Ever since the Civil War ended, writers have struggled to adequately describe the Rebel Yell.
For the first time at Manassas or Bull Run in 1861, and then at many battlefields afterward, the bluecoats heard the unearthly wail of the rebel yell.
“When we got in sight of the Yankees,” Thomas D. Wallace, a member of the 13th Mississippi Infantry and a comrade of Francis M. Poore, recorded in his diary, “we raised a yell that Indians could not have raised.”
At Gettysburg in 1863, as 1,400 Mississippians stepped toward Emmitsburg Road, the Rebel Yell went up and down the ranks. Across the field, Union 2nd Lieutenant Frank E. Moran of the 73rd New York Infantry, known as the 2nd Fire Zouaves, observed the Mississippians. He recalled that they “came swarming up from the woods, yelling like demons.”
Thanks to the Smithsonian.com we can hear the old Rebel Yell. The Smithsonian last October posted some rare audio and video footage of Union and Confederate veterans. Among the footage was an exclusive clip from the 1930s where Confederate veterans step up to the mic and let out their version of the fearsome rallying cry.
You can watch the video on the Smithsonian site or on YouTube.
Dr. Bill (William L.) Smith said:
Welcome to the GeneaBloggers family. Hope you find the association fruitful; I sure do. I have found it most stimulating, especially some of the Daily Themes.
May you keep sharing your ancestor stories!
Dr. Bill 😉
http://drbilltellsancestorstories.blogspot.com/
Author of “13 Ways to Tell Your Ancestor Stories” and family saga novels:
“Back to the Homeplace” and “The Homeplace Revisited”
http://thehomeplaceseries.blogspot.com/
http://www.examiner.com/x-53135-Springfield-Genealogy-Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-58285-Ozarks-Cultural-Heritage-Examiner
pooreboysingray said:
Thanks! I’m a big fan of Thomas MacEntee and his works.
Jim Sanders said:
Welcome to the the Geneablogger family. I don’t have ancestors who fought for the south, but have ancestors who fought for the north.
pooreboysingray said:
Thanks for taking a look at the blog! Like many Southerners, I also had ancestors who wore blue, but not in my direct line.
Lynn Palermo (@LynnPal) said:
Welcome to Geneabloggers. I love the focus of your blog. You’re off to great start.
pooreboysingray said:
Thanks! I hope you will visit again.
Theresa Casteel said:
A great post! I shared it on twitter. Thank you.
Regards,
Theresa (Tangled Trees)
pooreboysingray said:
Theresa, thanks for letting others know about the blog!