The thunderous spectacle of Charlie Smithgall's cannons being fired at the Long's Park Fourth of July celebration has become a tradition in Lancaster County.

Again this year, the 257th Army Band will play the "1812 Overture" as the cannons roar.

But this patriotic accompaniment to the fireworks show doesn't just fall easily together.

A lot of hard work and sweat go into transporting the cannons, charging them and rigging them to fire precisely on time.

The former Lancaster city mayor and his crew started loading some of the cannons onto trailers Wednesday afternoon and will continue wrestling with the 3,000-pound bronze and iron behemoths until all 17 are brought to Long's Park on Sunday.

"It's a lot of physical work," said Smithgall, who added that each year the task of transporting the cannons gets harder for lack of younger helping hands.

Once all the cannons are in place, the task of loading and setting the electrical charges is undertaken by a 30-member crew.

Smithgall double-checks every circuit to ensure the cannons fire on time and without a hitch.

Every cannon also has a safety to reduce the risk of being fired too early.

During the fireworks show, one person will fire every cannon electronically from the amphitheater stage.

Full charges of gunpowder are loaded into each cannon — the same size charge, Smithgall said, that would have been used during the Civil War.

This gives the cannons their signature earth-shaking, air-blasting boom.

"People seem to enjoy it," Smithgall said.

"Forty-thousand people show up, and it's the only song I've ever heard that gets a round of applause before it starts."

This is the 31st year the cannons will be fired at the Long's Park Fourth of July celebration.

The first year Smithgall contributed more firepower to the fireworks show: He had four six-pound 1750s model naval guns made just for the occasion.

Three of those guns are still included in the row of cannons that fire during the "1812 Overture."

rheslin@lnpnews.com