Article On Sharpshooting

[gary]

Not mine but it's nice the author gives me credit for my work.

http://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Sharpshooter-weapons-in-American-Civil-War-Carlson-v107.pdf

 

[redbob]

An interesting and informative article.

 

[JOHN42768]

Very good articles. Well worth the time to read.

 

[Lubliner]

Not mine but it's nice the author gives me credit for my work.

http://americansocietyofarmscollect...eapons-in-American-Civil-War-Carlson-v107.pdf

I see footnote 1 and 10. The book is broken up beautifully for search requirements. It would take me a month to read with retention, and then still I would have to go back to reference it. Please keep that link up @gary. It is excellent.

 

[AUG]

Great article, thanks for sharing.

Maybe it's just a typo, but when he says, "Patrick Cleburne formed sharpshooter battalions in multiple Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana battalions in the Army of Tennessee on the divisional level. They used Whitworth and Kerr rifles and many P1853 and P1860 Enfield rifles and stressed range estimation and marksmanship training." I don't think Cleburne was responsible for the S.S. battalions in the army, at least not those outside of his division. My understanding is that Cleburne formed a small contingent of sharpshooters within his division, armed with Whitworth or Kerr rifles, though he also had all the troops in his division trained in accordance to Hythe's manual to some degree. I've read that there was a similar contingent in Cheatham's Division as well, maybe based on Cleburne's.

There was the 15th Mississippi Sharpshooter Battalion in Wood's Brigade of Cleburne's Division, but I don't know if Cleburne himself had any part in its organization. Others in the AoT, like the 14th Louisiana Sharpshooter Battalion, were organized from disbanded units, without any special attention given to hand-picked men or marksmanship.

He does later say, "General Patrick Cleburne developed sniper detachments in April 1863 using Whitworths. Shooting matches determined the recipients, and training in drill, rifle maintenance, and range estimation were stressed. His marksmen got 30 Whitworths and 16 Kerr rifles at Dalton, Georgia, before the North Georgia campaign."

 

[gary]

Aug - I concur with you. Cleburne's influence was only within his division. His training manual which was prepared by Benham (who plagarized Cleburne's copy of the British School of Musketry manual) was used by the Confederate Army of Tennessee.

You are also right about how some "sharpshooter" units were formed. My own book discusses the re-designating of existing units, permanent detachment of companies to a newly raised battalion whether the members of the company were even marksmen and other means to raise sharpshooters. It shows how little distinction most officers made between a sharpshooter and a skirmisher. Before we criticize the officers though, remember most were from the civilian world and not professional military men. Even among any academy graduate (take any academy anywhere), the subject of light infantry tactics ala Napoleonic era rifleman or jagers was not discussed. It was Scott (if you graduated long before the war) or Hardee when it came to infantry tactics.

 

[SeaSoldier]

Thank you for posting the link. Excellent article and great comments here.

Page 6 of the article shows a Colt Army. It lists it as an 1860 model. Now, I am not a duty expert, but to my understanding the Colt Army that is "notched" is in reality an 1861. The "notch" (one on each side above the grips), is to allow to attachment of a stock so that the pistol can be used much like a carbine.

OBESERVATION: One thing I have noticed is that the terms "Army" and "Navy" when used with firearms - most notably handguns / revolvers. is that "Army" meant .44 caliber and "Navy" meant .36 caliber. The Colt Patterson 5-shot pistol was a .36 caliber firearm and was adopted by the Texas Navy. The next successful handgun (at least to Sam Colt) was the Colt Walker which was made in .44 caliber and adopted by the U.S. Army for the war with Mexico. Hence the 1851 Colt was made in .36 caliber (an update of the Patterson) and often called a Colt Navy (meaning .36 caliber). The Colt produced in 1860 was a re-machined 1851 with an oversized cylinder in .44 caliber - hence a Colt Army. the 1851 and the 1860 had a Naval battle scene engraved on the cylinders commemorating the Texas Navy's victory at the Battle of Campeche.

I have seen gun shops trying to sell the modern cartridge replicas of the 1860 (in .45 Long Colt) with the naval battle scene as Colt "Navy". Uberti has since come out with a metallic cartridge conversion with the pleasing lines of an original 1851 Colt chambered for .38 Special.

Back to the Model 1861. When the U.S. Army decided they needed to use stocks on their pistols, I guess in lieu of a carbine, Sam Colt had stock of the Model 1860 notched and fitted with a removable stock. Weapons for Cavalry were in constant review. The pommel holster carried 2 revolvers (butt forward) but it was found that a attachment stock could be stored in one side and still keep a pistol in the other side.

So, the observation is: or maybe it is a question: is the notched 1860 to be more correctly called an Model 1861 or do we call them all 1860s?

 

[JOHN42768]

Thank you for posting the link. Excellent article and great comments here.

Page 6 of the article shows a Colt Army. It lists it as an 1860 model. Now, I am not a duty expert, but to my understanding the Colt Army that is "notched" is in reality an 1861. The "notch" (one on each side above the grips), is to allow to attachment of a stock so that the pistol can be used much like a carbine.

OBESERVATION: One thing I have noticed is that the terms "Army" and "Navy" when used with firearms - most notably handguns / revolvers. is that "Army" meant .44 caliber and "Navy" meant .36 caliber. The Colt Patterson 5-shot pistol was a .36 caliber firearm and was adopted by the Texas Navy. The next successful handgun (at least to Sam Colt) was the Colt Walker which was made in .44 caliber and adopted by the U.S. Army for the war with Mexico. Hence the 1851 Colt was made in .36 caliber (an update of the Patterson) and often called a Colt Navy (meaning .36 caliber). The Colt produced in 1860 was a re-machined 1851 with an oversized cylinder in .44 caliber - hence a Colt Army. the 1851 and the 1860 had a Naval battle scene engraved on the cylinders commemorating the Texas Navy's victory at the Battle of Campeche.

I have seen gun shops trying to sell the modern cartridge replicas of the 1860 (in .45 Long Colt) with the naval battle scene as Colt "Navy". Uberti has since come out with a metallic cartridge conversion with the pleasing lines of an original 1851 Colt chambered for .38 Special.

Back to the Model 1861. When the U.S. Army decided they needed to use stocks on their pistols, I guess in lieu of a carbine, Sam Colt had stock of the Model 1860 notched and fitted with a removable stock. Weapons for Cavalry were in constant review. The pommel holster carried 2 revolvers (butt forward) but it was found that a attachment stock could be stored in one side and still keep a pistol in the other side.

So, the observation is: or maybe it is a question: is the notched 1860 to be more correctly called an Model 1861 or do we call them all 1860s?

It would still be a model 1860. There were not a large quantity of the 1860's that were notched for the stock. A model 1861 is a .36 cal. and the 1860 is .44 cal. The 1861 had a 7.5" barrel and the 1860 a 8" barrel. Total different revolver.
This was not the first time around for attaching stocks to a revolver. The Springfield 1855 pistol carbine was also not a popular firearm either. 4022 of the 1855 pistol carbine made in '55 & '56.

 

[SeaSoldier]

Captain John, correct you are Sir, Thanks for pointing that out!

I guess I was reading an article by another one of those "armchair experts". I know that the notched 1860s were not made in significant quantity, but I have read that it was intended for use by the cavalry. I am thinking they were considering the carbine as just to much extra weight.

 

[gary]

Bought a helluva lot of books in 2018. Still researching the black powder sharpshooter.

Quite a number of officers were sitting together just before dark eating their supper of coffee and hard tack, when the bugler of the regiment, who was sitting near, was shot through the heart and killed instantly. No one could tell where the shot came from. He was just raising his spoon to his mouth, when he fell over dead.

The above happened at Vicksburg during the Civil War.

 

[Scott1967]

Great article, thanks for sharing.

Maybe it's just a typo, but when he says, "Patrick Cleburne formed sharpshooter battalions in multiple Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana battalions in the Army of Tennessee on the divisional level. They used Whitworth and Kerr rifles and many P1853 and P1860 Enfield rifles and stressed range estimation and marksmanship training." I don't think Cleburne was responsible for the S.S. battalions in the army, at least not those outside of his division. My understanding is that Cleburne formed a small contingent of sharpshooters within his division, armed with Whitworth or Kerr rifles, though he also had all the troops in his division trained in accordance to Hythe's manual to some degree. I've read that there was a similar contingent in Cheatham's Division as well, maybe based on Cleburne's.

There was the 15th Mississippi Sharpshooter Battalion in Wood's Brigade of Cleburne's Division, but I don't know if Cleburne himself had any part in its organization. Others in the AoT, like the 14th Louisiana Sharpshooter Battalion, were organized from disbanded units, without any special attention given to hand-picked men or marksmanship.

He does later say, "General Patrick Cleburne developed sniper detachments in April 1863 using Whitworths. Shooting matches determined the recipients, and training in drill, rifle maintenance, and range estimation were stressed. His marksmen got 30 Whitworths and 16 Kerr rifles at Dalton, Georgia, before the North Georgia campaign."

Didn't the CSA only import around 50 Whitworths? They were hugely expensive something like $6000 in todays money bit like the 12pdr Whitworth cannons extremely rare.

I know I read an article that also stated the shot for the cannon and bullets for gun were Hexagonal and presented a big problem as they couldn't be produced in America which made for big logistical problem that when you ran out of said ammo the weapons become useless.

I might be wrong wouldn't be the first-time.

 

[mofederal]

That was a very good article, interesting to read at least for me. I enjoy reading about Sharpshooters, and their weapons. thanks for posting it @gary.