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Homeward Bound March
Homeward Bound March from The Complete Marches of John Philip Sousa: Vol. 3

 

“Homeward Bound” (1891-1892)

 

The only clue to the existence of this unpublished march was a mention in the list of compositions given in Sousa’s autobiography, Marching Along, until manuscripts turned up in a trunk in the basement archives of the Sands Point home in 1965. Several copyist’s manuscripts for band bearing the names of U.S. Marine Band musicians were found. Marine Corps enlistment records of these men are incomplete, so establishing an exact date for the composition is improbable unless other manuscripts are some day discovered. Inasmuch as it was written while Sousa was leader of the Marine Band, it would seem that it would have been written during the homeward leg of one of the Marine Band tours (1891 and 1892) or perhaps on the return from the engagement in Fayetteville, North Carolina (1889).

Paul E. Bierley, The Works of John Philip Sousa (Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press, 1984), 43. Used by permission.