What music is played raising and lowering the flag?
The traditional bugle call for raising the flag is Reveille. On the first note, you begin to briskly raise the flag, which should take about 20 seconds. The traditional bugle call for U.S. civilians lowering the flag is “Taps.” In the military, they play “To the Color” or “Retreat.” The Army plays “Taps” at funerals and as the last call of the night. “Taps” was composed by the Union Army’s Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield while in camp at Harrison’s Landing, Virginia, in 1862, to replace the more formal “Tattoo” (lights out). It is called “Taps” because it was often tapped out on a drum in the absence of a bugler. It was used by both Northern and Southern camps. The call was officially adopted by the U.S. Army in 1874.
