Sam’s thoughts

(This article appeared in the Investor’s Business Daily newpaper on Friday, May 2, 2008 in the section entitled “Leaders & Success”  and was written by Curt Schleier–  notes at the end are mine). 

Sailor John Paul Jones Had Not Yet Begun to Fight  

AIM HIGH:  The naval officer’s guts and determination helped the new American nation crest to victory against the British

The way John Pual Jones saw it, you should do something 100% right or you shouldn’t do it at all.  More than anything, he wanted to be a naval officer.  As a child he pretended to be admiral of a fleet of rowboats manned by his friends.  He spent years apprenticing at sea to learn top-notch sailing skills. 

 But when the Continental Congress offered him his own ship, Jones (1747-92) turned it down. 

Though he had experience, it wasn’t on the kind of vessel being offered — a 70-foot, single-masted sloop.

  “He explained that he wasn’t confident that he could sail the sloop, whose giant gaff rig main sail was tricky and dangerous to handle… He thought he could learn more by taking a post as a No.2 aboard a larger, square-rigged ship,” biographer Evan Thomas wrote in “John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy.”

Self-improvement was a Jones constant.  Even after his victories at sea, he continued studying ships and tactics.  That focus helped hom become a Revolutionary War hero and jump-start the U.S. Navy.

John Paul–he added Jones to his name later–was the son of a landscaper on a large estate in Scotland.  His proximity to wealth and influence, however, couldn’t get him an appointment to the royal navy’s midshipman’s berth, an opportunity that required social connections. 

Jones refused to let his disappointment deter him or his ambition.  So at age 13 he signed on as an apprentice on a ship.  Eagerly watching older sailors, practicing knots on his own and asking constant questions, he mastered the seaman’s trade.

In Jamacia, he caught a ride back to Scotland on the ship John.  The ship’s captain died en route, and Jones was the only one aboard with the skills to navigate  the ship across the Atlantic.  On the lookout for opportunity, he jumped at the chance.   When he brought the ship home safely, the owners rewarded him with his first command, at age 21.

Fastidious about his ship, Jone wasn’t easy to work for.  However, he was devoted to good seamanship and demanding of himself.  This inspired confidence from the sailors under his command.

“They usually distrusted captains who were slack or sloppy,” Thomas wrote.  “Taut ships were happy ones if every man knew his duty and the captain showed steadiness and good seamanship.”

Jones’ successes won him larger commands on merchant ships.

He was in Philadelphia when the Colonies declared their independence.  Remembering how cruelly the British had treated his Scottish forebearers and kept him from the Royal Naval Academy, Jones decided it was time for action.

He volunteered with the Colonies.

After turning down his first posting, he received a commission as a lieutenant and landed an assignment to the Alfred.

The odds weren’t in his favor.  At the time, Britain ruled the waves.  The U.S. had just a few ships manned by sailors ready to desert at the first sign of adversity.  Many of those who stayed were more interested in snaggin their share of booty from captured merchant vessels than in fighting the British.

Jones knew the best chance of surviving–and winning–lay in perfect execution. So he drilled his gun crews again and again.

Despite his victories, life was rough.  Keeping crews motivated was difficult on long sails.  Politics and favoritism resulted in promotions for less talented officers.  But he refused to let his spirits sink.  “Unwilling to look back, he was able to forge ahead,” Thomas wrote.

Jones kept his sights on the broader horizon.  He bombarded the Continental Congress’ Marine Committee with suggestions for inprovements, because he envisioned the U.S. as a might sea power.

Jones speant hours thinking about ways to capitalize on the Navy’s strengths.  Figuring that a strong offense might be a strong defense, Jones recommended that the U.S. capture the island of St. Helena, off the coast of Africa.  He suggested that the Navy sail off the coast of England, attacking British towns.

His constant arguments finally persuaded officials, and Jones traveled to France.  There he sailed specifically to run interference with British merchant ships.

In 1779, the French gave him an old ship, which he renamed the Bonhomme Richard.

In the fall of that year, he set sail with several other ships and encountered British merchant ships and the HMS Serapis.  His accompanying vessels, out of fear or greed, aboandoned him.  Determined to stand his ground, Jones decided to fight the larger warship on his own.

The battle lasted more than four hours.  His ship came close to sinking (and did sink the next day).  Yet Jones refused the opposing captains call for surrender.  While historians have no proof that he said “I have not yet begun to fight,” they agree that he might have said something similar.

Jones had prepared for the battle.  He’d placed marksmen high in the rigging, the better to fire downward on the enemy; most other captains feared that flintlock weapons could cause the sails to burn.  Then one of the sailors up high threw grenades into the open hold of the Serapis, causing its munitions to explode and the battle to end.

It was the first naval victory of the Revolutionary War.

Lessons Learned:

1.  Know your own strengths, weaknesses, and inadequacies and place yourself in possitions to learn from others.

2.  There is no such thing as “over preparation” while choosing your tasks wisely and striving for excellence.

3.  Know your enemy (Satan for one) and use “grenades” of prayer to blow up enemy ships.

4.  Lead by example and be willing to take calculated risks

5.  Being careful to know what to say “yes” and “no” to when it comes to opportuities

6.  Don’t let anyone rob you of your focus or vision. ..don’t look back (Luke 9:62)

7.  Self improvement needs to be a constant in a leader’s life…leaders are distrusted when they are sloppy.

8.  Being self demanding inspires confidence in others…everyone likes a taut ship.

9.  Don’t let discouragement render you helpless…it’s the stuff that perseverance is made of …fight the “good fight of faith” (I Tim. 6:12) … when everyone else wants to quit, let them hear you say “I have not yet begun to fight”.

10.  Stand alone, even when others abandon you (like Jesus).

Tags: Sailor John Paul Jones Had Not Yet Begun to Fight

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