By Liana Jacob
A RARE vintage film has been released showing US Confederate Civil War veterans letting out the “Rebel’s Yell” reveals how attitudes to the Confederate flag have changed since its adoption as a racist symbol by far-right groups in America.
The video shows a group of army-dressed men marching forward introducing themselves and letting out a war cry followed by laughs and an applause by enthusiastic onlookers. Each Confederate soldier is introduced by a man who remains unnamed.
The clip exhibits various light-hearted moments between soldiers. One man is introduced with the wrong name while another does not realise what he’s doing until he is nudged and begins his cry.
The rebel yell was a battle cry used by confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. The soldiers use the yell during charges to scare the enemy and boost their own morale.
On August 12, 2017, a group of white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, neo-nazis and militias conducted a protest to oppose the removal of a statue of Robert E Lee in Emancipation Park.
The rally resulted in the death of three people and dozens were injured.
The origin of the Rebel’s yell is unknown, however it is thought to have been influenced either by Native American war cries or a Scottish war cry tradition.
