What a Texas Ranger Cavalry Charge Sounded Like

What did a Confederate cavalry charge sound like?

Many first-hand accounts of Texas cavalry in battle allude to what was colloquially referred to as the "war whoop" of the Texas Rangers. It is not known whether this "war whoop" was distinct from the typical Confederate "Rebel Yell," but one can assume they sounded similar due to cultural ties and traditions between Texas and the rest of the South.

What you are hearing now is an actual recording of a Confederate veteran giving his rendition of the "Rebel Yell" c. 1913. The sound has been varied and multiplied to simulate what a company-sized unit may have sounded like. I have also taken the liberty to include sound effects that illustrate the sheer power and fear that one might have felt being stampeded by charging horses, each of them with a shotgun-and-revolver-wielding trooper on its back, hell-bent on killing as many "darned yankees" as possible.

The background is a perspective shot of the charge down Whitney's Lane during the skirmksh there on May 19th, 1862, which will be featured in my upcoming documentary, "No Choice but to Fight."