Oliver Willcox Norton and "Taps"-- Part 2: Became Lieutenant in 8th U.S.C.T.

Whether "Taps was the handiwork of Norton or his commanding officer, General Daniel Butterfield is not known for sure.

But, it was on a night in 1862 that "Taps" was first played.  Shortly after it was heard, other Union buglers adopted it, and even Confederate buglers, to signal the end of the day.

As for Norton, he resigned from the 83rd Pennsylvania when he was commissioned as lieutenant in the 8th United States Colored Troops, on November 10, 1863.  He remained with that unit until 1865.  He also wrote "The Attack and Defense of Little Round Top" (1913) as his eyewitness  account of that part of the Battle of Gettysburg.

After the war, he became a New York banker and later moved to Chicago to invest in a company which produced cans.  From that, he eventually became one of the founders of the American Can Company.

He died in 1920 at the age of 81.

--Old Secesh

The Birth of Taps

From the November 8, 2019 Chicago Tribune  "Touching notes"

Bugles were first used by American armies during the American Revolution.

"Bugles were the way orders were communicated before there were electronic means," says bugler Tom Day.  "There were bugle calls to move to the left, move to the right, charge, fall back.  The bugler was right there with the commander sending the call."

Then, in 1862, during the Civil War, a new bugle call was established.  General Daniel Butterfield was in command of Union troops at Harrison's Landing in Virginia.  There was a tradition of firing a cannon at the end of the day to honor the fallen from that day's battles.

But General Butterfield didn't want to fire the cannon and give away his troops' location so he asked the bugler to play a tune he'd heard in France.  That bugler was Oliver Willcox Norton and he listened to the tune and wrote down the 24 notes and played them for the troops for the first time.

Other buglers began playing the tune, which is now known as "Taps" to mark the end of the day.  Although, there are some variations on the origin of "Taps" this is the best one.

"Taps" are still played on military bases for "lights out."

--Old SecTap

The 44th and 12th New York Regiments At Gettysburg-- Part 1: A Butterfield Connection

From the Battle of Gettysburg site.

There is a monument to the 12th and 44th New York Infantry Regiments on the Little Round Top.  The castle-like structure was dedicated in 1893.  It is the largest regimental monument on the battlefield.

It was designed by Daniel Butterfield, the original commander of the 12th New York who was Meade's Chief of Staff at the battle.  Butterfield is the man who either wrote or rewrote the tune "Taps" for bugles which is so often played at funerals.

The monument is 44 feet high and 12 feet wide and has a spiral staircase going to the second floor observation deck.  The tower is not open these days.

There is a Maltse Cross on the monument which is the symbol of the Union's Fifth Army Corps.
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--Old SeceshTaps