Stop 5 – Brown Parade Field and Flagpole
The concrete base of the flagpole stands at an altitude of 200 feet under a mile-high above sea-level. The two black cannons sitting on each side at the base are former “sunset guns” which were fired at the “Retreat” ceremony each afternoon when the flag was lowered. These former Civil War 3-inch ordinance rifles are placed on metal stands and were modified in the early 1900s to load from the breech instead of the muzzle. The World War II-era howitzers on either side of the flagpole’s base now fill the “sunset gun” role for the ceremony, held at 4:30 pm each afternoon, though the sound is from a recording and the guns do not fire.