Feu de joie
As soldiers fire into the air sequentially in rapid succession, the cascade of blank rounds produces a characteristic "rat-tat-tat" effect.
"[1]From his headquarters at Ross Hall, General George Washington ordered a feu de joie to celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Tomorrow, the Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence will be celebrated by the firing thirteen Pieces of Cannon and a feu de joie of the whole line; the Army will be formed on the Brunswick side of the Rariton at five o'Clock in the afternoon on the ground pointed out by the Quarter Master General.
In May 1782 a feu de joie at West Point celebrated the birth of the Dauphin of France, and was witnessed by a Dr. Thacher.The arbor was, in the evening, illuminated by a vast number of lights, which, being arranged in regular and tasteful order, exhibited a scene vying in brilliancy with the starry firmament.
The officers having rejoined their regiments, thirteen cannon were again fired as a prelude to the general feu-de-joie, which immediately succeeded throughout the whole line of the army on the surrounding hills, and being three times repeated, the mountains resounded and echoed like tremendous peals of thunder, and the flashing from thousands of firearms in the darkness of the evening, could be compared only to the most vivid flashes of lightning from the clouds.
In his book The King's Shilling, Gordon Johnson Walker remembered how the feu-de-joie was incorporated into the annual ceremony held on the first day of every New Year when the reigning Monarch was proclaimed ‘Emperor of India’.
"[5] Queen Victoria's proclamation as Empress of India in Delhi on 1 January 1877 was followed by a feu de joie described by Field Marshal Lord Roberts.A salute of one hundred and one salvos of artillery was fired, with a feu-de-joie from the long line of troops.
[6]At the 1911 Delhi Coronation Durbar of King George V, a feu de joie followed the 101-Gun Salute during the State Entry ceremony on 12 December 1911.
As part of Elizabeth II's 80th birthday celebrations, a spectacular feu de joie occurred on the Forecourt of Buckingham Palace on 17 June 2006 following the RAF flypast after Trooping the Colour.
[8] This followed a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral, reception at Mansion House, a luncheon given in her honour by the Livery at Westminster Hall, and a balcony appearance with flypast by the Red Arrows and historic aircraft,[9] including the last flying Lancaster bomber in Britain.
[10] The celebrations culminated in several feux de joie fired on the Forecourt of the Palace, interspersed with sections of the National Anthem as on the Queen's 80th birthday.
The firing of the threefold feu de joie (salwa honorowa in Polish) is done mainly in Poland by formations of the armed forces and uniformed groups during funerals of veterans and important persons, more akin to a three-volley salute as a form of national gratitude to their service, and on the following dates: The firing party is either platoon, half company or company sized formation holding either the SKS, AKM, FB Beryl or MSBS rifle from the Polish Armed Forces or other civil uniformed organizations.
