| 21-Gun Salute or Three Volley Salute Jay C. Wood, USN (Ret) |
Since the enactment of the federal law providing for the rendering of military
funeral honors, more and more veterans are receiving a three volley salute at their
gravesite. This three volley salute is not a twenty-one gun salute!
Some may remember watching President Reagan’s funeral on television. He
received both a 21-gun salute and a three volley salute, but for different reasons and
by different people using different weapons and at different times during the ceremony.
There is probably no better ‘authority’ for drills and ceremonies than the Army.
The U.S. Army’s first drill manual, called the Blue Book, was written at Valley Forge
in 1778. Chapter 1 of the current “Drill and Ceremonies” manual contains a short
history about what happened at Valley Forge and why the Blue Book came into being.
It makes for some very interesting reading.
Chapter 14 in the drill manual deals with funerals and the various funeral
ceremonies. Skip over to Paragraph 10, “Cannon Salute.” There you will find,
“Immediately preceding the benediction, a Cannon Salute corresponding to the grade
of the deceased … is fired at five-second intervals. Following the benediction, three
volleys of musketry are fired.” (The italics are in the manual for emphasis.) The use of
the word ‘musketry’ in the current edition of the drill manual is possibly a holdover
from the Blue Book.
These two salutes are separate events which take place at different times during
the funeral ceremony. Now to determine what weapons are used at which time and
for which salute.
In Army terminology, a ‘gun’ is what civilians call a ‘cannon’. No soldier will ever
refer to his personal, shoulder fired weapon as a ‘gun’ (or his Sergeant will ‘drill’ into
him the difference).
Paragraph 17 in that same chapter has intricate and detailed instructions covering
what the ‘firing party’ does while rendering a three volley salute. There are a variety
of weapons which can be used but most are fired from the shoulder. Hand held
weapons such as pistols and revolvers have been used in three volley salutes.
As an aside, there is an organization, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War,
whose members are actively searching for the burial sites of Civil War veterans.
When they hold a ceremony for a Civil War veteran, they fire three volleys using
muskets. Some may be using rifles but all of their weapons are muzzle loading, single
shot, black powder, shoulder fired, Civil War era weapons. It takes them a while to
fire all three volleys because of the loading and re-loading of the weapons.
This brings up another difference between the two salutes. A ‘volley’ is when all
the weapons are fired simultaneously. In a Cannon Salute, the guns are fired one at a
time.
How many weapons are fired depends on a couple of factors. How many weapons
are available and how many people are available to fire them.
It really doesn’t matter if there is only one gun or twenty-one guns as long as they
are fired one at a time until the total number of firings is reached.
Paragraph 17 in the same chapter says, “For ceremonial firing, the firing party
consists of not more than eight riflemen and not less than five with one
noncommissioned officer in charge.” The main thing is that they all fire simultaneously
each of the three volleys.
Why did President Reagan receive a 21-gun Salute? For that we need to look at the
Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Army’s most elite drill and ceremony unit,
those who perform the ceremonies at Arlington. On one of the web pages dealing
with funerals at Arlington we find, “The president of the United States is entitled to a
21-gun salute….”
(For a complete listing of who gets how many ‘Guns’ for their salute, see the U.
S. Army Regulations. )
By the way, the Reagan funeral’s military ceremonies were conducted by members
of the ‘Old Guard’, the 3rd United States Infantry, who, among other duties, perform
most if not all of the funeral ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. Company E
of the Old Guard provides the Sentinels for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Now you know the difference between the two salutes, when they are given, who
does the firing and with which weapons. Gun salutes, including a 21-gun salute, are
fired from cannons. Three volley salutes are usually from shoulder fired weapons.
Next time you see a ‘firing party’ at a funeral ceremony you will notice that they
each fire three times. This is the traditional three volley salute to which every
honorably discharged veteran is entitled.
funeral honors, more and more veterans are receiving a three volley salute at their
gravesite. This three volley salute is not a twenty-one gun salute!
Some may remember watching President Reagan’s funeral on television. He
received both a 21-gun salute and a three volley salute, but for different reasons and
by different people using different weapons and at different times during the ceremony.
There is probably no better ‘authority’ for drills and ceremonies than the Army.
The U.S. Army’s first drill manual, called the Blue Book, was written at Valley Forge
in 1778. Chapter 1 of the current “Drill and Ceremonies” manual contains a short
history about what happened at Valley Forge and why the Blue Book came into being.
It makes for some very interesting reading.
Chapter 14 in the drill manual deals with funerals and the various funeral
ceremonies. Skip over to Paragraph 10, “Cannon Salute.” There you will find,
“Immediately preceding the benediction, a Cannon Salute corresponding to the grade
of the deceased … is fired at five-second intervals. Following the benediction, three
volleys of musketry are fired.” (The italics are in the manual for emphasis.) The use of
the word ‘musketry’ in the current edition of the drill manual is possibly a holdover
from the Blue Book.
These two salutes are separate events which take place at different times during
the funeral ceremony. Now to determine what weapons are used at which time and
for which salute.
In Army terminology, a ‘gun’ is what civilians call a ‘cannon’. No soldier will ever
refer to his personal, shoulder fired weapon as a ‘gun’ (or his Sergeant will ‘drill’ into
him the difference).
Paragraph 17 in that same chapter has intricate and detailed instructions covering
what the ‘firing party’ does while rendering a three volley salute. There are a variety
of weapons which can be used but most are fired from the shoulder. Hand held
weapons such as pistols and revolvers have been used in three volley salutes.
As an aside, there is an organization, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War,
whose members are actively searching for the burial sites of Civil War veterans.
When they hold a ceremony for a Civil War veteran, they fire three volleys using
muskets. Some may be using rifles but all of their weapons are muzzle loading, single
shot, black powder, shoulder fired, Civil War era weapons. It takes them a while to
fire all three volleys because of the loading and re-loading of the weapons.
This brings up another difference between the two salutes. A ‘volley’ is when all
the weapons are fired simultaneously. In a Cannon Salute, the guns are fired one at a
time.
How many weapons are fired depends on a couple of factors. How many weapons
are available and how many people are available to fire them.
It really doesn’t matter if there is only one gun or twenty-one guns as long as they
are fired one at a time until the total number of firings is reached.
Paragraph 17 in the same chapter says, “For ceremonial firing, the firing party
consists of not more than eight riflemen and not less than five with one
noncommissioned officer in charge.” The main thing is that they all fire simultaneously
each of the three volleys.
Why did President Reagan receive a 21-gun Salute? For that we need to look at the
Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Army’s most elite drill and ceremony unit,
those who perform the ceremonies at Arlington. On one of the web pages dealing
with funerals at Arlington we find, “The president of the United States is entitled to a
21-gun salute….”
(For a complete listing of who gets how many ‘Guns’ for their salute, see the U.
S. Army Regulations. )
By the way, the Reagan funeral’s military ceremonies were conducted by members
of the ‘Old Guard’, the 3rd United States Infantry, who, among other duties, perform
most if not all of the funeral ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. Company E
of the Old Guard provides the Sentinels for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Now you know the difference between the two salutes, when they are given, who
does the firing and with which weapons. Gun salutes, including a 21-gun salute, are
fired from cannons. Three volley salutes are usually from shoulder fired weapons.
Next time you see a ‘firing party’ at a funeral ceremony you will notice that they
each fire three times. This is the traditional three volley salute to which every
honorably discharged veteran is entitled.
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| __________________________________ References: Federal law for military honors at funerals: USC Title 10 § 1491 <http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/10/usc_sec_10_00001491----000-.html> U.S. Army Manual "Drills and Ceremonies" FM 3-21.5 < rotc.okstate.edu/pdf/FM%203-21.5%20Drill%20and%20Ceremony.pdf > Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War <http://suvcw.org/graves/graves.htm> Arlington National Cemetery <http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/ceremonies/military_funerals.html> U.S. Army Regulations Manual AR600-25 (see Table 2-1) <www.usma.army.mil/Protocol/images/AR600-25.pdf> |
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