Fourth of July cannon disaster at Lykens, PA | 1854

Explosion of a cannon during a patriotic occasion in the 1850s

In 1854, a festive cannon salute in Lykens, Pennsylvania turned tragic on the Fourth of July. One man was killed, another lost an arm, highlighting the hazards of 19th-century holiday revelry. Read the full story.

Letters from War – Celebrating Independence Day 1945 in occupied Germany

Sergeant Irvin Schwartz describes the Fourth of July festivities in the ruined city of Nuremberg in July 1945.