Cannon firing demonstrations, book signing slated at Shiloh National Park for July 4 holiday weekend

The Shiloh cannon crew fires a 6-pounder field piece across the street from the visitor center. (NPS photo)

In honor of the July 4th holiday, Shiloh National Military Park is presenting Civil War cannon firing demonstrations this weekend.
The scheduled firing demonstrations Saturday and Sunday will be presented by the Shiloh cannon crew, firing a 6-pounder field piece across the street from the park visitor center, the park announced.
Saturday’s demonstrations are at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., while Sunday’s are at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Each program lasts about 20 minutes and interprets the weapons, projectiles, and procedures Civil War artillery crews used during the war.
Also on on Saturday, historian Mark Zimmerman will speak about the “Gunboats of Pittsburg Landing” at noon in the visitor center auditorium. A book signing will be held afterward from 1-2 p.m. in the park’s bookstore.
Zimmerman is a retired newspaper man and publications manager and the author of “Iron Maidens and the Devil’s Daughters: US Navy Gunboats versus Confederate Gunners and Cavalry of the Tennessee and Cumberland River, 1861-1865.”
All programs are free and open to the public.