On This Day – February 14, 1778, American 18 gun Sloop of War Ranger (Captain John Paul Jones Commanding) of the Continental Navy, received the first official salute to the new American flag, the “Stars and Stripes.” The nine-gun salute was rendered by the French fleet at Quiberon Bay, on the south coast of Brittany, France, during the Revolutionary War.
This was the second to an American fighting vessel by a foreign power, the first salute being received by Andrew Doria when on 16 November 1776 she arrived at St. Eustatiu, an Island in the Northern Leeward Islands in the Caribbeans where the salute was was rendered by the Dutch. Andrew Doria was a 14 gun Brig of the Continental Navy commanded by Captain Isaiah Robinson at the time. HOWEVER, she was flying the Grand Union flag and not the newly adopted Stars & Stripes.
The practice of firing gun salutes was well established by the 16th Century and is still seen as a great honor. In those times, firing guns at the approach of a friendly ship or party demonstrated welcome and respect. However, the firing of the guns could leave a ship or battery defenseless because of the relative long time it took to re-load the weapons. For this reason, clearing your weapons as a salute was seen as a great honor.
~History Salvaged, Guest Columnist