Scott Tattoo
Encyclopedia
"Scott Tattoo" is a bugle
call entitled "The Tattoo" first published in 1835, and thought to be the source of the bugle call known as "Taps
".
The call was published in musical notation in an American military manual written by Major General Winfield Scott
, first published in 1835. "Taps" was composed by General Daniel Butterfield
during the American Civil War
, but appears to trace its deeper origin to the "Scott Tattoo". A slight modification of the last five and a quarter bars of the "Scott Tattoo" creates the call we now know as "Taps."
General Butterfield was known to have been familiar with the Scott manual and knew how to sound bugle calls. He called upon a bugler in 1862 to help him adjust the pitch and timing of notes for a new bugle call, now known simply as "Taps", and may have based it on memory of the earlier call.
The term "Scott Tattoo" was coined by Russell H. Booth in his 1977 magazine article Butterfield and "Taps" which first set forth the discovery of this earlier form of the essential Taps melody. In military manuals of the 19th century there were multiple versions of bugle calls named "Tattoo," so the term "Scott Tattoo" was needed to identify the particular version of Tattoo from which "Taps" arose. It is speculated that the "Scott Tattoo" itself may have come from earlier calls or earlier publications yet to be discovered.
Bugle
Bugle is a brass musical instrument.Bugle may also refer to:* Contrabass bugle, lowest-pitched instrument in the drum and bugle corps hornline* Bugle , common names of flowering plant genus Ajuga...
call entitled "The Tattoo" first published in 1835, and thought to be the source of the bugle call known as "Taps
Taps
"Taps" is a musical piece sounded by the U.S. military nightly to indicate that it is "lights out". The tune is also sometimes known as "Butterfields Lullaby", or by the lyrics of its second verse, "Day is Done". It is also played during flag ceremonies and funerals, generally on bugle or trumpet...
".
The call was published in musical notation in an American military manual written by Major General Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
, first published in 1835. "Taps" was composed by General Daniel Butterfield
Daniel Butterfield
Daniel Adams Butterfield was a New York businessman, a Union General in the American Civil War, and Assistant U.S. Treasurer in New York. He is credited with composing the bugle call Taps and was involved in the Black Friday gold scandal in the Grant administration...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, but appears to trace its deeper origin to the "Scott Tattoo". A slight modification of the last five and a quarter bars of the "Scott Tattoo" creates the call we now know as "Taps."
General Butterfield was known to have been familiar with the Scott manual and knew how to sound bugle calls. He called upon a bugler in 1862 to help him adjust the pitch and timing of notes for a new bugle call, now known simply as "Taps", and may have based it on memory of the earlier call.
The term "Scott Tattoo" was coined by Russell H. Booth in his 1977 magazine article Butterfield and "Taps" which first set forth the discovery of this earlier form of the essential Taps melody. In military manuals of the 19th century there were multiple versions of bugle calls named "Tattoo," so the term "Scott Tattoo" was needed to identify the particular version of Tattoo from which "Taps" arose. It is speculated that the "Scott Tattoo" itself may have come from earlier calls or earlier publications yet to be discovered.