Parading the Colors

The First Salute, November 17, 1776, Sint Eustatius, Dutch West Indies. The American brig of war Andrew Doria, Captain Isaiah Robinson commanding, exchanges gun salutes with Fort Oranje in the harbor of Sint Eustatius. As she entered the harbor, Andrew Doria hoised the Dutch flag and fired a thirteen-gun salute: one for each of the thirteen United States. On the order of the island's governor, Johannes de Graaff, the fort retured an eleven-gun salute, as protocol dictated to acknowlege the flag of a sovereign state. This was the first official recognition of American independence by a foreign power. This painting by Phillips Melville, shows Andrew Doria flying the first, unofficial US national flag, the Continental Colors, at the foremast and the stern, and the First Navy Jack at the bow. See here for more information about naval flags of the American Revolution. PREVIOUS PAGES US Army Change of Command (1) The Star-Spangled Banner Morning Colors  •  September 11, 2010 104th Infantry Regiment in the Great War   Funeral of President George H.W. Bush US Coast Guard  •  Dress Ship Offshore Patrol Vessel HMS Mersey First US Flag Stamp Battle of the Java Sea Remembrance Liberation of Dachau  •  April 29, 1945 "Don't Give Up the Ship!" HMS Mariner Will Enter Harbour Flying the White Ensign HMS Victory at Trafalgar Australia Parades Her Colours The Loyal London Royal Yacht HMS Britannia 442nd Regimental Combat Team United States Corps of Cadets Sons of Erin  • The Fighting 69th Super Bowl XLV Color Guard 27th Infantry Regiment, US Army Frederick The Great at Zorndorf The Danish Fleet at Sea  •  1750 Britains Toy Soldiers Bastille Day 2012 SMS Deutschland 1912 Old Ironsides  •  USS Constitution US Army Change of Command (2) Imperial Russian Navy Cruiser Gromoboi Players Cigarette Cards Charting the Course of Vexillogical History Indian Armed Forces Flags Moscow Victory Parade  •  1945 Russian Federation Naval Flags

BACK to WAR FLAGS Front Page