Captain Jones’ second visit to Portsmouth, NH ended badly. After a year of waiting to gain command of the AMERICA, largest ship built to date in North America, he lost the ship to the French. Then Ebenezer Hogg's lawsuit added insult to injury. Jones had to rely on Durham, NH lawyer John Sullivan, who offered him some good advice – duck out of town!
It couldn't have been a worse time for a lawsuit. Although John Paul Jones had returned to Portsmouth a conquering hero after his famous raid on Britain in THE RANGER, by November 1782 his up and down career was ebbing again. By order of Congress Jones had spent much longer than he planned getting the Portsmouth-built ship of the line AMERICA ready to sail. As with RANGER, the job of fitting out, manning and provisioning AMERICA had been hard going. Disputes with ship builder John Langdon had been as contentious as before and months dragged into nearly a year of arduous preparation.
The lawsuit had been merely a nuisance. Ebenezer Hogg of Boston, one of Jones' former crewman on the BONHOMME RICHARD, claimed he was owed 21 pounds and 18 shillings for services rendered during the ship's successful guerilla raid on the British Isles in 1779. According to the suit filed in New Hampshire's Hillsborough County, Jones' estate was to be attached for a total of 30 pounds to include legal costs. Mr. Jones "still neglects & refuses to pay" the suit contended. Jones may have been in a financial pinch himself. The Virginia farm he inherited from his brother William had been lost and burned by the British. Although the Chevalier often paid his crews and ship expenses from his own pocket, he was rarely compensated by the poor young US Congress. In fact, four decades after his death, Paul Jones niece unsuccessfully petitioned the Congress for prize money due to his estate.
For a while in 1782, enjoying his triumphant return to Portsmouth, Jones must have believed the worst of his financial troubles were over. He would soon be in charge of AMERICA. The AMERICA was the finest and largest warship ever built in the New World, and as commander, Jones would sail her into history as he had the RANGER and BONHOMME. There would be victories, prize money from captured British ships, and most of all, Jones would obtain the position of rear admiral in the Continental Navy that he so richly desired and deserved.
But the bottom fell out of John Paul Jones' dream that very fall. AMERICA, he was told as the ship came close to completion, would not be his to command after all. The French had recently wrecked their own battleship MAGNIFIQUE at Boston Harbor, and in thanks for their military support in the past, Congress promised the completed AMERICA to the French. Embittered, Jones stuck to his assignment and prepared the giant ship for service. Then on November 5, 1782 John Paul Jones gave up his ship. It was the darkest day of his career, he later wrote.
Aldrich's Bad Boy Live May 9 - 11, 2008 Note -- Sunday show is matinee -- Pontine Theatre celebrates the 100th Anniversary of Portsmouth's Thomas Bailey Aldrich Memorial with it's original stage adaptation of the author's 1869 novel, THE STORY OF A BAD BOY. Co-Directors, Greg Gathers and Mar...
Salmon Falls Mill Open Studios May 10, 2008 ROLLINSFORD -- On Saturday, May 10, 2008, the Artists of the Mills at Salmon Falls will open their studios from 11am to 5pm. Just in time for Mother’s Day, this annual Spring event draws guests from all over New England to the rejuvenated historic mil...
Macbeth in Rochester May 10, 2008 "Macbeth," Shakespeare's great play of temptation, ambition and seduction, is the Rochester Opera House's annual Shakespearean production for the 2007-2008 season.
The Scottish tragedy centers on Macbeth's bloody rise to power, in which gui...
Tea with John Paul Jones May 11, 2008 PORTSMOUTH – Enjoy a Mother’s Day tea with brave Captain Jones, 18th Century Style at the John Paul Jones House 43 Middle St Portsmouth from 2-4 pm on May 11, 2008.
Price: $15 ($12 members of Portsmouth Historical Society)
Plan your Mother’s Day ...
Mother’s Day Tea d’ Jazz May 11, 2008 EXETER -- Bring your mother, family, friends to hear Jazz trumpeter Tom Palance and his Jazz Quartet – piano, drums, bass and trumpet, in a variety of swing jazz favorites and familiar standards of yesteryear. Elegant tearoom seating, teas, coffees, dr...
Mistral - No Ordinary Women May 11, 2008 PORTSMOUTH -- Celebrate Mother’s Day at The Music Hall! This acclaimed Boston-based ensemble will be providing high spirits and serious music making as they focus on inspirational works by women composers. Treat your mother, wife, or sister to chamber m...
UNH Symphony May 11, 2008 The University of New Hampshire Department of Music presents the UNH Concert Choir under the direction of William Kempster and the UNH Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Larry Veal in concert on Sunday afternoon, May 11, 2008 beginning at 3:00 p....
Evening with Ozomatli May 11, 2008 PORTSMOUTH -- Los Angeles’ legendary, double Grammy-Award winning, favorite sons Ozomatli, the 10-man rock/rap collective from Los Angeles performing a globalized Hispanic funk, with roots in salsa, merengue, hip-hop, and Middle Eastern music. Through t...
Greenability Lecture & Soup May 12, 2008 EXETER -- Blue Moon Natural Foods, 8 Clifford Street, Exeter, celebrates its thirteenth year with “an intergenerational green initiative” that includes three different cooking series running through May. The anniversary schedule of events promoting h...
Sea Dogs: Celebrating 15 Years May 13, 2008 PORTLAND -- Charlie Eshbach, President/General Manager, Portland Sea Dogs, will celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Sea Dogs with the publication of a new history of the team, “The Portland Sea Dogs: Images of Baseball.” FREE
