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The Rebel Yell

ChrisR

ChrisR

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I've recently taken a bit of an interest in the American Civil War. I don't have any past life memories of this event, and I don't believe I took part in it, but I'm currently watching the award winning documentary series by Ken Burns and can highly recommend it if you haven't seen it and you remember a past life during the war.

I came across this 'rare' footage of some actual Civil War veterans trying to recreate the sound of the famous Rebel Yell, and I thought I would share it here to see if it interests any of our members. Does that sound trigger any feelings or emotions? The veterans say that this unique sound could only be truly created on an empty stomach while pumped up on adrenalin.
 
I've watched this footage, Chris. The "yell" was truly blood curdling. I believe this film was made at the Old Soldier's home in New Orleans where I lived out my life, and a few of the men even seemed familiar.
 
I watched that video a few weeks back - and it does invoke some strong feelings in me. Definitely sympathetic to the rebels. Plus, it coincided with my obsession with Jesse James.
 
The rebel yell, though commonly identified with the American Civil War, is actually a common feature of many other civil wars throughout history. It was very often the one thing that differentiated rebels from their enemies who were otherwise of the same culture and even of the same families. While approaching armies usually employed music, banners and bright uniforms as forms of intimidation, rebel armies were known to use their voices.


I believe that the American Civil War evokes shared memories among people all over the world in which people were betrayed by their own countrymen and even their own family members; and that there is no deeper wound than the memory of war in which one finds oneself suddenly turned upon by one's neighbors.
 
I agree with Nightrain, something about that yell is giving me this sense of protection. I watched this month ago.


I'M SO AMPED :D
 
The clip didn't evoke anything for me but it is soo cool to have that glimpse into the past. Thank you for posting it!
 
The very beginning of the video with the whooping and hollering almost sounded Native American to me. The Rebel Yell, though, did bring up a sense of sadness, briefly, but that's it.
 
Thanks for all the interesting replies. Misty, I'm sorry if the images in the video have caused you any distress, that wasn't exactly what I intended when I posted it, although in hindsight, for many Union soldiers, the Rebel Yell was probably the last sound they ever heard, so I can now understand how it could be distressing to hear the sounds again. Have you had any strong feelings about the Civil War prior to watching the video?
 
ChrisR said:
Thanks for all the interesting replies. Misty, I'm sorry if the images in the video have caused you any distress, that wasn't exactly what I intended when I posted it, although in hindsight, for many Union soldiers, the Rebel Yell was probably the last sound they ever heard, so I can now understand how it could be distressing to hear the sounds again. Have you had any strong feelings about the Civil War prior to watching the video?
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ChrisR, it wasn't exactly distress I felt, just a lot of anxiety. I have had strong feelings, mostly when I was younger. I couldn't see the point of view of the South at all, I was Yankee and proud of it. Now, I do see more shades of grey, but still could never side with the Southern point of view. I have no real evidence that I had a life during that time other than the strong interest I've always had and a bit of a flash of something I had once while reading a novel. I find the video very interesting, I love history, and I will go back and watch it sometime. Curiously, it wasn't the yell that gave me the anxiety, just the men themselves walking into the room.
 
I never identified with the Southern point of view, either, Misty. I thought they were tragic, gallant, and very, very, wrong. I still do - finding out I was with the South didn't change that. When I read "Echoes From the Battlefield", by Barbara Lane, some of the re-enactors discovered they had fought on different sides in the real war, than the one they chose to re-enact. Although, if I remember correctly, one man turned out to have been his own great-great grandfather!
 
BriarRose said:
I never identified with the Southern point of you, either, Misty. I thought they were tragic, gallant, and very, very, wrong. I still do - finding out I was with the South didn't change that. When I read "Echoes From the Battlefield", by Barbara Lane, some of the re-enactors discovered they had fought on different sides in the real war, than the one they chose to re-enact. Although, if I remember correctly, one man turned out to have been his own great-great grandfather!
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BriarRose, the difference is I never thought of them as either tragic or gallant, I thought of them as evil and totally wrong. I understand more the shades of grey now, and see there was tragedy and gallantry on both sides of that issue. But I just always felt in my heart that I was Yankee through and through. Interestingly, we live in the South now (not the "deep South." One of the first things I noticed when we moved down here were the "I'd Rather Be Shooting Yankees" bumper stickers.
 
I've never seen those - how funny! :D Since the Civil War spirit seems to be alive in the South, is it difficult for you to live there? I have lived in Georgia, Louisiana, and the part of Florida that is almost an extension of Alabama. In the 70's my daughter's school adjourned for Jeff Davis' birthday. That was eye-opening! The South has a winsome charm of it's own, and I am drawn to it. The curious thing for me, having grown up in California, was that things still mattered, and were remembered, that were of no importance or forgotten elsewhere. My own family had men who fought on both sides of the war, although they were all from the South. Are you aware of any family connections, Misty?
 
BriarRose, we are living in North Carolina and in an area known for there not being too many locals living here, mostly just transplants from the North. When we first moved down here, we were warned away from a certain area because of anti-Yankee sentiment. I have no issues living here, the people I've met who were born and raised here are all super nice. But I will admit that the bumper stickers frightened me a bit when I first saw them. Almost like when I was overseas many years ago and reluctant to admit to being an American.


I'm aware of ancestors /family members who fought on both sides. Probably more for the South than the North because a lot of them came from Louisiana and Kentucky, but some for the North too from Pennsylvania. Both sides of the family had people who fought.


I think it's good to keep the memory of historical events alive, but not to take it so personally so long after the fact. Right now - and I don't know all the details - there is a push to preserve a battle site rather than have houses built on it. I'm definitely in favor of preservation.
 
Now in growing up, my family was transferred to Mississippi back in the mid 60's for just a short while. It was such a shock. Both of my parents were raised and came from the north. But in Mississippi back in the 60's, it was something. Now back then they in Missisippi would hardly celebrate the 4th of July (for that was the day Vicksburg fell) and it seemed as if Abraham Lincoln's name back then was like a curse word. It was a shock for us! My sister being older was in junior high marching group, and it seemed as if the only song the school bands would play at the local football games was the song 'Dixie'. I have thought back on this as so interesting, but still this was back in the mid 60's and the memories of the Civil War were seemingly still alive and well in the south. They it seemed had not forgotten! Later after just a couple of years the family was transferred to Texas.


But in the family history, I also have people who fought on both sides during the Civil War. And in doing so, it seems I had some close family members who knew about the ones who fought on the side of the south but never never heard a word of this in growing up. I had to learn it thru doing the family's genealogy it seemed.


Now even though as concerning past lives, I personally had nothing to do with the Civil War. Personally I know several close friends who apparently did serve in the Civil War. One good friend here where I live goes out to the renenactments take take place out at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania about every year or so which I find interesting. And in talking with him, how often will the conversation shift to the topic of the Civil War.


Wishing Everyone the Best!
 
Some years back I spent a bit of time in South Carolina and I was astonished at how alive the Civil War was for people there. (I'm Canadian, so I don't have any personal interest in it.) They were lovely, lovely people, even though one lady was nearly in tears when she asked if it was true that Canadians referred to all Americans, and not just Northerners, as Yankees?


It's true, yes, sorry. OMG It's not said as an insult, though, really. :D
 
Sister Grey said:
...even though one lady was nearly in tears when she asked if it was true that Canadians referred to all Americans, and not just Northerners, as Yankees?
It's true, yes, sorry. OMG It's not said as an insult, though, really. :D
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Not just Canadians. I think all over the world Americans are called "Yanks". Just like we call the British "Brits", Australians "Aussies", etc.
 
I understand all your concerns. I do love many things about the South, but I believe personal animosity over all wars should be released, if we can. As for historic preservation - always! So much in the US is lost, especially California. Perfectly serviceable buildings are torn down, and equally ugly ones erected in their places. We currently have a legal battle ongoing, to protect a gigantic doughnut that tops a building, and I am all for keeping it! Most of the Los Angeles of my teens has been bulldozed, including the Ambassador Hotel. Robert Kennedy was shot there, and it housed the Coconut Grove Nightclub, the scene of a lot of Hollywood history. As for known Civil War battlefields - it seems a sacrilege to build houses on one. This isn't the Parapsychology Section, but what might the new residents of those houses encounter? Bad "Shui", I say!
 
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