Admiral Jones seems to have been born insensible to fear. Amidst the most terrific scenes of death and destruction, he moved with as unperturbed a spirit as if he were merely contending with an ordinary storm at sea. Much of the time, he was in the same gun-boat with the Prince of Nassau. The prince had the good sense to be guided by the advice of the officer who was, in every respect, so vastly his superior. The victory was decisive for the Russians. Two of the Turkish ships were burned. The Turkish flotilla of fifty-seven vessels was driven from the ground it had occupied, to seek protection under the heavy guns of the squadron. As the battle was mainly conducted by the gun-boats, the admiral left all the honor with the Prince of Nassau. Still, Admiral Jones formed the plan, and guided in all the tactics of the strife. And he could not prevent it from being whispered, that the honor of the victory really belonged to himself. This annoyed the Prince of Nassau.
Alluding to this fact, Admiral Jones wrote, on the 11th of June, in a letter to Mr. Littlepage, chamberlain of the King of Poland:
“Prince Potemkin wrote me a letter of thanks for the affair of the 7th. If the honor had been ten times greater, I should have renounced it altogether, in favor of the Prince of Nassau. But I am sorry to say he is too jealous to be content with my self-denial. Perhaps he is ill-advised without knowing it. There is nothing consistent with my honor that I would not do, to make him easy. I am the more in pain, as I understand he spoke favorably of me to Prince Potemkin before I arrived. If he now becomes my enemy, I shall not imitate his example. It was my intention to pay him a compliment, when I said in my letter to the prince, ‘that he had taken my counsel in good part, in the affair of the 7th.’ I showed the Prince of Nassau[Nassau] that letter, and he seemed pleased with it. In the affair, he embraced me, and said we “should always make but one.“ But now I find a false construction has been put upon my letter, and his jealousy supersedes every noble sentiment.”
Ten days after this, Admiral Jones again wrote to Mr. Littlepage, in which letter he says:
“I have put up with more from the Prince of Nassau than, under other circumstances, I could have done from any man who was not crazy. I can no more reckon upon his humor than on the wind. One hour he embraces me, and the next he is ready to cut my throat.”
As we have mentioned, the naval force of the Turks far exceeded that of the Russians. The Turkish admiral, whose title seems to have been “Capitaine Pasha,” was a man of decided ability. Admiral Jones had been led to form a very high opinion of his character both as an officer and a gentleman. He had formed the plan to make a sudden and unexpected attack, with his whole force of ships and gun-boats, upon the Russian flotilla and squadron; by running down the gun-boats and throwing a shower of fire-balls upon the squadron, he hoped to destroy the whole fleet.
CHAPTER XV.
Adventures in the Black Sea.
The First Battle.—Folly of the Prince of Nassau.—Inefficiency of the Gun-boats.—Burning of the Greek Captives.—Humanity of Jones.—Alienation between the Admiral and the Prince of Nassau.—The Second Conflict.—-Annoyances of the Admiral.—Hostility of the English.—Necessary Employment of Foreign Seamen.—Disgrace of Nassau.—Transference of the Admiral to the Baltic.
It was the plan of Admiral Jones, to anticipate the contemplated attack of the Capitaine Pasha, and so to weaken him as at least to embarrass his movements. The plan he proposed was so necessary and apparently so feasible, that it was accepted by all the officers. During the night, as the wind did not favor, he warped the ships of his squadron, by means of their anchors, to the positions he wished them to occupy. The next morning, which was the 17th of June, 1788, the wind was fresh and fair. At the earliest dawn the admiral signalled for all his war ships to bear down upon the Turkish fleet, which was before him in the broad shallow bay, at the distance of but a few miles. The gun-boats, under the command of the Prince of Nassau, followed tardily behind the squadron. Their progress was so slow, though there was no occasion whatever for the delay, that the admiral had to halt twice, in order to allow the gun-boats to come up with him.
