Reception Upon Arriving at New York Harbor On His Way to His Inauguration

Upon reaching Elizabethtown, New Jersey on April 23, 1789, Washington was escorted across New York Harbor harbor to Manhattan in a specially built barge rowed by thirteen sailors in white. He was also accompanied by a committee consisting of three newly elected U.S. Senator and five newly elected Representatives. While being rowed across the harbor, Washington was saluted by all the ships that had congregated in the harbor to greet him, including a Spanish ship that displayed an array of flags of all nations and fired a thirteen gun salute in Washington's honor. Meanwhile, upon reaching the New York side of the harbor, Washington was greeted with another thirteen gun salute from the fort there and an even larger crowd of people and officials.