****GETTYSBURG**** July 1 1863

MilitaryHistoryOnline.com ^ | July 1 2003 | Carlo3b

[ExSoldier]

Indeed...and you are obviously some of the few parents who in my 15 years of experience, give a damn. For that reason alone, your chilren will be successes at whatever field they choose to pursue. I SALUTE YOU, sir!

[carlo3b]

The Rebel Yell

A distinctive feature of the Southern soldier was the rebel yell, a long, quavering sound that became legendary. One of the challenges of reenacting is to determine what this famous call actually sounded like.

After the war a number of veterans sought to describe the yell in print. One of the most detailed descriptions came from J. Harvie Drew, a soldier in the 9th Virginia Cavalry. He gave this transcription of the rebel yell:

"Woh--who--ey! Who--ey! Who--ey! Woh--who--ey! Who--ey! (The best illustration of this "true yell" which can be given the reader is by spelling it as above, with directions to sound the first syllable "woh" short and low, and the second "who" with a very high and prolonged note deflecting upon the third syllable "ey.")
Others rendered the yell as "yai, yai, yi, yai, yi" and "y-yo yo-wo-wo." From these examples, it would appear the yell was both multi-syllable and also composed of pattern that was repeated several times.

Many have traced the origins of the rebel yell to the rural life int he prewar south. Drew believed in this derivation, stating. Hollering, screaming, yelling for one person or another, to their dogs, or at some of the cattle on the plantation, with the accompanying reverberations from hilltops, over valleys and plains, were familiar sounds throughout the farming districts of the South in the days gone by. Hunting, which was enjoyed and indulged in more or less by nearly every citizen of the South, was also conducive to this characteristic development.

The rebel yell stood in definite contrast to the more disciplined cheer of the Yankees. The latter was described by Drew in these terms:

The Federal or "Yankee" yell, compared with that of the Confederate, lacked in vocal breadth, pitch, and resonance. This was unquestionably attributable to the fact that the soldiery of the North was drawn and recruited chiefly from large cities and towns, from factory districts and from the more densely settled portions of the country.
* * *. . . their peculiar, characteristic yell [was] -- "Hoo-ray! Hoo-ray! Hoo-ray!" (This yell was called by the Federals a "cheer," and was intended for the word "hurrah," but that pronunciation I never heard in a charge. The sound was as though the first sylllable, if heard at all, was "hoo," uttered with an exceedingly short,low, and indistinct tone, and the second was "ray," yelled with a long and high tone slightly deflecting its termination. In many instances the yell seemed to be the simple interjection "heigh," rendered with the same tone which was given to "ray.")
Whatever the sound or the origins of the rebel yell, its use and effect on the battlefield was undeniable. Col. O. M. Roberts commanded the 11th Texas Infantry in several battles in Louisiana, and left this account of Texans and the rebel yell:

The Texas soldiers in line of battle, with their attention intensely alive to what they were doing and how they should act, were cool enough and intelligent enough to pass the word along the whole line of battle like an electric current; and when the command was given, "Forward, charge!" it, too, would be rapidly passed, and then simultaneously the Texas "rebel yell" burst out from the whole line, as all together they dashed at double quick toward the enemy. The effect of that yell was marvelous....Such yells exploded on the air in one combined sound have been heard distinctly three miles off across a prairie, above the din of musketry and artillery.

[carlo3b]

THE REBEL YELL

 

None of us have ever heard it.

None of us ever will.

There's no one left who can give it.

Tho you may hear its echo still.

 

You may hear it up near Manassas,

and down around Gaines Mill.

In December it echoes in Fredricksburg,

in May around Chancellorsville.

 

It's the "pibroch of Southern fealty".

It's a Comanche brave's battle cry.

It's an English huntsman's call to the hounds.

It's a pig farmer's call to the sty.

 

It's a high-pitched trilling falsetto.

It's the yip of a dog in flight.

It's the scream of a wounded panther.

It's the shriek of the wind in the night.

 

It was yelled when the boys flushed a rabbit.

It was passed man to man in the ranks.

It was cheered when they saw their leaders.

It was screamed when they whipped the Yanks.

 

But none of us will ever hear it.

Tho some folks mimic it well.

No soul alive can truly describe

the sound of the Rebel Yell.

~Monte Akers~

  Link to the yell!
 

[carlo3b]

Thank you my friend. I am indeed a proud dad, and I believe you are correct, my children are blessed with a thirst for knowledge and the ability to drink from every fountain put before them. I am enjoying watching the harvest that I began to sow, while they were mere seedlings.

[carlo3b]

This letter always brings tears to my eyes. I'm just a hopeless romantic...

You are a romantic, but so very far from hopeless my dear girl.. :o) Hug

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Carlo3b. Very interesting background. You hear a lot about the "Rebel Yell" in accounts of the War Between thr States. First time I've seen it try and be described.

[janetgreen]

Thanks for posting this Carlo. This is something every American should know about, but many don't. I have been to Vicksburg, and I swear you can almost hear the ghosts. My brother says the same thing about Gettysburg. It is heartbreaking.

[janetgreen]

Guess whose having chicken and dumplings tonight?? Thanks for the great recipe.

[andysandmikesmom]

Thanks Carlo for such a wonderful posting...when I have a lot of quiet time, I will read this full article...

Heres a little story about Gettysburg...

I have been to Gettysburg many times...my dad, altho born and bred in the east, nonetheless settled down in Chicago with mom...yet with so many relatives still in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, from my earliest days, I remember going back east every three years for vacation...

And we always stopped at Gettysburg for a few days...dad loved roaming around all of Gettysburg, and mom and we kids enjoyed it as well...

Many years later, when I had married and had my boys, in 1976, my hubby, I, and my two boys, along with my mom and dad, decided to go back east for the bi-centennial...we planned to concentrate our time between Gettysburg, and Williamsburgh...

It was late May, and we were camping, in a tent...we arrived near Gettysburg in late afternoon, and found a campground, set up camp, cooked, ate, my boys played, and we had a fine evening...then we all settled down in the tent, to get to sleep early, so as to be able to get to the Gettysburg battlefield, in early morning...

In the middle of the night, my husband woke up, terrified, and screaming, that he heard canons going off, heard men screaming and hollering, heard guns going off...I shook him a few times, convinced that he was dreaming, but he says no, he was not dreaming...that all that sound had woke him up, and he swears he was sitting up, wide awake in his sleeping bag, and still heard all those sounds...which eventually just disappeared...

The next morning, he told us all that he heard, while we were having breakfast...my dad just looked at him, and told him he was not the first one to tell of such an experience, and he would not be the last...many people, have sworn that they have heard the sounds of battle coming from Gettysburg, in the middle of an otherwise quiet nite...

To this day, my husband swears that what he heard was real, ,not a dream...some will believe that my husband was really just dreaming, others will believe that spirits of those, who fought and died at Gettysburg, are still there, still reenacting the battles...

To each his own to decide what my husband heard...

Just a little true story about Gettysburg...

[IronJack]

One of the most touching descriptions of simple passion and duty I've ever read. Can you imagine being the woman who got such a letter and married such a man?

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[amom]

Yes! Thanks for the heads up and posting the letter. Wonderful.

[JulieRNR21]

I have always been fascinated by how the early Americans, without the advantage of a structured modern education, had such a grasp of our language, and the ability to articulate their feeling in the written word. None are more poignant than the writing of our soldiers to their loved ones describing their plight and emotions between the heat of battle. This letter written by an officer to his wife that was featured on one of the finest documentaries of our Civil War, ever produced on film.

This letter is so beautiful. Thanks for the ping!

[Maven]

I have always been fascinated by how the early Americans, without the advantage of a structured modern education, had such a grasp of our language, and the ability to articulate their feeling in the written word. None are more poignant than the writing of our soldiers to their loved ones describing their plight and emotions between the heat of battle. This letter written by an officer to his wife that was featured on one of the finest documentaries of our Civil War, ever produced on film.

Being in the collectibles business, I've been privileged to come across many Civil War letters - some of which were badly written and others, many others, almost poetic.

I collect 19th century correspondence. What I look for is not necessarily mention of a famous event or place (although I've read quite a few like that!), but a good story being told.

The woman who wrote to her sister to share her grief at losing her infant to the croup (1850s)....the man who described seeing Edwin Booth on stage in "Hamlet," but not holding it against him that his brother murdered the president, and oh, by the way, the rents in New York City are outrageous (1866 or so)....the diary of a Civil War soldier who was on duty in Washington when the assassination conspirators were hanged, complete with a lock of hair belonging to Mary Surratt (I sold that one and see photocopies of it all over the place now)....the man who wrote to his niece describing his life over the years - being shipwrecked, joining the Texas Rangers, rescuing a girl and her brother from the Commanche and falling in love with her (my personal favorite - written in 1856).

I don't think the lack of "structured modern" education was a problem - people who didn't have television, radio, the Internet, etc., tended to care more about writing letters, as that was the main (and often only) source of communication. People cared about the language, and a good vocabulary was the sign of a cultured mind.

Many stamp collectors and dealers are only interested in the envelopes (known as "covers" in the trade). They look at the cancels and addresses, but never read the letters. I read them, and I keep the ones that may not be philatelically valuable, but have great personal worth to me.

I'm doing some research right now on a letter written from the Oklahoma Territory in 1828. I don't know if the letter is a reproduction or not - that's what I'm researching. The person who wrote it is definitely real, and the paper could be that old (the watermark led me to the manufacturer, who assured me that they have been making that particular type of paper since 1801). It takes time to authenticate some letters, but it's an enjoyable way to pass the time. ::grin::

Sigh. I'm going to look over a lot of stampless covers on Saturday - I hope I find some interesting tidbits that I can squirrel away in my collection. The ones that are worth more to a philatelist than to an amateur historian, I will sell, but the others will be kept and treasured, as they were treasured for the 160+ years since they were written.

Maven

[christie]

bump

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for the poem and link!

[BellStar]

I have no stomach for this. I just star crying and I can't stop.

[section9]

One of the reasons I love the entire experience at Gettysburg is the example of the 20th Maine:

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[SAMWolf]

Little Round Top
Gettysburg, July 2nd, 1863

[Prof Engineer]

ping