Hey, history lovers. I'm Mike Rosenwald with Retropod, a show about the past, rediscovered.

If you study history long enough, you'll find good ideas, bad ideas, and colossally stupid ideas that make you wonder what anyone involved was thinking.

America's invasion of Britain is one of those. You heard me right. The United States of America

invaded Britain exactly one time in history. It did not go well. The year was 1778. An American ship

called the Ranger was headed to France.

The Ranger had two missions.

First, to deliver news of the British surrender at Saratoga.

The Americans hoped the victory would persuade King Louis XVI to lend troops to Americans fighting the Revolutionary War.

The second goal?

Cause problems for the British. John Paul Jones was the

Rangers captain. On his voyage, the ranger sunk a brig loaded with flaxseed, a schooner filled with

barley and oats, and a merchant sloop filled with beer. But Jones was a fiery and ambitious captain.

He wanted more than just to sink ships.

So as he sailed through the Irish Sea, he hatched a plan.

To bring the American Revolution to Britain's shores.

Specifically to the shores of a town called Whitehaven, where he'd begun his naval career.

In the name of the United States Navy, Jones decided he'd invade his hometown.

That idea, of course, was met with resistance from his top lieutenants.

Jones spent a day on board the ranger trying to convince his men to

carry out the raid. Finally, dirty men agreed. In the wee hours of the morning, Jones and his

crew paddled the two miles to shore and took a nearby British fort without incident. Hey, success.

Another crew launched in a second boat. Their job was to set fire to the ships in the harbor and to the town. They veered a bit off course. Instead of setting fire

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