E-Books →Thunderbolt to the Rebels The United States Sharpshooters in the Civil War

During the first year of the Civil War, Hiram Berdan proposed the creation of a unit of marksmen armed with Sharps rifles, and thus were born the 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters. Drawn heavily from the Upper Midwest and New England, as well as Pennsylvania, the soldiers had to pass a marksmanship test to join: 10 shots in a 10-inch-diameter circle from 200 yards. They were issued green uniforms for better camouflage, which also helped Confederate riflemen target them. The job of a sharpshooter was dangerous and demanding - much of it out in front of the army, much of it alone - but theymade a difference on the battlefield.
Thunderbolt to the Rebels uses primary sources, especially eyewitness accounts, to reveal how these elite marksmen lived, fought, and died during the Civil War.