American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

When did the 21-gun salute originate? I could Wikipedia this but it's more interesting to ask the community of historians here sometimes.

At my grandfather's funeral the local American Legion did the honors. If you are buried in a military cemetery do currently serving personnel do the duty or must you be an active member to receive a salute by currently serving personnel? Does it differ by branches as to how it is handled?

I don't recall reading about any Civil War burials accompanied by such salutes. Maybe I just overlooked them but I don't recall it off hand.

Check out this link:

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/jointser ... egun_2.htm

After my father-in-law died last January up here in Pennsylvania, his funeral took place on absolutely the coldest day of the winter. The honors were supplied by the local American Legion post. Those gentlemen stood there in terrible cold and fired three perfect volleys, and the bugler played "Taps" and I expected his lips would be stuck to the bugle. As I noted at the time, my father in law was a platoon leader in Company C of Creighton Abrams' tank battalion, was seriously wounded about 5 Dec 44 and so missed the Bulge. He was 93, and the Legionnaires did him proud.
During my service as full-time support for the National Guard, local units would supply details for military funerals whenever possible, but with unit consolidations and the building of "super-armories" there are no local units anymore. Something else lost to the modern day.
John Ferry
LTC 2/20th Corps

I served 20 years as an officer in the US Navy. My last 5 years of assignments were as the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer of Reserve Centers in Jackson, MS and New Orleans, LA. Service members who die on active duty and retired service members are entitled to a 21-gun salute at their funeral, if resources are available. All veterans are entitled to a flag, personnel to fold it and present to next of kin, and a playing or taps (live or recorded).
My reserve center staff providing the flag folding and presentations and taps over most of central Mississippi. If the deceased was an officer, then I attended to present the flag ( I was the only officer on the staff). NAS Meridian had a permanently assigned honors detail that would provide the 21-gun salute and a live bugler to play taps. Otherwise, we played a recorded version of taps that was provided by the VA for playing at funerals.
When we received a request for funeral honors, the request took precedence over all of our other duties, up to including closing the reserve center down for the time we would be gone.
It was an honor to provide that service to our country's veterans.

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LTG L. G. Bertolino
3rd CSS Flotillia
The Bayou Patrol
Army of the Mississippi