One Hundred Nights of Taps

One Hundred Nights of Taps returns to Gettysburg National Cemetery for its 10th year, beginning Memorial Day, May 25, 2026, and continuing nightly through Labor Day, September 7, 2026.

Each evening at 7:00 p.m., the notes of “Taps” echo across the cemetery as part of an educational program presented by the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, with thanks to Gettysburg National Military Park. Performed by volunteer buglers—including active-duty military musicians, veterans, living historians, students, and educators—the program offers a moment of quiet reflection in a place of national significance.

Special programs will be held on Memorial Day, Flag Day, July 1–3, and Independence Day, July 4, with details announced on the program’s website and Facebook page. The program begins promptly at 7:00 p.m. each evening and takes place rain or shine unless severe weather is expected, with any updates announced in advance.

In November 1863, President Abraham Lincoln stood in Gettysburg and reminded the nation that “four score and seven years” earlier, a promise had been made in 1776. Each evening, as those notes carry across the landscape, that promise is kept alive in solemn tribute to those who gave their lives in its defense.

This year, the program honors 2nd Lieutenant Sumner Paine of Company A, 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, who was killed on July 3, 1863, during the repulse of Pickett’s Charge. A great-grandson of Declaration signer Robert Treat Paine, his story connects the founding of the nation with the sacrifices made to preserve it, and his image will appear on this year’s commemorative coin.