Col. Berdan in 1861: a sighted target practice
We’ve had stories about the Berdan’s Sharpshooters before. Here’s a story from the South about a Yankee marksman getting a dose of his own medicine from a rebel Kentuckian.
From The New-York Times May 21, 1862:
BERDAN’S SHARPSHOOTERS.
From the Petersburgh Express.
A gentleman informs us of the death of one of MCCLELLAN’s sharpshooters, on the peninsula, under circumstances which possess interest sufficient to give them to the public. Several of our men, it seems, were killed while going to a spring near by, but by whom no one could imagine. It was at last determined to stop this inhuman game, if possible, even at the cost of killing the hireling himself, who was thus, in cold blood, butchering our men. So a sharp look out was kept for this sharpshooter; and the next time he fired, the smoke of his rifle revealed the locality of his pit. That night a pit way dug by the Confederate soldiers, commanding the position of the Yankee sharpshooter, and arrangements made to get rid of the annoying creature. For this purpose a young Kentuckian was placed in our pit, with a trusty rifle, and provisions enough to last him until the next night. Next morning early, a man was dispatched as usual with two buckets to go to the spring. He had proceeded about two hundred yards, when the Yankee marksman elevated himself, and placing his rifle to his shoulder, was about to pull trigger, but the Kentuckian was too quick for him, for the pulled his trigger first, and simultaneously therewith the Yankee fell. Upon repairing to the spot — which the Kentuckian did immediately — he discovered a rifle-pit, and a sturdy Yankee in it, in the last agonies of expiring nature. The pit was provided with a cushioned chair, pipes and tobacco, liquors and provisions, but the rifle which had been used was really a valuable prize. It was of most superb manufacture, and supplied with the latest invention — an improved telescopic sight upon its end. The pit had been dug at night, and its occupant had been provisioned at night, so but for a sharp lookout for the smoke of his gun, there is no saying how long this Yankee vandal would have enjoyed the luxury of killing Southern men, without even a chance of losing his own worthless life. We are gratified to know that he at last met with so righteous a fate.
Good fringe benefits for a sharpshooter, I guess, at least until you become a target yourself.
You can read about telescopic sights in the Civil War here. The History Channel Club has a good overview of Civil War Snipers. California Joe is another Berdan’s Sharpshooter who was at work before Richmond. You can read about his exploits in an August 1862 edition of Harper’s Weekly at Son of the South.
The image above is also from Son of the South. The accompanying Harper’s article mentions the idea of camouflage (green uniforms in summer and gray the rest of the year) and different sites depending on range and day/night conditions.
