Perhaps no musician gets played more on the Fourth of July than John Philip Sousa. He was a prolific composer and band leader, traveling the world in the time of passenger trains and steam ships (the band traveled more than a million miles by train!).
Little known is the fact that Sousa and his band were involved in no fewer than three train accidents throughout their career. This image shows band members standing in front of their train, which had experienced a head on collision on the The Northern Pacific Railway in 1899 as they headed from Portland to Spokane. Sousa's band also endured two other derailments in the 1920's, one near Rochester, New York and one near Walsenberg, Colorado.
See Tracks? Think Train!
Wishing all a happy, and safe, Fourth of July!