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Primary sourceArtifact1787

John Paul Jones Congressional Gold Medal

Augustin Dupré · 1787

The only Congressional Gold Medal awarded to a Continental Navy officer, honoring Jones's naval victories.

This medal, the only one Congress gave a Continental Navy officer, honors Jones's naval victories.

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Front of a silver-toned round medal showing a left-facing profile bust of a man in a high-collared military coat with epaulette. Inscribed around the rim: IOANNI PAVLO JONES CLASSIS PRAEFECTO, and at the bottom COMITIA AMERICANA.
Augustin Dupré, Congressional Gold Medal awarded to John Paul Jones, authorized 1787.

About this source

What it is

This medal, designed by French engraver Augustin Dupré, was authorized by Congress on 16 October 1787. It shows a profile bust of John Paul Jones with Latin inscriptions naming him and his naval command.

Why it matters

Jones was the only Continental Navy officer ever awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, reflecting the importance Congress placed on his victories, including his famous battle with the Serapis. The medal shows how new nations used honors and imagery to build heroic national narratives around their military leaders.

Look closer

  • Why do you think Congress chose to honor Jones specifically with this rare medal?
  • What do the Latin inscriptions suggest about how Jones was meant to be remembered?
  • How does a medal like this differ from a painted portrait in how it tells a story?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of John Paul Jones on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Oval painted portrait of a man in a black tricorn hat with a cockade, wearing a navy coat with gold epaulettes over a red waistcoat, white cravat, and a blue ribbon with a gold medal. Dark brown background.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of John Paul Jones

Charles Willson Peale · c. 1781

Photograph of a bronze bust of a man in an 18th-century military coat with epaulettes, a high cravat, and a buttoned jacket, on a pedestal inscribed with text. Plain grey background.Sculpture

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Bust of John Paul Jones

Jean-Antoine Houdon · 1780

Black-and-white engraving titled 'Paul Jones the Pirate': a bearded man in a feathered hat with a skull-and-crossbones emblem brandishes a pistol and sword on a ship deck amid smoke and fighting sailors, with a cannon in the foreground.Painting

Primary source

Paul Jones the Pirate

A. Park of London

Scan of a handwritten two-column manuscript on aged, browned paper. The left column is in English under the heading 'Treaty of Alliance', and the right column is in French under 'Traité d'alliance eventuelle et défensive'. The text opens by naming the Most Christian King and the United States of North America.Document

Primary source

Treaty of Alliance with France

6 February 1778

Black-and-white engraved portrait of a man in a tricorn hat with a cockade, wearing a dark military-style coat with epaulette, buttoned waistcoat, and white cravat, facing slightly to the side against a shaded background.Painting

Primary source

John Paul Jones by Moreau le Jeune

Jean-Michel Moreau (Moreau le Jeune) · 1780-1781

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