The old Third Arkansas

          "Bennie came toward them. "That yelling of his scairt even me," he said. "What was it, Jesse?"
          Jesse shambled back toward them, trailing his deadly rifle and bayonet. "Rebel yell," he said quietly. "Ol' Grandpa Suggs, he was my mother's pappy, taught me it. He was with the ol' Third Arkansas during the Wah Between the States. Part of Hood's original brigade, they was. 'Hood's Texans,' they called 'em. Only Arkansas regiment in the brigade was the ol' Third Arkansas."

This quote is from The Cold Seas Beyond, by Gordon Shirreffs. The Third Arkansas was perhaps the best-known fighting unit from Arkansas during the War. My own great-grandfather and his brother served in it. The regiment was positioned in the critical position during the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American military history.

Incidentally, this book and the others in this series by Shirreffs are excellent adventure novels for teenage boys.