Volume 1 -Issue 1

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1February 2011 mbracing istor yH

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mbracing istor yH2 Volume 1 Issue 1

Written by: Mark Hudson

Dead On: Strange Shots of the Civil War

There is an old adage that for every soldier killed in the Civil War, his weight in lead was �red on the battle-�eld. While it is impossible to prove that statement, it

is a certainty that an enormous amount of ordnance was ex-pended during those four bloody years. More than 3,250,000 soldiers were engaged in 2,261 engagements which produced some 673,301 battle�eld casualties.

bound to happen that certain shots stand apart from the rest. On one hand there are those shots, like the one which killed Gen. John Sedgwick, which stand out as incredible feats of accuracy even when measured against the accuracy of today’s

common, however, were the random shots which produced

provides examples of both the incredibly accurate and the in-credibly strange.

-gering. Following the battle of Gettysburg, it was noted that “Some idea of the tremendous work at Gettysburg may be inferred from the fact stated that more shells were discharged in the single battle of Gettysburg than were employed in all the battles that Napoleon ever fought.” 1 Nor was it just ar-

By far, the worst danger was from the millions of bullets ex-

bullets collided in mid-air. A correspondent writing from Vicksburg mentions just such a curious relic: “I lately saw at the headquarters of Col. Slack’s brigade, two Minnie bul-lets which had once told a history. One was a rebel bullet of English manufacture, smuggled over by our dear brethren in

sticking each to the other closer than brother or lover.” 2 While much can be said for the volume of ammunition

Bilby notes that: “Most soldiers knew little of ballistics or even basic marksmanship techniques - and never learned otherwise. Although they drilled relentlessly, Civil War sol-

3

over the years. It should also lend an aura of authenticity to those modern reenactors embroiled in the debates of one side or the other

properly train Civil War recruits

on-the-job training in the heat

in shots being wasted and many weapons becoming disabled due to improper handling. A period ac-

27,574 guns picked up and of those 24,000 were found to be loaded, and half of them were double loaded. One fourth had

one charge of powder. In some cases the powder was above the ball, in others the cartridges were not broken at the end, while in one musket twenty three balls, sixty two buckshot, and a quantity of powder were all mixed up together.” 4

weapon which had multiple loads in the barrel, Confeder--

erything but the kitchen sink during an 1862 battle in the Shenandoah: “I had shot my gun so wiped it but once) that when

I had rammed down one Minnie ball and nine

buckshot I thought I would put in some more. I put in nine more buckshot and some paper. In ram-ming down the extra charge the ramrod stuck fast. I could not move it up or down.

The conflict brought new weaponry, skilled sharpshooters, and green recruits together. It was a given that this combination would lead to some strange tales of marksmanship and near misses.

3February 2011 mbracing istor yH

will burst. Turn it up and drive the ramrod down on that rock.’ I did so, but as the enemy were about to charge I had to leave the ramrod in.

wouldn’t have far to fall. It was well I did. When the enemy came out of the woods, moving straight toward us, I said to my cousin: ‘Watch that Yankee on the dark sorrel horse.’

-other, the horse had no rider, and a gap was cut through their

ball did the work. My captain said: ‘See here, young man, where did you get that piece of artillery?’ I replied that it

-son. ‘Well now,’ said he medi-tatively, ‘General Jackson should have had it mounted on wheels, so it wouldn’t kick you over.’” 5

Sometimes a near miss also produced a memorable experi-ence. During the Peninsula Campaign a newspaper reported that: “At Yorktown a soldier named Corporal Tucker was in-

did not strike him, but the velocity of the missile raised a

6 In an-other instance a bowlegged recruit from Madison, Wiscon-sin wrote home thanking “his father for giving him crooked, or bow legs, saying that on the day before he had narrowly escaped losing both his legs, a cannonball passing harmlessly

through the space occasioned by the natural crook of the legs “. 7 Confederate General John B. Gordon recounted a near-

miss incident during the battle of Spotsylvania: “When a daring charge of the North Carolina brigade had temporarily checked that portion of the Federal forces struck by it, and while my brigades in the rear were being placed in position,

-cate Hancock’s position.

“Sitting on my horse near the line of the North Caro-lina brigade, I was endeavoring to get a view of the Union

lines, through the woods -

ing mists. It was impossible, however, to see those lines; but the direction from which they sent their bullets soon informed us that they were still moving and had already

gone beyond our right. One of those bullets passed through my coat from side to side, just grazing my back. Jones, who was close to me, and sitting on his horse in a not very erect posture, anxiously inquired; ‘General, didn’t that ball hit you?’ ‘No’, I said; ‘but suppose my back had been in a bow like yours? Don’t you see that the bullet would have gone straight through my spine? Sit up or you’ll be killed.’

the duration of the impression made, showed that this ocular demonstration of the necessity for a soldier to sit upright on

-sons that could have been given.” 8

Nor was Gordon the only one of rank to narrowly cheat fate. Confederate Gen. John C. Breckinridge escaped death at Cold Harbor when “a solid shell struck General Breckin-ridge’s horse in the breast and passed out back of the stirrup leather and between the General’s legs.”

-umented by Capt. D.P. Cunningham of the famous Irish bri-gade: “I had a Sergeant Driscoll, a brave man, and one of the best shots in the brigade. When charging at Malvern Hill a

-cer seemed to be a daring, reckless boy, and I said to Driscoll,

we pass that clump.’ ’Leave that to me,’ said Driscoll; so he

-pany at once breaking away.

dead, he was a brave fellow.’I stood looking on, Driscoll turned him over on his back.

He opened his eyes for a moment, and faintly murmured ‘Fa-ther’, and then closed them forever. I will forever recollect

The conflict brought new weaponry, skilled sharp-shooters, and green recruits together. It was a given that this combination would lead to some strange

tales of marksmanship and near misses.

Left: A pair of mini balls collided together and are now fused.

dropped artifacts.

- A morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable. Thomas Jefferson, September 8, 1817

...continued on page 4

mbracing istor yH4 Volume 1 Issue 1

the frantic grief of Driscoll; it was harrowing to witness. He was his son, who had gone south before the war. And what

as we were closing with the enemy, he rushed up, with his

enemy, calling on the men to follow. He soon fell, but jumped up again. We knew he was wounded. On he dashed, but he soon rolled over like a top. When we came up he was dead, riddled with bullets.” 10

shots. Col. Hugh W. McNeil of the Pennsylvania Bucktails

were posted in a mountain pass, and had infantry on the heights on every side. Our men were compelled to carry the

Rebels occupied a ledge on the extreme right, as the Colonel

upon them a volley. Col. Hugh McNeil, on the instant, gave

-customed to receive; they had always picked their men. ’Fire!’

up, the Bucktails sheltering themselves as best they could be-hind trees and rocks. On a sudden McNeil caught sight of two rebels peering through an opening in the works to get aim.

line, but one stood a little distance back of the other, while just in front of the foremost was a slanting rock.

along the polished barrel; a report followed, and both the rebels disappeared. At that moment a loud cheer a little dis-tance beyond rent the air. ’All is right now,’ cried the Colonel;

-tered another body of the Bucktails and were obliged to sur-render.

“Not a man of them escaped. Every one saw the object of

had sent a party around to the rear, and meant thus to attract

Col. McNeil’s bullet had struck the slanting rock in front of

it in his pocket.” 11 Col. McNeil was still carrying the lucky bullet a few days later when he was killed at Antietam.

Another regiment of Pennsylvanians experienced a similar incident during the battle of Gettysburg: “During the morn-

-nia, who prided themselves on their marksmanship, enjoyed

of smoke from some rocks down the slope. He aimed and

last man shot had fallen dead upon his gun and closed the 12

As the war progressed, the need for expert marksman be-came more apparent. Units such as Berdan’s Sharpshooters

casualties from long distances. Confederate soldier Sam Watkins in his memoirs tells a humorous incident which occurred while choosing sharpshooters during the Atlanta Campaign: “By some hook or crook the Confederate States government had come in possession of a small number of

Capt. Joe Lee and Co. H went out to shoot at a target for the gun. We all wanted the gun, because if we got it we would be sharpshooters, relieved from camp duty, etc.

mark was put up about 500 yards on a hill, and each of us

there was one man who came a little closer to the spot than any other, and the Whitworth was awarded to him; and as we just turned round to go back to camp, a buck rabbit jumped up, and was streaking it as fast as he could make tracks, all the boys whooping and yelling as hard as they could, when a Pvt. Jimmy Webster raised his gun and pulled down on him,

of his ears.-

-ed that it had, and that a certain man in Col. Farquhanson’s regiment (4th Tenn.) was the successful contestant, and I heard General Polk remark, ‘I wish I had another gun to give, I would give it to the young man that shot the rabbit’s head

1

As trench warfare increased later in the war, sharpshoot-ing became an everyday occurrence. A period newspaper re-lated some incidents of long-range dueling on the front lines: “It not infrequently happens that sharpshooters in each army

in killing, by putting a ball through the hole made just large

5February 2011 mbracing istor yH

little time since we had an account from Tennessee of a case in which an expert rebel and Union sharpshooter watched each other for three days, while the Union man was look-ing through, a ball passed into the hole and directly through

-respondent of the New York Commercial before Petersburg relates another case which occurred on Monday. A soldier

muzzle of his musket through and sight his object. Having

made when, from a distance of about three hundred yards, a -

ing him instantly.” 14

Union Surgeon John Gardner Perry wrote of one of these deadly duels: “Lieutenant G- was in command of the sharp-shooters attached to the regiment, but who were not under

-tion, going where they can most injure the enemy. We had

little damage, except to prevent all rest and sleep. Finally both armies saw the folly of such warfare and desisted. Towards noon yesterday, weary, I suppose, of the inaction, a Confed-erate sharpshooter mounted his earthwork and challenged any one of our sharpshooters to single combat. Lieutenant

accepted the challenge, and they commenced what to them

the Confederate dropped. G-’s great size was so unusual that his opponent had the advantage, and our men tried to make him give way to a smaller man. But, no! He would not listen, became very excited as his successes multiplied, and when darkness stopped the dueling he remained unscathed, while every opponent had fallen victim to his unerring aim.

much bluster a charmed life; said nothing would kill him; that he could stand any amount of dueling, and this he would prove in the morning. When he was in his tent for the night,

him of the foolishness and criminality of such a course, and also assured him of the certainty of his death. But the man seemed crazed with the faith in his charmed life. He would

simply waiting, as best he could, for daylight, to begin the dueling again.

to treachery. In the morning, true to his mistaken conviction, he stood upon the works again and challenged his opponent. Instantly one appeared, and as both were taking aim, a man

through the mouth, the ball lodging in the spinal vertebrae, completely paralyzing him below the head. We dragged the

-ticulately, ‘I hit him anyway, Doctor,’ he closed his eyes and

“We then heard a tremendous uproar outside, and found that our men were claiming the murderer of their lieutenant; but the Confederates shouted that they had already shot him for a cowardly villain, and then came praises across the line for Lieutenant G-’s pluck and skill.” 15

Artillery was not to be outdone by small arms. Numerous incredible shots are attributed to the cannoneers of the army and navy. Newspapers recorded a strange incident during the siege of Vicksburg: “One of the most singular and remarkable instances of random shooting we remember to have heard occurred during Farragut’s run of the blockade. Just as his

city, a shell struck one of her guns which was being loaded, fair in the muzzle, and, passing into it, exploded, and explod-ing the charge, burst the gun and killed the gunners.” 16

Further down river a Confederate artillerist performed

Boone. Aware that he had only a few minutes to live, the

do not indicate whether or not men of his battery complied with it. His last wish, he said, was to have his severed leg

17 -

to the intended target: “During the recent bombardment of Fort Wagner from the ‘New Ironsides’, it was found impos-sible to drive the balls through the sand and cotton of which the work was made, or elevate the guns so as to toss the shot

of depressing the pieces, whereby the balls striking the water

18 Whether the shot proved extremely accurate or fatefully

random, Civil War lore abounds with other stories of incred-

failed to explode or cleared the advancing lines. In this same

two by a shot, and the rider escaped unhurt. Ten minutes

forward on the ground and broke his neck. --

teries numbering 27 heavy cannon, bombarded the fort for two hours before killing a single soldier. From 78 to 80 heavy cannon were hurling three tons of iron into the fort each minute, and yet no one was hurt until more than 300 tons of

mbracing istor yH6 Volume 1 Issue 1

work of a single solid shot thrown from a Federal gunboat on the Lower Mississippi.

“A Confederate battery was just taking position, and one

square on the muzzle and upset gun and carriage. A piece

struck and exploded a caisson, killing three more men and wounding two others. From the caisson it turned to the

so disorganized the battery that it limbered up and dashed away to cover.

“A Union gunboat on the White River threw three shells

Gen. Shelby planted four pieces of artillery on the levee with-in 400 feet of that same gunboat at anchor, and without the

hour, or until the gunboat backed out of it and steamed away.

certain per centum of escapes is allowed in a steamboat ex-plosion, but he who goes to war has nothing to console him. He may dodge a 200 pound shell and be killed by two buck-

one may be fatal. He may ride in the wildest charge unhurt, 19 -

manship, uncommon valor, and just plain dumb luck that made the War Between the States a colorful and spirited part of American history. While such accounts are sometimes hard to believe, they are true, or at least have been recorded as such. As time goes on, it is hoped that the history and the passion for knowledge of this tragic time doesn’t fade away. It remains a pivotal part of our heritage, and for our future generations to come, no matter how odd, strange, or enter-taining it can sometimes be.

Foot Notes:1 Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle2 Ibid3 Bilby, Joseph, Civil War Firearms4 Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle5 Patterson, William W., Confederate Veteran Magazine6 Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle7 Ibid8 Gordon, John B., Southern Historical Society Papers9 Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle

11 Moore, Frank, editor, Anecdotes, Poetry and Incidents of the War: North and South 1860-186512 Pfanz, Harry, Gettysburg: Culp’s Hill & Cemetery Hill 13 Watkins, Sam, Co. Aytch14 Poughkeepsie Telegraph15 Perry, John Gardner, Letters From a Surgeon of the Civil War16 Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle17 Garrison, Webb, More Civil War Curiosities18 Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle19 Field and Post Room, Nov. 1886

A morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable.

Thomas Jefferson, September 8, 1817

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