Marshall's Civic Band

Set of folders with music glued inside to form pages. 
 
Composed in 1888. "Only those who receive certain degrees in Masonry may fully 
appreciate the meaning of this composition, which was written shortly after 
Sousa was 'knighted' in Columbia Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar, Washington, 
D.C. The Knights Templar is theoretically derived from the Crusades, and a 
number of their secret rituals and ceremonies relate to the period when the 
Crusaders were battling the Turks. Thus the Knights Templar organization itself 
is probably the 'Crusader,' unless Sousa had some individual in mind whose 
identity has escaped historians. 
    "The march was one of several sold outright to the Philadelpha publisher 
Harry Coleman for $35.00. It is interesting harmonically, yet straightforward 
and simple. If Sousa secretly used fragments of any Masonic music in the march, 
he concealed it so well that Masonic historians have been unable to bring it to 
the public's attention." 
 
The Works of John Philip Sousa 
pgs. 47-48 
Paul E. Bierley 
Integrity Press 
1984