adopts such a line of conduct in order to prove it. To be well obeyed it is necessary to be esteemed.”
Two courts-martial were held on board the Alfred. The captain of the Providence was dismissed from service. Lieutenant Jones was promoted to the captaincy of that sloop. The little fleet, having received a reinforcement of two hundred men, sailed from Providence, Rhode Island. The vessels having been refitted, it was necessary to enlist more men before any important enterprise could be undertaken. As most of the seamen had enlisted in the army, it was found very difficult to obtain men fit for naval service.
On the 18th of May, Captain Jones, after a passage of thirty-six hours, arrived in New York, where he devoted his time to shipping mariners. He was greatly interested in everything relating to the creation of a navy for the new nation of the United States, just entering into being. He wrote to Hon. Mr. Hewes:
“In my opinion a commander in the navy ought to be a man of strong and well-connected sense; a gentleman, as well as a seaman in theory and in practice. Want of learning, and rude, ungentle manners, are by no means characteristic of an officer.”
Captain Jones, having at length obtained the number of men required, in obedience to orders sailed for New London, where he took from the hospital all the seamen who had been left there sick, but who had recovered, and sailed for Providence, Rhode Island. Scarcely had he arrived there when he received orders from the commander-in-chief to come immediately down Narragansett Bay, to attack an English sloop-of-war, then in sight. He obeyed with alacrity. But the sloop had disappeared before he reached Newport. He was then ordered to Newburyport, to convoy a vessel with a cargo of cannon to New York, and then, returning, to convoy some vessels from Stonington to Newport.