-- General James Longstreet to General Robert E. Lee, Gettysburg
Southern States Secede
Secession
fever hit the South after Abraham Lincoln was elected president. The
South considered Lincoln's Republican party victory in the 1860
presidential election as a sign that the North was now going to end the
"peculiar institution" of slavery. For the South, the time of talk and
compromise had ended. In December, 1860 South Carolina became the first
state to secede from the Union. Secession of the rest of the states that
would make up the Confederate States of America occurred in two waves.
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The Rebel Yell
“There is nothing like it on this side of the infernal region. The peculiar corkscrew sensation that it sends down your backbone under these circumstances can never be told. You have to feel it.”
Just about everyone thinks he or she knows what the Rebel Yell sounded like. Movies and television have provided us their versions, but no one knows for sure what this battle cry sounded like. Or … do we know today exactly how the actual Rebel Yell sounded?
The Rebel Yell was first heard at The Battle of First Bull Run (First Manassas) on July 21, 1861. At an important part of the fight, as Confederate forces were failing, Rebel reinforcements arrived on the battlefield. The Confederates were able to rally and Thomas Jonathan Jackson gave the order; “Charge, men and yell like furies!”
The Rebel Yell thus was born. Savvy readers will know that not long before this, Jackson had gained his nickname of “Stonewall” from General Barnard Bee. As Jackson gave the above order that resulted in the Rebel Yell, he was not yet called Stonewall Jackson. After all, the battle was still being fought!
Confederate Lieutenant Richard Lewis, Fourth South Carolina Volunteers, wrote the following words describing the action at First Bull Run in a letter dated July 24, 1861 (bold added by your BlogMaster):
“The Yankees in such superiority of numbers … poured forth such a destructive fire into our ranks that our men were becoming confused and began to fall back. The gallant and noble General Barnard Bee dismounted his horse to rally the men, telling them as Carolinians they should never disgrace or dishonor their banner but should die under its folds, and all rallied again, and, with a shout and a yell that might have been heard for miles, they charged and repulsed the enemy, and drove them back from their position. It was not long before our brave General Bee fell mortally wounded.”
The Rebel Yell has been described as a high-pitched shout, and is possibly an adaptation of a Southern fox hunter cry. For the enemy Yankees, hearing the Rebel Yell most likely sent a chill of fear up their spines. Indeed, after the war, a veteran Yankee described the Rebel Yell:
“There is nothing like it on this side of the infernal region. The peculiar corkscrew sensation that it sends down your backbone under these circumstances can never be told. You have to feel it.”
There is no record that any Yankees actually ran after hearing the Rebel Yell.
Has the Rebel Yell been lost to history? Those who fought in the Civil War have long ago left us, they can no longer give the Rebel Yell, or tell us what it sounded like. But, maybe not!
Here is a video that possibly brings the Rebel Yell to our ears today:
| Real Rebel Yell Credit: History Publishing Company, Palisades, New York. |
Suggested Posts to Learn More...
- Virginia Ordinance of Secession
- Civil War Casualties
- Civil War Veterans
- The Sullivan Ballou Letter
- Civil War Speech
- Slavery
- Chancellorsville May 1, 1863
- Chancellorsville May 2, 1863
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