Photo Courtesy of the United States Army
"Taps"
Composed By Major General Daniel Butterfield
Army of the Potomac, Civil War
"Fading
light dims the sight,
And
a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
From
afar drawing nigh -- Falls the night.
"Day
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."
"TAPS is the most beautiful bugle call. Played slowly and softly, it has a smooth, tender and touching character. The bugle call was written during the Peninsula Campaign of the Civil War by General Butterfield, with an assist from his bugler, Oliver W. Norton, in 1862.
"TAPS" went on from its origin as an alternative to "Lights Out" to become not only a signal that day was done, but also to say good-bye to a fallen comrade.
"TAPS" is customarily played at funerals at Arlington national Cemetery as well as at ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknowns there.
Its composer is buried in the Post Cemetery at the United States Military Academy at West Point (even though he did not graduate from the Academy).