Existing comment:
Captain, Continental Navy:
John Paul Jones, promoted to the rank of captain in the Continental Navy and ordered to command of the sloop-of-war Ranger, sailed to France, in November 1777. On February 14, 1778, he received the first salute to the Stars and Stripes given by a foreign power to the United States. In Ranger, Jones attacked the British coasts and captured HMS Drake. In 1779, he took Bonhomme Richard on a cruise around England, culminating with the capture of HMS Serapis on September 23, 1779. |