Origin of Taps

During the Civil War in July 1862, when the Army of the Potomac was in camp on this site, Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield summoned Private Oliver Willcox Norton, his brigade bugler, to his tent and whistled a new tune for him to sound. After repeated trials and changes in the timing of notes scribbled on the back of an envelope, the call was arranged to suit Butterfield and was used for the first time that night. From then on it became, and remains, the official call for "Taps."

Virginia · United States