During the American Civil War, the Union and the Confederacy both fielded units of sharpshooters. Sometimes equipped with firearms no better than those of their infantry brethren, they fought in a manner reminiscent of Napoleonic-era light infantry. Siege warfare placed a premium on marksmanship and the sharpshooter became indispensable as they could drive artillerymen from their guns. They could also become expert scouts and, for the Confederacy, impressive raiders – one raid netted almost 250 prisoners. Initially, Union marksmen enjoyed the upper hand, but as the Confederates began raising and training their own sharpshooters, they proved themselves as worthy opponents. In this study, Gary Yee, an expert in firearms of the period, assesses the role played by sharpshooters in three bloody clashes at the height of the American Civil War – the battle of Fredericksburg, the siege of Vicksburg, and the siege of Battery Wagner.

Gary Yee is a former firearms and relics curator at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center and a curator/conservator at Francisco Fort Museum in Colorado. An active member in the Civil War community, he is the author of Sharpshooters 1750–1900: The Men, their Guns, their Story and Sharpshooters: Markmen through the Ages as well as many articles for magazines such as Muzzle Blasts, Muzzle Loader, The Gettysburg Magazine, The Skirmish Line, Crossfire, and The Military Collector and Historian. Trained as a gunsmith at Trinidad State College, Gary lives in Aguilar, Colorado.Johnny Shumate works as a freelance illustrator living in Nashville, Tennessee. He began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University. Most of his work is rendered in Adobe Photoshop using a Cintiq monitor. His greatest influences are Angus McBride, Don Troiani, and Édouard Detaille.