What’s That? The Crypt of John Paul Jones, “Father of the American Navy”

By Janet Buck Johnson

Beneath the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis lies one of the most historically significant yet often overlooked monuments in American naval history: the Crypt of John Paul Jones. Known as the “Father of the American Navy,” Jones’ final resting place is a tribute to his service and the culmination of a decades-long effort to bring his body to the U.S. Knowing the story of how the crypt came to be is part of what makes it so extraordinary.

John Paul Jones, born in Scotland in 1747, rose to fame as a daring naval commander during the American Revolution. After joining the Continental Navy in 1775, he quickly earned a reputation for boldness and skill. His most famous victory came in 1779 aboard the Bonhomme Richard, when he refused to surrender against the British warship Serapis, declaring, “I have not yet begun to fight!” Jones later served in the Russian Navy and died in Paris in 1792. Over a century later, General Horace Porter, then U.S. ambassador to France, began a six-year effort to locate his remains.

With strong support from President Theodore Roosevelt, Jones’ well-preserved body was found buried in a lead coffin in March 1905. According to retired Navy Captain, U.S. Naval Academy alumnus, and author of “The U.S. Naval Academy: In Postcards, 1900-1930,” Randy Bannister, the body was placed in a new lead coffin, encased in a wooden one, and transported with great ceremony. After a memorial in Paris, the remains were carried to Cherbourg, France, and then placed aboard the cruiser Brooklyn for the transatlantic journey. As the ship entered the Chesapeake Bay, it was joined by seven U.S. Navy battleships in a solemn naval procession.

On July 24, 1905, Jones’ casket arrived in Annapolis. It was first placed in a temporary brick vault on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy. A formal ceremony followed on April 24, 1906. However, due to funding delays, it was not until 1913 that the body was transferred to its permanent tomb beneath the newly completed Naval Academy Chapel. The Naval Academy was chosen for Jones’ final burial for its symbolic importance.

“The Naval Academy was the best place from a purely Navy perspective,” Bannister explained. “The chapel there is the ‘Cathedral of the Navy,’ so it is only fitting that the ‘Father of the Navy’ be laid to rest directly below the chapel dome.”

While the Naval Academy Chapel, designed by architect Ernest Flagg, was finished in 1908, the crypt itself was not completed until 1913 to coincide with the final interment of Jones. The 21-ton sarcophagus, made of black and white Italian marble and supported by bronze dolphins, was designed by French-American sculptor Sylvain Salières. Brass inscriptions on the surrounding floor list the ships Jones commanded: Providence, Alfred, Ranger, Bonhomme Richard, Serapis, Alliance, and Ariel.

Today, the Crypt of John Paul Jones is accessible to the public through guided tours of the U.S. Naval Academy. It remains a solemn site of reflection and an enduring monument to one of the most influential figures in American naval history.

Sources:

1. Naval History and Heritage Command, “John Paul Jones,” Naval History and Heritage Command,
   accessed April 27, 2025, https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/people/historical-figures/
   john-paul-jones.html.
2. Randy Bannister, email correspondence with the author, April 2025.
3. United States Naval Academy, “Crypt of John Paul Jones,” USNA Chapel Virtual Tour, accessed April
   27, 2025, https://www.usna.edu/Chaplains/virtualTour/crypt.php.
4. Bannister, email correspondence. Library of Congress, “Historic American Buildings Survey: U.S. Naval Academy Chapel,” accessed April 27, 2025, https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.md0915.photos/?sp=24.
5. “John Paul Jones,” Wikipedia, last modified April 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_
   Jones.