Even after proving his innocence to the satisfaction of the empress, he could not regain his former position.
About this time his health began to fail. Sick, both in body and mind, he went back to Paris in 1790, having been in Russia about eighteen months.
It was nearly a year afterward, before he gave up all hope of regaining a position in the Russian service. When the empress refused him this, he quietly waited for death.
This occurred on the 18th of July, 1792, in his lodgings in Paris. His pride and love of titles had left him. He told his friends that he wished no longer to be called Admiral or Chevalier.
He wished to be simply a "citizen of the United States."
The National Assembly of France decreed him a public funeral, and many of the greatest men of the time followed his body to the tomb. The place of his burial has been forgotten.
The most enduring monument to his memory is to be found in the grateful recollections of his countrymen. The name of Paul Jones, the first naval hero of America, will not be forgotten so long as the stars and stripes float over the sea.