The king also recommended that the French legislature bestow upon Jones the Cross of Military Merit, a first for a non-Frenchman. This would eventually lead to Jones being recognized as a chevalier, a title Jones clenched as though it was his key to the palace door. The Freemasons swore him into the elite Lodge of the Nine Sisters and then commissioned Jean Antoine Houdon,the premier sculptor of the day, to carve a bust of the naval hero. Jones trimmed his long hair by eighteen inches and sat for the artist, and once the bust was completed, contemporaries declared it an exact likeness. Jones was so pleased he ordered extra copies sent to George Washington, who kept it on display at Mount Vernon; Thomas Jefferson; and his friend Robert Morris in Philadelphia. Eventually he distributed about sixteen of the statues. 4
The trip to Paris wasnât all pleasure, though. Jones was trying to pressure the French to sell the
Serapis
and other prizes so he could collect the money needed to pay his crew members, who were becoming mutinous again as they heard âof Jonesâs gay doings in Parisâ¦. While the Commodore was making love to countesses and sleeping with scented courtesans, they hadnât enough money to buy a drink or command the services of such poor trollops as a seaport provided for enlisted men.â 5 Jones was also pushing plans for a joint American-French naval attack on British waters.
Jones was frustrated on both fronts, and by late May was back at Lorient empty-handed and overseeing the final reconditioning of the
Alliance.
Landais surfaced in the port town by early June, though he largely stayed away from the wharf and out of sight, according to Fanning. He had booked passage to America, where he was to stand court martial, but he was hardly a chastened man and in fact was making plans for yet another act of duplicity. On the afternoon of June 23, Jones was ashore for a social call, and his officers were below deck eating, when they heard shouts from above. Scrambling topside, they found their ship freshly manned, and Landais striding back and forth. As soon as Jonesâs officers were assembled, Landais claimed that his commission by the Continental Congress gave him command of the
Alliance,
and neither Franklin, in Paris, nor Jones could countermand that. He was taking control of the ship and would sail it to America. And, he said, if any officer aboard could not accept his captaincy, the officer was to go ashore immediately. The crew was given no option. All but one of the officers left the
Alliance.
Houdon bust of John Paul Jones, one of which was used to preliminarily identify his body in Paris.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, reproduction number HABS MD,2-ANNA,65/1--24
Jones was livid and set off for Paris to consult with Franklin and French naval officials, but by the time he returned, Landais had moved the
Alliance
to an offshore anchorage. The entry to the port was a well-protected narrows, and at Jonesâs request the French dropped a boom across the mouth to preclude the
Alliance
from leaving. As violent confrontation loomed, Jones backed off, striking a diplomatic pose by saying that French cannons firing on a French captain sailing an American ship would benefit only the British. He let the
Alliance
leave for America. Morison, Jonesâs insightful biographer, suspected Jones let the ship go because he didnât like sailing it and wanted to be rid of Landais, whose acts of treachery would catch up with him. As the
Alliance
neared Philadelphia, Landaisâs officers seized control and steered for Boston, where Landais was called before a court of inquiry and, after a hearing, kicked out of the navy.
Shipless, Jones returned to Paris for a short stay and presumably discussed the events at Lorient with Franklin. He was lobbying hard to be given the
Serapis,
but the French refused to give her up. In July, Jones was back at Lorient and had
The trip to Paris wasnât all pleasure, though. Jones was trying to pressure the French to sell the
Serapis
and other prizes so he could collect the money needed to pay his crew members, who were becoming mutinous again as they heard âof Jonesâs gay doings in Parisâ¦. While the Commodore was making love to countesses and sleeping with scented courtesans, they hadnât enough money to buy a drink or command the services of such poor trollops as a seaport provided for enlisted men.â 5 Jones was also pushing plans for a joint American-French naval attack on British waters.
Jones was frustrated on both fronts, and by late May was back at Lorient empty-handed and overseeing the final reconditioning of the
Alliance.
Landais surfaced in the port town by early June, though he largely stayed away from the wharf and out of sight, according to Fanning. He had booked passage to America, where he was to stand court martial, but he was hardly a chastened man and in fact was making plans for yet another act of duplicity. On the afternoon of June 23, Jones was ashore for a social call, and his officers were below deck eating, when they heard shouts from above. Scrambling topside, they found their ship freshly manned, and Landais striding back and forth. As soon as Jonesâs officers were assembled, Landais claimed that his commission by the Continental Congress gave him command of the
Alliance,
and neither Franklin, in Paris, nor Jones could countermand that. He was taking control of the ship and would sail it to America. And, he said, if any officer aboard could not accept his captaincy, the officer was to go ashore immediately. The crew was given no option. All but one of the officers left the
Alliance.
Houdon bust of John Paul Jones, one of which was used to preliminarily identify his body in Paris.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, reproduction number HABS MD,2-ANNA,65/1--24
Jones was livid and set off for Paris to consult with Franklin and French naval officials, but by the time he returned, Landais had moved the
Alliance
to an offshore anchorage. The entry to the port was a well-protected narrows, and at Jonesâs request the French dropped a boom across the mouth to preclude the
Alliance
from leaving. As violent confrontation loomed, Jones backed off, striking a diplomatic pose by saying that French cannons firing on a French captain sailing an American ship would benefit only the British. He let the
Alliance
leave for America. Morison, Jonesâs insightful biographer, suspected Jones let the ship go because he didnât like sailing it and wanted to be rid of Landais, whose acts of treachery would catch up with him. As the
Alliance
neared Philadelphia, Landaisâs officers seized control and steered for Boston, where Landais was called before a court of inquiry and, after a hearing, kicked out of the navy.
Shipless, Jones returned to Paris for a short stay and presumably discussed the events at Lorient with Franklin. He was lobbying hard to be given the
Serapis,
but the French refused to give her up. In July, Jones was back at Lorient and had
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