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Paul Denton The Influence of Berdan’s Sharpshooters on Future Army Tactics and Doctrine . Paul G. Denton HIST501: HISTORICAL METHODS 2 April 2023

2 In the Civil War there were two regiments of unique soldiers with doctrine changing ideas for future use of men in combat: The Union Sharpshooters in the Army of the Potomac. The brainchild of the Sharpshooter units belonged to Colonel Hiram Berdan (a politician, and ironically a man not too keen on combat). Colonel Berdan nevertheless created, through countless hours of political maneuvering, two regiments of Sharpshooters for the Union Army: The 1 st and 2 nd United States Sharpshooter Regiments. 1 The Sharpshooters were well in advance of their time when it came to weapons, uniforms, and tactics. Utilizing a breech loading rifle instead of a muzzle loading rifle, wearing green uniforms instead of regulation blue, and employing the trade (considered by many as “dishonorable”) of hiding behind cover, lying down while firing, and spreading themselves out yards apart while advancing on the enemy (instead of shoulder to shoulder), the Sharpshooters where chastised as cowards and outcasts in the initial part of the war. By the end of the epic struggle, however, sharpshooter tactics were being employed throughout the Army by the same officers who had ridiculed them after seeing the damage Napoleonic tactics could inflict upon troops in this “modern” war. The Sharpshooters of the Army of the Potomac, and their distinct weapons, uniforms, and tactics both showed and created a change in doctrine of warfare and provided for a solid base of new tactics the United States Army would utilize in wars to come. The Civil War brought forth a need for skilled men with the rifle or musket to fulfill the mission of skirmishers, or soldiers who walked ahead of the main fighting force and “scouted out” the enemy strength and position. Once the enemy was found, these unique, skilled shooters would lie down and perform an act of deadly accurate “cover fire” for the main attacking force and report back to higher headquarters what kind of strength, in numbers of enemy troops they 1 From now on, referred to as either 1 st or 2 nd U.S.S.S.

3 had encountered. 2 Another mission of the Sharpshooters battlefield objectives would be to shoot and/or kill any Confederate officer to disrupt the chain of command and orders of battle that flowed along that chain. Furthermore, if the Sharpshooters encountered a battery of Confederate artillery, another mission they held was to silence the battery of artillery by shooting at as many Confederate troops that were manning the gun emplacement. Shooting at the enemy artillery caused for fewer Union soldier casualties when an assault or a defense was being executed. 3 Sharpshooters held a different job than the regular infantry in that they mostly did not fight in the shoulder to shoulder mass line formations that were commonly used when attacking the Confederates or defending the Union lines. Frequently being employed as skirmishers, hiding behind earthworks for steady, accurate shots, or sneaking within range of an unsuspecting target, the Sharpshooter brought the art of shooting to a new, surgical level. The Sharpshooter’s job was more of antonymous one, as compared to the teamwork of mass formations the infantry relied upon to survive on the battlefield, and their skilled shooting helped to further the effort of the battle in which they participated. Three items set the Sharpshooters apart from the rest of the army: weapons, uniforms, and tactics. These three items shaped warfare to come more than the soldiers who employed them would realize. At the base of the Sharpshooters was the different weapon they employed on the field of battle. The Sharps rifle that Colonel Berdan wanted issued to the Sharpshooters was a .52 caliber, breech-loading rifle manufactured by the Christian Sharps Company . The rifle used a one-piece cartridge, as compared to the multi-piece cartridges of the Enfield and Springfield rifles. The cartridge consisted of a ball, which was either glued or tied to a cylindrical cartridge of paper, or linen, which contained the powder. The block at the breech (or back of the rifle) of 2 Cover Fire is the act of shooting at the enemy to keep them back and occupy the enemy so the main force can come on line and attack from a different area. 3 Assault is the act of attacking the enemy and Defense is to protect oneself from an Assault by the enemy.

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4 the firing chamber slid downward by the operation of a lever under the receiver and was designed such that, when it closed, it would clip off the tail of the cartridge just loaded thus exposing the powder. The primer cone was mounted on top of the block. When the hammer fell on the cap, a fulminated mercury charge was ignited. Fire was routed through a vent in the block and into the chamber of the rifle, igniting the cartridge causing the bullet to exit the rifle. 4 One of the main advantages of the Sharps rifle is that the soldier could reload the rifle while in the lying down, or in the “prone” position, as so not to draw fire from the enemy, whereas other rifles used by regular army units had to be loaded while standing or kneeling thus exposing the soldier to enemy fire. By being in the prone position, the men were less apt to be shot by enemy return fire due to a reduced silhouette offered to the enemy marksman; a practice incorporated into the U.S. Army doctrine after the Civil War. Furthermore, one half of the modern-day United States Army basic weapons marksmanship qualification training has a soldier in the prone-position, executing 20 shots in a lying down prone unsupported firing position. With these weapons, the Sharpshooters were incorporating new ideas of tactics and warfare into their fighting well in advance of those ideas becoming mainstream to the rest of the army and the generals who fought them. Another advantage of the Sharps rifle was that it loaded three times faster, allowing an experienced soldier to fire as many as ten shots per minute as opposed to the Enfield and Springfield rifles that could only shoot three shots per minute. With the Sharps rifles, the Sharpshooters were able to “pour the lead” into the enemy at a more sustained rate which one 4 Michael Tita, “Berdan Sharpshooters Online,” www.berdansharpshooters.com, November 6, 2014, http://www.berdansharpshooters.com/tactics.html . Also drawn from: Joseph G. Bilby, Civil War Firearms: their Historical Background, Tactical Use, and Modern Collecting and Shooting . (Pennsylvania: Combined Books, 1996) pp. 109-110.

5 could make a comparison to the tactic of the “mad minute” used in wars to follow. 5 Colonel Berdan states of an early engagement: “My men had good cover, and so rapid was our fire from our breech-loading guns we repulsed the enemy with great loss.” 6 Although quick to reload and fire, the most looked at advantage was the accuracy of the rifle. Colonel Berdan, who possessed one of the very few Sharps Rifles at Camp of Instruction, along with Private Truman Head, or otherwise known as “California Joe”, Co. C, 1 st U.S.S.S., were known to be able to consistently shoot five rounds into a ten inch ring at 600 yards. 7 On one occasion, later in the war, Sharpshooters from Company F and Company A, 2 nd U.S.S.S., whittled wooden extensions for their rear sights and successfully drove rebel signalman off a signal tower some 1500 yards away. 8 This is a great difference from what a single soldier with an Enfield rifle could do. The soldier with the Enfield rifle has the range to fire at 600 yards, but the accuracy after 300 yards greatly drops off, thus leading to the continuation of the mass volley fire from soldiers-in-line method of fighting. To become a Sharpshooter, a candidate was required to shoot a qualification test using a rifle either brought with the volunteer from home or one that was issued to him at camp (which very few were). The course of firing consisted of shooting ten rounds into a target as rapidly as the shooter could reload. The target was ten inches in diameter at a distance of two hundred yards. 9 All ten rounds had to hit the target and the average distance the shot fell could not be 5 A “Mad Minute” is a tactic whereas a group of soldiers fired their weapons as fast as they can, into the engagement area for a set time frame (usually a minute) to try and kill enemy at a higher rate. 6 Report by Colonel Hiram Berdan of the battle at Gaines Mill , Official Records, United States War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880-1900), Series 1, Vol. X1/2, p. 278. 7 Charles A. Stevens, Berdan’s United States Sharpshooters in the Army of the Potomac, 1861-1865 (St. Paul: Morningside Books, 1892), p. 6.: The select Sharps rifles existed in the camp only because some of the solders had purchased their own with money they held. 8 Bilby, Civil War Firearms: p. 112. Noted from: White, Russell C., ed. The Civil War Diary of Wyman S. White, First Sergeant, Company F, 2 nd United States Sharpshooters , (Baltimore, 1993). 9 In 5 out of 6 sources, the description of the qualification test did not include any mention of the Sharpshooters using a telescopic sight, but in one source it is mentioned as being a choice that the soldier could use as part of the weapon used to take the test with, though no record of if the soldier did so or not was maintained.

6 further than five inches from the center of the bull’s-eye. This was measured by a fifty-inch string. The end of the string was placed on the center of the target then run to the nearest hole in the target. The point where the string intersected the hole was then moved to the center and the distance to the next hole measured, then so on. If the end of the string were reached before the last hole could be measured, the volunteer was disqualified. Thus, the term “a string of fifty” was born. 10 One soldier, Private Charles H. Townsend of Company G, 1 st U.S.S.S., the Wisconsin company of Sharpshooters, historically qualified with the best score. Private Townsend fired a total measurement of three and three-quarters inches when measured by the “string of fifty.” 11 Failure of the test was not cause for immediate dismissal from the Sharpshooters. An officer at Ft. Snelling, Minnesota, where two of the Sharpshooter companies originated, 12 wrote a possible recruit stating: “One does not need to be a good shot. You do not even need to know how to shoot. We will train you at Ft. Snelling, and Camp of Instruction until you are proficient enough to pass the test to become a Sharpshooter 13 …Let no man stay behind because he is not good with the rifle.” 14 Target practice, on the soldiers own time at the end of the training day, allowed for repetitious training until such a time as the volunteer was ready to take the shooting test (if practice was required to achieve a passing score on the first try). Being a skilled shot was something for the new recruits to brag about in their lives back home. But to be a Sharpshooter in the Army where every day the talent of shooting well would be put to the test was compelling for some men not to try and become a United States Sharpshooter. This detailed instruction on 10 Rich Simmons, “COL Berdan and California Joe,” BERDAN-SHARPSHOOTER ORG, March 3, 2005, http://www.berdansharpshooter.org/ . Noted from C.A. Stevens Berdan's United States Sharpshooters (St. Paul: Morningside Books, 1892). 11 Bilby, Civil War Firearms , p. 108. 12 Company L, 1 st U.S.S.S. Regt. & Company A, 2 nd U.S.S.S Regt. 13 G. Merrill Dwelle, G. Merrill Dwille and Family Papers 1843-1896 Personal Letter from Cpt. Russell, 20 December 1861, Minnesota Historical Society Collection, Manuscript # A/.D989 ,1 box. 14 Wiley Sword, Sharpshooter: Hiram Berdan, His Famous Sharpshooters, and Their Sharps Rifles (Lincoln, R.I., U.S.A.: A. Mowbray, 1988). p.34.

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7 marksmanship and the belief that effective, accurate shooting had major advantages, again showed the Army that the future of warfare was coming. The forerunner for the modern-day rifles and ammunition in use by militaries throughout the world today, the Sharpshooters and their rifles helped to bring an end to the muzzle loading school of thought for effective use of rifles in combat tactics. No longer were soldiers required to stand upright, in plain view of the enemy, and load their rifles. The Sharpshooters showed a more effective way of loading while hiding, in the prone, thus increasing their battlefield effectiveness by simply staying alive longer to engage more of the enemy, with more accurate rounds per minute. The Sharpshooters became one of the favorite stopping places for dignitaries visiting Camp of Instruction, Washington D.C. Their feats of marksmanship were becoming quite well known. Some of the visiting dignitaries consisted of General McClellan, Governors Blare of Michigan, Ramsey of Minnesota, and Berry of New Hampshire, Senators Wilkinson, Doolittle, Chandler, and Harris, but the single most influential visit came from President Lincoln himself. 15 Upon hearing of the Sharpshooters marksmanship, and claiming to be a marksman himself, President Lincoln visited the Sharpshooters while target practicing one afternoon. When President Lincoln arrived, Colonel Berdan, surrounded by the men of both Regiments, had a silhouette made of two Zouave soldiers and placed it at six hundred yards. One hundred men shot at the silhouettes taking turns with the few Sharps Rifles in the camp. When the target was brought back to the President, one hundred holes were in the two targets combined. Then Assistant Secretary of War, Thomas Scott, skeptical of the Sharps Rifle being better than the Springfield, challenged Colonel Berdan to shoot out an eye of a silhouette to be made of 15 Charles Augustus Stevens, Berdan’s United States Sharpshooters in the Army of the Potomac, 1861-1865 (United States Government Printing Office, 1892). p. 1.

8 Jefferson Davis at 600 yards. Colonel Berdan, securing a Sharps Rifle, proceeded to shoot out the right eye of Jefferson Davis. 16 When the target was returned and shown to the Mr. Scott and President Lincoln, the President stated to Colonel Berdan “Colonel, come down to-morrow [to the White House] and I will give you the order for the breech loader [Sharps] rifles.” 17 President Lincoln kept his promise and when the Sharpshooters marched out of Camp Instruction to go off and fight, by 6 June 1862, all of the 1 st and the 2 nd Regiments had received their new Sharps Rifles. 18 One item that distinguished the Sharpshooters from other units had finally been acquired, and the path to changing Army doctrine was set in motion with the arrival of the Sharps breach- loading rifle. Future wars would be fought by breech loading weapons, and cartridge ammunition would replace the step-by-step method of loading a muzzle-loading rifle. Tactics of fighting as skirmishers, taking cover behind anything that would provide concealment, and acting in small groups instead of one thousand manned regiments began to be observed by the other soldiers. In fact, by the time General Grant launched his Wilderness campaign, soldiers in the Army of the Potomac were mimicking the sharpshooters’ tactics by fighting in the prone position, taking cover, and spread out. Though the U.S.S.S were unique, they were not alone in marksmanship. The Confederates were also smatteringly equipped with a verry accurate weapon, the Wentworth Rifle. A rifle almost as unique as the Sharps Rifle in that it had a hexagonal barrel and a hexagonal bullet! This rifle soon became known to the Union soldiers in that when fired at them, 16 In a later conversation with Colonel Berdan, President Lincoln alluded to the shot as being lucky and Colonel Berdan wholeheartedly agreed but admitted he was in need of a little luck to support his quest to get the Sharps rifle for the soldiers. 17 Stevens, Berdan’s United States Sharpshooters , p. 11. 18 Michael Tita, “Berdan Sharpshooters Online,” www.berdansharpshooters.com, November 6, 2014, http://www.berdansharpshooters.com/history.html . Noted from C.A. Stevens Berdan’s United States Sharpshooters (St. Paul, 1892).

9 the report as it passed by them (in the rare time of a miss) made a unique whistling sound that the Union soldiers came to fear. 19 The Wentworth rifle made the Confederate sharpshooters just as lethal and cunning as their Union counterparts. They also used the same tactics of targeting artillery and especially officers. In fact, one of the most famous Union officer losses came at the hands of a Wentworth rifle. As remembered by Lt. Col. Martin T. McMahon, aide to General Sedgwick, the following account of the generals death shows two items. One being that older officers still thought taking cover was cowardly, and two, that accurate marksmanship can cause grave consequences: As the bullets whistled by, some of the men dodged. The General said, laughingly, “What! what! men, dodging this way for single bullets! what will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” A few seconds after, a man who had been separated from his regiment passed directly in front of the General, and at the same moment a sharpshooter’s bullet passed with a long shrill whistle very close, and the soldier, who was then just in front of the General, dodged to the ground. The General touched him gently with his foot, and said, “Why, my man, I am ashamed of you, dodging that way,” and repeated the remark, “they couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” The man got up and saluted, and said, good-naturedly, “General, I dodged a shell once, and if I hadn’t dodged, it would have taken my head clean off. I believe in dodging.” The General and some of the men in the rifle pits who had heard that remark laughed, and the General replied, “all right my man; go to your place.” Another of the same kind of bullets passed while I was standing talking to the General in a low voice, about something which I have never since been able to recall. Then a third time the same shrill whistle closing with a dull heavy stroke interrupted me, and I remember distinctly that I commenced to say, “General, they are firing explosive bullets,” when his face turned slowly to me and the blood spurting from his left cheek under the eye in a steady stream, brought to me the first knowledge of our great disaster. He fell in my direction, and I was so close to him that my effort to support him failed, and I went to the ground with him. 20 19 Mark Weaver, “Whitworth Rifle,” American Civil War Stories (CreateSpace Independent Publishing, December 7, 2016), http://www.americancivilwarstory.com/whitworth-rifle.html . 20 Cornwall Historical Society, “The Death of Sedgwick,” Cornwall Historical Society, September 27, 2021, https://cornwallhistoricalsociety.org/the-death-of-sedgwick/ .

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10 If General Sedgwick had embraced the newly budding tactics of cover and concealment the Sharpshooters were employing, quite possibly he would still be alive. The specialized rifles made the Sharpshooters fire accurately, but the item that made these men stand out in a crowd, yet camouflaged them from the rebels, was the uniform the Sharpshooters wore. The uniform worn by the two sharpshooter regiments was made of standard Army wool. That is where the similarities end. The uniform was dyed a dark green, or forest green, to better blend with the cover of foliage and trees in the leafy season. This is a great difference form the dark blue coats and light blue trousers worn by other regular army units. 21 The Sharpshooters also wore a green forage cap, or also called a kepi, some even with a black ostrich feather. Even though the feather contradicts camouflage, some wore the feather protruding out of their hat to enhance their already striking appearance. Soldiers’ legs bore leather covers, called gaiters, that extended to the knee to protect the shins of the men as they walked through the brush scouting the enemy. The buttons of the uniform were made of hard, black rubber to prevent the reflection of light. Finally, the men carried a unique backpack that had a frame to support more weight and distribute the weight equally, a design that future rucksacks for the Army would be standard issue. 22 The knapsacks wore by the sharpshooters measured 14 inches high, 12-3/4 ths inches wide, 5-3/4 ths inches deep at the base and 4-1/4 th inches deep at the bottom. It had straps and buckles at the top for the blanket roll and the cooking kit (although the kit hung down in the back). Providing structure to this unique knapsack was an 21 Philip J Haythornthwaite, Uniforms of the Civil War in Color (San Bernardino, Calif.: Borgo Press, 1992). pp. 117-118. 22 Michael Tita, “Berdan Sharpshooters Tactics,” www.berdansharpshooters.com, November 6, 2014, http://www.berdansharpshooters.com/history.html . Noted from C.A. Stevens Berdan's United States Sharpshooters (St. Paul, 1892).

11 interior wood frame of 3/16 ths inch pine. 23 These knapsacks continued the differences in uniforms from the regular infantry units who did not have such a load-bearing knapsack to carry and showed the way to the future. Some of these ideas were so revolutionary that the use of the color to blend with the surroundings by the Sharpshooters was one of the first uses by the United States Army to use camouflage to protect its solders, which it still uses today. Also, the use of the frame rucksack has carried into modern times to lessen the burden of weight carried by the foot soldier on a long march. Combine the less visible green uniforms, with the effectiveness of the Sharps Rifle, and the Sharpshooter’s mission was carried out effectively. The green uniforms allowed for the solders to hide in the trees and grass, thus the enemy had a hard time seeing these hidden soldiers until they were almost on top of them. The Sharps rifles, along with the uniforms, allowed the Sharpshooters to sneak up on the enemy undetected, then shoot Confederate officers, or whomever they deemed important, with precision accuracy. This disrupted the flow of information and command to lower rebel troops, and also silenced artillery emplacements by killing the crews manning the cannons and caissons to lessen the death toll the big guns would cause on other Union soldiers. Confederates came to fear the Sharpshooters with their Sharps Rifles and their green uniforms. On one occasion, the Confederates both saw and could hear the Sharpshooters as so to drive them to make a quick unwritten truce with the “green coats.” A Confederate soldier explained this, after the unofficial truce at Fredericksburg, that he could tell from the sounds of the bullets whistling overhead that the Yankees were the Sharpshooters. The “forced ball” from the breechloaders was different than a muzzleloader and therefore if the bullet got to the enemy 23 Roy M. Marcot, The Uniforms and Field Equipment of the Berdan Sharpshooters , North South Trader Magazine , 1999, p. 36.

12 before the report of the rifle, it was a breechloader and a Sharpshooter. Also, seeing their uniforms, the Confederates knew they were up against the infamous Sharpshooters, or “green coats” as the rebels called them, and made a quick truce. Said one rebel in the truce “We knew it was you when you first began to shoot” and that the Sharpshooters were “too sharp for them” therefore no shooting would take place before prior notice was given. 24 Weapons and uniforms set the Sharpshooters apart from the rest of the Army they fought alongside. However, the use of the unconventional tactics employed, combined with these two previous elements, will prove the deadliest to the rebels. The Sharps rifle helped to bring in the breach loading age of weapons and marksmanship solidifying soldiers to be more accurate and deadly. Tactics can be argued that by the end of the war, and the trench siege of Petersburg, that spread out marksman, with accurate rifles, can hold an enemy at bay better than mass formation frontal assaults and lessen the death toll shoulder to shoulder fighting caused. Sharpshooters had used these tactics throughout the war. Camouflage made the trifecta of how these unique marksmen shaped the military in the years to come. The Army finally realized the need for camouflage and by the Spanish American War in 1898, started to issue subdued uniforms. Although during the Indian Wars that directly followed the Civil War, most of the fighting was by cavalry and mounted on horses still in the dark blue jackets and light blue trousers. Further, it would not be until the Spanish American War, and the Army making a Marksmanship School available in the late 1800’s for soldiers teaching accurate shooting that the effects of the Sharpshooters in the Union Army during the Civil War can be solidified and the argument that the change of the doctrine from times of old, to the influence on modern-day tactics and techniques on the battlefield can be seen. Uniforms, Weapons, and tactics made the Sharpshooters unique and paved the way for future army doctrine. 24 Stevens, Berdan’s United States Sharpshooters , pp. 163, 236.

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13 Bibliography Primary Books Earley, Gerald. The Second United States Sharpshooters in the Civil War . McFarland. 2009.

14 Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, 1861-1865 . Edited by Minnesota Board of Commissioners, St Paul, MN, Pioneer Press, 1890. Peteler, Francis. Narrative of the First Company of Sharpshooters “Narrative of the First Company of Sharpshooters,” Minnesota in the Civil War. St Paul, 1889. Stevens, Charles A., Captain. Berdan’s United States Sharpshooters in the Army of the Potomac 1861-1865 . St. Paul: Price-McGill, 1892. Scott, Robert N, H M Lazelle, George B Davis, Leslie J Perry, Joseph W Kirkley, Fred C Ainsworth, John S Moodey, et al. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880. United States War Department. U.S. Infantry Tactics, for the Instruction, Exercise, and Manoeuvres of the United States Infantry, Including Infantry of the Line, Light Infantry, and Riflemen . Philadelphia: Government Printing Office., 1862. Wright, Abraham. History of First Company Sharpshooters of Minnesota . Minneapolis, 1889. Letters Aldritt, Edwin. “Edwin Aldritt Personal Letters Home during the Civil War 1861-1865.” Personal Letters, Private Collection., 1865. Dwelle, G. Merrill. G. Merrill Dwelle and Family Papers 1843-1896. Personal Letters, Minnesota Historical Society Collection, Manuscript # A/.D989 ,1 box. Preston, Theodore. Letters, 1861-1862, Company B, 2nd United States Sharpshooter Regiment . Personal Letters, University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Strong, Robert. Charles D. Strong Papers, 1862-1865 . Personal Letters, Minnesota Historical Society Collection, Manuscript # A/-S923, 9 items. Military Reports Report of Colonel Hiram Berdan of the Battle of Gaines Mill. Official Records. United States War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies . Washington D.C. 1880-1900.

15 Report of Colonel Hiram Berdan on Operations at Hanover Courthouse. Official Records. United States War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies . Washington D.C. 1880-1900. Secondary Sources Books A Weapon for the Sharpshooters: Three Perspectives . Gettysburg National Military Park Library. Bilby, Joseph G. Civil War Firearms: Their Historical Background and Tactical Use and Modern Collecting and Shooting . Cambridge, Ma: Dacapo Press, Member Of Perseus Books Group, 2005. Earley, Gerald L. Strategies of North and South: A Comparative Analysis of the Union and Confederate Campaigns . Jefferson, North Carolina, Mcfarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2021. ---. The Second United States Sharpshooters in the Civil War . McFarland, 22 Apr. 2014. Haythornthwaite, Philip J. Uniforms of the Civil War in Color . San Bernardino, Calif.: Borgo Press, 1992. Katcher, Philip, and Stephen Walsh. Sharpshooters of the American Civil War 1861-65 . Oxford, Osprey, 2002. Linderman, Gerald. Embattled Courage . Simon and Schuster, 2008. Pegler, Martin. Sharpshooting Rifles of the American Civil War: Colt, Sharps, Spencer, and Whitworth . Bloomsbury Publishing, 24 Aug. 2017. Rywell, Martin. Sharps Rifle: The Gun That Shaped American Destiny . Pioneer Press, Incorporated, 1 Feb. 1956. Sword, Wiley. Sharpshooter: Hiram Berdan, His Famous Sharpshooters, and Their Sharps Rifles . Lincoln, R.I., U.S.A.: A. Mowbray, 1988. Weaver, Mark. “Whitworth Rifle.” American Civil War Stories , CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 7 Dec. 2016, www.americancivilwarstory.com/whitworth-rifle.html. Accessed 1 Mar. 2023. Magazines Kent, W.C. Sharpshooting with Berdan . in Civil War Times Magazine, May 1976.

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16 Marcot, Roy M. "The Uniforms and Field Equipment of the Berdan Sharpshooters.” North and South Trader Magazine , 1999. Internet Franklin, Ronald E. "Civil War Sharpshooters: Col. Hiram Berdan’s Creation.” Owlcation, July 20, 2022. https://owlcation.com/humanities/Civil-War-Sharpshooters-Col-Hiram- Berdans-Creation . “Berdan Sharpshooters Online." www.berdansharpshooters.com, November 16, 2014. http://www.berdansharpshooters.com/history.html . Doug Wicklund and Michael G. Williams. "How These Elite Civil War Marksmen Changed the Face of Warfare." Doug Wicklund and Michael G. Williams - Accessed 2/21/2023. https://www.historynet.com/how-these-elite-civil-war-marksmen-changed- the-face-of-warfare/ Simmons, Rich. “COL Berdan and California Joe.” BERDAN-SHARPSHOOTER ORGANIZATION , 3 Mar. 2005, www.berdansharpshooter.org/. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023. Stoughton, Homer R., Major. “Stoughton’s Gettysburg OR.” www.civilwarhome.com, September 1, 1999. http://www.civilwarhome.com/stoughto.html.

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