Collection The 2017 White House Christmas Ornament
Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament....
The United States Marine Band: Hail to the Chief
Gallery
-
Sheet music, from The Lady of the Lake, 1812.
Music Division, Library of Congress -
President John Tyler was accompanied by Hail to the Chief after First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler instructed the Marine Band to play it whenever the president made an official appearance.
White House Historical Association -
First Lady Sarah Polk made Hail to the Chief official in announcing the president's entrance to an event. On this 1994 White House Christmas ornament, the band and the Polks are shown on the South grounds of the White House.
White House Historical Association
Hail to the Chief, with its preceding fanfare Ruffles and Flourishes, is traditionally played to announce the arrival of the president at state functions. Derived from an old Gaelic air, Hail to the Chief was used in James Sanderson's musical play of 1812, The Lady of the Lake. The song was already very popular when the Marine Band played it from a barge for the opening of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal on July 4,1828, in the presence of President John Quincy Adams. First Lady Sarah Polk made Hail to the Chief official in announcing the president's entrance to an event. The band honors the president with the song hundreds of times a year at ceremonial and diplomatic events.
You Might Also Like
-
-
Collection The Working White House
For more than two centuries, the White House has been the home of American presidents. A powerful symbol of the...
-
Collection Music in the White House
Music is often called the universal language. It has been known to break down barriers and shape historic events in...
-
Collection Animal Ambassadors
Animals, whether pampered household pets, working livestock, birds, squirrels, or strays, have long been a major part of White House...
-
Collection The 2018 White House Christmas Ornament
Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament....
-
Collection White House Easter Egg Roll
Since 1878, American presidents and their families have celebrated Easter Monday by hosting an "egg roll" party. Held on the South...
-
Collection The President's Neighborhood
Since the White House was first occupied by President John Adams in 1800, influential people and organizations—or those who hoped to...
-
Collection The Kennedys and the Arts
President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s advocacy for the arts endures as a vital part of th...
-
Collection Fourth of July at the White House
It was President Thomas Jefferson who first established the traditions of a Fourth of July celebration at the White House....
-
Collection Presidents & Baseball
No sport is more closely tied to the American presidency than baseball. One of Washington’s first baseball fields was lo...
-
Collection The First Ladies
Biographies & Portraits
-
Collection The 2016 White House Christmas Ornament
Every year since 1981, the White House Historical Association has had the privilege of designing the Official White House Christmas Ornament....
