The Patriot Files Forums  

Go Back   The Patriot Files Forums > Conflict posts > Civil War

Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 03-25-2003, 08:25 AM
MORTARDUDE's Avatar
MORTARDUDE MORTARDUDE is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 6,849
Distinctions
VOM Contributor 
Default "Taps" ... truth vs. myth...

http://www.tapsbugler.com/TapsMyth.htmlThe Taps MYTH

Almost every day when I check my e-mails, I get a message or two asking about or forwarding a story for my comment or enlightenment. It starts with, "It all began during the Civil War..." and goes on to relate the story of a Union Captain Ellicombe and how he finds his wounded Confederate son on a battlefield. The story is that the music of Taps is found in the pocket of the young man and that's how the call came into being. It is a heartwarming and poignant story?

This story, of course, rates up there with the one that Colonel Oliver North tried to warn us about Osama Bin Laden during Congressional hearings, the one that Lee Marvin and Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan) met as Marines on Iwo Jima, and the one about a Vietnam POW being ratted out by Jane Fonda on her visit to Hanoi. Each of these stories contains a kernel of truth somewhere (North did testify at Congressional hearings, Marvin and Keeshan were both Marines, and Fonda did speak to POWs in Hanoi), yet the stories themselves are false. And like them, the Captain Ellicombe story is a yet another MYTH that makes it way around thanks to the Internet. Bad history, and we get to see a lot of it, needs to be corrected.

The story of Captain Robert Ellicombe and his Confederate son is a myth, a fake, a tall tale, a good story to tell around the old campfire, but a story that holds no truth whatsoever. This is one of those stories that is reprinted and forwarded to others and makes its way around the Internet around Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day. The story gets printed in papers, newsletters, and, sad to say, even on some military websites as the true version of how the bugle call of Taps came into existence.

I have sounded the call over 2,000 times as bugler in national cemeteries and at hundreds of memorial services. I am also a bugle historian who has spent much time researching this topic. I was the curator of the Taps Exhibit at Arlington National Cemetery and am a Civil War reenactor. I, along with other history buffs, have researched the real story and have tried to squash this myth.

You can read the true story of the creation of Taps elsewhere on this site. Here is the MYTH:

"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 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 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 as 'Taps' used at military funerals was born."

We know much about the two men involved with the creation of Taps. Both Daniel Adams Butterfield and Oliver Willcox Norton survived the Civil War and went on to become prosperous and respected businessmen and citizens. They wrote about their Civil War experiences and of the creation of Taps in July 1862.

There is no proof that a Captain Robert Ellicombe ever existed. The myth gives no indication of what unit or state he served. In order to be believed, one needs to produce muster, discharge or pension papers and background history of both father and son, units, etc. Also, where is the son?s grave? There is no basis at all to the story, except that it also occurred near Harrison?s Landing in July 1862, where the true birth of Taps took place.



Robert Ripley
Back to TapsBugler Home Page
Read the true story of the origin of Taps
So where did this myth come from?

I have traced this tale to a Ripley?s ?Believe It Or Not? story
that Robert Ripley created for his short-lived TV program in
1949. This is chronicled in the book Ripley, the Modern
Marco Polo: The Life and Times of the Creator of ?Believe
It Or Not? by Bob Considine, published by Doubleday & Co.
in 1961. As Considine wrote: "The denouement of this is a
coincidence incredible even by Rip?s standards."
__________________
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2  
Old 04-22-2003, 05:21 AM
BLUEHAWK's Avatar
BLUEHAWK BLUEHAWK is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2002
Location: Ozarks
Posts: 4,638
Send a message via Yahoo to BLUEHAWK
Distinctions
Contributor 
Question

Mortardude,
So, how/when DID Taps originate?
Bluehawk
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 04-22-2003, 05:30 PM
MORTARDUDE's Avatar
MORTARDUDE MORTARDUDE is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 6,849
Distinctions
VOM Contributor 
Default the web site....

noted in the first post above, has all the info about "Taps"...

Larry
__________________
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
"truth" ??????? Gimpy Political Debate 12 08-20-2004 09:18 PM
McCain :"THE SIMPLE TRUTH,"is that we do not have sufficient forces in Iraq...... MORTARDUDE General Posts 0 11-06-2003 09:33 AM
The "REAL" truth about the "TAX CUT"! Gimpy Political Debate 6 06-07-2003 02:34 PM
G-Dubya? Why are you hiding the TRUTH about your "tax cut"?? Gimpy Political Debate 32 06-03-2003 01:20 PM
"Conservatives" show how their "agendas" harm true american heros'! Gimpy Political Debate 0 04-30-2003 10:25 AM

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:19 AM.


Powered by vBulletin, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.