North Channel Naval Duel - Aftermath

Aftermath

Thirty five men were sent from Ranger to Drake to take charge and assess the damage, then the next three days were spent making repairs, while moving slowly north-westward between Ireland and Scotland. A cargo brig which came too close was captured, and used as extra accommodation; on the other hand, six Irish fisherman who had been captured on the first Carrickfergus expedition were allowed, along with three sick Irish sailors, to take a boat and go home, with a present of sails from Drake, and some money from Jones. On their return they also reported the concern Jones was showing for Lieut. Dobbs, who remained gravely ill. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy had sent out some proper warships in pursuit. Despite Drake's lameness, they never caught a glimpse of the slowly escaping Americans. The only real trouble Jones had was with his Lieutenant, Thomas Simpson, who was given command of the precious Drake and at one point on the voyage sailed out of sight.

The news reached France much faster than Jones did, and the Americans were welcomed as heroes. As for the British, they had learned their lesson well—the Royal Navy could not defend British shipping against American raiders; it could not defend British coasts against American raiders; it could not even defend its own fighting vessels against American raiders. Militia regiments were hastily redeployed to coastal areas; seaports equipped themselves with artillery to defend themselves against further raids; the gentry banded together in volunteer battalions as a last line of defence. And from then onward, the press paid very close attention to every move John Paul Jones made; struggling to reconcile the malicious rumours of his murders and piracy with the evidence of his chivalrous and far from bloodthirsty behaviour on the Ranger mission (back in France, he wrote kind and thoughtful letters to the Earl of Selkirk, and to the family of Lieut. Dobbs, who had died within a couple of days). John Paul Jones had gone from being an obscure Scottish-American to an international star, and the naval duel in the North Channel was the unequivocally triumphant climax to a remarkable mission, which demonstrated that the world's most powerful nation was as vulnerable to attack as any other. The press reports of his preparations for his next mission created a climate of fear and uncertainty which helped turn his return visit in 1779 into his best-remembered achievement.