1/15/2023 0 Comments Confederate sharpshooter![]() ![]() Many of their officers came from a nonmilitary background, however, and even the graduates from military academies among them were ignorant of the sharpshooters’ potential. (Library of Congress)Īmid the many regiments entering Union service were numerous newly raised sharpshooter units. In response to the tactical superiority asserted by the Union sharpshooters over the Confederates at Yorktown, the Confederates would raise their own units of sharpshooters. The artillerymen of both sides would quickly learn to fear the long-range, accurate fire of the sharpshooters during the sieges of the Civil War. These Union gunners are pictured with 13in seacoast mortars during the siege of Yorktown (April 5–May 4, 1862). In this illustration from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Almanac, Berdan’s sharpshooters are shown in trench defenses at Washington, DC, exhibiting their skills to Major General George B. Each candidate demonstrated his skill by placing ten consecutive shots in a 10in circle at 200yd. Perhaps the most famous sharpshooter of the era, Hiram Berdan raised two regiments of marksmen for the Union. It came to be believed that an exchange of fire would precede use of the bayonet, which would then decide the battle the advantages conferred by long-range shooting were dismissed. For many Americans, the matter was settled by the French and Sardinian victory over Austria at the battle of Solferino on June 24, 1859, during the Second War of Italian Independence. The other was the Prussian School, whose adherents also believed firing would commence at long distance, but that close-order combat was still viable. The Belgian school of thought believed that firing would commence at 1,000yd and combatants would approach no closer than 600yd, it being too dangerous to move any closer. Two European schools of thought on the battlefield use of long-range rifles emerged before 1861. Since the American Revolutionary War (1775–83), American military theory had been based on European models, but was little influenced by the adoption of the Minié ball in 1855. Young men of all occupations and backgrounds rushed to enlist, some to defend the Union and the honor of the flag and others to defend their rights by seceding from it. IntroductionĪfter Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor was fired upon on April 12, 1861, Americans on both sides of the Mason–Dixon Line were whipped into a war frenzy. In this study, Gary Yee, an expert in firearms of the period, assesses the role played by sharpshooters in three bloody clashes at the height of the American Civil War - the battle of Fredericksburg, the siege of Vicksburg, and the siege of Battery Wagner.This book is dedicated to my uncle, Bill Yee, who introduced me to firearms. ![]() Initially, Union marksmen enjoyed the upper hand, but as the Confederates began raising and training their own sharpshooters, they proved themselves as worthy opponents. They could also become expert scouts and, for the Confederacy, impressive raiders - one raid netted almost 250 prisoners. Siege warfare placed a premium on marksmanship and the sharpshooter became indispensable as they could drive artillerymen from their guns. Sometimes equipped with firearms no better than those of their infantry brethren, they fought in a manner reminiscent of Napoleonic-era light infantry. Presenta gli scontri diretti delle forze in campo ma anche le uniformi, gli equipaggiamenti, le tattiche, le motivazioni, ordini di battaglia, ecc.ĭuring the American Civil War, the Union and the Confederacy both fielded units of sharpshooters.Serie della Osprey Publishing ricca di foto, cartine e artwork a colori appositamente realizzato per ogni volume della collana. ![]()
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