U.S. SHARPSHOOTERS: BERDAN'S CIVIL WAR ELITE

by Roy M. Marcot

Action-packed account of the legendary 1st and 2nd U.S. SharpShooters Based on diaries, letters, and other firsthand sources Photos of the men as well as their uniforms, equipment, and firearms plus paintings by acclaimed Civil War artist Don Troiani This detailed and beautifully illustrated book tells the story of Col. Hiram Berdan's brilliant conception: the U.S. SharpShooters, a specialized 2-regiment unit of marksmen recruited from the farming and backwoods communities of the North. Known for their distinctive green uniforms, Sharps breech-loading rifles, and risky tactics, the SharpShooters fought at battles such as the Peninsula, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness. The book covers their training, tactics, and weapons and is a must-have for Civil War enthusiasts and anyone interested in the history of special forces.

128 pages, Hardcover

First published July 10, 2007

Reviews

[Jake]

The Author of this book is Roy M. Marcot. His purpose of writing this book was to give an in depth look into the weapons, life, uniform, and overall history of Hiram Berdan's sharpshooters. I rated this book a 5/5 because I am interested in the Civil War and especially the US Sharpshooters.
He first gives a little introduction to Berdan's Sharpshooters. He then talks about how Hiram Berdan formed the Sharpshooters with his own rifle skills, reputation, and political connections.
Marcot then talks about the US Sharpshooter's (USSS) field equipment, from tents to mess kits. After that the main rifle of the USSS, the Sharps rifle, also the different types of pistols that were found to be with the sharpshooters.
He then gives a chapter to sharpshooter tactics, and battle history. The USSS saw a lot of action at the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. At the battle of Gettysburg,two companies of USSS fell back around 2 miles while fighting a Confederate brigade. The brigade was made up of close to 500 men. The sharpshooters took out a large number of Confederates at what was called the Hornets Nest.
He finished the book with pictures of sharpshooters.

I thought that this was a very good book and would recommend this to some one interested in this topic.

[Vince]

A good introduction to one of the most famous units of the Civil War. Marcot uses a lot of primary sources to flesh out the makeup and activities of the unit. Much time is spent on a discussion of the controversial Berdan himself, apparently not much of a soldier, but a glory seeking hound who spent more time off the field than on and outright lied about his own actions as their commander. What attracted me most was the large number of period illustrations and photos. The visual contexts bring an enhanced understanding of what it was like at the time.

[Les Wolf]

There were a lot of surprises in this book, however, one fact remains. The U. S. Sharpshooters were an indispensable unit throughout the early years of the U. S. Civil War.