ABSTRACT
The refit of the damaged ships lost valuable time, but it also was the means of gaining an invaluable reinforcement. Having no public means at his disposal, Jones paid for the transportation of these sailors from Nantes to l'Orient out of his own pocket. About half of these men were the remnant of the crew of the Lexington, captured more than a year before. The rest were men taken in privateers, including the American part of Captain Conyngham's crew, or in recaptured prizes. Finally, with refitted ships and reorganized crews, Paul Jones was ready to sail from the roadstead of Isle de Groaix in the early part of August, 1779, bound on a cruise around the British Islands. Landais, like most depraved and dishonest men, was cunning. He seized the opportunity to foist himself upon the Marine Committee as an officer of the French Navy, on leave for the express purpose of commanding the vessel that had brought the supplies.
