The “Taps Song,” a bugle call deeply embedded in the solemn moments of military ceremonies and remembrance, carries a rich history often attributed to the American Civil War. For years, the creation of this moving melody has been credited to Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, a commander within the Army of the Potomac.
According to popular accounts, it was during the sweltering summer of July 1862, amidst the backdrop of the Civil War, that General Butterfield supposedly crafted “Taps.” Stationed at Harrison’s Landing, Virginia, in Confederate territory following the grueling Seven Days Battles, Butterfield sought to replace the standard “Lights Out” call with something more “melodious.” Oliver W. Norton, the brigade bugler, played a pivotal role in this narrative. Norton himself recounted in 1898 how General Butterfield, scribbling notes on an envelope, presented him with a new tune. After some adjustments, this melody was sounded for the first time as “Taps,” replacing “Lights Out” that very evening. General Butterfield later corroborated Norton’s account, emphasizing his own musical inclination and dissatisfaction with the existing “Lights Out” call, though he claimed to lack formal musical notation skills and sought assistance in refining the melody.
However, historical research has since nuanced this romanticized origin story of the taps song. Scholars have uncovered that General Butterfield’s contribution wasn’t an entirely original composition. Instead, it appears he skillfully revised a pre-existing bugle call, one deeply familiar to military tradition. The true ancestor of “Taps” lies within an earlier iteration of “Tattoo,” a different bugle call published in several military drill manuals predating the Civil War, including manuals by Winfield Scott (1835), Samuel Cooper (1836), and William Gilham (1861). The final measures of this “Tattoo” version bear a striking resemblance to the “taps song” we recognize today.
It’s highly probable that General Butterfield, drawing upon his prior military experience, recalled this “Tattoo” melody. He then adapted and refined it, entrusting Bugler Norton to perform the revised call. This new, more poignant call, the taps song, rapidly gained traction, spreading throughout both Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. While initially emerging from a desire for a more musical “Lights Out,” “Taps” soon found a profound new purpose. Almost immediately, it began to be used at military funerals, adding a layer of solemnity and respect to these somber occasions. This practice solidified over time, culminating in 1891 when U.S. Army drill regulations officially mandated the use of “Taps” at military funeral ceremonies, cementing its place as the iconic and deeply moving bugle call we know as the taps song.
