Drewry writes in the notes to the dance that "John Paul was born in 1747 at Kirkbean in Kirkcudbrightshire. For a time he was apprenticed to a Whitehaven merchant. He assumed the name Jones when he settled in Virginia. He joined the American Navy in 1775, and in 1778 he led the famous surprise attack against Whitehaven. The motions in the dance represent the confusion in the town when it was attacked."