TAPS

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lakes, from the hills, from the skies,
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.

Composed By Major General Daniel Butterfield
Army of the Potomac, Civil War

This bugle call was written during the Peninsula Campaign of the
Civil War in the year 1862 after a battle near Richmond, Virginia
which saw a large number of Union causualties. It is said that the
tune came to then Brigade Commander Colonel Daniel Butterfield,
while reflecting sadly on the losses. According to the story,
Butterfield unable to write music, hummed it to his aide who wrote
it down in musical notation. It was performed that evening by his
bugler, Oliver W. Norton in honor of fallen comrades. In 1874,
it became officially recognized by the U.S. Army as an alternative
to "Lights Out" and since has been used not only a signal that day
was done, but also as means of saying good-bye to a fallen comrade,
usually accompanied by the drumbeat, Muffled Ruffles. It is customarily
played at military funerals across the land.

"Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord! And let
perpetual light shine upon them! May they rest in
peace! Amen. May their souls and the souls of all the
faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in
peace. Amen.