Andrew Doria (1775 Brig) - First Salute

First Salute

Robinson sailed Andrew Doria down the Delaware River on 17 October 1776, for a voyage to the West Indies to obtain a cargo of munitions and military supplies at the Dutch island of Sint Eustatius. When the brig reached the island on 16 November, she fired an 11-gun salute and received a reply from Fort Oranje—the first salute to an American flag on board an American warship in a foreign port. Andrew Doria also carried a copy of the Declaration of Independence to the island. The so-called "first salute" was widely reported in the United States at the time, and later provided the title for Barbara Tuchman's 1988 book, The First Salute: A View of the American Revolution.