Francis Johnson and Richard Willis

Francis Johnson was an American composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1792–1844. He was a free Black man who would become the most sought-after musician in the city and throughout the expanding nation. Since there was no standing military during Johnson’s career, volunteer militias maintained military traditions and would later become the U.S. National Guard.

In 1817, Richard Willis became the first Teacher of Music for the United States Military Academy at West Point. Johnson was already the first African American to have a musical composition published (Bingham’s Cotillion, published by George Willig in 1810). Willis and Johnson were the two most celebrated players of the Kent bugle in the U.S. This instrument allowed for 12 notes to be played per octave, which was previously impossible on brass instruments. Willis brought the instrument with him when he immigrated from Ireland (in 1815) where it was first developed. Johnson meanwhile had acquired the new bugle and had mastered it by 1813. Since so few people were skilled on the instrument, it was inevitable that their paths would cross.

The first time they met was during the summer of 1820, when cadets (and the West Point Band under Willis) marched 150 miles from the Academy to Philadelphia. At this time Johnson’s band was attached to the Washington’s Guards Company Three militia. They escorted the West Point musicians to their encampment outside the city and played at least one public concert together in addition to military ceremonies. The Army-Navy football game is often played in Philadelphia, harkening back to this history — although the cadets now take buses rather than march on foot!

The return of French General Marquis de Lafayette to the United States in 1824 could be considered the most important national celebration of the time. The West Point Band under Willis was the general’s official musical escort in the New York area. As the general continued his tour to Philadelphia, Francis Johnson’s band took over as the premiere musical group for all the celebrations. Johnson also composed several pieces of music in honor of the visiting general.

Military musicians often play music for community events in their off-duty time, as did Johnson’s band during the early 19th century. His group had a regular summer engagement in Saratoga Springs, New York, and in 1828 they hosted Richard Willis. Saratoga Springs was the most popular summer destination for elites and foreign visitors due to the natural mineral springs. Letters from attendees at the Saratoga concerts, which were published in the Saratoga Sentinel, express the mastery these two musicians demonstrated.

Willis passed away on February 1st, 1830. Soon thereafter, Johnson received a set of verses in tribute to Willis from a regular Saratoga Springs concertgoer, Mr. J. Tranor, in the hopes that he might set them to music. Johnson completed his piece, The Death of Willis in the summer of 1835, and it was published two years later. The title page inscription reads

…as a tribute of respect to [Willis’] memory for the unusual and kind attention to him in forwarding him in a knowledge of that fine and martial instrument, the Kent Bugle, when first introduced in this country.

Critics of the time remarked, “It is perhaps one of the most profound musical expressions to originate from the pen of Francis Johnson.”

In 1992, the West Point Band participated in the bicentennial celebration of Johnson’s birth in his hometown of Philadelphia. Commemoration of the event was read into the U.S. Congressional Record by Senator Alphonse D’Amato of New York. The music Johnson created for military units had a profound impact on the development of the marching and brass band genres in the U.S. The influence of military music would find its way to New Orleans by the end of the 19th century where it formed part of the mosaic of sounds which would later be called jazz. Francis Johnson and his musicians were pioneers in the formation of an American musical identity.