Anyone know much about civil war sharpshooters ?

[TheTyler7011]

It appears there are numerous repro scopes for clone builds which is nice.

What’s confusing me is I am reading about these target rifles that are insanely heavy at close to 25 pounds. Was this accurate for military means? Or were Sharps Rifles, Half stock plains rifles, and Whitworth Rifles more appropriate for what you’d find? I think I’d like to put one together

 

[Eutycus]

I was going to suggest googling either the Berdan sharpshooters or Jack Hinton but from your pictures it looks like you know far more about the subject than myself.

 

[Magungo1066]

From what I understand other than the odd lucky guy with a Whitworth etc, any sharpshooters on the Southern side would have had some assortment of bench or target guns. Especially if it was in the East. This was just because of simple availability and explains the massive weight of some of the rifles recorded. In the Northern armies this was of course different.

 

[Eutycus]

Search this forum for "General Sedgwick". There is some interesting reading in that thread as well.

 

[Magungo1066]

I could be completely wrong but I think a heavy bench rifle with a telescopic sight is mentioned being found behind Southern lines in some small scene from one of Shelby Foote's three Civil War volumes. This could just be my brain inserting something from somewhere else, but I think it may have been mentioned.

 

[TheTyler7011]

From what I understand other than the odd lucky guy with a Whitworth etc, any sharpshooters on the Southern side would have had some assortment of bench or target guns. Especially if it was in the East. This was just because of simple availability and explains the massive weight of some of the rifles recorded. In the Northern armies this was of course different.

So I’m assuming there was no uniformity to these personal target rifles ? Makes sense. That’s what I wanted to know, thx!!

 

[Eutycus]

I was going to suggest googling either the Berdan sharpshooters or Jack Hinton but from your pictures it looks like you know far more about the subject than myself.

Sorry I hit the "t" instead of the "s". It's Hinson not Hinton. He was a noted Confederate sniper/sharpshooter.

 

[Magungo1066]

So I’m assuming there was no uniformity to these personal target rifles ? Makes sense. That’s what I wanted to know, thx!!

Absolutely! On the Southern side there would have been absolutely zero uniformity. Not to say a wealthy guy didn't buy a bunch of his men nice rifles or some such thing somewhere, but on the whole, only the North issued sharpshooting rifles on a unit wide, standardized level.

 

[Piquant]

Try this one. May not have what you looking for but still a good read.

 

[Harmonica Bob]

I was going to suggest googling either the Berdan sharpshooters or Jack Hinton but from your pictures it looks like you know far more about the subject than myself.

I just ordered the book about Jack Hinson. Thanks!

 

[Uncle Miltie]

Whitworth rifles were about the only scoped target rifles the south had access to, obtaining them from England via blockade runners. Serious target shooting was a northern sport, hence makers of scoped picket rifles in the southern US were largely non-existent.
Thr photo you posted shows soldiers posing with their own personal target rifles which they used to qualify with as well as perform their chosen duty. Aside from a number of percussion Sharps rifles almost all such soldiers provided their own rifles, with the Army purchasing very, very few of them, if any at all.

 

[1BadDart]

I just ordered the book about Jack Hinson. Thanks!

Good book. Jack was a guerilla sniper and wasn't in the confederate army. His motivation was revenge, nothing more.

 

[Stantheman86]

Sharpshooters were a whole different concept than Snipers.

On both sides, the early war Snipers were usually guys who were target shooters or big game hunters, and brought their own expensive "chunk guns" or target rifles. They had to pass a marksmanship test and there would be open "tryouts" that these men would show up for. They had lots of autonomy and would pretty much go "hunt" for targets on their own, finding spots to shoot from then relocating . Some discovered that shooting at men was different than paper or animals and quit, some were very skilled at shooting men and were literally hunting enemy Officers

From what I read they kinda came and went as they pleased and were more of an attachment to an Infantry division than so much "soldiers " .

Sharpshooters were separate groups of Infantrymen that were simply good shots and were better at soldiering than the average rank and file Grunt. They often used issued rifle-muskets or were the first to get them . They operated on the flanks and moved in small Squads under the direction of an NCO.

In Gettysburg, at the Little Round Top scene you can hear Col Chamberlain order Sharpshooters to the Flanks and soldiers in green uniforms are seen moving out. They probably had Springfield rifles. They were just "elite" soldiers separated from the main body and were exempt from Grunt work like standing guard duty, manual labor or anything like that.

 

[Oberst]

Well, if a Sharps was good enough for Josey Wales to shoot the rope for the ferry carrying those red legs…..

 

[Uncle Miltie]

Well, if a Sharps was good enough for Josey Wales to shoot the rope for the ferry carrying those red legs…..

Missoorah Boat Ride!

 

[stephenprops1]

It appears there are numerous repro scopes for clone builds which is nice.

What’s confusing me is I am reading about these target rifles that are insanely heavy at close to 25 pounds. Was this accurate for military means? Or were Sharps Rifles, Half stock plains rifles, and Whitworth Rifles more appropriate for what you’d find? I think I’d like to put one together

About 30 years ago I was in a black powder/muzzleloading store in northern West Virginia. A customer brought in an original American Civil War Union Sniper Rifle for service. I don't remember the manufacturers name but, the gun had been made in Illinois. It weighed 25 pounds, and the owner told me it was transported by wagon. He said the sniper would set it up and wait for an opportunity to shoot at officers or other important targets.

 

[1950DAVE]

This book has seven pages about snipers in the CW.