Barksdale's Brigade at Fredericksburg

[gary]

What long arms were carried by the men of Barksdale's Brigade? Were they smoothbores? Barksdale as you remember asked for "sharpshooters" from another unit. Considering the distance wasn't that great, a normal Springfield rifle or Enfield would have easily hit a target at 100 yards.

 

[gary]

Wrote John Hennessy at Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Battlefield Park and learned that Barksdale's men were armed \wirh .69 cal long arms. It is unclear if they were rifled or smoothbores.

 

[Youngblood]

I seem to remember reading once that Barksdales brigade got a shipment of 500 new Richmond made rifles right before Fredericksburg.

 

[gary]

Do you recall where and to which regiment?

 

[Jobe Holiday]

As I recall, the reference came from the diary of a Sgt. in the 17th Miss. where he recorded that they were issued 500 brand new Richmond muskets the day before they got to Fredericksburg.
J.

 

[gary]

Was it Robert Augustus Moore's, "A life for the Confederacy, as recorded in the pocket diaries of Pvt. Robert A. Moore,Co. G, 17th Mississippi regiment." Ed. By James W Silver and foreword by Bell Irving Wiley?

Abernathy, William Meshack's Our Mess.

Ezekiel Armstrong's To See My Country Free. The Pocket Diaries of Ezekiel Armstrong, Ezekiel P. Miller, and Joseph A. miller,cMagnolia Guards, Co K, 17thRegiment, Mississippi Infantry, Conf States of America.

 

[lelliott19]

Robert Augustus Moore's, "A life for the Confederacy, as recorded in the pocket diaries of Pvt. Robert A. Moore,Co. G, 17th Mississippi regiment."

If it is recorded in the journal, you can check it here - although not searchable. All three of the original journals/diaries are scanned and available at the University of Mississippi Libraries Digital Collections. I am guessing that the book "A Life For the Confederacy," originally published in 1959, includes only the actual diary entries and not all the pages of scribble/notes that appear in the actual journal?

Here are the links to all three volumes:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3

Enjoy!

 

[gary]

Awesome! Thank you too lelliot19.