Great Bend Post
Jun 28, 2023

Ft. Larned firing up the cannons as part of July 4 celebration

Posted Jun 28, 2023 5:00 PM

By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post

Most state and national offices will be closed for Independence Day on Tuesday, July 4. Fort Larned National Historic Site will remain open with free programming for the public. Parker Ranger Ben Long said the fun begins at 10 a.m. with a blacksmith demonstration and builds to several firings of a howitzer cannon.

"At 1:00, we're going to have a hands-on program where folks can learn the different steps to load and fire a cannon," he said. "They can actually handle the sponge rammer, the primer wire, and things like that. We won't be able to fire then, but they'll be able to learn the various steps to load a cannon."

Howitzers were used as an infantry support weapon during the Civil War. On the plains, they helped defend wagon trains as they traveled east and west. There were orders for four howitzers to be on-site in the late 1860s. Per Army orders of 1861, the cannon will be fired at noon on July 4 as part of a salute to the flag.

"We do have a record that there was a post commander who wanted to sort of go above and beyond with that," Long said. "He actually ordered that fire to commence at noon, then every hour, on the hour until retreat. That would normally be at sunset so you're looking at 9-10 firings that they would have done to salute the flag."

Ft. Larned programming begins at 10 a.m. on Independence Day, with a howitzer demonstration at 11 a.m., the flag salute at noon, and another firing at 2 p.m. following the hands-on program. A Buffalo Soldiers talk will take place at three, and the cannon will be fired one final time for the 4:30 p.m. retreat as the flag is lowered.