To be or not to be? The Last Post or Taps.
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The Last Post is a military call played on a bugle or cavalry trumpet sounded on November 11, Anzac Day, and at a serviceman's funeral. And Taps is the equivalent in the US Military.
Cavalry regiments use the trumpet, and other military organisations use the bugle.
A bugle is, simply, a brass horn derived from ancient pre-biblical days. It was used in ceremonies, funerals, and believe it or not to mark the close of day.
Sounding the trumpet was reserved for males, and any female caught looking at the player could be put to death. Which reminds me of Irvine Berlin's army song about wanting to kill the bugler from the 1944 film, This is the Army.
Bugles or trumpets, originally, were more like a megaphone and made of wood, bone, or horn. Later, when they were improved they were made of silver with mouthpieces.
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These days most bugles are made from brass, although special bugles have been made from silver.
Although the bugle has been used by armies for centuries, the British Army found that during the American Revolution, (War of Independence), that the bugles' call carried much further in the thick forests than the traditional drum commands.
From its introduction as modern military communication, the British and the US Army developed various bugle calls.
The British Army has light infantry regiment bugle bands and a few youth groups. Meanwhile, the trumpet is played by cavalry regiments and the Royal Air Force.
The First and Last Post calls were bugle signals introduced in the 17th Century and they sounded when the duty officer visited camp posts. The Last Post signalled that the camp was secure.
It also had another purpose, and at the close of battle it was sounded so that the wounded could be recovered, and soldiers separated from their unit could return safely.
By the late 19th Century, the Last Post, in addition to a Regimental Call, became a ceremonial function performed at military funerals, the passing of former comrades, and later, at annual civic functions commemorating past conflicts, or wars, and those fallen servicemen and women.
The equivalent of the Last Post in the US Army would have to be the soulful call Taps, also known as Butterfield's Lullaby.
There are several myths about the origin of Taps, one is the story of a Captain in the Civil War who after a battle found his slain son clutching, in his hand, the lyrics to Taps.
The actual story is that after the Battle of Shiloh, Brigadier General Butterfield heard the Last Post sounding for lights out. He was humming a well-known French tune used by the US Army and appalled at the horrific casualties, he felt that the Union Army needed a better tune.
He summoned his regimental bugler and explained what he wanted, and Corporal Norton returned with the tune that we now know as Taps.
Taps was adopted as an official call to be used at funerals and sounded in military posts in 1891. One of the best renditions was played by Private Pruitt (Montgomery Clift) in From Here to Eternity.
A final word is that the Italian trumpet piece Il Silencio should not be confused with the Last Post.
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