Sorrowful Sound of Freedom Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Civil War

July 1862, Harrison's Landing, Virginia. The Union soldiers under the command of Brigadier General Daniel Adams Butterfield wanted to bring some form of comfort to his troops who had lost a well-respected captain and summoned bugler Private Oliver Willcox Norton.

The general had jotted down a few notes and asked Norton to expand on them. Norton knew of a tune called 'the Scott Tattoo' signifying 'lights out', adjusted a few notes, and shortly thereafter "Taps" sounded for the first time.

Answer: A popular drum beat of the time

One theory is that it comes from a Dutch word 'Tap to' from which the word 'tattoo' was derived. More likely is that it came from the three drum taps (if a bugler was not available) played to signal 'lights out'. In 1874, it was officially recognized by the U.S. Army to by played at the end of a duty day.

Answer: Brigadier General Butterfield may have plagiarized the notes

Other than Butterfield's and Norton's accounts, no creditable source could trace the origin of "Taps." In 1896, "Century Magazine" published an article entitled "The Trumpet in Camp and Battle". The author, Gustav Kobbe, stated that he could not trace the birth of "Taps." Norton happened to read the article and sent a letter to the editor stating "I have no doubt that he (Butterfield) composed it in his tent at Harrison's Landing." General Butterfield, age 67, responded to Norton's letter by writing "I called in someone who could write music and practiced a change in the call until I had it to suit my ear." Most military historians are willing to give Butterfield and Norton the credit for "Taps."

Answer: He was allowed to be buried at West Point even though he had not attended the Academy

West Point has long had a rule that only cadets and former cadets can be buried in its cemetery, but when Butterfield passed away in July of 1901, the Secretary of War issued a special order authorizing the interment of the general at the Academy. Of course, "Taps" was played by a lone bugler. Butterfield had received the Medal of Honor during the war for his actions at the Battle of Gaines Mill, Virginia.

Answer: True

During World War Two, brass was in short supply, buglers needed to 'travel light' while in combat, and the plastic bugle was almost unbreakable. The Eastman Kodak company actually built them out of a hardend plastic known as tenite and the United States Army Band in Washington D.C. found them superior in tone and equal in volume to the brass bugle.

Answer: Arlington National Cemetery

Even though Arlington National Cemetery is rapidly running out of space to bury military personnel, there are still between 20 and 30 funerals per week that require "Taps" to be played either by a bugler or by a recording.

Answer: At the site where "Taps" was "born": Harrison's Landing, Virginia

Berkeley Plantation, located on a small hill overlooking the James River, was the site of General Butterfield's encampment in 1862. There is a memorial with a bronze plaque commemorating the creation of "Taps" and a small button may be pushed to hear a recorded bugle call of it.

Answer: False

It's a bugle call, after all, so there are no official lyrics. However, as you might imagine, the haunting melody has inspired people to provide words. During the Civil War, soldiers used to sing "Go To Sleep" or "Put Out The Lights." Later in the century, a man named Horace Lorenzo Trim wrote the words that most of us are familiar with:
"Day is done.
Gone the sun
From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky.
All is well
Safely rest.
God is nigh."

In Canada, Girl Guides sing a unique version of "Taps" that is set to the tune of the German Christmas song, "O, Tannenbaum."

Answer: Mark Twain

Twain wrote this ode to "Taps" in his 1905 novel, 'A Horse's Tale.' In the story, a General Alison writes home to his mother about a regiment that played a number of military songs for a girl named Cathy who was seemingly unimpressed. After playing everything from "The Star Spangled Banner" to "Boots and Saddles", Cathy was moved to tears by "Taps."

Answer: During the funeral for John F. Kennedy, he missed the sixth note

After being summoned to Arlington at 1:30 a.m., Sgt. Clark waited for hours in the cold and damp weather -- something which does nothing to help playing the bugle. When it was time for "Taps", he 'broke' the sixth note which sounded to many people like a 'tear' or a 'sob'. "Washington Magazine" stated "To many Americans, spent from four days of mourning, it captured the nation's heartache over a beloved young president's death." Sgt. Clark's bugle resides in the "Taps" memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.