Confederate Sharpshooters

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The Confederate sharpshooter during the War Between the States would use slightly different weapons and ammunition than his Federal/Union counterpart. These men would be pulled directly from the ranks of already veteran units who had been tried and tested time and time again on the fields of battle that dotted the small farmsteads and big cities of the southern United States.

These men would be tested for accuracy and proficiency with the long arm by using a set of rigorous tests administered by officers of the Confederate government. Once chosen, these men would prove to help turn the tides of battle and would act as a deterrent and delaying force at the forefront of the armies of the Confederation at that time.

Many men were equipped with very little and probably resembled the common Confederate infantryman of the times with their homespun jackets, infantry trousers, brogans, felt hats and military style kepis, and their famous P53 Enfield rifle-muskets. Many sharpshooters would also prefer the shorter Enfield two-bander artillery rifles and carbines since these were less heavy and more stable because of their excellent balance.

They could pick off an enemy officer or enlisted man alike from hundreds of yards away while braced against a tree limb with nothing more than an old rifle with iron sites. These men had to truly be the most proficient and accurate of the skirmishers. After acting as skirmishers during battle, many of these units would fall back to form a line of infantry in order to further support the line of advancing troops. It must have been a sight to see these brave soldiers on the field!

Civilian rifles would also be thrown into the mix on both sides with some of them weighing in at 30 to 50 pounds a piece! These weapons would not see much use on the field as it would have not made the long marches and maneuvers required of the soldier in warfare of that period. The soldiers that entered the war with them probably discarded them in favor of the lightweight carbines and infantry rifles.Whitworth rifles that were imported from England through the blockade were also popular with sharpshooters among the Confederate and Union armies alike. Some civilian target and hunting rifles were also used by these men.

Sharpshooters on both sides of the conflict would also act as scouts and guides to help determine the strength of enemy forces on and arriving on the field. They could also be put out in front of the enemy to act as skirmishers before the battle and as a guard to the rear of the lines protecting against cavalry attacks that occurred both during and after the engagement.

These men could also distract enemy scouts from the movement of their main army and force them to engage in small battles and skirmishes while the main force of the army quickly passed by without being detected. This would work very well in large and small battles alike.

Some sharpshooters on the southern side would wear a small red patch on their hats and clothing to denote them as a sharpshooter which separated them from the infantry and artillery. Some units such as the Federal Berdan’s Sharpshooters would go into the war wearing total woolen green uniforms which would later slowly but surely be replaced by the dark and sky blue infantry uniforms of the army.

Many sharpshooters would rather die on the field of battle than surrender since in those days sharpshooters who took direct aim at their targets were considered inhumane by some of the officers and enlisted men on each side of the conflict. Never the less, these men would prove to be deadly shock troops when employed on both sides of the conflict.

For more information please see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitworth_Sharpshooters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marksman