Booming on the Battlefield

June 28, 2021 - SHILOH, Tenn. - On Saturday, July 3, and Sunday, July 4, Shiloh National Military Park will present cannon firing demonstrations in commemoration of the July 4th weekend. The scheduled demonstrations will be presented by the Shiloh Cannon Crew, firing a 6-pounder gun, across the street from the park visitor center.

“These demonstrations will hopefully allow visitors to get a sense of the destructive power of the weapon and the terrible experience Shiloh soldiers faced when confronting massed artillery,” said Superintendent Allen Etheridge. “The 6-pounder field piece was the most prevalent big gun in the Battle of Shiloh, making up 40% of all the cannon on the battlefield,” Etheridge continued.

On Saturday there will be five demonstrations at 10:00 am, 11:00 am, 12:00 pm, 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm. On Sunday, there will be four demonstrations at 11:00 am, 12:00 pm, 1:30 pm, and 2:30 pm. Each demonstration will last approximately 20-minutes and include two cannon firings.

All demonstrations are free and open to the public. There is no mask mandate for vaccinated visitors in open spaces. The park visitor center and bookstore are open normal operating hours from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm daily.

For more information call the Shiloh visitor center at 731-689-5696 or check our website at www.nps.gov/shil and Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ShilohNMP, or follow Shiloh on Twitter @ShilohNPS.  Rain or lightning will cancel cannon firing demonstrations.

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Chris Mekow 

Chris_Mekow@nps.gov