Rebel Yell

The Big Shed Podcast

We're thrilled to bring you this story from producer Peter Solomon. It's a gem. We fell for this piece the first time we heard it. The rebel yell. What did it sound like – that battle cry that terrorized union troops and rallied Confederates to battle? Historians have clues from letters and diaries but still have never agreed. Producer Peter Solomon brings us a recording of what many believe is an authentic Rebel Yell ... and it's nothing we expected to hear. Peter spoke with Waite Rawls, President of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia, who offers his perspective. We are also excited to bring you the comments of Allan Gurganus, author of Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All. He was a featured speaker last Fall at an "The Audio Listening Institute" from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke and the Third Coast International Audio Festival. Thanks to Mr. Gurganus being brilliant and to the Center for Documentary Studies for allowing us to rebroadcast their audio. Peter produced this story as an assignment for the Feature Bureau at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, and it aired on public radio stations across the state of Virginia. Peter's editor, Big Shed friend Lydia Wilson, had read an article about a rebel yell CD from the Musuem of the Confederacy. Peter explained, "I didn't really know anything about the subject before I got the assignment. I knew that there was an amusement park ride called the 'Rebel Yell' or it was something that you shouted at a football game. When I heard the actual sound of the Confederate soldiers demonstrating the yell I was shocked. I played it for a colleague who thought it sounded like a person being killed. I asked Waite Rawls to comment on this reaction. He ended up being a very good storyteller. He's articulate, knowledgeable about the history of the civil war and I was able to let him tell the story without writing any narration." And thanks to Peter Solomon for sharing this with us. Peter has worked as a jazz host and operations manager at WCVE-FM, Richmond since 1999. His background is in music. Peter - "I am a big jazz nerd but in recent years my interests have turned to crafting radio features and that's the part of my job that I most enjoy."