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The rebel yell was a
battle cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religiou ...
used by
Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...
during the American Civil War. Confederate soldiers used the yell when
charging Charging may refer to: * Charging (ice hockey), when a player takes more than three steps before checking an opposing player * Battery charger, a device used to put energy into a rechargeable battery * Charging station, a device used for rechargi ...
to intimidate the enemy and boost their own
morale Morale, also known as esprit de corps (), is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value ...
, although the yell had many other uses. No audio recordings of the yell exist from the Civil War era, but there are audio clips and film footage of veterans performing the yell many years later at Civil War veterans' reunions.What Did the Rebel Yell Sound Like?
From the articl
Civil War Veterans Come Alive in Audio and Video Recordings
''Smithsonian Magazine'', October 5, 2011.
The origin of the yell is uncertain.


Sound

The sound of the yell has been the subject of much discussion. Civil War soldiers, upon hearing the yell from afar, would quip that it was either "
Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, ...
, or a rabbit", suggesting a similarity between the sound of the yell and a rabbit's scream. The rebel yell has also been likened to the scream of a
cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...
. In media such as movies or video games, the yell is often portrayed as a simple "yee-haw" and in some parts of the United States, "yee-ha". The yell has also been described as similar to Native American cries.
John Salmon Ford John Salmon Ford (May 26, 1815 – November 3, 1897), better known as "Rip" Ford, was a member of the Republic of Texas Congress and later of the State Senate, and mayor of Brownsville, Texas. He was also a Texas Ranger, a Confederate colonel, ...
, in an 1896 interview with Frederic Remington, describes a charge his Texas Rangers made into a Comanche village in 1858 and that his troops gave the "Texas Yell". One description says it was a cross between an "Indian whoop and wolf-howl". Several recordings of Civil War veterans performing the yell exist. One, from a 1938 newsreel documenting the 75th anniversary of the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union Army, Union and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In t ...
, documents several Confederate veterans performing the yell as a high-pitched "Wa-woo-woohoo, wa-woo woohoo." The Library of Congress has a film from the 1930s of a dozen or so veterans performing the yell individually and as a group. In 1935, a North Carolina veteran aged 90 performed it and was recorded.Rebel Yell
26th North Carolina Regiment website. Last accessed April 28, 2012.
Units were nicknamed for their apparent ability to yell during battle. The 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, "White's Cavalry", were given the
nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
of "
Comanches The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in Law ...
" for the way they sounded in battle. Given the differences in descriptions of the yell, there might have been several distinctive yells associated with the different regiments and their respective geographical areas. However, in the documentary film '' Reconvergence'', head of the Museum of the Confederacy and historian Waite Rawls describes his long odyssey to recover recordings of the yell. He found two historical recordings of two different soldiers from two different states (North Carolina infantry, and Virginia cavalry), and he claims they sound nearly identical. Though hardly a definitive description, having been published some 70 years after the war ended, Margaret Mitchell's classic Civil War novel ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
'' has a character giving the yell sounding as a "yee-aay-eee" upon hearing the war had started. The film version, by contrast, has the yell sounding as a high-pitched "yay-hoo" repeated several times in rapid succession. In
Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...
's documentary '' The Civil War'',
Shelby Foote Shelby Dade Foote Jr. (November 17, 1916 – June 27, 2005) was an American writer, historian and journalist. Although he primarily viewed himself as a novelist, he is now best known for his authorship of '' The Civil War: A Narrative'', a three ...
notes that historians are not quite sure how the yell sounded, being described as "a foxhunt yip mixed up with sort of a banshee squall". He recounts the story of an old Confederate veteran invited to speak before a ladies' society dinner. They asked him for a demonstration of the rebel yell, but he refused on the grounds that it could only be done "at a run", and couldn't be done anyway with "a mouth full of false teeth and a stomach full of food". Anecdotes from former Union Soldiers described the yell with reference to "a peculiar corkscrew sensation that went up your spine when you heard it" along with the comment that "if you claim you heard it and weren't scared that means you never heard it". In the final episode, a sound
newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...
of a 1930s meeting of Civil War veterans has a Confederate veteran giving a Rebel yell for the occasion, sounding as a "wa-woo-woohoo". In his autobiography ''My Own Story'',
Bernard Baruch Bernard Mannes Baruch (August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965) was an American financier and statesman. After amassing a fortune on the New York Stock Exchange, he impressed President Woodrow Wilson by managing the nation's economic mobilization in ...
recalls how his father, a former surgeon in the Confederate army, would at the sound of the song "
Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...
" jump up and give the rebel yell, no matter where he was: "As soon as the tune started Mother knew what was coming and so did we boys. Mother would catch him by the coattails and plead, 'Shush, Doctor, shush'. But it never did any good. I have seen Father, ordinarily a model of reserve and dignity, leap up in the Metropolitan Opera House and let loose that piercing yell."


Origins

The yell has often been linked to Native American cries. Confederate soldiers may have imitated or learned the yell from Native Americans. Some Texas units mingled Comanche war whoops into their version of the yell."Rebel Yell". ''Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Ed. David Stephen Heidler, Jeanne T. Heidler, and David J. Coles. 2002. p. 1615. Another claim is that it derived from the screams traditionally made by Irish and Scottish Highlanders when they made a
Highland charge The Highland charge was a battlefield shock tactic used by the clans of the Scottish Highlands which incorporated the use of firearms. Historical development Prior to the 17th century, Highlanders fought in tight formations, led by a heavily ...
during battle. At the
Battle of Killiecrankie The Battle of Killiecrankie ( gd, Blàr Choille Chnagaidh), also referred to as the Battle of Rinrory, took place on 27 July 1689 during the 1689 Scottish Jacobite rising. An outnumbered Jacobite force under John Graham, Viscount Dundee and ...
"Dundee and the Chiefs chose to employ perhaps the most effective pre-battle weapon in the traditional (highland) arsenal – the eerie and disconcerting howl," also "The terror was heightened by their wild plaided appearance and the distinctive war-cry of the
Gael The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic langu ...
– a high, savage whooping sound ..." A final explanation, with special reference to the rebel yells uttered by the
Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most o ...
is that the rebel yell was partly adapted from the specialized cries used by men experienced in
fox hunt Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hou ...
ing.
Sidney Lanier Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...
, the poet and Confederate veteran, described his unit's yell as "a single long cry as from the leader of a pack of hounds." Considering the existence of many differing versions of the yell, it is possible that it had multiple origins. Use of the "Southern war cry" precedes the Civil War. In the mid- to late-1850s in the
Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the free state of Kansas. T ...
, "free-state" (meaning anti-slavery) forces battled against pro-slavery forces (as Kansas' determination on slavery was in violent dispute). Sam Reeder was a "free-state" or "free-soil" combatant against a pro-slavery militia at the Battle of Hickory Point in September 1856. "I could hear the sound of shots from the direction of Hickory Point, accompanied at intervals by fierce yells," remembered Sam Reeder. "A young fellow near me remarked: 'Our men must be hitting them the way they holler.' It was not that; it was the ... Southern war cry."George A. Root's article "The First Day's Battle at Hickory Point—From the Diary and Reminiscences of Samuel James Reader ", ''Kansas Historical Quarterly'' 1, no. 1 (Nov. 1931): page 44 One of the earliest accounts of the yell comes from the
First Battle of Manassas The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas
(Bull Run) during then Brig. General Thomas Jonathan
Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in near ...
's assault at Henry House Hill. An order was given during a bayonet charge to "yell like furies", which was instrumental in routing the Federal forces under General
Irvin McDowell Irvin McDowell (October 15, 1818 – May 4, 1885) was a career American army officer. He is best known for his defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War. In 1862, he was given command ...
back to
Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, N ...


Contemporaneous accounts


In popular culture

* Rebel Yell is the name of a brand of
bourbon whiskey Bourbon () is a type of Aging (food), barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the Kingdom of France, French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon ...
made in
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to ...
.
Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...
's song " Rebel Yell" was named from the whisky. *
Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...
began his novelty record rendition of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" with his version of the rebel yell. * An approximation of the yell can be heard in the 1951 film ''
The Red Badge of Courage ''The Red Badge of Courage'' is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Ov ...
'', starring
Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...
. * In the civil war videogame '' War of Rights'', when the Union team’s morale state is reduced, CSA troops will do the yell.


References


Sources


StonewallBrigade.com-Rebel Yell
*Dwelly, E., (1973), ''The Illustrated Gaelic English Dictionary'', 8th Edition, Gairm Publications, Glasgow. *Hill, J. M. (1986). ''Celtic Warfare 1595–1763''. Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers Ltd. *MacLeod, J. (1996). ''Highlanders – A History of the Gaels''. London: Hodder & Stoughton. {{ISBN, 0-340-63991-1. *McDonald, F., (1978), "The Ethnic Factor in Alabama History: A Neglected Dimension", ''Alabama Review'', 31, pp. 256–65. *McDonald, F., & McDonald, E.S., (1980), "The Ethnic Origins of the American People, 1790", ''William & Mary Quarterly'', 37, pp. 179–99. *McWhiney, Grady. 1965. "Who Whipped Whom? Confederate Defeat Re-examined". (Originally published in ''Civil War History'', XI, No. 1 (March 1965) 5–26). ''Essays on the Civil War and Reconstruction'' Ed. Erwin Unger. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. New York. *Russell, W.H., (1863), ''My Diary North and South'', T.O.H.P. Burnham, Boston.


Recordings




Rare Footage of Civil War Veterans Doing the Rebel Yell

Civil war veteran soldier footage captured between 1913 and 1938
Confederate States Army Cultural history of the American Civil War Battle cries