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John Philip Sousa wrote "Powhatan's Daughter March"
in 1907 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the
founding of Jamestown, Virginia. Powhatan's daughter
is, of course, Pocahontas, and Jamestown was the first
permanent colony in the United States. It was founded
in 1607 by a group of English merchants who got a charter
from King James I to colonize Virginia for largely commercial
reasons.What many remember about Jamestown, though,
is the legend surrounding John Smith and Pocahontas.
Myth holds that John Smith, one of the merchant settlers,
was captured by the Powhatan confederation of Native
Americans and scheduled for execution. Allegedly, Chief
Powhatan's daughter—born "Matoaka" but
known today as Pocahontas (which means "naughty
girl")—intervened, and his life was spared.
Present-day members of the nation of Powhatan question
the story, arguing evidence that shows John Smith's
colony was quite friendly with the Native Americans
at the time and that Smith, in fact, did not tell this
story until 17 years after the incident allegedly happened.Sousa
was successful both as a composer and as a leader of
his own band, which became a sensation upon its debut
in 1892 at a concert in memory of Civil-War era bandleader
Patrick Gilmore. "The March King," as Sousa
was dubbed, produced a prodigious body of work in the
1890s and 1900s, although "Powhatan's Daughter
March" was not among the best-known. Sousa himself
was virtually never to have accompanied members of his
band in recording sessions, as he disdained the deadening
effect on culture he predicted mechanical music would
have. He also decried the lack of copyright protection
of composers, who were not paid royalties for recordings
of their works until after new laws were passed in 1909.
Certainly, if he had been compensated, Sousa would have
reaped a fortune from the thousands of records made
of his marches. Be sure to check out The
1890s, Volume 1 and Volume
2 for rare tracks by Sousa's Band, including "The
Stars and Stripes Forever," "Washington
Post March  ," "The
Directorate March," "El Captian" and
"The Liberty Bell March."
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