Andrew Doria ( 1775 brig ) Andrew Doria was a brig purchased by the Continental Congress in October 1775 . She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Nassau — the first amphibious engagement by the Continental Navy and the Continental Marines — and for being the first United States vessel to receive a salute from a foreign power . Purchase . On 13 October 1775 , the Continental Congress authorized the purchase of the merchant brig " Defiance " . The ship was acquired in mid - November and moored in Wharton and Humphreys shipyard in Philadelphia where she was converted into a warship by Joshua Humphreys ( hull strengthening ) , John Barry ( re - rigging ) , and John Falconer ( ordnance and provisioning ) at a cost of £296 . 4 s . 6 d . She was named " Andrew Doria " after the 15th - century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria . Under the command of Captain Nicholas Biddle , " Andrew Doria " departed Philadelphia on 4 January 1776 , as a warship in Esek Hopkins ' small fleet of five newly - fitted warships ( " Alfred " , " Andrew Doria " , " Cabot " , " Columbus " , and " Providence " ) , bound for the Chesapeake Bay . Between 11 and 17 February , the fleet was joined by the small sloop " Fly " , the sloop " Hornet " , and the schooner " Wasp " . Battle of Nassau . On 17 February 1776 , Hopkins decided to take advantage of the discretion offered him and skip his missions in the Chesapeake Bay and along the coasts of the Carolinas . Instead , he took the fleet to the Bahamas for a raid on the island of New Providence to seize a large supply of gunpowder reportedly stored in the two forts that protected Nassau . On 1 March , the fleet reached the coast of Abaco Island where the ship " Alfred " captured two small sloops and Hopkins obtained intelligence from the prisoners that New Providence lay undefended . Hopkins planned to take Nassau by frontal assault , slipping his landing party of 270 sailors and marines into the harbor hidden on board the captured sloops . It was hoped that the American troops would not be detected until the landing and assault on Fort Nassau began . Success in this endeavor would enable the fleet to enter the harbor while the fort ' s guns , then in American hands , held the town at bay . The marines and sailors embarked on the two captured sloops on the evening of 2 March and headed for New Providence , hoping to arrive at daybreak . While following the sloops , the fleet attempted to remain out of sight until the landing party had secured the fort . " Andrew Doria " — popularly referred to as the " Black Brig " — outdistanced her consorts and found it necessary to lay - to until the other American warships caught up . As the troop - carrying sloops headed into the harbor , Fort Nassau ' s guns opened fire . The shot fell short but demonstrated that the American fleet had been detected and that its intentions had been surmised . Hopkins recalled his ships . After conferring with his officers , Hopkins decided to land his troops two miles ( 3 km ) down the coast from Fort Montagu , which protected the eastern approaches to Nassau . The marines and sailors went ashore on 3 March and marched to Fort Montagu whose garrison surrendered without offering any real resistance . On 4 March , the Americans took Fort Nassau and town of Nassau . The fleet remained for almost two weeks , dismantling the guns of the forts and loading the captured materiel . During this stay , large numbers of the crew of each ship were stricken by a virulent fever . This complicated an already serious health problem caused by an outbreak of smallpox on all of the ships except for " Andrew Doria " whose crew had been protected by inoculation due to the far - sighted insistence of Nicholas Biddle . As a result of the crew ' s immunization , " Andrew Doria " was selected to serve as a hospital ship for the fleet and continued in this role for the remainder of the expedition . On 16 March , Hopkin ' s fleet departed Nassau and headed north . Battle of Block Island . Shortly after midnight on 6 April 1776 , a lookout on " Andrew Doria " sighted two vessels to the southeast . Biddle passed word of the discovery to Hopkins who ordered the fleet to head for the strangers . The larger of the unidentified ships headed toward the Americans and before long she was within hailing distance and identified herself as " . . . his majesty ' s ship of war " Glasgow " . . . " A broadside from " Cabot " into the British frigate opened a fierce fight in which the American ships were unable to fight as a squadron . In attempting to avoid a salvo from " Glasgow " , " Cabot " crossed " Andrew Doria " ' s bow , forcing Biddle ' s brig onto a port tack which avoided collision but took her away from the action . Meanwhile , " Alfred " and " Columbus " , Hopkins ' largest warships , took on " Glasgow " but received worse punishment than they inflicted . As the crew of " Andrew Doria " worked the ship into position to reenter the engagement and opened fire , " Glasgow " ' s captain realized he was overmatched and decided to stand off to the northward . " Andrew Doria " , followed at a distance by her consorts , gave chase and kept up a running fight with her bow chasers until recalled by Hopkins , lest " Glasgow " lead his fleet to a Royal Navy squadron then operating in Rhode Island waters . When the American fleet had reformed , it retired to New London , Connecticut , where it arrived on the morning of 8 April . Change of command . From 9 April to 17 September 1776 , " Andrew Doria " patrolled the Atlantic coast from Connecticut to Bermuda , capturing a number of British and Loyalist ships . Capt . Biddle anchored his brig at Chester , Pennsylvania , on the evening of 17 September , ending his last cruise on the warship , as he had been selected to command " Randolph " , one of the four new frigates being built at Philadelphia for the Continental Navy . Capt . Isaiah Robinson took command of " Andrew Doria " . 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 " . Scuttling . " Andrew Doria " was stationed in the Delaware River through the spring and summer of 1777 . After Vice Admiral Lord Howe brought his British fleet entered the river in September 1777 , " Andrew Doria " was part of the forces charged with defending Philadelphia . Following the British occupation of Fort Mifflin on 16 November , " Andrew Doria " , with the remaining ships of the Continental Navy , sought shelter under the guns of Fort Mercer , at Red Bank , New Jersey . With the evacuation of Fort Mercer on 20 November , Robinson gave orders the next day for the ships to be burned to prevent capture . This was done shortly thereafter . Replica . The not - for - profit organization Andrew Doria - The First Salute , Inc . , is raising funds to build a working replica of " Andrew Doria " . On 18 May 2009 , the city council of Havre de Grace , Maryland , agreed to lease land to the organization for the construction of a shipyard which will be located near the Susquehanna Museum at the Lockhouse on the banks of the Susquehanna River .