Stop 1:

John Philip Sousa was born at 636 G. St., S.E., one and half blocks from the United States Marine Barracks where he would become head of the Marine Corp Band. The handsome white-washed brick house with red shutters is privately owned, but hints of its history are evident in the architecture: the hand rails up to the front door have musical lyres woven into the ironwork, and secondly, a historical plaque is placed next to the front door. It reads:

Stop 2:

Sousa’s birthplace is only three doors east of Christ Church Episcopal (located at 620 G. St., S.E.), where he was the band and music director near the end of his life. The church is a bona fide tourist destination in its own right as the “earliest structure in the city to serve an ecclesiastical purpose (Robertson, 1994.)” Sousa became a member of Christ Church following his mother who was faithful parishioner for fifty years (Robertson, 1994).

Stop 3:

The next stop on the Sousa Trail is the Marine Barracks (located at 8th and I Sts., S.E.). The original architect of the Marine Barracks is George Hadfield, the brother of Maria Hadfield Cosway, Thomas Jefferson’s love interest while living in France (Kaminski, 1999). Jefferson was not only President at the time of the founding of the cemetery, but he helped Hadfield get the commission to be architect for the Marine Barracks, although only the Commandant’s house remains from the original construction. Hadfield is also buried at Congressional, so signage could direct tourists to his humble gravesite as well as Sousa’s.

Stop 4:

John Philip Sousa’s gravesite at Congressional Cemetery (1801 E. St., S.E.) is one of the better-maintained sites in the cemetery, although it could use some sprucing up. It is the epicenter of the annual Sousa activities held each November 6th to honor his birthday, as well as a mini-concert each year during the Spring Festival. Take some time to walk around the cemetery to see some of the other famous people buried there.