Joseph Hewes

I am Joseph Hughes, merchant patriot and signer of the Declaration of independence. For about 20 years, I traded with Britain. I knew her ships, her markets, her reach. I stood to lose everything if we broke away. But when war came, I turned that knowledge toward a new purpose building a navy for a fledgling nation that had none. A In Congress, I helped commission our first warships and oversaw every shilling spent to outfit them. I promoted a bold young soldier in whom I had the utmost confidence. John Paul Jones. He would become the Revolution's greatest naval hero. John Adams said we laid the cornerstone of the American navy. He was right. I died in service far from home, worn down by the work. But I would do it again for a country that rose from resistance and learned to command the sea.