Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany Read Online Free PDF Page A

the Revolutionary War off the North American coast and also in raids on English shores. In 1776, on board Alfred , he hoisted by his own hand the first flag ever flown from a US warship, a yellow silk banner emblazoned with a rattlesnake. In his ship Ranger in 1777 he captured the British warship HMS Drake , the first man-of-war to surrender to a Continental Navy ship flying the Stars and Stripes. Jones became the toast of the French as well as the Americans for this action.
    He then put to sea in Bonhomme Richard with a small squadron to harass British merchantmen. Jones encountered a Baltic convoy of 44 vessels, escorted by the frigate HMS Serapis under the command of Captain Pearson. After a furious four-hour battle, Serapis came alongside Bonhomme Richard , which had been badly damaged. Pearson hailed Jones and asked if he was surrendering, to be told: ‘I have not yet begun to fight!’ Then Serapis caught fire and Jones seized his chance and boarded her, taking the vessel. Bonhomme Richard sank shortly afterwards and Jones sailed in Serapis to the Texel, where he was welcomed as a hero.
    Jones spent much of the rest of his life in France. In 1905, more than a century after his death in Paris, his remains were returned to the United States and entombed at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where his shrine, permanently guarded by a duty midshipman, is open to the public.

John Paul Jones .
N OBLE FORBEARANCE
    When the white ensign of HMS Bellerophon was shot away for the third time during the Battle of Trafalgar, Christopher Beaty, a yeoman of signals, refused to accept this affront to his ship. He hastily rummaged around for another one and then began to climb hand over hand up the mizzenmast with the flag wrapped around his shoulders. Almost instantly he was the target of enemy fire, but he pressed on doggedly. When he reached the top, he spread out the ensign and proceeded to attach the corners firmly to the shrouds so that it stood proud. At this point the French sharpshooters in the tops of L’Aigle suspended their fire in recognition of his courageous action and allowed Beaty to clamber back down unharmed.
    ----
    COPPER BOTTOMED – a pretty safe bet, often describing an investment. DERIVATION : in 1783 the Royal Navy started routinely sheathing the hulls of wooden warships with copper to prevent infestation from wood-destroying parasites such as the infamous gribble and teredo worms. This was seen to be very effective.
    ----

S EAMAN TO SAMURAI
    In Japan William Adams became known as ‘ Miura Anjin ’, the pilot of Miura, after the estate he was given in recognition of his services to his adopted country. An English navigator, Adams served under Francis Drake and was later recruited by the Dutch for their trading voyages to the East Indies.
    In April 1600, after more than 19 gruelling months at sea, the merchantman Liefde anchored off Kyushu in Japan. Adams was among what remained of the crew, just 20 sick and dying men. Initially believed to be pirates, they were seized and incarcerated. Adams was nearly executed, but as the fittest of the prisoners he was brought to Osaka for questioning. A powerful feudal lord who would later become shogun took a liking to him , eventually making him a diplomatic and trade adviser and bestowing great privileges on him.
    Adams supervised the building of several Western-style ships for the shogun, who conferred the rank and authority of a samurai on him. Although he had a wife and children in England, Adams married a Japanese woman and had another family with her, but he was forbidden to leave Japan.
    In 1611 a letter from Adams was received at the London offices of the East India Company. As a result they began sending ships to the Far East to trade with Japan. Adams facilitated similar arrangements with the Netherlands and personally became involved in Japan’s Red Seal trade, in which merchant sailing vessels conducted business with Southeast Asian ports under