The First Salute: Jews, Religious Liberty, and the American Revolution

Sint Eustatius, a tiny, cashew-shaped island situated in the aquamarine waters of the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean, was home to Jewish settlers from the Iberian Peninsula. As the American Revolution began, a small group of Jewish merchants would make a monumental difference in the outcome of the war.

The First Salute: An Untold Story of the American Revolution, an NEH-supported exhibition at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, tells the nearly forgotten story of the merchants who risked everything to aid the bourgeoning country in its war against Britain. They disguised shipments of gunpowder and critical military supplies as tea on ships bound for the United States. On Nov. 16, 1776, the island became a lightning rod, as Governor George Rodney rendered the first cannon salute to the Andrew Doria, a U.S. flagged warship. The British retaliated swiftly against the Jewish population on the island. 

The exhibit features interactive storytelling, documentary films, and rare artifacts and items from the era. It will be on display at the museum through April 2027.