On the 14th of November, 1776, the Alfred, a frigate of 44 guns was lying at anchor off Chestnut Street wharf, in Philadelphia. We had then no national banner. As the commander came on board, Lieutenant John Paul Jones, with his own hands, raised the first American naval flag, under a salute of thirteen guns. This flag, it is said, then consisted of thirteen stripes, emblematic of the thirteen colonies, and a pine-tree with a rattlesnake coiled at the roots, as if about to spring. Underneath was the motto, “Don’t Tread upon Me.” In commemoration of this event, Miss Sherburne wrote an ode, from which we quote two stanzas: “’Twas Jones, Paul Jones, who first o’er Delaware’s tide From _Alfred’s_ main displayed Columbia’s pride; The stripes of freedom proudly waved on high, While shouts of freedom rang for liberty. “Through England’s fleets thou dashed in bold array, On Albion’s coast spread terror and dismay; Thy cannons’ thunder shook her rock-bound shore, Her Lion trembled midst his boastful roar.” The little squadron, consisting of the ships Alfred and Columbus, the brigantines Andrew Doria and Cabot, and the sloop Providence, sailed from the Bay of Delaware on the 17th of February, 1776, to make a descent on the British Island of New Providence, to seize a quantity of military stores which were deposited in the forts there. The squadron was armed in all with one hundred guns and about one thousand men. Ezekiel Hopkins was commander-in-chief of the fleet. The fleet was not ready to sail until the middle of February. Struggling through vast masses of ice, the vessels passed Cape Henlopen on the 17th of the month. In this important enterprise John Paul Jones was only a lieutenant. But it should be remarked that there were three grades of lieutenant, and that he was placed at the head of the first grade. He was offered a captain’s commission, to take command of the Providence, which carried twelve guns and one hundred and fifty men. Modestly this extraordinary man declined the responsible position, not deeming himself fully qualified to fill it. Subsequently, in a letter to the Hon. Robert Morris, he wrote: