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JOHN PAUL JONES in Portsmouth
With no surviving plans or sketches, the Portsmouth-built warship RANGER, like
its captain John Paul Jones, remains intriguingly mysterious. Although often missed
in textbooks, the RANGER played a large role in the small Continental Navy. (Bill
Gilkerson illustration used with permission)
..proceed with her [Ranger] in the manner you
shall judge best for distressing the Enemies of
the United States by sea or otherwise.
--- Order to John Paul Jones from US Congress
Early in 1777 Portsmouth's John Langdon believed he was building the sloop of
war HAMPSHIRE for his friend Captain John Roche, but the Continental Navy had
other ideas. Roche was officially removed from the mission for misconduct and
replaced by an opinionated foreigner with a Scottish brogue named Jones. The HAMPSHIRE
was renamed RANGER perhaps for the riflemen of the famous "Robert's Rangers."
Their leader, Robert Rogers, had recently married the daughter of Portsmouth's
highly influential Rev. Arthur Brown.
One could say there were really two versions of RANGER, the first designed by
John Hackett of Portsmouth, the second reconfigured by John Paul Jones himself after the journey to France. With no written plans ever found, the Ranger
is assumed to have inherited much of its design characteristics from the larger
RALEIGH and the PORTSMOUTH, both recently completed by Hackett.
Off to France and into History
Jones and Langdon battled over rigging, artillery, and provisioning as three
months dragged on and Captain Jones struggled to find a crew. His handbill advertising
the RANGER mission is technically the first recruiting poster in American Naval
history. In the end, the Piscataqua sailors of the historic 1777 voyage were not
sailors at all, and had their minds set, not on winning glory for America, but
on privateering, plunder and a quick trip home.
In December, after a speedy voyage to France, Jones and Ben Franklin managed
to obtain French funds to replace RANGER's sails and completely refit and rig
the ship for the increased speed and maneuverability needed to run a one-ship
guerrilla campaign. The RANGER gunports were disguised so ship and crew could
be easily mistaken for a British ship. After the pre-arranged salute to the American
flag by the French at Quiberon Bay, Jones again returned to port to customize
RANGER further.
RANGER won its place in history over two short days in 1778 with a near mutinous
crew. Though both the American lieutenants aboard refused to participate, Jones
managed to get two boatloads of men to row into the British port of Whitehaven
and cause a ruckus. Jones himself and his group managed to put two sets of artillery
out of commission. Although traitors among his own landing party warned the townspeople,
Jones managed to set fire to some small boats before escaping from an onrush of
local citizens.
Back on RANGER hours later, Jones organized another landing party to attempt
the kidnap of the Earl of Selkirk in Scotland. Jones planned to trade the wealthy
landowner for American prisoners held in England, but the Earl was out of town.
Although he is often depicted wooing the Countess of Selkirk, Jones did not accompany
his men when they knocked on the door of the mansion and demanded the family silver.
The robbery was a gentlemanly one with the Piscataqua pirates stopping for a glass
of wine. Later Jones would buy the Selkirk booty back from his men and return
it to Lady Selkirk with a heartfelt apology.
French admirers had called the sleek American sloop design a "perfect jewel"
and it was now that RANGER showed her worth. In Ireland Jones met HMS DRAKE. Jones
captured the advance party sent aboard and instigated a bloody battle that lasted
just over an hour. The British surrendered leaving Jones with 200 prisoners that
he was later able to trade for American POWs.
Here, after another long layover, the RANGER parted company with Jones, returning
to the Piscataqua under Captain Simpson. RANGER carried out many more missions.
She was later captured by the British and renamed HALIFAX, ironically the city
where Portsmouth's final Royal Governor John Wentworth was sent after being driven
from New Hampshire in the earliest days of the American Revolution.
What Jones had planned, proved true. Though the tiny bites he inflicted were
minor, the panicked British reaction was not. There were calls for more fortifications
to protect Britain. Insurance rates rose and ships were called home. Continuing
his attack with a new ship BONHOMME RICHARD the following year, Jones drew greater
attention to the American cause and gained a reputation that remains to this day.
By taking the HMS SERAPIS, while his own ship was lost, Jones put the world on
notice that America had not yet begun to fight for its freedom and independence.
The Aftermath
The Ranger remained in service under Capt. Thomas Simpson of Portsmouth and,
in the company of other US ships, took a million dollars worth of prizes before
being called into service to defend Charleston, South Carolina. The Ranger was
captured there in 1780 by the Royal Navy, renamed Halifax and, ironically, decommissioned
in Portsmouth, England. The ship was sold as a merchant vessel in 1781 for about
3 percent of her original cost.
Legends, more often than facts, make up the history we embrace. According to
seacoast oral history, the new flag of the Ranger had to be so hastily created
that the women of Portsmouth sacrificed their petticoats to sew it. Though there
is no proof of this story, it captures the emotion of the times as effectively
as such standards as Longfellowís fictionalized ode to Paul Revere’s ride. The
Story of the Ranger inspired a small group of Portsmouth maritime historians to
attempt to rebuild Jones’ ship at the close of the 20th century. The plan, though bold, was not to be, and the Ranger Foundation abandoned
its efforts in 2003.
RANGER FACT SHEET
Begun:......January 11, 1777
Launched:...May 10, 1777 into the Piscataqua River
Location:...Rising Castle, now Badger's Island,
............Kittery, Maine
Departed:...Nov 1, 1777
Builder:....John Langdon
Designer:...James Hackett
Yard Boss:..Tobias Lear IV
............(father of Tobias Lear V.,
............Secretary to President George Washington)
Officers:...John Paul Jones, Captain
............Thomas Simpson, Portsmouth, 1st Lt.
............Elijah Hall, Portsmouth, 2nd Lt.
............Samuel Wallingford, Lt. of Marines
............Dr. Ezrah Green, Dover, Surgeon
............Mr. Joseph Frazer, Sr. Officer of Marines
............Capt. Matthew Parke
Crew:.......145 men including nearly
............half from Piscataqua area
Cost:.......$65,000 Continental dollars
Rating:.....Sloop of war
Rigging:....Square rigged on all three masts
............with royals, topgallant, and a
............full set of studding sails
Arms:.......1.8 nine-pounder guns
Painting:...Topside black with broad yellow
............stripe and masthead
Dimensions:.(Recorded by Royal Navy after capture)
............97' 2" at gundeck (est 110' overall)
............77' 9" keel
............27' 8" beam
............12' depth of hold
BUY THE BOOK
John Paul JOnes & the Ranger
:
 Essays by Julian Fischer in John Paul Jones and the Ranger, edited by Joseph
Sawtelle, Portsmouth Marine Society #20, Peter Randall Publisher, 1994, This book
contains letters by JPJ and others, plus the first complete printing of the Ranger's
logbook, shipís crew list, and a journal by the shipís surgeon.
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