A collection of bedtime stories - or sharpshooter & sniper tales

[4v50 Gary]

Saratoga

I'm sure you've heard of Tim Murphy, the rifleman who shot General Fraser off his horse at Saratoga. Murphy was in excellent company and there were many other riflemen who served under Morgan at the battle. Here's an account of how they devastated the British artillerymen:

“The royal Artillery suffered an astonishing loss in today’s action. One captain is dead; Captain Johns [Jones?] was fatally wounded and died therefrom the next morning. Brigade Major Captain Bloomfield was shot through the cheek, under the tongue. General Phillips’ other adjutants were almost all wounded, as were some of those of General Burgoyne. Somewhat more than thirty non-commissioned officers and cannoneers of the Royal Artillery were killed or wounded, of whom not a single man was less than five feet ten inches tall, all handsome individuals, of whom many died on the field of battle and were laid out in their true five feet eleven inches to six feet. Some lay still with, and some already without consciousness.”

I should get my manuscript back from my reader tomorrow and will start incorporating the final changes when I get home. Have to turn it over to someone for designing the book. As mentioned before, it will be double column format with endnotes instead of footnotes.

On Sunday (Tax Day), I'll be in Washington, D. C. for a couple of days of fun (read that as National Archives) and then I'll visit some battlefields in Virginia and to drop off some published articles of mine. The Company of Military Historians is holding its annual conference in Williamsburg and I'm attending that. So, between this Saturday (4/14) until Tuesday (4/24), I'll be off-line.

 

[muzzlegun]

Account of a sharpshooting "target"

The following is an account by Maj. Henry Kyd Douglas who was directing the
placement of Confederate troops at the base of Culp’s Hill during the battle of Gettysburg:

“I was riding in front of the line on “Ashby” and officers and men cried to me
to dismount. I saw that I was alone on horseback. But I was about to turn
the brigade over to its commander, and then it did not seem proper for a
staff officer to dismount, although I knew I could not go far on horseback
up that breakneck hill. I had given the order to throw some skirmishers to
the front as we moved on, and was pointing with my sword, directing the
line to the left oblique, when suddenly, from behind the trees perhaps a
couple of hundred yards up the heights, there sprang a dozen or more
sharpshooters, and their muzzles seemed trained on me. I fancied I could
look down the barrels and I fancied also they were large enough to crawl
into. There came little puffs of smoke, a rattle of small arms, the sensation
of a tremendous blow and I sank forward on my horse, who ceased his
prancing when my hold was loosened on his bridle reins. The skirmishers
sprang forward, up the rocks after those sharpshooters and several officers
seized my horse and held me on him, taking my sword from my right hand.”

. . . . . .

“I had a severe and ragged wound in my left shoulder, the ball having taken
in with it a clipping from my coat, shirt, and undershirt, which it cut out in
its haste and lodged with its accessories under the clavicle, cutting also
some muscles and paralyzing for a time my left arm. My duty in that battle was over.”

“I Rode With Stonewall” 1940 The University of North Carolina Press

 

[4v50 Gary]

Edited sample from the book

First, thank you very much muzzlegun for taking the time to share with us something from Henry Kyd Douglas - especially so because I went AWOL for a week and a half.

Now, as to my absence, about a week and a half ago I was in the National Archives digging out info. I found a clue several years ago and finally tracked it down to its conclusion. Afterwards, it was off to Williamsburg to attend the annual conference of The Company of Military Historians. Wow! I met some pretty big names in the community and they're humble and pleasant just like the rest of us. Many were willing to share their research too. I spoke with folks from areas that were covered in my book including the curator of mechanical arts (ahem, guns) at Colonial Williamsburg. Also met the publishers of Museum Restoration Services. They specialize in publishing out-of-print manuals and monographs on guns or military topics. I didn't realize who they were until I went to the flea market and saw their table. Naturally, I dropped some bucks (no will power on my part). When the conference was over, we had field trips (pay of course) to the Military Tattoo in Norfolk, the Virginia War Museum (must see for any blackpowder or gun enthusiast and yes, there's a Flak 88, a M-5 Stuart, a 240 mm Railroad gun and lotsa of other things there). We also went to the Mariner Museum in Norfolk. I visited it years ago and was impressed by the progress. If you want to learn about the Monitor, Virginia (not the Merrimac), ships in general and see the mother of a punt-gun used by market hunters (percussion action and part of the barrel looked like a galvinized chain link fence post), GO!

Now, for this week's offering, here's an edited excerpt from Chapter 7. The Brits learned the hard way in WW I not to stand out amongst the crowd. No more skinny legs (wear baggy puttees) or mustaches (shave like an enlisted man) that would distinguish you as a target. Our soldiers learned it earlier in the Civil War.

The Western Union Armies were much more casual in their attire. As early as 1861, one Michigan sergeant and his officers were aware of the hazards of distinguished dress. “The enemy have again commenced firing at such of our men as show themselves within range. All the officers dress exactly like the men to avoid being singled out. I yesterday pulled off my jacket which is dark blue, with light chevrons, but when I saw we were going I put it on again, thinking my gray shirt might attract the fire of our own men sooner than the chevrons would that of the enemy.” At Port Gibson in Mississippi, Union General M. was known to have thrown “a blanket over his shoulders, that his uniform might not attract bullets, came to the front unattended” and surveyed the ground to plan his attack. When Pvt. P. joined his regiment in 1864, he observed “many of the officers did not wear shoulder-straps at all, except on dress parade or inspection.”

Until next time, safe shooting.

 

[BigG]

I was just reading over this and marveled at how many times sharpshooters tried to hide out in trees. This was also tried in WWII as Gung Ho points out.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Trees were good if you wanted to see and shoot from afar. They served as excellent sharpshooting posts in the American Revolution if the sharpshooter wasn't fighting cavalry. A mounted unit can ride up very fast and then shoot the sharpshooter from his perch before he can descend or skedaddle far. If facing ordinary musket armed (smoothbore and short ranged) infantry, trees were great. You can shoot and get away before they even get close. If however you annoy artillery and they spot you, even a smoothbore gun can easily take out the sharpshooter or even the tree.

Trees continued to be used into WW II by the Japanese. Our Marines responded by spraying any suspected tree with gunfire. The Germans were taught to use trees (though the smart ones avoided them) and the Russians frequently used them (and some paid for that folly). About 15 or so female snipers were all hiding in trees and knocked off a few Germans until the sniper came up. He figured out their hiding spots and then called for cover fire at which point he'd pick one off. They'd cease fire until he was ready and when he gave the word, they'd fire again and under the distraction of their cover fire, he'd pick off another and so it went until all of them were accounted for. A scout went out and then discovered that they were fighting women. But we're really off topic now because we're talking about sniping and not blackpowder sharpshooting.

Going to Oregon on Thursday for the Oregon Gun Makers' Fair. Will return on Sunday evening.

 

[4v50 Gary]

True of false?

The picket-firing and sharpshooting at North Anna was exceedingly severe and murderous. We were greatly annoyed by it; and, as a campaign cannot be decided by killing a few hundred enlisted men - killing them most unfairly and when they were of necessity exposed - did seem as though the sharpshooting pests should have been suppressed. Our sharpshooters were as bad as theirs, and neither of them were of any account as far as decisive results were obtained. They could sneak around trees or lurk behind stumps, or cower in wells or in cellars, and from the safety of their lairs murder a few men. Put the sharpshooters in battle-line, and they were no better, no more effective, than the infantry of the line, and they were not half as decent.

I can answer this, but that'll be part of a talk I'll be giving. Yesterday I had the front of the dustjacket designed and we're starting work on the back. The spine of the dustjacket can't be done yet until we calculate the thickness of the book (that affects letter placement).

Anyone in the San Francisco South Bay who is interested in hearing me flap my jaw on the Civil War sharpshooter may attend the South Bay Civil War Round Table, preferably without rope, on June 26 at Holder's Country Inn on 998 S. De Anza Blvd. San Jose, CA 95129 (408) 244-2798. Contact [email protected] for more info on the South Bay Civil War Round Table.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Discharged from sharpshooter unit

I CERTIFY, that I have carefully examined the said *** of Captain *** Company, and find him incapable of performing the duties of a soldier because of Confirmed Imbecility.

This document will be reproduced in its entirety in the book. Yep, one soldier was able to receive his discharge he was certified by the surgeon as unfit for duty. Please join the Company of Military Historians. I've two more articles scheduled to be released this year and both will cause folks to pause and rethink their concept of sharpshooters. As a member, you can attend the annual conference and meet some of the most prestigious writers, historians, professors and experts in military history.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Controlling a bridge

The advance of one army was dependent upon capturing a particular bridge. While they failed to capture the bridge, sharpshooters were able to prevent its destruction:

A line of battle was at once formed, and skirmishers thrown out to the bank of the river to sharpshoot, and if possible, to keep the enemy’s battery quiet. This angle of the road, however, was a tender point in the operations. If a single man showed himself in it, they opened fire but did comparatively little harm. They fired about ten feet too high... General M. saved himself by one leap backwards which he made when he saw the flash of the gun, the shell burst right to have struck him. It was now near dark and the troops went into position for the night. The main part of the troops were withdrawn to the high ground. The skirmishers strengthened and moved up. The bridge is in possession of the enemy, but our sharpshooters command it so effectively they cannot burn it, though the kindlingwood can be seen on it ready for the match...”

Three days of fighting followed without neither side relinquishing its grip. General M. finally outflanked his opponent and crossed elsewhere. Don't forget that I'll be giving a talk last Tuesday of the month, June 26 at Holder's Country Inn in San Jose.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Trench warfare was no fun.

“I have expended some 6,000 rounds of ammunition and my men did not fire without seeing an enemy. Our boys would raise a hat on a ramrod and it would bring a half dozen balls. With a glass I detected the rebels at the same game. But we have seen them bearing off killed or wounded to such an extent that I feel confident we have punished them severely for what we have suffered. At one time we hung a blanket tightly rolled on the corner of a log building nearby us and a rebel shot a bullet into it. On examining it I found the ball in the blanket, though it had passed through 16 thicknesses of a wool blanket. Gen. F., commanding 2nd Brigade of our division, came to my lines and spoke a little short about my not conforming to the directions of his skirmish line and also about us shooting too much when no enemy was near enough to make it effective. I was well acquainted with him, and I told him I thought his men on his skirmish line were in a poor position and all the entrenching they had done was at least useless, and our boys had great sport at seeing him, half an hour after leaving us, move his skirmish line to conform in direction with ours. About the time he was ready to leave me he looked to the front through a crack in the log building behind which we were sheltered, and asked me what rifle pits those were which he had saw just a few yards in my front. I told him they were the enemy’s and just then some sharpshooters rose out of them and fired, which was the signal for the enemy to open briskly on my entire line, dropping balls thickly all around us. The general found the enemy plenty close for shooting and asked me which way I thought the safest for him to get out of that. I showed him and he started on the run. The incident rather gratified me for the short remark he had made about my men firing at ‘no enemy’ as he had expressed himself at first.”

 

[muzzlegun]

Gen. Hooker unconcerned at being a target

From the report of Col. Jacob Higgins Commanding 125th PA Volunteers after action near Sharpsburg 17 Sept 1862

At the battery I gave the command for my men of lie down whilst awaiting further orders. About this time the fire of the enemy slackened somewhat, only some shots from their sharpshooters being fired, and these at mounted officers and the artillery horses. Previous to this General Mansfield fell, some of my men carrying him off the field on their muskets until a blanket was procured. General Hooker here came up to me and inquired if any troops were in the woods in front. I replied, "none but rebels," and that my command was in the front. While talking to me, his horse was shot by some of the enemy's sharpshooters. I remarked to him that his horse was shot. He replied, "I see," turned and went away.

 

[4v50 Gary]

An excerpt

This is taken from Chapter 9.

Among the civilians who remained in Gettysburg was fifteen year old Albertus McCreary and his family. When his family, having waited too long, could not evacuate safely, David McCreary, the head of the household, decided that it was safer for their family to remain in the stone cellar of their home at the corner of Baltimore and High street. He could not restrain his curious fifteen year old boy. Where parental control failed, minie balls succeeded as Albertus tells us, “we did not dare look out of the windows of the Baltimore Street side. Sharpshooters from Cemetery Hill were watching all the houses for Confederate sharpshooters and picking off every person they saw, since from that distance they could not distinguish citizens from soldiers.” Like all boys, Albertus was curious and he and an unidentified brother ascended the garret to watch the battle. He describes it: “[W]e could plainly see the cannon on Cemetery Hill, with the men loading and firing. Every now and then we would see a man drop by the cannon... From this trap-door we saw Pickett’s charge... While we were watching this charge, a neighbor was watching it also, from his trap-door. He was peeping around the chimney, when a bullet struck just above his head and knocked off a piece of brick. He disappeared so quickly that we both laughed. Almost immediately two bullets struck within a foot of my head in the shingles of the roof, and we followed our neighbor’s example and dropped out of sight also. We found that Union sharpshooters on Cemetery Hill had seen our heads and shot at us, thinking that we were Confederate sharpshooters. Many of the houses along this ridge were sheltering sharpshooters.”

I've been trying to summarize the book in three words or less. I couldn't do it. My best is four words: Shots from afar kill.

 

[4v50 Gary]

An article was submitted to a major magazine today. It's over 11k words excluding the endnote material. If that magazine won't accept, I know one that will. Presently I'm adapting one appendix for another magazine article. Now, for the good stuff and the following is an excerpt from Chapter 9.

“About eleven o’clock I was asked by General S. to accompany him on a ride along our line of battle to the extreme right, that we might look after our horsemen, reconnoiter the position and movements of the enemy in that direction, and ascertain whether the nature of the ground was such that a charge of our whole cavalry division during the impending fight might be profitably attempted...” They passed their men who were building earthworks. His narrative continues: “The atmosphere had now again become obscure, and the fog was rolling up from the low swampy grounds along the margin of Deep Run Creek... We had proceeded but a few steps at a careless trot when suddenly a long line of horsemen in skirmishing order appeared directly before us in the mist. I felt very certain they were Federal horsemen, but S. was unwilling to believe that the Yankees would have the audacity to approach our position so closely; and , as the greater part of them wore a brownish dust-colored jacket over their uniforms, he set them down as a small command of our own cavalry returning from a reconnaissance. So we continued upon our route yet a little farther, until, at a distance of about forty yards, several carbine shots, whose bullets whistled around our heads, taught us very plainly with whom we had to deal. At the same moment, ten or fifteen of the dragoons spurred furiously towards us, demanding, with loud outcries, our surrender - hearing which, we galloped in some haste back to our lines, where our bold pursuers were received and put to flight by Early’s sharpshooters.”
“A considerable number of our infantry skirmishers now moved forward to drive the dashing cavalrymen off. But the latter held their ground gallantly, and kept up so annoying a fire with their long-range carbines, that our men did not obtain any advantage over them... General Hood, who had been attracted by the noise of the brisk fusillade, soon came riding up to us, and seeing at a moment what was going on, said, ‘This will never do. I must send up some of my Texans, who will make short work of these impudent Yankees.’ One of Hood’s adjutants galloped off at once with an order from his general, and soon a select number of these dreaded marksmen, crawling along the ground, after their wild Indian fashion, advanced upon the Federal dragoons, who had no idea of their approach until they opened fire at a distance of about eighty yards. In a few seconds several men and horses had been killed; and the whole Federal line - stampeded by a galling fire from an unseen foe in a quarter wholly unexpected - broke into confused and rapid flight.”

 

[4v50 Gary]

The Company of Military Historians

Their Summer 2007 issue of The Military Collector and Historian has my article entitled, The Black Confederate Sharpshooter, in it. Adapted from the book project, it includes numerous accounts and discusses the issue of blacks fighting for the Confederacy. Previously they've published two of my articles and will publish another this year. If you want to contact the Company, click on the link: Company of Military Historians

The following excerpt depicts life in front where lines have stabilized and both sides knows the other's location.

Every second of the livelong day & night I am in danger, so are all the soldiers in this army, that is to say I am constantly under fire. A shell or a musket ball, plenty of which are almost constantly on the wing, may come to me at any time. How many have struck just over my head or passed by my side I could hardly tell you since I have been at the front. Every day some one gets hit, but there are a good many of us left yet & we all take our chance. I try to be careful, not to expose myself unnecessarily & at the same not to shrink from duty in a cowardly manner. I dont wish to terrify you by these statements for it always seemed to me that I was to be lucky & I have been able to avoid the balls thus far so that nothing but chance could have hit me.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Old Advice...

"Boys, when you drill, drill like thunder. It is not the number of bullets you shoot, but the accuracy of the aim that kills more men in battle."

Good then, good now. I've trimmed over 20,000 words from the text. Considering that the average manuscript is 120k words, this appears significant, but in comparison to what remains, it isn't.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Progress at last on the book and the good news is that an editor who is very strong in the Civil War is presently going over it. I won't mention the name, but many will recognize him. To help facilitate things, anytime a pattern of errors is identified, I redo the text so the editor won't have to. Here's something that many of you will enjoy. This fellow is mentioned in Chapter II but not to the extent of this article. Tim Murphy article

Martin Pegler, former curator of the Royal Armouries at Leeds, has written another book on sniping. One of my articles is acknowledged in the endnotes. I suspect a second one was also used, but no credit was given to me. I haven't read the book yet as I'm presently reading an account on the Battle for Fallujah, No True Glory by Bing West. I'll get to it later but most of my time is spent working on the manuscript.

The following is an account of an attack that fell apart after its leaders were removed:

“McCulloch and McIntosh fell while leading their troops in a furious attack against Osterhaus and Davis. Hébert and a number of his officers and men were captured by pickets of the 36th Illinois (cavalry) under Captain Smith and of the 44th Illinois infantry under Captain Russell. Thus the whole of McCulloch’s column, deprived of its leaders and without unity of command, was thrown into confusion and beaten back.”

According to Ezra Warner’s, Generals in Gray, McCulloch “was fatally wounded in the breast by a Federal Sharpshooter.” You'll learn more about it in the book.

 

[4v50 Gary]

In opening Marine Sniper, Charles Henderson's classic account of Carlos Hathcock, Henderson cited Ernest Hemingway for his epigraph:

There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never cared for anything else thereafter.

Well, I've found two 19th Century passages that were very similar and it leads me to believe that Hemingway wasn't entirely original. You'll read both passages in the book and they'll be easy to find.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Distraction...

This is a variation of the hat on the stick trick where you draw your oppponent's attention away and then plug at him from an unsuspected location.

“We dismounted, and the Number Fours, each holding four horses, being unable to fight, left about thirty-five of us to meet the Indians. Crawling to the top we saw a line of dismounted skirmishers, standing behind their ponies, on open ground and about a thousand yards away. We deployed along the ridge and for twenty minutes or so exchanged shots with them but with little damage on either side, as the range was long for our Springfields and longer for their Winchesters.
“Lieutenant B of the Seventh, who was attached to our company for the day, standing up for an instant, just at my side, received a bullet which entered at the hip-pocket and went out at the other, having passed entirely through both buttocks; this, while we were facing the enemy, caused us to realize that we had no ordinary Indians to deal with, for, while we had been frolicking with the skirmishers in the front, their chief had engineered to as neat a double flank movement as could be imagined, and we were exposed to a raking fire coming in from right and left.”

 

[4v50 Gary]

Fredericksburg

From Chapter 9.

On Dec. 11, Burnsides attempted to throw four pontoon bridges across the Rappahannock to Fredericksburg. Barksdale's Mississippians allowed them to build them halfway across, thereby committing their resources beyond the point of no return. On command, Barksdale ordered his sharpshooters to fire upon the pontineers, cutting them down like wheat and driving the survivors away. In response, Burnsides ordered his artillery to flatten the town, thereby making it safe to finish the bridge. For the first time in American history, American artillery attempted to level an American town. A heavy barrage descended upon Fredericksburg and mercilessly punched through roofs, walls, fences and flesh and yet when it lifted and the pontineers returned, the Confederates recommenced firing. Again, the pontineers withdrew and their supporting artillery barked in anger. This scene was repeated several times until it was suggested that several regiments cross on pontoon boats. This is one soldier's account:

“We were ordered to strike Tents about ten O’clock that night and marched to the River for the purpose of supporting our Engineers while the[y] were putting the Pontoon Bridge over. They had got it about half way over, when the Rebs poured a dreadful volley of musketry into them and from the buildings in the Citty which drove our men from the Bridge.
“Isac H. had two of the fingers of his left hand shot off the first volley. He was the only one wounded in our Co. Our Artillery opened on the Citty amediatly and the Rebs were soon quited but they still held their position in the Houses. Five times during the day our men tried to finish the bridge but they were driven off as often.
“At last about 5 o’clock, Burnside said the bridge must be finished and He ordered our Regt. to get into boats and cross the river and drive the Rebs from the Citty. Not a man that got into the Boats expected to land alive.”

The spelling errors are the soldier's.

I'm going away for two weeks and won't be able to contribute to this thread.

 

[4v50 Gary]

The desire to kill something is, in the hackneyed phrase, the dominant aim of life, but when the creature he wishes to kill has rarely been obtained by any other man the desire increases in strength. Give him, further, months of anticipation, and then three weeks of fruitless hunting, and his eagerness will probably grow out of all proportion to the end in view. Yet, surely, it is this very lack of proportion that lends to sport its powerful dominion over its votaries, who, though probably in the main reasonable beings, become so much in earnest while in pursuit that they have at such times only room for the single idea.

The author was destined to become very famous later in his life.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Won his wager.

A Senaca Indian, belonging to the Fourteenth New York Artillery, made a bet that he would capture a rebel sharpshooter who was in a tree in front of our line in Virginia. He enveloped himself in pine boughs till he looked like a tree, and by slow movements, advanced near the sharpshooter's roost. Here, Indian like, he patiently waited until his prey had emptied his piece at one of our men, when he suddenly brought his musket to bear upon the reb, giving him no time to reload. The sharpshooter was taken at a disadvantage. To the command to come down he readily assented, when the Indian triumphantly marched him a prisoner into camp, and won his wager.

Stalking skills demonstrate their usefulness. Also note that a sharpshooter engaged in sniping is taken prisoner. Other captors were not necessarily as noble.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I was once asked which side had better marksmen. If you read some of the Southern papers like the Richmond Daily Dispatch, you'll find numerous early war stories boasting of Southern skill with rifles. Similarly, you'll find articles boasting of Northern marksmanship in their papers. Witness the Harper Ferry's illustrations and stories of Hiram Berdan. Supporting the Southern belief is that the New England factory workers or storekeepers or clerks were unaccustomed to handling firearms. Having a more rural lifestyle, the Southerner was more adept with firearms-so the legend goes.

In my own research, I found that marksmanship, while not universal to all men, may be found in men both North & South and was not an exclusive trait peculiar to one side. New England produced several companies of sharpshooters & Berdan's Sharp Shooters were drawn from numerous states. There were also numerous independent companies or battalions. The Midwest also produced many men who were farm bred and raised-just like their counterparts in grey. While many were not organized into specialized units and fought as common infantrymen, they were as adept in skirmishing, stalking and shooting.

So, which side was better? I can't say.

Book update: Editor is late, again. I'm going to start shopping for a designer in the meantime.

 

[4v50 Gary]

And now for something completely different

Since writing the book (still in the editor's hands), I'm starting to read other material including books on current events. Book Review: Ronin: A Marine Scout-Sniper Platoon in Iraq

Former Marine Mike Tucker embeds himself into the Marine Scout-Sniper platoon of the 2/6. Code-named Ronin, it consists of twenty highly trained, motivated and skilled operators who are deployed in Fallujah (Sept. 2005 to April 2006). Winning their confidence and the confidence of their interpreters, Tucker gets them to provide an oral history of their experience as snipers in one of the most dangerous cities in war torn Iraq. Tucker himself is almost kidnapped twice by the Fallujah Police and had they succeeded, it is likely that he would not be alive today.

Ronin is not a collection of war stories one expect from a sniping book. Rather, it is a horror story of things that go wrong everytime as the command structure first ignores them and then employs them in duties unbefitting of their training and skill. Ronin snipers pull no punches when they scornfully point out that the Fallujah Police are Al Qaeda operatives who betray their movements, snatch fallen foes to prevent the collection of intelligence (that the fallen are the Fallujah Police themselves), and protect IED planters and weapon smugglers. They point out that the since the US pays for the police, that we are defeating ourselves. Their bitterness extends beyond the Fallujah Police and they have some hard thoughts about their commanders who forbade them to shoot or capture a prized target. Tactical unreality sets in when their command expects them to do house clearing with bolt action rifles!

Do not read Ronin if you're expecting exciting stories of battlefield marksmanship. Rather, it is a story of good men betrayed by ignorant or inept leaders - something many of us have experienced ourselves. Hopefully Ronin's story is an aberation within the Marine Corps. Even if it is, the book is a wake-up call to Americans that our guys on the ground are not being listened to upstairs and that our policies in Iraq need serious review.

 

[Cowboynemo]

Hey guys...my name is Fred...my g-g-grandfather was in Company I of the 1st. Michigan Sharpshooters..his name was John Fuller. He was 21 and came in as a late recruit....know nothing of his service...but I'm inclined to believe he was a 1/2 breed from Michigan. I know company K was the indian company, but does anyone know if indians fought in other companies....I'd like to find anything on his service in the Civil War...any direction would be appreciated..,thanks......Cowboynemo from central Texas(Georgetown)

 

[Perk]

Been looking for this thread, ever since having seen it, a while back. It’s my imagination , or sometimes maybe the search function doesn’t seem to function so well.

Ah, well… got some reading to do, now.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Cowboynemo: John Fuller of Detroit enlisted for one year and reported to the regiment in late April, 1865. He was the very last recruit to reach the regiment and didn't have to see the elephant (get shot at or shoot someone). Suggest you get his service (and if there is one, his pension) record from the National Archives. If complete, his service record will give provide a physical description and ethnicity of John Fuller. Raymond Herek's book, These Men Have Seen Hard Service, is a modern history of the First Michigan Sharp Shooters.

Concerning Indians, New York state was a bit more liberal about permitting Indians to enlist and they did in various units and in various capacities (infantry, artillery).

I'm still waiting for the editor who is doing a Longstreet (has the slows) on me. OK, Longstreet didn't deserve that reputation and it was applied to him by the Lost Causers after the war. I'm going to have to call again and pin him down to a schedule so I can get the book finished. In the meantime, I've been reading 18-19th Century material and collecting more tidbits into a file that won't be included into the book. I've also been reading aviation, naval and other books too.

Remember Uncle John Sedwick who said, "Why, they couldn't hit an elephant at this...?" Here's an equivalent.

“...R. and I were riding by his side, and he had just pointed out to a trooper who had fired his carbine that ‘you couldn’t his a barn-door at that distance' when a bullet from the enemy’s rifle struck poor R. in the side just above his belt. He died in a few moments, and was greatly regretted by all who knew him including the General himself, but it made no difference in his habit of riding among his skirmishers.”