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Post by bruce on Jul 28, 2019 21:32:09 GMT
As the American Civil War progressed, both sides came under increasing pressure from sharpshooters - snipers actually. By the time of Petersburg in 1864, both sides were entrenched exactly as the armies would later be in WW1, and snipers were a routine, if much despised, part of everyday life.
Other than Sharpe's Chosen Men and perhaps the 95th Rifles, did any Napoleonic army employ similar specialists? The weapons were more limited, and long range is a relative thing.
In the American War of Independence, Americans under Daniel Morgan used rifles to great effect - but as no bayonets fit their rifles they had to be protected by regular troops during line battles.
There is something very unsettling about having your officers picked off from long range- definitely not sporting. Were there any Napoleonic snipers? Bruce
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Post by profjohn on Aug 4, 2019 23:00:06 GMT
This one set me thinking. The Austrian Tyrolean Jäger were renowned marksmen but I'm not sure if they were snipers in the way, say, that Rifleman Plunkett appears to have been. Although didn't one hit Napoleon? - could have been a deliberate sniper shot. Others will know I'm sure. I'm also wondering about the marines and armed sailors in the fighting tops of ships of the line. Were they snipers or did they just pour down fire to make life generally difficult on the enemy decks? It's often said that Nelson was killed by a deliberate sniping shot which was the result of his insistence on wearing all his stars in battle. I think it's equally likely he was, like many a senior officer in Napoleonic warfare, the victim of the amount of metal flying around. There was at least one Royal Marine who claimed after the battle to have shot the man who shot Nelson. But on a rolling ship and firing a smith bore piece through tangles of rigging and sail it would have beem pretty hard to hit anything with an aimed shot. Anyway, an interesting query and one that merits further research.
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Post by bruce on Aug 4, 2019 23:54:10 GMT
At Saratoga, Morgan's riflemen picked off a number of British officers on horseback, which was a significant factor in their defeat. What about the 95th on the Peninsula? How were they employed?
Morgan's men were backwoods, slightly undisciplined crack shots. Shooting on the American frontier was a recreational pastime as well as a means of getting food and defending the home. The 95th may not have reached their proficiency, but they were certainly an elite unit. Was it the rifles themselves? Morgan's were quite long. Or was it the tactics? Bruce
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