Arlington , Virginia ( CNN ) -- Alan Tolbert is not your average 13-year-old . While other kids his age spent their Saturday shopping at the mall or tossing around a football , Tolbert traveled from Shippensburg , Pennsylvania , to Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington dressed in a navy blue Civil War reenactment uniform and armed with a brass bugle . Surrounding him at the historical site were nearly 200 other buglers and trumpeters from all over the United States , some even coming from as far away as California . A head shorter than his comrades , Tolbert 's costume was a tad too big -- so big , in fact , that his mother had to roll up the bottom of his pants three times to make them fit . He did n't seem to notice , though . All he cared about was playing the 24 notes that make up taps . It is perhaps the most famous of military signals , and on Saturday it turned 150 years old . Taps , traditionally played at military funerals and also known as `` Butterfield 's Lullaby '' or `` Day is Done , '' were born during the Civil War along the James River . Gen. Daniel Butterfield , unhappy with the lights-out call , decided to change the nightly tune to a softer melody , ending up with the tune played today . Currently , taps are played at the cemetery about 30 times daily , most notably at the Tomb of the Unknowns . To commemorate the 150th anniversary , Buglers Across America , a nonprofit organization that seeks to play live renditions for veteran funerals rather than subject the mourners to a CD version , enlisted nearly 200 volunteer buglers and trumpeters . The musicians joined together and played a united taps performance before they set off in search of a single soldier 's tombstone in the 624-acre burial ground . Some chose a spot simply for its convenient location . Others , like Tolbert , chose them for their significance . One of the youngest volunteers , he selected the grave of Johnny Clem , a 10-year-old Civil War drummer who became a sergeant by the time he turned 12 . Tolbert usually plays taps by himself but said it was a great opportunity to play with some of the best buglers in the country on the hallowed ground of the cemetery . He admitted he did n't think a military career was in his future , though . `` I do n't think I want to be in the military one day , so the best I can do to serve our country is to honor those who are , '' Tolbert said . For those who did serve in the military , playing taps in Arlington National Cemetery is one of the greatest honors for a bugler . Well-known bugle historian and 23-year veteran Jari Villanueva explained that for him , it 's his way of paying back those who fought for America . `` Whether it would be after a career , 20 , 30 years , or even those who have died on active duty , it 's our way of officially saying to the military , 'Thank you . Safely rest . God is nigh , ' '' he explained , quoting the final lyrics associated with the melody . Allison Cummings , a patrol officer from Hudson , New Hampshire , usually plays taps at law enforcement funerals and ceremonies in her home state , but said playing in Arlington was a unique experience . `` I started playing the trumpet when I was in fifth grade so I 've been playing for quite a while ... Even from that age , I remember visiting here when I just started playing , '' said Cummings , dressed in a black uniform trimmed in gold with her trumpet hanging by her side . `` This is like Carnegie Hall for me . This is just an incredible experience . '' `` [ Bugling is ] just that final honor to someone who 's served their country , and it 's just such an honor to play that for them , '' Cummings said as she stood opposite the grave she was about to serenade , fingering a commemorative gold coin she would lay to rest on the white marble headstone after her performance . `` It 's for the family as well , but I think of it as playing to that person , just a final thank you for what they did . ''
The well-known bugle call 's 150th anniversary was 150th anniversary . Buglers Across America enlisted three volunteer buglers and trumpeters to play . Taps were created because of a Buglers Across America general 's displeasure at the lights-out call at the time . `` This is like Arlington National Cemetery for me , '' says America trumpeter Allison Cummings .