PARIS — “I feel the end is near," starts the letter, “Yet though I was born in Scotland, and learned my trade sailing under the flag of England, I have learned that, though a man may be born to one people, he may die as part of another.”
“For thus has it been with me," it continues, “so while men may look at my life and say ‘Scot’, or ‘Englishman’, in my heart I die a Russian.”
So begins the newly discovered last will and testament of Captain John Paul Jones, beloved naval hero of the American Revolutionary War. Jones is best remembered in the United States for his audacious operations in British waters while commanding the USS Ranger, his victory in the Battle of Flamborough Head while commanding the USS Bonhomme Richard, and for his timelessly inspirational quotes in the heat of battle, in particular his famous reply of "I have not yet begun to fight!" when asked to surrender by the captain of the HMS Serapis, which Jones subsequently captured.
Jones' will was recently uncovered in a Paris archive by Dr. Brigitte Cuvelier, a Belgian historian researching French consular correspondence in the late 18th century. It was dated 17 July, 1792, the same day Jones was found dead on the floor of his Parisian apartment. Jones had found his way to Europe in the aftermath of the American Revolution following an incident in which Congress briefly granted him command of the ship of the line USS America before, in the words of Jones' letter, "yanking her out from under my feet" to compensate America's French allies.
