DENNIS ENDRES, SEVERN, MARYLAND: This is Dennis Endres from Severn, Maryland. I would like to ask CNN the origin and meaning of the 21-gun salute.</s>THOMAS SHERLOCK, SENIOR HISTORIAN, ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY: The origin of the 21-gun salute goes back to the 17th century, when you'd clear your guns to show that you were at peace with someone. Obviously, if you fired the round, you could no longer do any harm to them. A fort would clear seven guns to show that it had disarmed itself, a ship at sea then would pass and fire seven rounds to show that it had disarmed itself, and the fort would then return that seven as an acknowledgement. That's your three volleys of seven, and your 21-gun salute. Of course, now a 21-gun salute is the highest salute that you can receive, internationally. In our country, it goes back to 1841, when we had a salute for each state. That was stopped when we had 26 states. Then in 1875, the British Empire adopted a 21-gun salute as the highest international salute. The United States of American followed suit that same year.
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