That well-known peculiar Southern Yell: The origin and sound of the Rebel Yell
The Rebel Yell as a mythological piece of Civil War Lore
19-year-old Theodore Gerrish joined the famed 20th Maine Infantry in the summer of 1862. His regiment would gain a mythical status after Colonel Joshua Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. Just two months before the Battle of Gettysburg, Gerrish and the rest of his regiment were forced to sit on the sidelines as the Army of the Potomac pushed into Virginia. A tainted smallpox vaccine forced the 20th Maine into quarantine, forcing them to look on as their fellow Union soldiers marched toward Chancellorsville, Virginia.
The new Army of the Potomac Commander, Joseph Hooker, was confident he could crush Robert E. Lee in a two-pronged assault, but the genius of Robert E. Lee foiled his plan. The largest portion of Hooker’s army formed a salient around Chancellorsville, where they were forced to withstand repeated attacks from Lee’s army.
Gerrish’s regiment was pulled from Quarantine Hill and pressed into guard duty, watching the telegraph line that ran to Hooker’s headquarters. From Gerrish’s vantage point, he could see and hear much of the fighting, watching helplessly as his army suffered brutal casualties. The rebel forces were repeatedly pushed back, but something drove them forward. On Sunday, May 3, 1863, the fiercest day of fighting saw Hooker’s men push back the rebel onslaught. Gerrish recalled that day:
“The situation rendered our men desperate, and the rebels were repulsed; but once more they charged, pulling their hats down low over their eyes, and with that well-known peculiar Southern yell they came.”-
Theodore Gerrish, Army Life; a Private’s Reminiscences of the Civil War, by Rev. Theodore Gerrish (Portland: Hoyt, Fogg & Donham, 1882), 92.
That “peculiar Southern yell.” Countless Civil War accounts talk of the infamous yell. Fighting opposite Gerrish’s Union lines, Wayland Fuller Dunaway’s Confederate counterparts made repeated assaults against Hooker’s lines. On Sunday, May 3, 1863, he watched as Stonewall Jackson’s famed Stonewall Brigade passed Dunaway’s regiment, the 40th Virginia, as Jackson’s men moved to break Hooker’s right flank. The 40th stood by, watching as Stonewall’s Brigade was repulsed, taking heavy casualties. C.S.A. General William Pender’s Brigade of North Carolinians followed Jackson. Pender’s Brigade was repulsed as his ranks were thinned.
Dunaway’s regiment was next into the breach. Union artillery burst all around Dunaway as he moved toward the Union lines. The crash of an artillery shell rushed to the earth before him. The shell buried deep in the earth before exploding. The concussion sent up a geyser of dirt that rained over him “but providentially inflicted no wounds.” While Dunaway had watched two Brigades repulsed before him, he treads across ground that was strewn with remnants of Confederate attackers. The carnage didn’t break the 40th, who “onward we rushed with the usual inspiriting Rebel yell.”
Reminiscences of a Rebel, by the Reverend Wayland Fuller Dunaway, D.D., formerly Captain of Co. I, 40th Va. regt, Army of Northern Virginia (New York: The Neale Publishing Company, 1913), 70.
The Rebel Yell is a big part of Civil War lore. Confederate reenactors charge the crowd, imitating the infamous sound. Civil War movies like Gettysburg, Glory, and Gods and Generals depict the Confederates yipping as they move toward Union lines.
Where did the Rebel Yell come from?
The origins stories have been mixed. The Historical Dictionary of the Civil War by Terry Jones states:
“Some soldiers believed the yell originated at First Manassas, while others claimed to have heard it first when the Louisiana Tigers attacked at First Winchester. The yell was described as being a high-pitched yelping sound, almost like an Indian war whoop, and may have derived from a similar cry Southerners used to encourage their dogs while hunting.” pg. 1152-53.
In the Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History (2002), the authors connected the yell to Native American war cries. The article states that Texas regiments who were familiar with Comanche warrior altered the yell to make their version of the cry. Pg. 1615.
Perhaps the most well-researched interpretation of the yell’s origins came from Craig Warren in his 2014 scholarly book The Rebel Yell: A Cultural History. Warren deeply studied the phenomenon throughout 214 pages. His explanation takes on a cultural and social bent. The Southerners were seeking a unique identity, separate from their northern enemies. The cry simply emerged out of a desire for uniqueness. It was created by nationalistic southerners who zealously sought a break from the North. Warren adamantly denied Indian origins, or other proposed ideas including the evolution of hunting calls or Scots-Irish cultural adaptations.
Warren’s deep study resolves that the yell was spontaneous in its origin. As the war continued the yell took on a style of its own, with each regiment perfecting their version of the cry. When all these regiments worked in unison they harmonized, creating an overall shriek of terrifying proportions. The Confederates were able to work the yell, moving it up and down the lines of battle, creating a rolling cry that lived on in the memories of both Union and Confederate soldiers alike.
What did it sound like?
This is a real area of contention. In movies and reenactments, the Confederates put out a war cry that sounds like “yeee-ye-yeeee-yeeee-yeee.” Sometimes they “whoop-wooo-whooop-woooo.” Or, they “yelp-hooop-yeeeelllp”
Just like the origin of the yell, there is great debate over the sound.
Here is a clip from the 1993 film Gettysburg. Here is depicted the 20th Maine’s defense of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg, on July 2, 1863. Notice the constant background noise of the attacking Confederates. This is one interpretation that is common among reenactors and filmmakers. (I don’t own this footage and only share it as an educational tool)
Next here is the typical reenactor version of the yell. At every Civil War reenactment, the Confederates send off the crowd with a march reverberating with the rebel yell as they move to face the spectators. (I don’t own this footage. It is only being used for educational purposes.)
This is an interpretation that many historians agree with here:
Again, the footage isn’t mine and is used to educate. These reenactors recognize the importance of cadence and rhythm.
Now this next one is truly fascinating:
In this video, put out by the Smithsonian (not myself, not mine, just to educate) you see actual Confederate veterans recreating their infamous yell. This video footage is from the 1930s at one of the last large-scale veteran reunions. These are old men, who likely can’t carry forth with the same vigor they did as youngsters, but these men used the yell during their military careers. Through all the interpretations we can somewhat conclude that Craig Warren likely has the best explanation. The Rebel Yell was unique in different situations and to each unit that used it. They likely used the energy of their comrades to use the yell in combat as a tool to terrify their Northern counterparts.
The Rebel Yell is a famous part of Civil War history.
The yell has certainly been mythologized. Stories about the war cry made it into newspapers, books, and later films. Wartime publications and propaganda likely drove the evolution of the Rebel Yell. The closest thing we have to definitive proof of its sound comes from the veterans themselves. Granted, these are Confederate veterans no longer marching in massed units, in the heat of combat. The strength of their voices was left behind with their youth. Regardless of the sound, or the origins of the yell it is entirely cemented in the Civil War legacy.