Article Featured in:
Berdan’s Sharpshooters
by Dave Smith
Our Web site this month comes to us courtesy of the outstanding efforts of David Rider of Bethlehem, Pa., and is dedicated to the history of Berdan’s Sharpshooters located at www.berdansharpshooters.com
The men of Berdan's United States Sharpshooters were an elite force during the Civil War.
“They were the only Federal Troops to wear dark green uniforms,” David said. “Their weapons included heavy tar-get rifles, Colt 5-shot revolving rifles and Sharps breech-loaded rifles.
“Each man had to pass a shooting test to be mustered into this unit. He had to put 10 shots inside a 10-inch circle from 200 yards at rest. The combined total of the shots could not exceed a string of 50 inches, which meant each shot could not average more than 5 inches from the center of the target.” David’s site went on-line last December.
Like so many of the good Civil War sites, Berdan’s Sharpshooters came about as a result of frustration concerning a lack of Web-based information.
“I simply could not find what I wanted, so I created my Web site to gather as much information as I could and pre-sent it on the Sharpshooters,” David said.
Keeping the information fresh on even a relatively new Web site presents a continuing challenge, David noted. “I do all of my graphics myself and I am constantly looking for new ideas for content and layout.”
From the history of the unit to modern-day reenactments, to tutorials on the weapons and men of that time, a visit to Berdan’s Sharpshooters will provide you with a great deal of information about a relatively small group of men whose tactics influenced United States military development into the 20th century.................Be sure to visit the site soon.
|
