Thirteen gunshots were fired in each of two salutes at Bristol, Rhode Island, on July 4, 1777.
The salutes took place once in the morning and again in the evening during one of the earliest Independence Day observances. The number thirteen symbolized the thirteen former colonies that had declared themselves independent states the previous year.
The Bristol celebration is an early example of how Independence Day developed from a political anniversary into a public holiday involving ceremony, music, food, and fireworks. Other communities marked the day with dinners, speeches, parades, military reviews, and displays of flags and bunting.
Philadelphia also held a notable 1777 celebration, including an official dinner for the Continental Congress and fireworks. These events occurred while the Revolutionary War was still underway, so public celebrations combined national identity with wartime uncertainty. The repeated thirteen-shot salute connected local festivities to the new nation’s original political geography.