hich is yet partially retained in the seal of
the war-office.

The first service of the new squadron was the attack upon the island
of New Providence, in which Jones rendered signal assistance. On the
return voyage, the unsatisfactory encounter with the Glasgow occurred,
which afterward resulted in the dismissal of one of the American
officers, and Jones's appointment in his place to the command of the
Providence, of twelve guns and seventy men. His exploits in this
vessel gained him his first laurels. He now received the rank of
captain, and sailed on various expeditions, transporting troops,
conveying merchantmen, out-sailing British frigates, and greatly
harassing the enemy's commercial interests. His success in these
enterprises induced Commodore Hopkins to put him in command of the
Alfred and other vessels on an expedition to the eastward, which
resulted in the capture of various important prizes of transport and
other ships, and extensive injury to the fisheries at Canso. On his
return, he was superseded in the command of the Alfred, his seniority
in the service being set aside, a grievance which led to remonstrance
on his part, and a correspondence with the Committee of Congress, in
the course of which Jones made many valuable suggestions as to the
service, and gained the friendship of that eminent business man of the
old Confederacy, Robert Morris. There appear to have been several
appointments for him in progress, when his somewhat unsettled position
became determined by the resolve of Congress to send him to France for
the purpose of taking command of a frigate to be provided for him by
the Commissioners at Paris. By the resolution of June 14, 1777, he was
appointed to the Ranger, newly built at Portsmouth, and--a second
instance of the kind--had the honor of hoisting for the first time the
new flag of the stars and stripes; at least he claimed the
distinction, for the bristling vanity of Jones made him punctilious in
these accidental matters of personal renown.

It took some time to prepare the Ranger for sea, but Jones got off on
his adventure in November, made a couple of prizes by the way, and at
the end of a month reached Nantes. Disappointed in obtaining the large
vessel which he expected, and obliged to be contented with the Ranger,
he employed his time in making acquaintance with the French navy at
Quiberon Bay, and offering valuable suggestions for the employment of
D'Estaing's fleet on the American