 About 1898 while under the direction of James McNeil, members of the Onward Brass Band enlisted in the Spanish–American War in the “Ninth Immunes Regimental Band”, serving in Cuba.Upon returning to the U.S. in 1899, those members played in the Victory Parade down Fifth Avenue in New York City.Following the war, cornetist Manuel Perez (a student of Onward founder Sylvester Coustaut) assumed leadership of the band.