On the Front Line

It is a frightening sight
that would stop anyone in their tracks.
Soldiers stand in formation blocking a road.
Their steely eyes challenge anyone who advances.

Their weapons are armed and ready.
All their military training 
is concentrated in defense of the front line.
No one will cross.
No one will break through.
Any hostile threat must be repelled at all costs.

Or maybe
they can play a jolly march
and convince their adversaries
to give up and just retreat. 

Once upon a time
these six trombonists posed for a camera.

Their names and the location of their camp are unknown

but they are definitely soldiers and bandsmen
in the United States Army. 

Instead of flashy parade dress

they wear military fatigue uniforms

which unfortunately don't show
any insignia or patches of their unit.

But there is one good clue.

Their canvas leggings match a style
first issued to U. S. Army soldiers in 1907.
This particular uniform accessory was used
in several conflicts in the years before World War One,
but then in 1910 mostly replaced
by leggings with a different design.

U.S. Army M1907 Leggings
Source: The internets

These fellows look like they could spit bullets
as their assault trombones
have rapid slide action.

It's a design that has remained 
standard military issue for several centuries.

Bayonets were reserved for only close quarter combat.

To demonstrate the formidable firepower
of a battery of trombones

here is a line up of around 16 trombonists

playing the circus band classic "Rolling Thunder"
a "screamer" composed by Henry Fillmore in 1916.

This performance took place
at the 2023 American Trombone Workshop

and was accompanied by the United States Army Band "Pershing's Own".

 

There is one trombonist who is wearing a uniform that I don't recognize.
This could be a guest artist from some foreign military band
that evidently doesn't do much marching.

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where the line starts on the left.