"American Patrol" is a popular march written by F.W. Meacham in 1885. Written originally for piano, it was then arranged for wind band and published by Carl Fischer in 1891. Meacham's widow renewed the copyright in 1912. It was later arranged for Glenn Miller's swing band by Jerry Gray, and was also arranged by composer Morton Gould. It incorporates melodies from other patriotic American songs of the era such as "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" and "Dixie". The "patrol" format was popular in the second half of the 19th century and a number of compositions are so entitled "Turkish Patrol", "Ethiopian" Patrol", "Owl's Patrol", "British Patrol", "Arab Patrol", and many more. The format was intended to represent a patrol approaching, passing, and fading into the distance. It usually involved an introduction played p or pp, imitating bugle calls or drums, then a theme played a little bit louder, then.
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