For Whom the Gun Fires
The blast from the gun at Citadel Hill in Halifax at noon each day is a 138-year-old tradition
It has almost started an international security incident. If the weather conditions are just right, you can hear it from as far away as the outer communities of Cole Harbour or Spryfield. Yet, for most of us who live in the Halifax area don’t pay attention to it. For more than 138 years, people in Halifax have relied on the reverberating blast from the noon gun to signal the mid-day. This military tradition is maintained in several cities across Canada; in Halifax, Parks Canada keeps the tradition alive at Citadel Hill, overlooking the city’s downtown and harbour. For Craig Hyatt, assistant program manager at the Halifax Citadel Regimental Association for the Military Interpretation Program, the noon gun is a tradition that he enjoys being part of very much. Part of his job is to prepare and fire the noon gun every day. Hyatt, who has a major in history from King’s College, lights up when he talks about 19th and 20th century military history. The present noon gun is a 1970s reproduction of a Blomefield gun made in 1809, a reproduction of a 12-pounder. The smooth-bore muzzle-loading gun was used during the reign of King George III (1760-1820). Twelve-pounders are 2.9 metres long with an effective range of 1,372 metres. According to Parks Canada, the practise of firing the noon gun at the Halifax Citadel dates every day from at least 1856 and almost certainly before that, to as far back as 1749. Historically, military forts used cannons to signal daybreak, noon and sunset. An evening cannon blast warned soldiers the fort gates were closing for the night and that they should return to barracks. Locals are so accustomed to the gun, in fact, that sometimes they forget to inform visitors of its noon firing. Case in point was when the G20 Summit was held at the Halifax Citadel in 1995. President Bill Clinton was in attendance, along with many other international politicians, when the noon gun went off. The American Secret Service detail had not been informed and were taken off-guard when the gun was fired. The process to fire the noon gun starts around 11 a.m. as re-enactors check on the ammunition and quills. Shortly after they call the National Research Council in Ottawa, Canada’s official timekeeper, to synchronize with the 19th century-style pocket watch used by the Royal Artillery. Equipment and ammunition is collected from the casemate and taken up to the rampart in preparation for the firing. Using a wad hook, a curly metal-tipped stick is used to bore out the barrel of the cannon for foreign objects and debris, usually left from gunpowder bags. The noon gun is fired throughout the year at noon by historical re-enactors portraying the Royal Artillery of 1869. A daily telephone call is made to the National Research Council in Ottawa, Canada’s official timekeeper, to synchronize the 19th century-style pocket watch used by the Royal Artillery in their duty. At 11:55 a.m., the gun is prepared by loading a charge containing a halfkilogram of black powder into the muzzle. A friction tube is used to ignite the gunpowder on the command to fire. Minutes prior to the firing, one of the re-enactors watches for visitors and pedestrians along the east side of the fort to clear. On this particular day in early September the noon gun was delayed by five seconds because an inattentive tourist walked by the firing zone. But the next day the noon gun went off on time. As it has traditionally done for years.