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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

Andrew Doria (I)

Brigantine:

The merchant brig Defiance whose purchase was authorized by the Continental Congress on 13 October 1775

Acquired by the Marine Committee in mid-November, the brig, was renamed Andrew Doria

Commanded by CAPT. Nicholas Biddle, Andrew Doria departed Philadelphia, 4 January 1776, enroute to the Bahamas to raid the island of New Providence

Andrew Doria and the ships of COMO. Esek Hopkins squadron engaged the British frigate HMS Glasgow in a running battle on 6 April 1776, until recalled by Hopkins for fear of running afoul of the British Squadron known to be in nearby waters

When the American fleet had reformed, it retired to New London, CT., where it arrived on the morning of 8 April

The following week Andrew Doria sortied with Cabot, on 19 May they were spotted by the Royal Navy frigate HMS Cerberus which they avoided

21 May, the brig captured the as a prize the sloop Two Friends laden with sugar rum, molasses bound for Liverpool

29 May while cruising in a northeasterly direction Andrew Doria took two prizes the British transports Oxford and Crawford

11 July Andrew Doria took as a prize the merchantman Nathaniel and Elizabeth heavily laden with sugar and rum from Jamaica, bound for London

In early September the brigantine captured as a prizes Molly, the brig Maria both vessels belonging to Lord Dunmore's fleet

Andrew Doria also took as prizes the merchant brigantines Lawrence and Elizabeth, the brigs Betsy and Peggy also part of Lord Dunmore's fleet

CAPT. Isaiah Robinson took command of Andrew Doria 17 October sailing to the West Indies to obtain a cargo of munitions and military supplies at St. Eustatius

When she reached that Dutch island on 16 November, Andrew Doria fired a salute of 11 guns and received a reply, the first salute to an American flag on board an American warship in a foreign port.

Andrew Doria encountered and defeated HMS Racehorse off Puerto Rico while homeward bound with her cargo also capturing the scow Thomas on 12 December

Andrew Doria remained in the Delaware as part of the forces charged with defending Philadelphia against British fleet under Vice Admiral Lord Howe in September 1777

Following the British occupation of Fort Mifflin on 16 November 1777, Andrew Doria, with the remaining ships of the Continental Navy, sought sought shelter under the guns of Fort Mercer, at Red Bank, N. J.

With the evacuation of Fort Mercer, 20 November, CAPT Robinson gave orders, 21 November for the ships to be burned to prevent capture

Specifications:
Displacement unknown
Length unknown
Beam unknown
Depth of Hold unknown
Draft unknown
Speed unknown
Complement 112

Armament 14 4-pdrs

Propulsion sail

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
	45k	*Namesake* Andrea Doria, An imperial admiral of the Holy Roman Empire, commanded several expeditions against the Ottoman Empire, capturing Koroni and Patras, and co-operating with the emperor himself in the capture of Tunis (1535). Charles V found him an invaluable ally in the wars with Francis I of France, and through him extended his domination over the whole of Italy. In February 1538, Pope Paul III succeeded in assembling a Holy League (comprising the Papacy, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, the Republic of Venice and the Maltese Knights) against the Ottomans, but Hayreddin Barbarossa defeated its combined fleet, commanded by Andrea Doria, at the Battle of Preveza in September 1538. This victory secured Turkish dominance over the Mediterranean for the next 33 years, until the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. He accompanied Charles V on the ill-fated Algiers expedition of 1541, of which he disapproved, and which ended in disaster. For the next five years he continued to serve the emperor in various wars, in which he was generally successful and always active, although now over seventy years old.	Tommy Trampp
	265k	The Continental Brigantine *Andrew Doria* under way with CAPT. Nicholas Biddle in command.	Tommy Trampp
	22k	The Continental Brigantine *Andrew Doria* under way. Courtesy Shipsofwood.com	Tommy Trampp
	162k	The first official salute to the American flag on board an American warship in a foreign port, 16 November 1776. Painting by Phillips Melville, depicting Continental Brigantine *Andrew Doria* receiving a salute from the Dutch fort at St. Eustatius, West Indies, 16 November 1776. The artist shows the "Grand Union" flag flying at *Andrew Doria's stern and foremast peak US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 85510-KN*, courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C. Donation of Colonel Phillips Melville, USMC (Retired), 1977.	Tommy Trampp
56805	55k	Crew of the Continental Navy Brig Andrew Doria hoisting the American flag in the Bahamas, 1778, ink drawing by Arman Manookian (1904-1931), Honolulu Academy of Arts.	Robert Hurst
56806	183k	New Antillean stamp, dated 26 October 1961 depicting the first salute by a foreign official of the American flag from Fort Oranje, St. Eustatius, The Dutch Antilles, 16 November 1776. Photographer unknown/Photo collection Anefo. This is an image from the Nationaal Archief (Dutch National Archives), donated in the context of a partnership program. Archive inventory number: 2.24.01.09. Component number : 913-1016	Robert Hurst
56807	1200k	Plaque in commemoration of the salute to the flag of the United States fired in this fort on 16 November 1776 by order of Johannes de Graaff governor of St. Eustatius in reply to a national gun-salute fired by the United States Brig-of-War Andrew Doria under Captain Isaiah Robinson of the Continental Navy. Here the sovereignty of the United States of America was first formally acknowledged to a national vessel by a foreign official. Presented by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, president of the United States of America." Photographer Boy Lawson (1925-1992). 1964. This image is in the Collection National Museum of World Cultures TM-20030090 469643. Commemorative plaque in Fort Oranje, Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius	Robert Hurst

Andrew Doria
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Last Updated 25 May 2023