Marshall's Civic Band

Composed in 1886. "Nothing among Sousa's memoirs reveals the identity of the 
'gladiator,' but the first printing of the sheet music carried a dedication to 
Charles F. Towle of Boston. Towle was a journalist who was editor of the 'Boston 
Traveller' at the time this march was written, but the nature of his associatin 
with Sousa is not known. 
    "Sousa's daughter Helen conjectured that her father might have been inspired 
by a literary account of some particular gladiator. It is unlikely that he would 
have dedicated a march to gladiators in general because of their ferocity and 
deeds of inhumanity, but perhaps one noble gladiator who had been a victim of 
circumstances might have been his inspiration. There has also been speculation 
that the march had some Masonic significance, inasmuch as it was written at the 
time he was 'knighted' in Columbia Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar, but this 
lacks substantiation. 
    "For Sousa, 'The Gladiator' brought back both happy and unhappy memories. In 
1885 he had written the dirge 'The Honored Dead' for Stopper and Fist, a music 
publisher in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. They were so pleased that they asked 
him to write a quickstep march. He responded with 'The Gladiator,' but they 
rejected it. Their shortsightedness cost them dearly; Sousa then sold it to 
Harry Coleman of Philadelphia, and it eventually sold over a million copies. 
    "'The Gladiator' was the first Sousa composition to reach such wide 
circulation. He himself was unaware of its popularity until its strains startled 
him one day while in Philadelphia on business...." (Sousa's account of this 
event follows). 
 
The Works of John Philip Sousa 
pg. 56 
Paul E. Bierley 
Integrity Press 
1984