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Anchor & Star
by John Philip Sousa
Year	1918
Genre	March
Published	1918, New York
Publisher	Carl Fischer
Audio sample
United States Marine Band performing the march file help

"Anchor & Star" is an American military march composed by John Philip Sousa in 1918, while he served as leader of the U.S. Navy Battalion Band at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center during the First World War.

History

On May 31, 1917, not long after the United States declared war on Germany and entered World War I, Sousa was commissioned as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving as leader of the Navy Band at the Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago, Illinois. While "known most often" for his service as leader of the U.S. Marine Band, Sousa's commission as a naval Lieutenant Commander was the first time he had served as a commissioned officer in the military; it also was the first time in history that any U.S. Navy musician had become a commissioned officer. At the time he entered the Navy, Sousa was 62 years old.

Sousa composed "Anchor & Star” in 1918 while serving as bandleader for the U.S. Navy Battalion Band at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. Sousa dedicated his march “To the U.S. Navy." Much as his march "Globe and Eagle" was named after the Marine Corps emblem, Sousa named "Anchor and Star" after the emblem of the U.S. Navy.

Sousa's naval service was a great success, as "young musicians rushed to enlist and learn under him in the recruit training band." He formed a large band of 350 members, and toured with it in cities in support of "Liberty Loan bonds, the Red Cross, Navy relief and recruiting." Sousa's navy tours ultimately raised over $21 million for the war effort.

Musical structure

"Anchor & Star" is often compared with another Sousa march, "Semper Fidelis" (the official march of the U.S. Marine Corps), as the two pieces have "a resemblance in construction, rhythm, key, and contrapuntal devices."

See also

• List of marches by John Philip Sousa

References

1. ^ "Anchor and Star March". www.marineband.marines.mil. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
2. ^ "History". www.navyband.navy.mil. Retrieved 2020-01-28.

v t e John Philip Sousa
List of compositions List of marches List of operettas
Marches	"Anchor and Star" "The Black Horse Troop" "Boy Scouts of America" "Columbia's Pride" "The Dauntless Battalion" "The Fairest of the Fair" "The Gallant Seventh" "The Gladiator March" "Hands Across the Sea" "The High School Cadets" "Imperial Edward" "The Invincible Eagle" "Kansas Wildcats" "King Cotton" "The Liberty Bell" "Manhattan Beach" "The Minnesota March" "Nobles of the Mystic Shrine" "The Royal Welch Fusiliers" "Semper Fidelis" "The Stars and Stripes Forever" "The Thunderer" "Transit of Venus March" "U.S. Field Artillery March" "The Washington Post"
Operettas	Chris and the Wonderful Lamp Désirée El Capitan The Charlatan
Adaptations	"The Army Goes Rolling Along" Stars and Stripes Stars and Stripes Forever
Other	John Philip Sousa House John Philip Sousa Baton
Honoraria	Armed Forces March Competition John Philip Sousa Bridge John Philip Sousa Foundation John Philip Sousa Junior High School (Bronx) John Philip Sousa Junior High School
Category

• American patriotic songs
• Sousa marches
• American military marches
• Songs written by John Philip Sousa
• Concert band pieces