From Memorial Day and running through Labor Day, notes of “Taps” fill the air every evening as the famous 24-note call is sounded in Gettysburg National Cemetery.
The playing of “Taps” runs nightly at 7 p.m. at the Soldiers’ National Monument in Gettysburg National Cemetery.
This moving program features new activities this year. Beginning at 5:30 p.m. each evening, representatives from Gettysburg’s Licensed Battlefield Guides offer a free interpretive program exploring the aftermath of the battle of Gettysburg and the creation of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg, concluding at the Soldiers’ National Monument. During the formal Taps program beginning at 7 p.m. representatives from the Lincoln Fellowship, guest National Park Service Rangers, and Licensed Battlefield Guides offer brief historical vignettes. Called Enduring Pathways,these focus on Abraham Lincoln, the Gettysburg Address, the history of Taps, and the Soldiers’ National Monument, with topics changing nightly.
The buglers include active-duty military musicians, military veterans, Civil War living historians and musicians, community band members, high school and college students, and music teachers.
The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania and Gettysburg National Military Park co-sponsor the seventh year of One Hundred Nights of Taps, Gettysburg in partnership with Taps for Veterans and Gettysburg’s Licensed Battlefield Guides.
