THE MEN WHO HELPED WIN INDEPENDENCE BY FIGHTING ENGLAND ON THE SEA
JOHN PAUL JONES, A SCOTCHMAN, WHO WON THE GREAT VICTORY IN THE FRENCH SHIP, "BON HOMME RICHARD"
John Paul born in Scotland
100. John Paul. In 1747, in far-away Scotland, on the arm of the sea called Solway Firth, a great sailor was born. John Paul played along the seashore, saw tall ships, and heard wonderful stories of a new land called America, whose ships filled with tobacco came into the firth.
Sails on the "Friendship" to America
John Paul did not get much schooling, and at the age of thirteen he went as a sailor lad on the Friendship to America. The ship sailed into Chesapeake Bay and up the Rappahannock River to the town of Fredericksburg, where he found his brother William living on a plantation. In the very same town where George Washington had just been to school, John Paul also went to school. He studied hard to make up for lost time, and left a great name among the boys.
Returns and sails for Africa