The First Salute (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Barbara Wertheim
- First Published: 1988
- Type of Work: History
- Time of Work: 1776-1782
- Setting: The American colonies
- Principal Characters: Henry Clinton, Charles Cornwallis, Johannes de Graaff, François de Grasse, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Graves, Samuel Hood, Marquis de Lafayette, Jean Rochambeau, George Rodney, George Washington
- Genres: Nonfiction, History
- Subjects: Revolutionaries, Colonies or colonization, Leadership, Revolutions, American Revolution, War, Eighteenth century, Armies, Battles, Diplomacy or diplomats, Navies
- Locales: England, West Indies, American colonies
Form and Content
Flying the flag of the Continental Congress, the American brigantine Andrea Doria sailed into the Caribbean port of St. Eustatius on November 16, 1776. As was customary for ships entering foreign ports, it fired a cannon announcing its presence. The return salute ordered by the Dutch island’s governor, Johannes de Graaff, constituted “the first salute” that accorded foreign recognition to American sovereignty. This vignette provides the title to Barbara W. Tuchman’s tenth—and last— historical work and the opening for her selective survey of...
[The entire page is 2040 words long]
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