At the outset of the American Civil War, the wealthy inventor and expert
shot Hiram Berdan initiated the setting-up of sharpshooting units in the
Union Army; these units would be tasked primarily with open-order
skirmishing, but also with long-range, accurate shooting. Initially, it
was envisaged that the M1855 Colt revolving rifle would be the weapon
employed by these specialists. Available in .36, .44, and .56 caliber,
the M1855 swiftly earned a poor reputation, however, as it was prone to
a malfunction known as "chain fire," in which powder in all the unfired
chambers would be ignited, seriously injuring the shooter.
Instead, the North's sharpshooters preferred the Sharps rifle, an
innovative breech-loading weapon employing a falling-block action. It
had double-set triggers, aiding accuracy, and could fire up to ten shots
per minute--more than three times the rate of fire offered by the
standard-issue Springfield .58-caliber rifled musket. The Sharps was
very expensive, though, and military planners believed it would
encourage soldiers to waste ammunition. After a prolonged fight with the
Ordnance Department, however, Berdan succeeded in procuring Sharps
rifles for his men. Other Union sharpshooters were equipped with the
standard-issue Springfield rifled musket, the .56-56-caliber Spencer
Repeating Rifle--a lever-action weapon with a seven-round tube
magazine--or "target rifles," basically sporting rifles repurposed for
military use.
Conversely, the Confederacy favored the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled
musket for its sharpshooters; the South also imported from Britain
quantities of the Whitworth Rifle, a .45-caliber, single-shot,
muzzle-loading weapon distinguished by its use of a twisted hexagonal
barrel. More prone to fouling and slower-firing than the standard-issue
rifled musket, the Whitworth offered impressive long-range accuracy; its
hexagonal bullets made a distinctive whistling noise in flight. In May
1864 a Confederate sharpshooter armed with the Whitworth famously killed
the highest-ranking Union battle casualty of the conflict, Major General
John Sedgwick, at a range of about 1,000 yards.
Featuring specially commissioned artwork, this is the engrossing story
of the innovative rifles that saw combat in the hands of sharpshooters
on both sides during the Civil War.
