Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1892-09-01
MILITARY DEAD SHOTS.

MILITARY DEAD SHOTS.
Army Authorities Encouraging Compete
ton i'm Rifle Practice.
In any war in the future in which the
United States may become involved her
armies will be literally supplied with
trained sharpshooters, the terror of Of
fcers and artillerymen. During the
late war the value of this class of
marksmen was demonstrated even by
the crude material which formed Ber-
dams sharpshooters and other similar
organizations on the union side, and the
famous Mississippi and Arkansas squir-
rel-shooter rihemen in the confederate
armies. The large record of casualties
among officers of high rank on both
sides was due in great measure to the
unerring aim of sharpshootersc concealed
from view in their covert abode.
Gen. q. w. Flagler, chief of ordnance,
United States army, informed a Post
reporter that he was taking much in
terest in the subject of Workmanship
in the regular army and has formulated
plan for bringing that branch of the
service up to high state of proficiency.
Approaching the necessity of reliable
sharpshooters in the battles of the
future, the government is not at all lax
in its efforts in that direction, and tar
get practice has now become the rule
rather than the exception. To en-
courage and stimulate the soldier boys
in their efforts before the bulrs-eye of
the army target and in firing at dummy
figures on imaginary slIirmish lines, the
ordnance department has provided a
series of handsome gold, silver and
bronze badges as trophies and dis
guished marks in the army, to be com
peted for by privates and non-com-
missioned officers.
There are massive gold badges for
division and regimental contests: silver
badges for the cavalry and infantry.
and neat individual badges, each of
which becomes the personal property of
the winner, to keep for all time Speci-
mems of these handsome designs are eX-
hibited in case at Gen. Flagler's office
in the war department.
The sharpshooter badge is a silver
Maltese cross pendant from a bar, on
which is the inscription, in plain black
letters, ''Sharpshooters. Another de-
SIN is a silver bar Inscribed Marks
man" The difference between the
former and latter is that sharpshooter
must earn his laurels over a one-thou-
sand-yard rifle range. while the marks
man is only required to attain a certain
average over Observation-Disclosures
range. The sharpshooter in each regi-
ment making the best score, up to
cetain percentage, is then entitled to
enter the contest for the army badge,
handsome, costly and massive gold de-
sign.
These badges were all designed by
Gen. Flagler and are manufactured at
the Rock Island arsenal at much less
cost than the work could be done by
contract.
Gen, Flagler's idea of the future
shalpshooter organization in the army,
and which will, no doubt soon be
adopted by the government, is to select
the shooters in each regiment who have
won trophies and form them into com
panieS, so that when occasion arises
companies could be combined, forming
a large sharpshooter contingent for use
as required.
AT the first battle of Chancellors-
vile said the general, "a confederate
sharpshooter concealed in a large tree
a considerable distance from the union
headquarters killed Gen. Whipple as he
was walking along the road at a com
paratively safe distance from the
enemy big Minnesotan, who stood
over six feet high and whose smiling
face was as innocent looking as that of
an infant, had been watching the puffs
of smoke from the southern soldiers
rifle concealed in the tree-top. He had
also observed the sad havoc among his
brother officers and men. who had be-
come victims of the rifeman's unerring
aim. and determined to drop the south
erner He could not see the concealed
foe. but commenced firing through the
branches Of the tree, up and down, fol-
lowing parallel lines, much after the
fashion Of a farmer planting a field of
corn.
Finally one of his shots caused the
rihaman in gray to come sprawling
from the tree in squirrel fashion, and
turning TO me the giant soldier from
Minnesota said in the hlandest manner,
with a perfect baby smile, I fetched
him, sir.
In the library Of the war department
is a photograph taken after the desper-