The history behind Taps: the bugle call played on Veterans Day

Taps is a 24-note bugle call played at American military funerals, wreath-laying ceremonies, and memorial services like Veterans Day.

In 1862, Major General Daniel Adams Butterfield adopted a French bugle call believed to be written in 1809 to signify the day’s end to soldiers. It was used as a signal to communicate troops should extinguish all lights and go to bed.

Butterfield also used Taps to honor his men while in camp at Harrison’s Landing, Virginia. The call soon spread to other units of the Union Army and was even used by the Confederates.

As for the name Taps, it most likely comes from the fact that prior to Butterfield’s bugle call, the “Extinguish Lights” call was issued by three drumbeats colloquially referred to by troops as taps. When Butterfield’s call replaced the drumbeats, soldiers continued to refer to the end-of-day signal in this manner.

By 1891, Taps became a standard component of military funerals and in 2012, Congress recognized it as the National Song of Remembrance.