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: This article is about the musical piece. For other uses, see Taps (disambiguation).

Taps is a famous musical piece, sounded by the U.S. military during flag ceremonies and funerals, generally on bugle or trumpet. The tune is also sometimes known as "Butterfields Lullaby", or by the lyrics of its second verse, "Day is Done".

Category: Image - :Taps music notation.svg|thumb|700px|center|Taps (in the key of C)

The bugle call was composed by the Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, an American Civil War general who commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division in the V Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Butterfield wrote the tune at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, in July 1862. Taps also replaced "Tattoo", the French bugle call to signal "lights out." Butterfield's bugler, Oliver W. Norton, of Erie, Pennsylvania, was the first to sound the new call. Within months, Taps was used by both Union and Confederate forces. Booth states that the tune is actually a variation of an earlier bugle call known as the Scott Tattoo which was used in the U.S. from 1835 until 1860.Booth, Russell H., Butterfield and "Taps". Civil War Times, December 1977, pp. 35-39.Scott TattooDetailed History of Taps

Category: Image - :Taps Caspar Weinberger.jpg|thumb|250px|A bugler sounds Taps during the funeral of Caspar W. Weinberger in Arlington National Cemetery

Taps concludes many military funerals conducted with honors at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as hundreds of others around the United States footnote http://www.cem.va.gov/mhg.asp. The tune is also sounded at many memorial services in Arlington's Memorial Amphitheater and at gravesites throughout the cemetery.

Taps is sounded during each of the 2,500 military wreath ceremonies conducted at the Tomb of the Unknowns every year, including the ones held on Memorial Day. The ceremonies are viewed by many people, including veterans, school groups, and foreign officials. Taps is also sounded nightly in military installations at non-deployed locations to indicate that it is "lights out." When Taps is sounded at a funeral, it is customary for serving members of the military or veterans to salute. The corresponding gesture for civilians is to place the right hand over the heart.