The U.S. military has been actively working to remove references to the Confederacy and Confederate leaders in recent years, but that hasn’t always been the case. Just over 50 years after the end of the Civil War, parts of the United States still embraced that troubled past.
By the time the United States entered World War I, veterans from both sides of the Civil War were largely elderly. An 18-year-old who enlisted in 1861 would be 74 years old in 1917, the year the U.S. entered the Great War.
Even so, the U.S. Army wanted to bring something uniquely American to the trenches of Europe. The commander of a particular southern Army unit wanted his men to use the Confederate Rebel Yell to “instill terror in the hearts of the enemy.” And they needed the help of Confederate Civil War veterans to do it.
A 1916 reunion of Confederate Civil War veterans at the Tutwiler Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama.
Fort Gordon near Atlanta, Georgia, (named for a Confederate general) was known as Camp Gordon during the build up to World War I. It was used as a training camp for many of the 2.8 million men who were drafted to serve in the war.
It was first opened in July 1917 and became the training ground for the 82nd Division, later known as the 82nd Airborne Division, when troopers could actually become airborne. The camp operated from 1917 until 1919 and trained many of the conscripts from Georgia.
The man installed to oversee the training of the 82nd Division at Camp Gordon was Gen. Eben Swift, a veteran of the Spanish-American War and the Pancho Villa Expedition and a former director of the Army War College.
Swift wanted to give the Germans a special surprise when the U.S. Army arrived and began fighting in the trenches. He wanted to teach the 82nd Division the “Rebel Yell,” a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers as they charged Union lines during the Civil War.
The U.S. Army 82nd Division in 1917. (U.S. Army)
He met with federal judge William T. Newman of Atlanta, a former Confederate soldier who was still in contact with a company of his fellow veterans in Georgia, to teach the battle cry to new soldiers of the 82nd.
“I want my men taught the Rebel Yell for their use in France,” Swift told the Times-Dispatch, a Richmond, Virginia, newspaper in 1917. “I met Judge Newman and suggested the Rebel Yell would not sound badly when we meet the Germans. Our boys will use it when they go over the top.”
Although there aren’t any recordings of the yell in use during the Civil War era, there are recordings of Confederate veterans performing the cry at reunions years later. The video below is from Smithsonian Magazine:
According to the article, Newman did everything he could to assemble the elderly veterans at Camp Gordon to teach the troops the “blood-stirring” battle cry. Union veterans have remarked that the Rebel Yell was effective on the battlefield, saying “if you claim you heard it and weren’t scared, that means you never heard it.”
Swift expected the use of the Rebel Yell to catch on in the Army once the 82nd began using it, and that the service would adopt the Confederate tradition for the foreseeable future. Instead, it died out with the last of the Confederacy’s remaining veterans.
William Pickering was out of his depth. Born into poverty in the slums of Birmingham, England in 1758, he had rightfully expected to live out his days toiling in the ironworks alongside his father. Neither of the Pickerings had any real formal education.
It was the soul-crushing drudgery that had ultimately driven him from home. Bill Pickering reported to his local recruiting station, proved that he had the requisite minimum number of opposing teeth, and made his mark on the enlistment form. Now fourteen months later he crouched in a reinforced redoubt outside Yorktown, Virginia, under the command of Charles Cornwallis. He was fairly certain he was about to die.
This detail photo shows a close-up of the flintlock action on the author’s Brown Bess rifle.
The colonists advanced behind their bayonets, their heavy muskets silent. They hacked their way through the wooden abatis that Pickering and his comrades had felled to block the advances and began to scale the works. On the command of his senior NCO, William Pickering and 69 of his mates lined up their Brown Bess muskets and pulled their actions to full cock. At a range of 50 yards, his Sergeant gave the command to fire, and all 70 British weapons detonated in a single, ragged volley.
As the smoke cleared, Pickering’s blood chilled. The failing sun danced across dozens of American bayonets as the colonists kept coming. Pickering looked to his left and right before dropping his musket and throwing up his hands. The imminent prospect of cold steel rearranging a man’s entrails can be a powerful motivator. Three days later Cornwallis surrendered in absentia, claiming an illness.
The Brown Bess was an iconic military weapon. In its day, most of the planet would have been familiar with it.
William Pickering was treated surprisingly well by the victorious Americans. As a result, he was among the roughly 10 percent of defeated British soldiers who elected to remain behind in the new nation and start a fresh life. By the time of his death, he was a landowner with three sons and a modest plantation. Without realizing it, William Pickering’s story was the beginning of the American dream.
The Weapon
The British Brown Bess was first introduced in 1722. The formal appellation was the Land Pattern Musket, and it served until 1838. Both the British and their opponents used these weapons in dozens of wars across the globe. The Brown Bess evolved through several variations during its protracted service life.
The Brown Bess helped the English crown project power throughout its expansive empire.
Nobody is really certain where the term Brown Bess originated. There are lots of suggestions, none of which is completely reliable. The most likely is that the term Brown Bess somehow spawns from some forgotten bawdy harlot, an otherwise nameless prostitute who found herself unusually popular among British soldiers centuries ago. Rudyard Kipling’s 1911 poem titled, “Brown Bess” implied this to have been the case. The potentially vulgar origins of the term just add to the romance of the piece.
Tactical Details
The maximum effective range was listed as 300 yards. A skilled and drilled Redcoat was expected to get off four rounds per minute. In reality, the smoothbore gun was only really reliably effective at less than 100 yards, but it inflicted some truly ghastly wounds.
The Brown Bess musket equipped British troops on their missions of conquest around the globe.
For close-quarters work at bad breath ranges, the Brown Bess was frequently loaded with buck and ball, a devastating combination of buckshot atop a musket ball. Imagine the Royal Navy repelling boarders in The Pirates of the Caribbean if you need an example. The bore was a gaping 0.75″, but the balls were a bit undersized to compensate for the inevitable muzzle fouling. As a result, the gun was innately inaccurate. The most common version of the weapon weighed 10.5 lbs. and was 58.5″ long.
A good soaking in Evapo-Rust left these 240-year-old parts nicely cleaned without damaging the metal.
Around four million of these old muskets saw service. To put that in perspective, using the most modern production techniques available at the time and operating at maximum capacity, American industry produced some 6,121,309 M1 Carbines via 10 major manufacturers during World War II. The guys who made these old muskets used machines powered by horses, water or steam. An original Brown Bess is typically both crazy expensive and quite long in the tooth these days.
Cutting-Edge Tech
While the Brown Bess is fairly archaic by modern standards, in its day it reflected the state of the military art. In the skilled hands of British troops, the Land Pattern Musket enforced the will of the English regent around the globe. A decent Brown Bess musket adds flare to any seasoned gun collection.
The author’s Brown Bess kit included a newly manufactured stock that had to be fitted to the original 18th-century action.
My Brown Bess was a proper fixer-upper purchased online. What came out of the box looked like it had been stored at the bottom of the ocean. The wood was worm-eaten and friable, though the metal bits retained ample character. However, it didn’t look much like a regal British military weapon. As a result, my kit included a new-made buttstock along with fresh screws and a few modern replica brass bits.
The Great Ammo Shortage of 2022 just won’t go away. You might struggle to find ammunition for your pistol, rifle, or shotgun this year. Reasons for the shortage range wide, from supply bottlenecks to a copper shortage and the war in Ukraine. The best solution might be to make your own bullets.
People are buying more guns, and there are a lot of new gun owners. In 2020, 20 percent of American gun purchasers had never before bought a firearm. Thirty-nine percent of people recently polled in the United States own at least one pistol, rifle, or shotgun, according to the General Social Survey, and FBI background checks tracked a 41 percent increase in gun ownership from 2019 to 2020. That adds up to 8.4 million new owners. These gun owners need ammunition. So, the demand side of the equation is easy to see.
Supply of ammunition is also a concern. People stocked up on rounds during the Covid-19 pandemic amid panic about the dwindling supply. Imports of ammunition fell 34 percent during the worst days of quarantine in 2020. There were periods during the pandemic when gun and ammo production stopped. Gun owners sensed these shortages and snapped up firearms and ammunition.
A number of factors have tightened the pipeline of imported ammunition. Among these are sanctions against Russia, which have restricted exports from that country. Bans on ammunition made in China and other countries have further crimped supply.
Much less publicized, there is a global shortage of copper, a key input in the production of ammunition. Ammo makers have to compete for the copper supply with electric vehicle manufacturers and the U.S. Mint, among others.
Brandon Maddox, the CEO of Silencer Central, wrote a blog post on March 15 that documented the calibers that are hardest to come by.
30-30 Winchester rounds can be hard to find for owners of lever-action “Old West” rifles. You might be paying over one dollar per round – maybe even two dollars. There are slim pickings of the .308 Winchester that deer hunters favor. Maddox says it is better to buy .40 Smith & Wesson pistol ammo online, because it is in spare supply at gun shops. AR-15 owners are struggling to find .223 and 5.56mm NATO for their assault weapons. Finally, 9mm pistol rounds fly off the shelves.
“Home bullet presses are becoming increasingly popular among gun owners, as it decreases your dependence on retailers to provide your ammo. Just keep your brass casings and you’ll be able to keep providing your own rounds,” Myers wrote.
Generic Ammo. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Ammo Shortage. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Whether loading their own ammo or scouring the internet for deals, gun owners are learning how to handle shortages. Supply issues will continue deep into this year. Get ready to pay more, especially considering how inflation in the United States pushes prices higher for bullets, cartridges, and shells. It’s best to be aware of the problem now and make plans to mitigate it as soon as you can.
Now granted, the prices for Ammo is still high out here. (But then its never been cheap out here.) You can find most of the most popular calibers for sale. You just have to get up and look around that’s all! Grumpy
Donald Trump, Jr.–shown at an NRA convention–dismissed reports he was interested in becoming the association’s new CEO. Dave Workman photo
U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “Donald Trump Jr. launches gun rights group, vows to fight Democratic gun control proposals,” Fox News reports. “The Second Amendment Task Force plans to build its operation around Trump’s high social media visibility and following, as well as his national media appearances.”
“The Second Amendment Task Force is the first advocacy group that Trump has launched and been directly involved with,” the report elaborates. “The group plans to make a push in the upcoming midterm elections this year, especially in the voter registration sphere.”
Except it’s not the first. Remember that “Second Amendment Coalition” his father announced and made him chairman of back in 2016? The one he co-chaired with fired NRA-ILA honcho and bump stock “regulator” Chris Cox? If you don’t recall that group, it’s probably because it didn’t actually do much of anything and the webpage was taken down a half-a-year later.
As for “plans to make a push,” it’s fair to ask for whom. His father’s Mehmet Oz pick comes to mind. Are there any other candidates gun owners may have concerns about?
It’s also fair to ask what that push consists of. The Fox News piece gives us plenty of high-sounding platitudes but specifically, how will the “entirely devoted” Second Amendment Task Force “ensur[e] the Left is never successful in disarming American citizens”?
As an aside, that rhetoric is kind of hyperbolic. Ultimately, isn’t ensuring they never will be something each of us will decide?
“Today, the group is laser-focused on engaging grassroots activists to defend their Constitutional rights,”the Task Force website claims. “Like a special ops team of advocates, the group rapidly mobilizes when Biden nominates personnel who could infringe on the Second Amendment and to oppose executive or legislative action that curbs the rights of gun owners and families.”
What group? Who is on board with this, and might we check their creds?
The only name that is listed under “Our Team” is Trump Jr’s, and while gun owners should appreciate his efforts that “helped sink” the David Chipman nomination to head ATF, many hands were involved with that and, candidly, did more. And if his Task Force truly lives up to its rapid mobilization claim, why have he — and it — been silent to date (this is being written on 4/28) on the new and equally threatening nominee, Steve Dettelbach?
Fleshing out the details of the “group,” its organization and specific efforts it intends to make is important because getting visitors to register and donate seems to be the purpose of the 2A Task Force home page. That being the case, what does it intend to provide gun owners that they can’t already get from established national and state “gun groups”? Considering that those groups are also involved in activities like education/outreach, alerts/grassroots coordination, legislative efforts, and, importantly, mounting legal challenges, what unique return value, besides the occasional supportive tweet, editorial or media appearance by Trump Jr. does this new venture offer that makes it a superior donation priority?
No one can argue that it doesn’t help to have a high-profile personality using his bully pulpit to promote the right to keep and bear arms. One could also argue that attaching one’s famous name to a hot button issue, one that affects millions, yields significant personal and political returns.
It would be greater to see him using his New York City concealed carry permit as a springboard to highlight how unjust and un-American it is to limit such permits to the sell-connected elites and to lead the charge for demanding change. For someone presuming to be a leadership voice for gun owners, it would be not just appropriate, but crucial for Trump Jr. to also explain in principle and detail:
If he agrees his father has been flat-out wrong on bump stocks;
How he differs from his father’s White House position on where the right to bear arms comes from.
The object here is not to attack him or to start a feud with Dad; it’s to see if the guy who says he wants to lead us knows where he’s going and why.
It’s also to see whose interests funds being solicited to bankroll that leadership really serve and if that’s the most effective way for gun owners to offset attacks against their rights. Note 2A Task Force donations are “Powered through WinRed,” a GOP fundraising platform that has been dominated by Donald Trump-related interests.
They take their cut of the proceeds. We’ve all gotta eat and there’s nothing wrong with that, and in fact, the left (which benefits from its ActBlue counterpart) is trying to shut WinRed down with breathless allegations of irregularities and “politically-motivated investigations” by four “blue state” attorneys general. Like with speech, political opposition is seen as something to be smeared and canceled.
Just to clear something up, because I won’t be surprised to see this piece result in some “Would you rather have Joe Biden?” reactions: I got this task force news sent to me from a few different readers, and what they sent included some enthusiastic posts and videos from commentators with substantial numbers of followers. None of what I had seen dug any deeper and addressed the points this raises, and I believe gun owners ought to be able to evaluate all fundraising appeals against other deserving options before digging into limited personal resources.
If you think Donald Trump Jr’s Second Amendment Task Force is a serious contender for your financial support, feel free to explain why and persuade those of us who may not be convinced yet in the comments, below.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
