This might be trivia. Can anyone explain why Appleseeders use HUZZAH to express glee?
The way I understand it, Huzzah was the battle cry of the Red Coats. Why did we adopt it? US Marines use OORAH, US Army use HOOAH, US Navy and Coast Guard use HOOYAH. What did the Continental Army or even the State Militias use? History buffs, is there an explanation?
aj
The colonists resisted and took the nation to preserve liberty, perhaps they took huzzah too just because they could.
Hark! ‘tis Freedom that calls, come Patriots awake;
To arms my brave Boys and away;
‘Tis Honour, ‘tis Virtue, ‘tis Liberty calls,
And upbraids the too tedious Delay.
What Pleasure we find in pursuing our foes.
Thro' Blood and thro' Carnage we'll fly;
Then follow, we'll soon overtake them, Huzza!
Credit (or blame, depending on one's point of view) for changing Huzzay to Huzzah belongs to Noah Webster.
Webster (1758-1843) was one of the most influential men of his period. A tireless writer, teacher and advocate for American values, he was an ardent Anglophobe. He is known principally for his "Blue Backed Speller" (first published in 1783, it was the standard American spelling book until the late nineteenth century), his Dictionaries and for pushing strong copyright laws through Congress.
Webster strongly advocated the use of "American" words, spellings and pronunciations rather than "English" ones. In the case of Huzza, the evolution of this advocacy can be traced through successive editions of his dictionaries.
I'm not a history buff (nor do I play one on tv), but here are a few things that I found which might be interesting:
- The shout of Huzzah was apparently a generic war cry and/or shout of jubilation. While it was used by the redcoats, it wasn't exclusively theirs. However, I had the same confusion you did when I first started, since the only mention of Huzzah was in relation to the victory cry by the redcoats at Lexington.
- Like you mentioned, the word Huzzah has similar usage & meaning to Oorah, Hooah, Hurray, etc.
- Huzza was probably pronounced Huzzay (rhymes with hay) back in the colonial days, but gradually changed over the years to Huzzah.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huzzah
https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/04/you-say-huzzah-they-said-huzzay
I'm curious to hear what others know about it as well.
April 19 1775, we were English citizens.
We spoke English.
I wonder if that is variation of what we say here in Texas:
YeeHah.
I always thought it was the same reason that "Yankee Doodle Dandy (https://allthingsliberty.com/2013/12/short-history-yankee-doodle/)" is not just a national hymn, but actually specific to the Revolution -- the Redcoats made it up as a mockery of the backward, inferior people of the Colonies, but we took it from them specifically to rub their noses in it.
Nowadays, the song is so familiar that hardly anyone even knows what a "Yankee Doodle Dandy" is, yet you hear small children sing it.
My 3-year-old's favorite song. :F
I also wondered about our use of Huzzah as a cheer since the Redcoats used it as a battle cry.
In William Diamonds Drum I recall a quote from a letter by Alexander Hamilton describing his arrival in New York for the Second Continental Congress where in he stated the crowd greeted him with "three huzzas."
So which is it? Huzza or Huzzah? A Goggle search was somewhat helpful. Seems it's been around for centuries in various forms. Here's an article that explains it well: https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/04/you-say-huzzah-they-said-huzzay/
So it is appropriate for us to also use it as an exclamation or cheer in it's more modern form, Huzzah.
http://webstersdictionary1828.com/
The All American Dictionary
"Webster's 1828 Dictionary contains the foundation of America's heritage and principal beliefs. It is contemporary with the American Constitution.
It is an excellent reference for classical literature, Bible studies, history papers, and the ground work of explanation and reasoning for America's national documents.
Christian readers will find it rewarding to compare Webster's definitions of such words as: marriage, education, sin, law, faith, and prayer, with those given in any modern dictionary. The difference gives an appreciation of early American values.
A breath of fresh air in an era of political correctness and subjectivism."
- I highly recommend buying this reprint for understanding our founding documents as written. Noah Webster documented well what do they meant. There is a lot of reference material included. This book by far is my favorite from homeschooling.
Chuck
Remember the Colonist were British.
The Colonist fought with the British during the French and Indian war.
I'm sure those Colonist shouted "Huzzah!" along with the British Regulars.
In my research it was / is HUZZAH!
Huzza was just a different spelling.