The Sad Ending of Capt. Jones, on his Birthday

I am fascinated with archaeological finds, bones, mummies, as well as history, so this bit of information caught my eye. Did you know when John Paul Jones, the hero of the Revolution and "Father of the U.S. Navy", died alone and penniless in Paris on July 18, 1792, a French commissary paid to have his body immersed in alcohol and buried in a lead lined coffin, preserving it for eventual repatriation to America?

Following the war, Congress disbanded the Continental Navy. The unemployed captain served briefly as a rear admiral in the Russian imperial navy, then traveled to France in search of a similar post. But in 1790, he was already in poor health due to malaria and dengue fever he had contracted on his travels.

Jones was born July 6, 1747 in the gardener's cottage of the Arbigland Estate, Kirkbean, Scotland. When he died at the age of 45, the circumstances of his death were unknown. His body was exhumed and examined by three doctors in Paris, in April 1905. The attending doctor diagnosed Jones as having jaundice and "dropsy of the chest." Today's analysis points to end stage kidney failure due to viral or bacterial infection.

In 1905, with much pomp and ceremony, his body was returned to the United States and is now entombed at the U.S. Naval AcademyChapel. Sadly, too much, too late, in honoring this American hero.

If fear is cultivated it will become stronger,

if faith is cultivated it will achieve mastery.

John Paul Jones