Description:

Jones John 1747 - 1792 At the close of the Revolutionary War, Navy hero John Paul Jones accepts a payment from one of the leading financiers of the American cause

Autograph Document Signed, "Paul Jones," 1 page, 6.75" x 2.75" (visible), professionally matted and framed to 18" x 12.25". Philadelphia, July 17, 1783.

In full: "Received Philadelphia July 17th 1783 from John Ross Esqr. the Sum of one hundred Dollars on account----Paul Jones Σ37.10.0"

Jones, who had established his reputation as a daring naval officer following his defeat of the H.M.S. Serapis aboard the U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard in 1779, had recently returned from the Caribbean, where he had joined a French fleet that was preparing an expedition against Jamaica - cancelled when news of the Treaty of Paris arrived in April 1783. He returned to Philadelphia, arriving there in late May aboard the brig Prince Alberti in order to await a new assignment. Jones remained in Philadelphia where he received the above-noted payment from John Ross (1726-1800), a prominent merchant who pledged nearly Σ20,000 of his personal credit toward financing the Continental Army.

Soon afterwards, Jones, in poor health, removed to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where he spent the remainder of the summer at the Sun Inn in the company of Samuel Wharton of Philadelphia. According to Jones, he was unable to regain his health, "I recovered it only in autumn, with the aid of cold baths." Following his recovery, Jones petitioned Congress to appoint him agent to settle the claims of his officers and men with the French Court ("Capt. John Paul Jones at Bethlehem..." (Massachusetts Spy, Worcester, June 5, 1783, 3; The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1915, 39:244; Jones, Gawalt & Sellers, John Paul Jones' Memoir of the American Revolution: Presented to King Louis XVI of France, 66).

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