No aspect of Civil War military lore has received less scholarly attention than the battle cry of the Southern soldier. In TheRebel Yell; Craig A. Warren brings together soldiers' memoirs; little-known articles; and recordings to create a fascinating and exhaustive exploration of the facts and myths about the “Southern screech.†Through close readings of numerous accounts; Warren demonstrates that the Rebel yell was not a single; unchanging call; but rather it varied from place to place; evolved over time; and expressed nuanced shades of emotion. A multifunctional act; the flexible Rebel yell was immediately recognizable to friends and foes but acquired new forms and purposes as the epic struggle wore on. A Confederate regiment might deliver the yell in harrowing unison to taunt Union troops across the empty spaces of a battlefield. At other times; individual soldiers would call out solo or in call-and-response fashion to communicate with or secure the perimeters of their camps. The Rebel yell could embody unity and valor; but could also become the voice of racism and hatred. Perhaps most surprising; The Rebel Yell reveals that from Reconstruction through the first half of the twentieth century; the Rebel yell—even more than the Confederate battle flag—served as the most prominent and potent symbol of white Southern defiance of Federal authority. With regard to the late-twentieth and early twenty-first centuries; Warren shows that the yell has served the needs of people the world over: soldiers and civilians; politicians and musicians; re-enactors and humorists; artists and businessmen. Warren dismantles popular assumptions about the Rebel yell as well as the notion that the yell was ever “lost to history.†Both scholarly and accessible; The Rebel Yell contributes to our knowledge of Civil War history and public memory. It shows the centrality of voice and sound to any reckoning of Southern culture.
2016-02-08Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x 1.20 x 5.50l; .0 #File Name: 0816698651384 pages
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