396

1024 HISTORICAL ANNOTATION

on 25 January 1891 and met with Douglass almost immediately. Although it cannot
be confirmed that the meeting took place, as Douglass recalls, on 26 January, this is
most likely the correct date given the time of Gherardi's arrival and the haste he made
in arranging the meeting with Douglass. Himelhoch, "Frederick Douglass and Haiti's
Mole St. Nicolas," 174.

445.9-10 United States Legation] The U.S. legation in Haiti was established in
1862 with the appointment of Benjamin F. Whidden as the first U.S. commissioner
and consul general. Smaller than a modern embassy, a legation was often designated
to facilitate international relations and to house U.S. diplomatic officers in small
countries. When diplomatic relations were firmly established between the United
States and Haiti following the Civil War, the legation at Haiti generally accommo-
dated the minister and several consular agents. During Douglass's tenure in Haiti, the
legation consisted of a small office facility with a public room to greet visitors and a
private room that served as his official office. Nonna Brown, ed., A Black Diplomat
in Haiti: The Diplomatic Correspondence of U.S. Minister Frederick Douglass from
Haiti, 1889-1891, 2 vols. (Salisbury, N.C., 1977), 1:10-18; Padgett, "Diplomats to
Haiti and Their Diplomacy," 270-77.

445.10 'Philadelphia.'] A cruiser, the Philadelphia was built by William Cramp
and Sons at Philadelphia in 1888 and launched 7 September 1889. The Philadelphia
was the flagship of Rear Admiral Bancroft Gherardi during his command of the North
Atlantic Squadron and the negotiations for annexing Mo1e St. Nicholas. The cruiser
was removed from service and sold at public auction in 1927. Mooney, American
Naval Fighting Ships, 5:282-83.

445.23 Blaine] James G. Blaine, Benjamin Harrison's secretary of state.

445.23 Tracy] Benjamin Franklin Tracy (1830-1915) was Benjamin Harrison's
secretary of the Navy. During the Reconstruction years Tracy served as a federal
attorney for the Eastern District of New York and earned a seat on the New York Court
of Appeals in 1881. Building on Alfred Thayer Mahan's theory from The Influence of
Sea Power upon History (1890). Tracy convinced Harrison and Congress that a
strong, technically advanced navy was necessary for the United States to defend itself
against the great European and Asian imperial nations. During Tracy's four years as
naval secretary, nineteen new state-of-the-art steel warships were commissioned. Of
utmost importance to Tracy's expansionist policy was the acquisition of naval bases
around the world. One of Tracy's prime targets for acquisition was Haiti's deepwater
harbor at Mole St. Nicholas, which was to be used as a refueling location for steam-
ships. B. Franklin Cooling, Benjamin Franklin Tracy: Father of the Modern American
Fighting Navy (Hamden, Conn., 1973); EAAH, 3:243-44; ANB, 21:791-94.

446.24-25 Firmin, the Haitien Minister of Foreign Affairs] Antenor Joseph
Firmin (1850-1911), Haitian statesman and author, was born in Cap Haitien in north-
ern Haiti. Firmin studied law and became the inspector of schools in Cap Haitien. In
1881 Firmin married Rosa Salnave, daughter of the former Haitian president Sylvain
Salnave, and two years later the Haitian government sent Firmin to France on diplo-