Marshall's Civic Band

Composed in 1888. "It is unfortunate that President Chester A. Arthur, the man 
responsible for this march, did not live to hear it. In a conversation with 
Sousa, then leader of the U.S. Marine Band, he expressed his displeasure at the 
official use of the song 'Hail to the Chief.' When Sousa stated that it was 
actually an old Scottish boating song, the President suggested that he compose 
more appropriate music. Sousa responded with two pieces, not one. First he 
composed 'Presidential Polonaise' (1886). Then, two years after Arthur's death, 
he wrote 'Semper Fidelis.' 
    "The march takes its title from the motto of the U.S. Marine Corps: 'Semper 
Fidelis' - 'Always Faithful.' The trio is an extension of an earlier Sousa 
composition, 'With Steady Step,' one of eight brief trumpet and drum pieces he 
wroth for 'The Trumpet and Drum' (1886). It was dedicated to those who inspired 
it - the officers and men of the U.S. Marine Corps. In Sousa's own words: 'I 
wrote 'Semper Fidelis' one night while in tears, after my comrades of the Marine 
Crops had sung their famous hymn at Quantico'.... 
    "'Semper Fidelis' subsequently gained recognition as the official march of 
the U.S. Marine Crops. Sousa regarded it as his best march, musically speaking. 
It became one of his most popular marches, and he once stated that it was the 
favorite march of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany - before World War I, of course. 
It was played by the Sousa Band in many foreign countries and always received 
acclaim as a well-known composition. Few knew that it had been sold outright to 
the publisher for the unbelievably low sum of $35." 
 
The Works of John Philip Sousa 
pgs 82-83 
Paul E. Bierley 
Integrity Press 
1984