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SHARPSHOOTERS---Equipment and mobility: How did they carry...

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Question by Arch DeJettry
Submitted on 9/3/2004
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SHARPSHOOTERS---Equipment and mobility:  How did they carry a heavy, telescoped  rifle and its tools in battle conditions?

The heavy rifles needed their false-muzzle bullet starter, and ramrod, plus a few bullets, powder flask, powder measure, scraps of rag cleaning patches to swab the bore after each shot.

The telescopes were easy to bend, and mounted on a heavy rifle, a real recipe for scope damage just getting around in th field.

I might guess that an extra haversack would have worked, or even wrapping some of the stuff in oilcloth and dropping in their regular haversack with the salty grease and hardtack.  The leather "rifle-boots" Berdan got them cannot have fit many of the target rifles, so I guess they were made large, and padded with rags or newspapers to suit.  OR, did they get some supporting infantry guy to just help carry the whole boxed affair, and maybe act as spotter, too?

The actual swabbing and reloading exercise for these rifles had to be cumbersome, with dirt from enemy bullet-strikes flying around, and having to lie down under cover to load a muzzle-loader, or maybe stand in a half-flooded trench to load. Did they have little cans or jars or something for cleaning patches, grease, oil, etc?

Sorry for the long message.  I'm trying to write a Sharpshooter novel, and want to get it right.

Arch DeJettry


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