When he was asked the number of the Americans about to descend upon them, Hon Yost pointed to the leaves of the trees to indicate a legion.
It is given by one authority that St. Leger was himself becoming as apprehensive of his red-faced allies as he was of the enemy he was fighting.
The fears he had sought to instill in the minds of the garrison were now returned upon his own head.
THE KNIGHT OF THE SEA
(Our First European Salute)
INSEPARABLY connected with the Stars and Stripes must ever be the name of John Paul Jones.
The “Untitled Knight of the Sea,” the Duchess de Chartres—mother of Louis Philippe, afterward King of France; and granddaughter of a high admiral of France—was fond of calling him. For albeit John Paul Jones was of Scotch peasant ancestry, his associates were people of the highest intellect and rank. In appearance he was handsome; in manner prepossessing; and in speech he was a linguist, having at easy command the English, French, and Spanish languages. His surname was Paul. The name Jones was inherited with a fine plantation in America.
The call of the sea was strong to the lad and of its dangers he had no fear. An old seaman one day watched him handle a fishing yawl in a heavy storm and thought he could never weather the squall. “That is my son, John,” said his father calmly. “He will fetch her in all right. It is not much of a squall for him.” The man complimented the boy and offered him a berth on his ship then bound for America, little dreaming that in so doing he would carry to the New World the Father of the American Navy.
Studious and ambitious, the boy devoted his leisure moments to acquiring the most intricate knowledge of his profession and soon held positions of command. When the news of the battle of Lexington reached him, he offered his services to Congress. He was made First Lieutenant of the Alfred, and over this ship hoisted the first emblem shown on an American naval vessel. The design of this flag was a pine tree with a rattlesnake coiled at the roots and the motto, “Don’t tread on me,” on a background of yellow silk.
June 14th, 1777, was made notable in American annals by the resolution passed by Congress for a new flag. Embodied in the resolution the name of John Paul Jones appears thus: —