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[black and white image of two ships on rough waters, with a smaller boat alongside]
THE FIRST SALUTE TO THE STARS AND STRIPES

John Paul Jones, commanding the Ranger, fired a salute of 13 guns to the French fleet in Quiberon Bay on February 14, 1778, and recieved in return a salute of nine guns from Admiral La Motte Picquet, "the same salute authorized by the French court to be given an admiral of Holland or of any other republic." Thus was American independence first acknowledged in Europe (see page 301).
The illustration is one of the famous marine paintings by Edward Moran in the National Museum, Washington, reproduced by courtesy of Theodore Sutro, New York.

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