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What Remains
Searching for the Memory and Lost Grave of John Paul Jones
Published by: University of Massachusetts Press
240 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 x 0.70 in, 25 b&w illus.
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John Paul Jones is now considered a Revolutionary War hero and the father of the American Navy, his defiant words "I have not yet begun to fight!" the epitome of courage under fire. It has not always been so. When the Revolutionary War ended, Jones's celebrity vanished. His death in Paris a decade later went unnoticed; he was buried in a foreign grave and forgotten by his fellow Americans.
In What Remains, Robert Hornick explores why Jones was forgotten, the subsequent recovery of his memory and remains, and the much delayed commemoration of his achievement. The book chronicles the efforts of the men and women who, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, reconstructed Jones's legacy, searched for and finally found his lost grave, and returned both his physical remains and his memory to a place of honor. It also recounts the extraordinary moment when Theodore Roosevelt utilized Jones's commemoration to proclaim America a global power. What Remains offers a fascinating story of opportunists and evangelists: of politicians who needed Jones to advance their agendas, but also of fellow warriors committed to recovering one of their own from obscurity and shame.
In What Remains, Robert Hornick explores why Jones was forgotten, the subsequent recovery of his memory and remains, and the much delayed commemoration of his achievement. The book chronicles the efforts of the men and women who, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, reconstructed Jones's legacy, searched for and finally found his lost grave, and returned both his physical remains and his memory to a place of honor. It also recounts the extraordinary moment when Theodore Roosevelt utilized Jones's commemoration to proclaim America a global power. What Remains offers a fascinating story of opportunists and evangelists: of politicians who needed Jones to advance their agendas, but also of fellow warriors committed to recovering one of their own from obscurity and shame.
Robert Hornick, an independent scholar, is author of The Girls and Boys of Belchertown: A Social History of the Belchertown State School for the Feeble-Minded (University of Massachusetts Press, 2012).
"What Remains adds an important new perspective to the life of John Paul Jones. The book gets beyond the implausible facts of Jones's life to establish his relevance to our own lives and times."—Joseph Callo, author of John Paul Jones: America's First Sea Warrior
"If you have any interest in the American Revolution, you will appreciate this book. Well organized, you may read it from cover to cover or a chapter or section at a time. Either way, you will gain an appreciation for the life of John Paul Jones, born John Paul in Scotland, and his place in the American Revolution. You will also appreciate the significance of his return and the power of the press and the informational value in the pomp and ceremony accompanying the recognition of citizens who advanced the cause of the American Revolution at great personal sacrifice."—Patrick H. Hannum, Journal of the American Revolution
"Hornick turns a string of former footnotes into fascinating facts about the rise and fall and resurrection of the legendary John Paul Jones. Why, Hornick wonders, was Jones maligned and forgotten after his death? How did his fame reignite in the 19th century? And how did Jones' complex story - half fact and half fiction - inspire a half century search for his mortal remains?"—J. Dennis Robinson, The Portsmouth Herald
"Mr. Hornick is a talented story-teller and the result is an easy to read, thoughtful, and logical unfolding of the detective work involved in locating not only the grave of John Paul Jones (Paris), but then in identifying the corpse to the satisfaction of all the nay-sayers . . . Highly recommended to any with an interest in American history or the early days of our navy."—William H. White, Naval History Book Reviews
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