Sousa’s influence on late 19^th– and early 20^th-century music is well known, but very little is known about his relationship with his family.  As a traveling band leader Sousa gave thousands of concerts between 1892 and 1932 and spent months away from his family.  Throughout his time on tour, however, he regularly wrote to his family, revealing much about his relationship with them and his life on tour.  Many of his letters describe his travels and his occasional frustration with train delays and bouts of poor health.  Sousa’s family also sent letters to distant hotels where he was scheduled to stay, often telling him about their activities at home and occasionally expressing their gentle frustration about missed family holidays and birthdays.

During WWI in 1917, Sousa offered his services to the U.S. Marines and then the U.S. Army, but he was turned down because of his age and became frustrated by their responses.  However, the commandant of the Great Lakes Naval Center offered Sousa a commission as a lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve to organize and train Navy bands for the war.  Sousa’s short letter to his wife on September 21, 1917, announcing his Navy commissioning, probably caught her by surprise because instead of returning home after temporarily disbanding his civilian band, he would begin touring with the Great Lakes band.

While on tour with the Great Lakes Naval Battalion band on May 17, 1918, Sousa wrote, “Dearest Jane, I am here with the band until Tuesday night, then to Cleveland [and] N.Y. for the war bond concert and some work in connection with the Atlantic Fleet…Hope to see you on the 28^th.  With much love and kisses, devotedly, Philip.”  By early September, however, Sousa’s civilian band was reconstituted to complete their Willow Grove Park performances, and he left for Chicago rather than returning home.  This annoyed Sousa’s wife and daughters since they hadn’t seen him for a good portion of 1918.

Sousa’s tenure with the Naval Battalion Band ended in 1920, but his 1919 civilian band, which continued to tour across America and Canada, left Sousa little time for family and the growing tensions on the home front.   His July 6, 1919, letter to his wife began, “Dearest wife.  The same forces that silently and relentlessly led the world into a war…started an individual and family antipathy that has no parallel in history…Our family is not the only one…Philip’s contempt for Priscilla and Helen, Helen’s contempt for the rest, Priscilla’s indifference to me and you…make each other as unhappy as possible…The average person’s judgement about other’s affairs is usually of no value…Devotedly. Philip”

It is unclear what caused this animosity, but Sousa’s continuous touring with his civilian band most likely inflamed these tensions.  This exhibit documents, through personal letters and photographs, the personal and professional life of America’s March King and the musicians who performed with the Great Lakes Naval Band during and after WWI.