Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-05
THAT REBEL YELL.
it was Originally the Battle Cry OF The
Tennessee Cherokees.

From the ST. Louis Republic
After superficial research into the ..o.ps.,s
Of the Rebel Yell" our sometime. .c,ol,.s,c
friends Who write American historical e.-.vs
for eastern readers have inclined 40 the opin.
ION mat n Texas modification Of the eus-
tural Comanche whoop. This is clearly . m,..
Jake based on insufhcient information. The
yen was heard in the Texan war for independ-
ence. IL came clear and strong from the
throsts OF the men who followed Houston a
san sacinto' but that. was not it's genesis by
any means. The Texans OF that dav were .H
or nearly all, natives Of other western states
ana their war cry was part OF the eouipment
they carried 10 Texas with them.
All the reliable evidence shows that the rehsi
ven was contribution OF the great west 10 the
cause Of American freedom In the rebellion
against England. Before the Revolution q
handful OF Nirginians had pushed across the
Alleghenies and built nj watanga in what h
now Tennessee, one of the first out-posts Of
American civilization in the then unknown
west lying between the Alleghenies and the
Pacific. They held in check the $4,000 Cher
okee warrlors who were melted by the English
10 attack the rebels of the seaboard in the rear.
ana when these eastern rebels seemed hope
lessiy demoralized. when CORVALLIS, with
larleton and Ferguson under him. had cut the
eoniederacy in two. the rebel yell" was heard
ior tne hrst time east Of the mountains IN
was the accompaniment Of n style of fighting
with which the English regulars were entirely
uhiamiiiar-the massing OF a small force against
the weakest point Of a scattered opposing force
and then. without regard 20 the numbers OF IN,
opposing force. headlong rush and the Wild
charging cry which hes since become memoir
able as the rebel yell"
when the brave Col Ferguson retrested TO
King mountain and intrenched himself there
IN what he supposed to be an impreenable no.
sition his second in command. Dupeyster
said to him, as the western men charged nm
the mountain under the CALLING FIRE of his sn-
perior force; There are those yelling devils
again" Six hours later the yelling rebels
from the west had won the battle Of Kings
mountain. captured its surviving defenders
and turned the tide of the Revolution bach
against England sending Cornwallis in con-
fused retreat 20 the surrender at Yorktown.
There rs no doubt at all of the genesis of the
rebel yell as IL was heard at Kings mountain.
IL was the war-cry Of men as brave as ever died
IN defense of homes-the Tennessee Cherokees.
whose language has made the rivers and noun
tains OF their old hunfing-grounds musical with
names that are as soft as Italian. With the pos
sible exception of the Natchez. they wese the
most intelligent and least cruel OF North
American Indians, holding the universal In
dlan law OF retaliation. but more capable than
any others OF the Indian scock of forgiving in-
juries.
Under Oconostata and Old Tarsel they made
herolc night against the westward advance of
civilization. and their battle crv was heard in
defense OF Tennessee soil ut the first fight on
LOOKOUT mountain as dehantly at the sec
oho. IL Was turned against them by the white
lennesseeans who followed John Sewer i'm over
hundred nights with them. in every one of
which the CherOkees were losers Before
sewers time most of the fighting against In
alahs mad been done from behind stOckades or
IN skirmishing from behind trees With a
military genius that was Napoleonic before
Napoleon, Sewer adopted and never swerved
from a'policy Of Sudden attack in the open field
always IN the enemy's country. without waiting
20 reckon up how many men the enemy could
bring against him II given time. This art Of war
was defined in 1865 by the tennessee calvary
man whom Gen. Lee called the greatest Of his
generals IN the west getting there first with
the most men" Against this method of fight
ing the unframed Cherokecs could do nothing
Iney fought for every foot of territory. but
always with great loss 81 their own warriors,
lnfilcting little in return.
The author of The Rear Guard of the Revo-
luton has no theory Of his own concerning
the origin OF the rebel yell. but the facts he has
collected make il certain enough that il was
originally the battle cry of these Red Tennce-
seeans, who called their warriors Sons of Fire"
lCherahkees). In all mouths but theirs il has
been rebel yell invariably. 1t was raised by
rebels at Kings mountains: again few wears
later at Jonesboro, where 500 Tennessee
rebels assembled TO rescue John Sewer. who
had been kidnapped by North Carolina and
carried across the mountains 10 be tried for
treason as the head of the Tennessee rebellion
against North Carolina; il was a rebel cry at
the Alamo and San Jacinto: later ON il was
heard again at shiloh and Chic kamanga from
the throats of Tennesseans who rebclled against
Tennessee for the Union. and OF other Tennes-
seeans xho rebelled against the Union for Ten
nessee.
1t is in accord with eternal fitness that the
rebel war cry should trace its origin 10 Tennes-
see-which above all others is the rebel state
the only state of the second rebellious confed-
eracy which waived all discussion OF the con-
stitutional rights of secession and. standing
squarely on its rebellious record against Eng
land and North Carolina, rebelled cut Of the
Union instead Of seeding out Of il.