It is not offered to all who die in service to the country, but is reserved for those who earned higher honors through exemplary service. In contemporary times, some military funerals may feature the three-gun salute, while the funerals of flag officers, current and former presidents, presidents-elect, cabinet secretaries, and other dignitaries may feature 21 guns. The military salute was born out of an ancient custom designed to let an approaching warrior know you were friend and not foe.
Raising of the sword arm to show the hand is empty over time became the salute. In a similar fashion, the gun salute was also born out of the need to show peaceful, not hostile, intent. Army historians note that salute by cannon began in the 14th century as the firearm-based equivalent of the ancient salute. Over time, the number increased to 21 guns. Gun Salutes are the firing of guns or firearms as a sign of respect which is used to mark special occasions or as a military honour. The practice of firing gun salutes has existed for centuries on both land and sea where warships would fire their cannons harmlessly out to sea, until the ammunition was spent, to signify their guns were empty and they had no hostile intentions.
By , the Royal Navy was firing 21 gun salutes to mark certain anniversaries, which was to became the mandatory salute to the Royal family in the eighteenth century. Although the gun salute is the most commonly recognised, the number of rounds fired for any given salute varies depending on the occasion and rank of the person to whom honours are being rendered. At the Tower of London 62 rounds are fired on Royal anniversaries The basic 21, plus a further 20 because the Tower is a Royal Palace, plus another 21 'for the City of London'.
On other occasions 41 rounds are fired. With the improvement of naval gunpowder, honors rendered at sea increased to 21, as well. The gun salute eventually became the international standard. In the United States, the custom has changed over time. In , the War Department defined the "national salute" as equal to the number of states in the Union at the time, This salute was fired by all U.
The Bible states that God rested on the seventh day after Creation, that every seventh year was sabbatical and that the seven times seventh year ushered in the Jubilee year. Land batteries, having a greater supply of gunpowder, were able to fire three guns for every shot fired afloat, hence the salute by shore batteries was 21 guns. The multiple of three probably was chosen because of the mystical significance of the number three in many ancient civilizations.
Early gunpowder, composed mainly of sodium nitrate, spoiled easily at sea, but could be kept cooler and drier in land magazines. When potassium nitrate improved the quality of gunpowder, ships at sea adopted the salute of 21 guns. The gun salute became the highest honor a nation rendered. Varying customs among the maritime powers led to confusion in saluting and return of salutes.
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