Give him the Schley degree

Three elderly naval officers question the spirit of John Paul Jones regarding the “Navy Dept. vs. Jones” for charges of conduct during the Revolutionary War, such as “Item 962 concerning the charge of cowardice” and “Did you get a rake-off in the Grog contract?” A map on the wall in the background shows “the loop of the Bonhomme Richard.” The cartoonist is spoofing a court of inquiry requested by Admiral Winfield Scott Schley following accusations regarding his conduct during the Battle of Santiago. Caption: Chairman of Paul Jones Inquiry Board — Captain Jones, did you or did you not say, “Damn the Alliance! Let her take care of herself!”

comments and context

Comments and Context

The actual context of Joseph Keppler’s cover cartoon in Puck was not much as the four-year-old controversy between Winfield Scott Schley and William T. Sampson in the naval battle of Santiago Bay in Spanish-American War. Both were rear admirals (Schley Acting at the time), but Sampson was Schley’s superior officer. A book published after the war accused Schley of lassitude, insubordination, and cowardice in following (or not) orders at sea.

In the subsequent inquest the public took great notice and was sharply divided. Evidence seemed to condemn Schley, but the popular Admiral George Dewey supported Schley, and Secretary of the Navy John Long (Roosevelt’s superior just four years earlier) endorsed the findings in favor of Sampson, in his case on the grounds of service seniority. President Roosevelt endorsed the findings, too, without comment. But Schley filed a protest, and most of the public seemed with him in a controversy that lasted into subsequent years.

The immediate context of Keppler’s cartoon, however, was only using the Sampson-Schley controversy as an ironic reference-point still in the public’s mind. In truth it addressed the news event of the exhumation and return to the United States of the mummified body of John Paul Jones from France.

He was the United States’ first naval hero (and frequent scoundrel, the source of admiring and scathing tales; he added the names “Jones” to his birth name of John Paul to evade the law at one point) — performing acts of daring and valor during the Revolution and, in British waters, peppering actions close to that of a privateer. After the Revolution Jones served the governments of France, Russia, and France again. He died in Paris, at first undiscovered and misidentified, mummified by a patron and buried in St.-Louis Cemetery, eventually neglected and plowed under.

In 1905 his lead casket was discovered and his remains identified. His body was returned to the United States, where Roosevelt attended services in Jones’s honor. The (many) controversial episodes and legends surrounding Jones’ life were re-ignited in 1905, although none igniting a court-martial, as parodied in Keppler’s cartoon. His remains eventually were interred in a grand marble sarcophagus in the Naval Academy Chapel at Annapolis, MD.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1905-07-12

Creator(s)

Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956

Period

U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)

Repository

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Page Count

1

Record Type

Image

Resource Type

Cartoon

Rights

These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.

Citation