Pierson’s king did reward him by making him a baronet. When Paul Jones heard of this, he said:
“He deserved it, and if I meet him again I’ll make a lord of him.”
But however grateful and appreciative King George the Third might have been to the captain who fought so loyally in the Royal cause, the victory of Paul Jones that night in those British waters was a humiliation to the English government, from which, even among her glories and triumphs, she has never quite recovered. It was an hour for Britannia to discontinue her little song about ruling the waves, and to bow her head in shame. For an old wooden tub had sailed into her waters and hurled defiance at her invincible navy. She might soothe her beaten captain tenderly, but she could not get her vessel back, and worse than this the French king was laughing in a most uproarious manner across the channel.
