# Gun salute > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gun_salute > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gun_salute.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_salute > Source revision: 1352843091 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Shots from an artillery gun performed as a military honour}} thumb|A cannon on a naval vessel's deck fired during the arrival of a dignitary A '''gun salute''' or '''cannon salute''' is the use of a piece of artillery to fire shots, often 21 in number for higher ranks (''[21-gun salute](/source/21-gun_salute)''), with the aim of marking an honor or celebrating a joyful event. It is a tradition in many countries around the world. ==History== thumb|''Het kanonschot'' painting by Willem van de Velde the Younger. Firing cannons is a maritime tradition that dates back to the 14th century, when the cannon began to impose itself on the battlefields: a boat entering the waters of a country unloads its weapons and thus marks its intentions as peaceful.{{cite web|title=Les cérémonies du Royal Gun Salutes à Londres|url=http://www.escapadesalondres.com/pages/les-ceremonies-royales/les-ceremonies-royal-gun-salutes-a-londres.html|website=escapadesalondres.com|access-date=September 22, 2020|publication-date=}}. The coastal batteries or the boats encountered then respond to this salute. If 7 cannon shots are fired at the start, corresponding to the number of guns on board a boat, in addition to the symbolism of the number seven, this number increases to 21, since it was considered that for a shot fired by a boat, the batteries on land had enough powder for three rounds. ==21-gun salute== {{excerpt|21-gun salute|only=paragraph}} == Other numbered salutes == To honor the 75th birthday of [King Charles III](/source/Charles_III), a number of special salutes were fired. A 41-gun salute was fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in London's Green Park. This was one of a number of gun salutes on the day, including a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.{{Cite news |title=Watch: Gun salute marks King Charles III's 75th birthday |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-67417358 |access-date=2023-11-14}} ==Minute gun salute== The firing of guns at intervals of one minute is a traditional expression of mourning used at sea and at [state funeral](/source/state_funeral)s. In the United Kingdom in 1837 at the funeral of King [William IV](/source/William_IV), guns were fired all day,{{cite book |author= |date=1837 |title=The Guide to Knowledge: Volume I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0UAwAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA420 |location=London |publisher=Orlando Hodgson |page=420 }} but at for [Queen Victoria](/source/Queen_Victoria), there was a salute of eighty-one minute guns, one for each year of her life,{{cite book |last=King |first=Greg |date=2007 |title=Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pozuEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT271 |location=Hoboken NJ |publisher= John Wiley & Sons Ltd |chapter=Epilogue: The Twilight of Splendor |page= |isbn=978-0470044391}} a custom that has continued at royal funerals since. In the United States, at noon on the day of presidential funerals, military installations across the country fire a 21-minute gun salute.{{cite book |last=Marshall |first=John |date=2012 |title=The Honor Guard Manual |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iFwDBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA407 |publisher=Drillmaster |page=407 |isbn=978-1300288923}} ==By type== [[File:Valletta Saluting battery Malta 2014 7.jpg|thumb|The [Saluting Battery](/source/Saluting_Battery_(Valletta)) in [Valletta](/source/Valletta) firing a gun salute]] ===Naval cannon fire=== {{See also|21-gun salute}} When a cannon was fired, it partially disarmed the ship until reloaded, so needlessly firing a cannon showed respect and trust. As a matter of courtesy a warship would fire her guns harmlessly out to sea, to show that she had no hostile intent. At first, ships were required to fire seven guns; meanwhile forts, with their more numerous guns and a larger supply of gunpowder, were required meanwhile to fire 21 times. Later, as the quality of gunpowder improved, the British increased the number of shots required from ships to match the forts. The system of odd-numbered rounds originated from [Samuel Pepys](/source/Samuel_Pepys), Secretary to the Navy in the [Restoration](/source/English_Restoration), as a way of economising on the use of powder, the rule until that time having been that all guns had to be fired. Odd numbers were chosen, as even numbers indicated a death.{{cite web|url=http://www.salutingbattery.com/events.html|title=Maritime Gun Salutes|access-date=28 September 2014|archive-date=6 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906093320/http://www.salutingbattery.com/events.html|url-status=dead}} As naval customs evolved, the [21-gun salute](/source/21-gun_salute) came to be reserved for [heads of state](/source/Head_of_state), with fewer rounds used to salute lower-ranking officials. Today, in the US Armed Forces, [heads of government](/source/Head_of_Government) and cabinet ministers (e.g., the Vice President, [U.S. cabinet members](/source/United_States_Cabinet), and service secretariesE.g. [Secretary of the Army](/source/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Army), [Secretary of the Navy](/source/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Navy), and [Secretary of the Air Force](/source/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Air_Force)), and military officers with [five-star rank](/source/five-star_rank) receive 19 rounds; [four-stars](/source/four-star_rank) receive 17 rounds; [three-stars](/source/three-star_rank) receive 15; [two-stars](/source/two-star_rank) receive 13; and a [one-star](/source/one-star_rank) general or admiral receives 11. These same standards are currently adhered to by ground-based saluting batteries. Multiples of 21-gun salutes may be fired for particularly important celebrations. In monarchies this is often done at births of members of the royal family of the country and other official celebrations associated with the royal family. ===United States Army Presidential Salute Battery=== A specialty platoon of the [3rd US Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard)](/source/3rd_US_Infantry_Regiment_(The_Old_Guard)), the Presidential Salute Battery is based at [Fort Myer](/source/Fort_Myer), Virginia. The Guns Platoon (as it is known for short) has the task of rendering military honors in the [National Capital Region](/source/Washington_Metropolitan_Area), including [armed forces full-honors funerals](/source/Military_funeral); [state funerals](/source/State_funerals_in_the_United_States); [presidential inaugurations](/source/United_States_presidential_inauguration); full-honors [wreath](/source/wreath) ceremonies at the [Tomb of the Unknowns](/source/Tomb_of_the_Unknowns) in [Arlington National Cemetery](/source/Arlington_National_Cemetery); [state arrivals](/source/State_Arrival_Ceremony) at the White House and [Pentagon](/source/The_Pentagon), and retirement ceremonies for [general-grade officers](/source/General_officer) in the [Military District of Washington](/source/Military_District_of_Washington), which are normally conducted at Fort Myer. The Presidential Salute Battery also participates in [A Capitol Fourth](/source/A_Capitol_Fourth), the Washington [Independence Day](/source/Independence_Day_(United_States)) celebration; the guns accompany the [National Symphony Orchestra](/source/National_Symphony_Orchestra_(United_States)) in performing the "[1812 Overture](/source/1812_Overture)". The platoon maintains its battery of ten ceremonially-modified World War II-vintage [M5](/source/3_inch_Gun_M5) [anti-tank guns](/source/anti-tank_guns) at the Old Guard regimental motor pool. == See also == * [Three-volley salute](/source/Three-volley_salute) * [Feu de joie](/source/Feu_de_joie) ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:21-Gun Salute}} Category:Salutes Category:Military ceremonies Category:State ritual and ceremonies Category:Death and funerary practices in the Philippines --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gun salute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_salute) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_salute?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.