The Origins of Taps

Chip Ahoy had this post over at Lem's Place

The version that Chip questions is probably apocryphal.  Taps has been attributed to General Daniel Butterfield and his bugler.  


But you know what they say, quoting from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance:

Ransom Stoddard: You're not going to use the story, Mr. Scott?
Maxwell Scott: No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.