History of Taps

If you live on an Army Post you have heard this song played every night at 11pm, but do you know where it came from? Do you know the history behind our Military traditions? This is a heart breaking tale that gets me every time, so I suggest having a tissue ready.

In 1862 during the War of Northern Aggression, a father and son met on opposite sides of the battlefield near Harrison's Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army on one side and Union on the other. American fighting against American.

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 had 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.

This is the legend behind Taps. When you hear that tune you've heard so many times before, think of the father burying his son under those notes, think of all those who have said goodbye to their loved ones while that tune has played in the back ground. Always remember that freedom isn't free. I'm looking at you, Columbia University.