At the beginning of the Revolutionary War the Colonies had no real navy. Each colony sent out its own Privateers to prey on the British merchant ships. Privateers were basically state sanctioned pirates. Since these Privateer Vessels flew the flag of the Colony they were getting paid by the neutral countries out on the seas could not tell our ships from the pirates.
Early in the war, Light Horse Henry Lee noted the talent a young John Paul Jones had as a commander upon the waters and made sure that a ship was placed under Jones’ command. The USS Ranger, an 18 Gun Sloop, under the Command of Captain John Paul Jones was the FIRST American Navy Vessel to fly our American Flag at sea.
John Paul (he added Jones to his name sometime before he arrived in America) was born July 6, 1747 in Scotland. He started his naval career early at the age of 13 and served the British naval powers aboard many a merchant ship. He fled to America after one very rough tour that ended in Jones killing a sailor under his command who had an influential family.
On February 14, 1778 Jones convinced the Admiral of the French Fleet to exchange military salutes at sea with him, thereby receiving the first formal naval recognition of our flag by a foreign power.
On April 24, 1778 Jones struck the northern coast of Ireland baptizing our American Flag in its first victorious battle against the British sloop “Drake”. Just the first of many British ships to face off against Jones.
