The true story of ...
OMED: The story below came to the magazine in a forwarded email
from a good and steady friend. You will never meet a more honest,
more genuine human being -- but he is neither a journalist nor a scholar.
The piece has no attached verification trail as a degree paper would.
It also lacks the usual simple credits often included in a standard history-based
newspaper story. There isn't even a byline with it. It's a
heart-tugging tale, though. See if it rings true in the reading for
you.
We in the United States have all heard the haunting song,
"Taps." It's the song that gives us that lump in our throats and
usually tears in our eyes. But, do you know the story behind the song?
If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings.
Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union
Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing
in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of
the narrow strip of land.
During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of
a soldier who lay severely 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
this 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 actualy a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.
The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly 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, the boy
enlisted in the Confederate Army. The following morning,
heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son
full military burial despite his enemy status. His request was only
partially granted. The Captain had asked if he could have a group
of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral. The
request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate.
But, 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 the dead youth's uniform This wish was
granted.
The haunting melody, we now know a "Taps" used at military
funerals was born. |
OMED: With the exception of the war identified, what you
have just read is almost certainly a fairy tale. Here, some text
from a website by the name of TruthOrFiction.
| The Truth according to a researcher at West Point: there
is no historical evidence that anyone named Robert Ellicombe even existed
in the Union army.
Master Sergeant Jari Villanueva is a part of the United
States Air Force Band and is not only a
historian about the tune "Taps," but is working on an exhibit for Arlington
National Cemetery about bugle calls. Both he and Kathryn Shenkle,
Historian
for Arlington National Cemetery, agree that "Taps" came from Brig.
General Daniel Butterfield at Harrison's Landing in Virginia in 1862.
Sgt. Villanueva has found correspondence
from both General Butterfield and a bugler which confirm the origins, although
there are some minor discrepancies in their letters. (Photo
is a link to the Arlington TAPS site.) |
.
From a Virginia government site called "Celebrating America's
Freedom" we get "The
Story of Taps." This site supports Villanueva's version, and
offers the standard description of the evolution of the name, itself.
| The 24-note melancholy bugle call known as "taps" is thought to
be a revision of a French bugle signal, called "tattoo," that notified
soldiers to cease an evening's drinking and return to their garrisons.
It was sounded an hour before the final bugle call to end the day by extinguishing
fires and lights. The last five measures of the tattoo resemble taps.
The word "taps" is an alteration of the obsolete word "taptoo," derived
from the Dutch "taptoe." Taptoe was the command - "Tap toe!" - to
shut ("toe to") the "tap" of a keg. |
The media tells us every day that what you get on the internet
is often not true. The implication, of course, is that they are the
only source you can trust. Here is the actual truth. If you
do not wish to be in an environment where you are exposed to daily misinformation,
lock yourself in the closet.
Or, you could do what we do.
The thing about the internet is that no matter what the
source of the information (your email box, a website, the New York Times
or NBC), you can within minutes determine whether something is likely true
or likely false. That's what I did with the story of TAPS, above.
It's no wonder the bigtime press bunch bashes the net. The variety
of online sources make it easy to disprove their rot.
It's ridiculously easy to do.
All that is required to do it is an online hookup and
the ability to ask a few basic questions..
(LL)
© 2002 Oregon Magazine |