Taps has its 150th Birthday

Taps is a unique American bugle call that is sounded at flag lowerings, military funerals, military services, and memorial services.  Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts alike have grown up hearing the familiar 24 note music at Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies.  Most, if not all, US citizens recognize this bugle call within the first three notes.  Many strong willed and battle hardened servicemen and women that remained staunch throughout a burial ceremony have been brought to tears during the last notes of Taps when the finality of the event becomes reality.

Taps was first sounded in July 1862 when Union General Daniel Butterfield enlisted the help of his bugler, Oliver Norton, in composing a new bugle call for his men.  Wanting a less formal and more distinctive melody, he adapted an earlier bugle call used to signal “lights out.”  The somber notes are said to reflect Butterfield’s sadness following the Battle of Gaines’ Mill, during which 602 of his men were killed or wounded.

The 150th year of Taps has become even more special and meaningful with official recognition by Congress.   The House of Representative’s defense authorization bill contains a provision sought by Representative Tom Reed of New York, designating Taps as a national song of remembrance.

The Taps monument, constructed in 1969, is located at Virginia’s historic Berkley Plantation.  The monument was dedicated and given to the state of Virginia by the Department of Virginia American Legion.