Combat· American Revolutionary War
Ranger's Irish Sea Cruise
John Paul Jones took the Continental sloop Ranger into the Irish Sea and carried the war into British home waters for the first time.
The cruise packed three notable actions into a few days: the night raid on Whitehaven on 22 April, where Jones and his men spiked the harbor guns and tried to burn the shipping; the landing on St. Mary's Isle in Scotland on 23 April, an attempt to seize the Earl of Selkirk as a hostage that ended with the family silver taken instead; and the capture of the British sloop-of-war HMS Drake in the North Channel on 24 April, with Marine sharpshooters cutting down the enemy captain and first lieutenant. The Drake was the first Royal Navy warship taken by a Continental vessel in British waters. The cruise shook British confidence and made Jones famous across Europe.
Engagements in this conflict (3) Podcast episodes on American Revolutionary War
Record no. 167