The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
Issue link: http://sar.epubxp.com/i/462055
18 SAR MAGAZINE Miss.; Mobile, Ala.; and Pensacola, Fla. His troops captured Nassau, Bahamas, and were about to take the English pearl in the Caribbean—Jamaica—when the English decided they had had enough. There's a statue of him near the State Department. The city of Galveston, Texas, got its name from him, and St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana is a nod in his honor to his patron saint and namesake. The committee dug up a Congressional resolution from 1783 ordering the portrait to be "placed in the room in which Congress meets." Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) got the ball rolling in the House of Repre- sentatives, and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), a Cuban American and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led the movement in the U.S. Senate. A national committee was formed, which included members of the SAR and DAR; The Texas Connection to the American Revolution in San Antonio, Texas; Los Bexarenos Genealogical Society of San Antonio, Texas; and the Order of the Granaderos y Damas de Galvez in San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans and Jacksonville, Fla. A letter-writing campaign proved to be successful. Graciani called Manuel Olmedo Checa, the Galvez association member in Malaga who had unearthed the 1783 letter. He knew that a portrait with an impressive provenance was kept in a private collection in Malaga. That painting had reputedly been commissioned by the Spanish King Carlos III to honor Galvez after his return from the Americas. A well-known Spanish artist, Carlos Monserrate, offered to copy the portrait as a donation. And so it was that in June 2014, Graciani received an oil painting, roughly 3 by 4 feet, of Bernardo de Galvez, posed in an elegantly embroidered suit with a medal pinned to his chest. With the assistance of PG Dooley, she placed it for safekeeping with the Daughters of the American Revolution, where it stayed until Dec. 9, 2014, when a crew hung it on the west wall of S-116, a compact but ornate room that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee uses to mark up bills and to host official coffees with heads of state. There was a small ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 9, in the Capitol. With only two days' advance notice of the ceremony, I was unable to attend. PG Dooley represented the SAR at the ceremony. Contribute to the Erection of a Statue of Galvez in Galveston, Texas SAR members should be aware that there currently is a campaign to raise funds for the erection of a statue of Galvez on horseback in the city named for him— Galveston, Texas (see page 36 for more information, along with a photo of a miniature representation of the sculpture). This is a project of the Galveston, Texas, SAR Bernardo de Galvez Chapter. The cost of the statue and necessary landscaping currently is estimated at $400,000. Please send a tax-deductible contribution to: Bill Adriance, Co-Chair Statue Committee, SAR Bernardo de Galvez Chapter #1, P.O. Box 1, Galveston, TX 77553. By Samuel P. Donovan M ost students remember Capt. John Paul Jones and his victory over the mighty HMS Serapis, his defiant cry of "I have not yet begun to fight," and the sinking of his lowly ship, the Bonhomme Richard. However, few know that Jones' favorite ship, and the one he captained the longest, was not the Richard. Rather, the ship Jones terrorized the British public with was the Ranger. Jones was given command of the Ranger by Congress in 1777, and was ordered to sail to France to deliver news of the Battle of Saratoga. Though late in delivering the news, he was welcomed by the French, who opened their ports to him. Jones, who thought Britain was not as invincible as it seemed, decided to take the fight to the British homeland. He believed that raids on the British coast would shock and hurt the relatively coddled British public and make the war unpopular, leading to the end of hostilities and an American victory. With a multitude of French ports along the channel coast, Jones could disappear and reappear at will, aiding his raiding tactics. In 1778, Jones sailed the Ranger for Britain in hopes of treasure, fear and victory. Jones was on the lookout for ships to attack, prisoners to take, and ports to burn as he sailed through the Irish Sea. He made for Whitehaven Port, which contained many ships. Arriving at night, Jones quieted a mutiny aboard his ship before sending out his crew in two small boats to the harbor. Jones personally led his men into the harbor's fort and disabled the cannons. A short time later, his men found liquor and promptly became drunk, enticing a deserter to warn the townspeople. Jones quickly set one ship aflame before hastily loading his drunken men into his boats before the townspeople arrived. Safe aboard the Ranger, Jones was unsatisfied with the burning of only one ship. He then set sail across the Irish Sea to St. Mary's Isle, intending to take the resident Earl of Selkirk prisoner in exchange for American POWs. Arriving at the isle, he discovered that the earl was away on a trip. Not content to leave empty-handed, Jones liberated the earl of his silverware. The British Navy heard of Jones' exploits and sent an entire squadron out to find him. Jones, undaunted, sailed back across the Irish Sea to fight the Drake, a British sloop the same size and same armament as the Ranger. Jones approached and engaged the British ship, quickly routing the Drake and outgunning the British with his now well- drilled men. Jones, finally satisfied, sailed back to France with the captured Drake. Jones was ordered to give up the Ranger, but was promised a new ship in return. When he went to inspect his new ship, however, he was bitterly disappointed. The Duc de Duras was new only to the French Navy, as its rotten flanks sagged and the masts leaned haphazardly. Jones quickly set about refitting his ship, not knowing that this rotten bucket would carry him to immortality. His life on the Ranger had ended; his career on the newly renamed Bonhomme Richard had begun. Resources Thomas, Evan. John Paul Jones. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Cooper, Michael. "Hero of the High Seas: John Paul Jones and the American Revolution." Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2006. Eagle Scout Scholar Essay John Paul Jones and the USS Ranger About the Author Eagle Scout Scholar Samuel P. Donovan is a 2014 graduate of Helias High School in Jefferson City, Mo. Continued from page 17