TAPS is one of the finest bugle calls ever composed. I created the following write-up on the history of TAPS for the Court of Honor that my son conducted to get his Communications Merit Badge. The recommended use of this write-up is:
My only request is that whenever it is copied for dissemination please ensure that all of the text after the "Snip Here" lines remain with the document.
Yours In Scouting
> Glen
"TAPS" is the most beautiful bugle call. Played slowly and softly, it has a smooth, tender, and touching character. It rolls down the curtains on the day or upon life whenever it is played or sung. The origin of the bugle call TAPS in its present form is generally attributed to Major General Daniel Butterfield who commanded a brigade in the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862. After a particularly hard fighting day as the weary troops settled down for the night along the James River near Richmond Virginia, the bugler sounded "Extinguish Lights" or what is more commonly called "Lights Out". On this night Butterfield felt that this bugle call was not as smooth, melodious, and musical as it should be. He felt that the day's final call should bring comfort and peace to tired troubled men. With the help of his bugler, Oliver W. Norton, Butterfield composed the music to what we know today as TAPS.
Later in the Peninsular Campaign a funeral was being held during a lull in the fighting. The bugler was ordered to play TAPS in place of the three volleys usually used to render the final honors to a deceased comrade. This was done because it was feared that rifle fire might cause the enemy to renew their attack. The playing of TAPS was eventually written into Army regulations as a part of the honors to be paid at a military funeral.
While their are no official words to the bugle call itself, the commonly used lyrics are derived from the following verses:
Fading light dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
From afar drawing nigh -- Falls the nightDay is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.Then good night, peaceful night,
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright;
God is near, do not fear -- Friend, good night.
Produced by Glen Carter, Owl Patrol 82-49-30. 2215 Lockhaven Dr.
Colorado Springs, CO 80909 (glen.carter@usa.net).
This material was derived from the following sources:
The Center of Military History, Department of the Army,
The American Legion Magazine, August 1974, and the National 4-H Club Song Book,
National Committee on Boys and Girls Club Work, 1938.
Last edited: April 13, 2004
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