![]() Berdan and one of his officers, accompanied by two of his men, walked out to see the result as one would go to a bear hunt. ![]() Meanwhile a messenger dispatched for a telescopic target rifle known to be in the hands of a sharpshooter, and Col. The other day he came outside as usual, waving his hat, when two balls went whizzing toward him, but fell short. “A tall rebel had frequently shown himself on the enemy’s works, braving the fire of the sharpshooters. Ī third sharpshooter is mentioned in the The Caledonian of St. Wilson, a member of the 2 nd Lousiana Native Guards and the 54 th Massachusetts. A more condensed version of this is in a book by Joseph T. This account was also published in 1866 in a book by Frazer Kirkland. ‘Well, just as you say,’ replied our sharpshooter.Īn hour after this the Union sharpshooter shot the black Confederate sharpshooter through the head. ‘Not as this chile knows of,’ replied the concealed Ethiope. ‘I say, big nigger,’ called out one of the Union soldiers, ‘you better come down from there.’ This article states that he perched himself up “in big tree, and keeping himself hid behind the body…” Before he was taken out it tells of how a Union sharpshooter called out to him: Our men have known him a long time, have kept an eye on him, have lain in wait for him.” ![]() “The best work of the morning was reducing to a state of perfect inutility in this mundane sphere, a rebel negro rifleman, who has, through his skill as a marksman, done more injury to our men than any dozen of his white compeers, in the attempted labor of reducing the complement of our sharpshooters. The second sharpshooter was reported in the Wood County Reporter from Grand Rapids, Wisconsin on May 31, 1862. He continues on to say that they cornered him in a “chimney top” and he was taken out by a Sgt. On one occasion while at the advanced posts with a detail, the writer with his squad had an opportunity to note the skill of this determined darky with his well aimed rifle.” “For a considerable time during the siege the enemy had a negro rifle shooter in their front who kept up a close fire on our men, and, although the distance was great, yet he caused more or less annoyance by his persistent shooting. Stevens, who was a member of Berdan’s First U.S. The first sharpshooter is mentioned in an account by a Captain C.A. I found at least three black Confederate sharpshooters at the Siege of Yorktown, VA which took place between April-May 1862. These accounts help give a more complete picture of the War, while at the same time making it more complicated. It is about being able to see the small details and being able to piece them together so when you step back you see a more complete picture. From a distance it looks very beautiful in passing, but the closer you get to it the more you notice the details, such as brush strokes, their choice of colors, or finding small details that are not noticeable from a distance. History is not as black and white as we make it out to be. In my research I have come across twenty accounts of black Confederate sharpshooters and they are all Union accounts. ![]() In a 2015 article by Ernie Suggs, of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, states “Boston-based historian Kevin Levin said he has been working on his upcoming book, “Searching for Black Confederate Soldiers,” for eight years and has yet to find one.” Levin, among others, who ignore or gloss over these accounts. Unfortunately today you have men such as Kevin M. One of the more interesting things about the Civil War is the primary evidence, from Union accounts, that show black men serving as sharpshooters for the Confederacy. ![]()
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