Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1889-01-18
Shooting a Sharpshooter.

Al points around PETERSBURG, where
/ the lines of earthworks were only pis-
tol shot apart, the sharpshooter piled
his murderous rifle night and day,
and they became living terror 70
both sides. | was for two weeks in
the Confederate works. opposite
Grants Fort Hall, and although tons
upon tons of Federal shot and shell
were hurled at us, we lost more men
by the bullets of the sharpshooters
than by all the cannonading. In the
Confederate works, just above the
| fort which Butler blew up and which
has since been known as the Crater
| the most effective cannon was silenced
for two days by Federal sharp
shooter who ensconced himself only a
stones throw away. do not know
that the one man held the place for
two nights and two days, but we
judged so from the style OF firing, and
because when We were finally rid OF
him no one else took his place. He
crept out from the Federal line in a
dark and rainy night, dug rifle pit,
banked up the dirt around il and
killed two of our men between day
light and sunrise. He had a sixteen
shooter rifle, and he gave all his atten-
ton TO one embrasure i'm the fort and
before noon the piece OF artillery at
that embrasure was silenced.
A round dozen Confederate sharp
shooters were detailed To Kill the fell
low off. but he would not be killed.
| The dirt was knocked about his ears
in perfect clouds by bullets, and now
and then a piece OF field artillery
sent a shell plowing along over him;
| but he was there to stay. When night
came we intended TO creep out and
kill or make him a prisoner, but 10. a
whole company was brought up and
stationed in the ravine just behind
him, where their fire would sweep the
field around his pit, and We had TO
turn TO some other plan. He was
there in the morning, and he killed
one man and wounded second be
fore o'clock. Three pieces Of light
artillery played on his pit until the
guns had fired a dozen shells each,
but he was unframed. 1t was plain
that he had dug his pit so deep and
narrow that everything from our side
must pass over il, and il was Ger
tain that we must try some other
plan. Had he been without close sup
port three or four men could have
solved the problem pretty quick, but
there were sharpshooters by the hun
dreds in his rear, and that rear so
close that not hat could show above
our works without being made the
target OF dozen bullets.
BY noon of the second day we had
had four men killed and five wounded
by one Yankee sharpshooter, and the
colonel commanding had offered a 500
gold piece to any one who would finish
him Off He might have made ii 500, 900
for all we could do, as everybody had
| cudgeled his brains in vain for n plan.
1t was about 3 o'clock in the after
noon that a corporal belonging 10
some field artillery stationed mile
or so above us on the lines came down
to see a relative OF his, and when the
situation had been explained TO him
and he had looked over the ground
| he said:
Give me al hours time and III
have him out and win that gold
piece.
He returned to his command and
secured half a dozen small fuse shells
! belonging TO mountain howitZer
which was then in park as Of no ac-
count. When they were brought up
he made a sling from the leather OF a
boot leg and two stout cords and
then gathered n dozen stones TO prac-
tice with While he flung these stones
one Of the men timed their fall, and
in this way he knew how TO cut the
| fuses. The fifth rock, flung high in
| the air on n curve. as a mortar would
| throw il, fell so close 10 the sharp
shooters pit that the corporal was
satisfied. He then cut his fuses and
began throwing lighted she'll The
weight OF them was about thirteen
ounces. and while they did not fly as
high a. the rocks, the curve was the
same. We were all satisfied az 10
what the result would be. The fourth
shell dropped square In the pit and
exploded as it struck. In the cloud OF
dirt blown out was the sharpshooter's
cap, the stock OF his rifle and his can
teen. Not another shot was fired
from the pit, nor did any Federal dare
occupy it again.