Civil War Sharpshooter, The Whitworth Rifle | Collector's & History Corner
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ย. 2024
- ASP's Blog: (autoshowcasepro...)
ASP PRESENTS:
A brief overview of the Whitworth Rifle developed by Joseph Whitworth of Great Britain and imported into the United states by the Confederate Government during the American Civil War.
Sniping in the Civil War was not known. Soldiers who were able to shoot targets at long distances were considered to be sharpshooters.
This video focuses more on Confederate sharpshooters of the South.
It has been cited that Thomas Burgess of the 15th South Carolina Volunteer Regiment killed General Sedgwick during the Battle of Spotsylvania. General Sedgwick stated the following to one of his soldiers who was cowering from incoming small arms fire from the Confederates: "What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. I'm ashamed of you, dodging that way. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."
CORRECTION: Arthur mentioned of Thomas Burgess' regiment as 15th North Carolina Regiment. It was the 15th South Carolina Regiment and NOT North Carolina.
PHOTO USED:
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MORE INTERESTING READS:
Sharp Shooters of the Confederacy:
(www.cfspress.co...)
The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern
(books.google.c...)
NJACC Website:
(www.njacc.info/)
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TAGS
Civil War, sharpshooting, sharpshooter, marksmen, US Army, Union Army, Confederate Army, Whitworth Rifle, Great Britain, American Civil War, General Sedgwick, rifled muskets, Hiram Berdan, Berdan rifle, sharps rifle, Volunteer Sharpshooter Regiments, optics, iron sights, target rifle, Federal Army, Southern Army, bayonet, saber bayonet, British P58 rifle, London Armory, mini ball, British P62 Whitworth rifle, hexagonal barrel, Battle of Spotsylvania, Confederate sharpshooter, Colonel Mosby, Ben Powell, Thomas Burgess, 15th South Carolina Volunteer Regiment
Pretty much glued to that lecture. Was looking at WW1 sniper rifles and got directed here, glad l did
"Joseph Whitworth who was basically a toolmaker and machinist"
Yeah and Leonardo Davinci was basically a guy who liked to doodle.
What a great lecture on the Whitworth rifle for the Confederate Army.
Ben Powell of the 12th South Carolina has the most credible account of taking out Sedgwick. He was 800 yards or so, known to carry a whitworth, and people near him said they heard his whitworth go off right when an important looking Federal officer went down.
The word 'sniper' used in a military sense actually originates in the British army in India in the late 18th century. (a shooter who was proficient enough to hit a snipe [a bird] in flight) There is (and I have seen these personally) documentation in the British museum library that show the word used to describe marksmen as early as 1773. it wasn't 'officially' used but was well understood by the 1820s in the British army and I have seen it used in contemporary correspondence by 60th regiment rifle officers in the later Napoleonic wars, most particularly the peninsular by the famous 95th rifles.
I'd be HUGELY surprised if it wasn't in use in the US by the american civil war period, even if it had slightly different meaning to what it has now. ie a sniper at that period was a highly proficient marksman, now it means a hidden, out of sight marksman.
I own and have shot an original whitworth (not a CSA I hasten to add) the thing about the hexagonal bullet was the sound it makes through the air, its a peculiar whistle in comparison to a minié. I imagine it had quite the psychological effect on the artillery crews it was being shot at.
the whitworth is still used in long distance shooting clubs in the UK starting I believe at 1000 yards...
so if i understand this right. a hexagonal bore, and a hexagonal bullet are designed for 3 reasons. to improve velocity since the pressure would not build with the powder of the day, and the hexagonal shapes would fit one another perfectly to create a very tight and perfect fit, the bullet and the bore would align like a puzzle or key. you could even load the black powder more heavily as the gas would escape as the bullet turns allowing for more oxygen to enter the chamber by vacuum, and adding pressure as the bullet travels down the barrel, when the hexagons are opposite one another, this allows for micro releases of gas, that allows excess powder to then burn and adding pressure as the bullet travels downy the barrel, maintaining terminal pressures. idk if the powder needed oxygen, either way it works. the hexagonal shape allowed for less friction on the bullet while increasing rotational property, just like a knife edge increasing the rotational inertia exerted from the bore. it is genius. a longer bullet obviously sustained stable flight.
look at black powder cannons, the rifled version has an extra layer of metal around the breech to help with the problems of pressure. And Black Powder does not come close to the pressure of modern smokeless powders. Check any reloading book or data, it clearly states to never use smokeless powder in a black powder weapon. I understand the Whitworth was very accurate for it's time, but there is no way I will believe a black powder rifle is as accurate as a M-14 at 1000 yards. This guy talks smack
enjoyed information about Whitworth rifle .I live in Darley Dale Derbyshire near Stancliffe Hall Whitworths home .He is buried in St.Helen's churchyard Darley Dale.
+Ian Thompson Thanks Ian for the info and your positive comment. Be well.
Thanks
What a great lecture, really enjoyed and learned a lot from this, very well done and thanks for sharing Folks.
I have an 1863 enfield bayonet that fits the whitworth rifle, its similar to the 1856 bayonet but with a circular slot on the pommel quite rara apparently with 8000 ever made.
my great 6x grandfather was and is Sir Joesph Whitworth
Was the Kentucky Rifle in 45 caliber ever used by sharp shooters ? It seems being 45 caliber alone is a big improvement over large 58 caliber when it comes to range and accuracy. 45 is lighter and faster. If you didn’t have whit worth rifles then it seems a 45 caliber Kentucky rifle would be next best thing ? My dad used to nail targets at 500 yards like it was easy using his 45 caliber Kentucky Rifle using a mini ball type bullet. I have a 54 caliber rifle and it doesn’t even get close
The term sniper was not used in the US Civil War but sharpshooter and marksman were. A marksman was skilled at firearms and a sharpshooter was a sniper/skirmisher/light infantryman. A Sharps was simple, rugged and accurate and earns its rep as a deadly rifle at long range. The few Sharps purchased for regular Army has single triggers and the sharpshooter rifles have the famous double triggers.
The Whitworth rifle was very accurate and responsible for some extraordinary shots. during the war. It was very expensive.
It still is expensive but I want one
Great lecturer👍
During the Civil war , did the Confederate have rifleman with a button R And were they sharpshooters
Such a interesting lecture, great details and stories. Moooooooore please
Hex-Ag-On-Al. There is no 'ic' in it ffs.
I had no idea until recently that British rifle manufacturers played such an active role in particular with regards to providing the Confederacy with firearms. A bullet fired from a Whitworth rifle lead to one of the most famous and unfortunate quotes of the American Civil War: "What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. I'm ashamed of you, dodging that way. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." (Thump. "Ugh...." clump.)
The P53 Enfield was widely carried with almost a million used by the North and South. The Whitworths were very expensive and the CSA could not afford many .
Have any of you heard or seen what the 16th Michigan "Jardine" Sharpshooters carried? My Great Grandfather was in that regiment from before the battle of the Wilderness till the end of the war, his service record even reported that his unit was in charge of protecting Grant at the surrender of Lee.
Your blue belly ass
SUBSCRIBED and LIKED the video - thanks for posting
A very good lecture, but it's torture the me, to hear his version of the word hexagonal.
GREAT vid! Thanks a lot. Gz from Germany.
The Whitworth was first ever accurate sniper rifle
Holy crap! Dude, keep your fricking fingers off the muzzle of the weapon! I can't even finish watching this.
Who is the Mark who is talking?
"Hexagonical"???
Ask General Sedgwick....NOT used?
3.14 twist that is still modern i wish i could at 300 yards
British made America standard
Very interesting, but I have to say that "hexagonical" is not a an English word - the correct word is "hexagonal"!
I admit that despite having a Degree in History and International Relations, I never studied the American Civil War, Can somebody please explain it to me in a nutshell?
stupid Elementary School version: "War to get rid of slavery in the US"
lost cause version: "Second War of Independence.. which failed"
nutshell version: The original US government was closer to an "EU of States" than a powerful central government with subordinate provinces. The states had different laws and different interests which conflicted - one of the most important (but hardly only) conflict was slavery.
(There were abolitionist movements in the South as well, but they never got anywhere in large part b/c abolitionist groups in the north were agitating for slave rebellions in the South, and the Southern public mood soured quickly after a particularly bloody one)
Southern partisans will also point to federal trade policy strongly favoring Northern interests over southern ones, which *is* true, but actions subsequent to secession indicate the slavery question was a strong motivation.
ANYHOW.. Lincoln was elected in 1860 despite not even being on the ballot in a number of Southern states. Some southern states voted to leave the union in response. The federal government did not recognize that secession, and continued to maintain military installations in the South.
South Carolinians (who else?) opened fire on one of those installations rather than let it be resupplied.
The war was on, and four years of devastation and hundreds of thousand dead later we had a different form of government under the same name - as Shelby Foote put it, we went from -
"These United States are..."
to
"The United States is..."
And we've been snippy at each other ever since. :)
Thank so much for the effort Jennifer :-)
You on facebook?
Thanks, and Merry Christmas!
Stephen Keeler Basically 1 side of the US split up into 2 parts. Lincoln got salty and ordered men to take land and shit. the schools say it was to free slave but I agree to disagree. Northern Agression yada yada yada
Actually the modern day version of why the Civil War was fought is to get rid of slavery. The true reason the Civil War was fought is that the Southern States were paying 75-80% of all Federal duties, and taxes, but did not have much say in Federal policies. Ending slavery became a tool, for the North, as a justification of the War of Northern Aggression, and revisionist history, has stopped mentioning the unfair monetary burden on the Southern States as the actual reason for the succession movement. Today the Civil War is presented as a Good (the North who wanted to end slavery) against evil ( the South who wanted to keep slaves.) The cotton gin, and other developments would have probably ended slavery in about the same time, but that is conjecture on my part.
picking off officers
These guns were not sub minute of angle. You could not hit a 4 inch tire at 800 yards, at best they were 3 minute guns. The English measurement was angle of effectiveness not minute of angle. There is a published English test of the hun out to 18 hundred yards with the results.
Figure of Merit*
👍
🇬🇧🇬🇧
There is no way that a bullet with that shape could be as accurate as a modern shaped bullet either a 338 Lapua or any 50 BMG. 308 & 300 win mag drops over 237 feet, 338 lapua over 183 feet and 50 BMG over 116 feet. With the poor aerodynamically shaped bullet of this rifle, the drop would be tremendous. The rifle is rated at 700 to 1000 yard of maximum EFFECTIVE range and 1,500 yard MAXIMUM range. Those are the same ballistics of a 700 Remington. The gentleman probably likes to hear himself talk and does not want to bore anyone with facts.
tom bats You are right, a wintworth will not shoot as accurate as a 338 lapua mag are 50 Bmg. I've shot all 3 of them but the wintworth was the top gun of its day.
tom bats confederate sharpshooter in dec 5 1864 killed a yankee at 1390 yards with the whitworth rifle.he was in fort sumpter fired at the yank on morris island
I understand that, but even a broken watch is correct twice a day. It is like a person shooting an aspirin with a .45 in a fast draw. They show it done, but they don't show the 500 times they missed. If someone makes a 1390 yard shot, there is a lot of luck involved. Is it possible maybe. Can it be reproduced at will, probably not. I will let other experts weigh in.
But here is a historical account of more believable capabilities of the sharpshooters of the era: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_United_States_Sharpshooters
tom bats the shot i was referring to was also a confirmed kill.with the whitworth most likely it can be repeated.that rifle was ahead of its time plus it had a fast twist
I find it hard to believe that a Whitworth rifle is equal to the Remington ADL .308 Cal with a six power scope I have looked and find no proof of your claim. Please link me to that test or quit saying that in your "expert" tall tales