TAPS

The MYTH:

"It all began in 1862 during the War Between the States, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia.The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land.

During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moan of a soldier who lay mortally wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention.Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment. When the captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.

The captain lit a lantern. Suddenly, he caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, he enlisted in the Confederate Army.

The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial despite his enemy status.

His request was partially granted. The captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for the son at the funeral. That request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate. Out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician.

The captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of his dead son's uniform.

This wish was granted. This music was the haunting melody we now know as "Taps" that is used at all military funerals."

Again, while a good story, this is an absolute MYTH. There is no evidence to support the story, nor is there even evidence that a Captain Robert Ellicombe ever existed.

The true origin of Taps is that in July 1862, after the Seven Days battles near Richmond, Virginia, the wounded Commander of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, V Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, Union Army  General Daniel Butterfield reworked, with his bugler Oliver Wilcox Norton, another bugle call, "Scott Tattoo," to create Taps. Later, A Col. James A Moss substituted playing "Taps" for the firing of three volleys over the grave of one of his soldiers due to the proximity of his Artillery unit to the enemy.

He, General Daniel Butterfield, thought that the regular call for Lights Out was too formal. Taps was adopted throughout the Army of the Potomac (Union Army) and finally confirmed by orders. Soon other Union units began using Taps, and even a few Confederate units began using it as well. After the war, Taps became an official bugle call. Col. James A. Moss, in his Officer's Manual first published in 1911, gives an account of the initial use of Taps at a military funeral:

"During the Peninsular Campaign in 1862, a soldier of Tidball's Battery A of the 2nd Artillery was buried at a time when the battery occupied an advanced position concealed in the woods. It was unsafe to fire the customary three volleys over the grave, on account of the proximity of the enemy, and it occurred to Capt. Tidball that the sounding of Taps would be the most appropriate ceremony that could be substituted."

More about the true history of Taps can be found at: 24 Notes That Tap Deep Emotions and at Military District of Washington Fact Sheet: Origins of "Taps".


Words to Taps

(Note: there are no "official" words to Taps  below are the most popular.)

Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh.

Go to sleep,
peaceful sleep,
May the soldier
or sailor,
God keep.
On the land
or the deep,
Safe in sleep.

Love, good night,
Must thou go,
When the day,
And the night
Need thee so?
All is well.
Speedeth all
To their rest.

Fades the light;
And afar
Goeth day,
And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well;
Day has gone,
Night is on.

Thanks and praise,
For our days,
'Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
'Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.

Listen to TAPS:

Midi format (2 Kb)
MP3 format (298 Kb)
Real Audio format (79 Kb)
WAV format (410 Kb)
 

- courtesy of Neil Brantley