[center]English | Fred L. Ray | CFS Press | 9780964958593 | [/align]

Shock Troops of the Confederacy: The Sharpshooter Battalions of the Army of Northern Virginia (Civil War Period (1850-1877), History, Military, Special Forces, United States)
The term sharpshooter had a more general meaning in the mid-19th Century than it does today. Then it could mean either a roving precision shooter like the modern sniper (a term that did not come into use until late in the century) or a light infantryman who specialized in the petite guerre: scouting, picketing, and skirmishing. The modern sharpshooter (the term comes from the German scharfschutzen, not the use of Sharps rifles) appeared in Central Europe around 1700. At the beginning of the Civil War, thanks to Hiram Berdan, the Army of the Potomac had a definite advantage in sharpshooting and light infantry, and this came as a rude shock to the Confederates during the 1862 Peninsular campaign. In response the Confederates organized their own sharpshooters, beginning with those of an obscure Alabama colonel, Bristor Gayle. Confederate general Robert Rodes organized the first battalion of sharpshooters in his brigade in early 1863, and later in each brigade of his division. In early 1864 General Lee adopted the concept for the entire Army of Northern Virginia, mandating that each infantry brigade field a sharpshooter battalion. These units found ready employment in the Overland campaign, and later in the trenches of Petersburg and in the fast-moving Shenandoah campaign of 1864. Although little has been written about them (the last book, written by a former sharpshooter, appeared in 1899), they played an important and sometimes pivotal role in many battles and campaigns in 1864 and 1865. By the end of the war the sharpshooters were experimenting with tactics that would become standard practice fifty years later. Although most people think of Berdan's Sharpshooters when the subject comes up, the Confederate sharpshooter battalions had a far greater effect on the outcome of the conflict. Later in the war, in response to the Confederate dominance of the skirmish line, the Federals began to organize their own sharpshooter units at division level, though they never adopted an army-wide system. Making extensive use of unpublished source material, author Fred Ray has written Shock Troops of the Confederacy, which tells the complete story of the development of the Army of Northern Virginia's sharpshooter battalions, the weapons they used, how they trained with them, and their tactical use on the battlefield. It also tells the human story of the sharpshooters themselves, who describe in their own words what it was like to be in the thick of battle, on the skirmish line, and at their lonely picket posts.

�� Review
Given the enthusiasm with which academic presses in the United States publish serious writings on the American Civil War, and the mountains of second-rate works on the subject produced for sale to tourists, school children, and other innocents, it is hard to condemn a reader for being wary of a self-published book on the subject. In the case of Shock Troops of the Confederacy, however, such skepticism will soon give way to considerable admiration, for in creating this skillfully researched, highly literate, and extraordinarily accessible volume, a self-taught historian has displayed a number of virtues that many professionals would do well to imitate. While reviews on academic journals rarely touch upon such issues, Shock Troops of the Confederacy is such a beautiful volume that some discussion of the book designer s art is unavoidable. The illustrations are both attractive and appropriate, the layout of the chapters is pleasing, and the type-face is kind to the eyes. Best of all, Shock Troops of the Confederacy is well supplied with handsome sketch maps. These, which were especially drawn for the book, provide the reader with all of the information needed to follow the course of the campaign, battle, or engagement in question, but nothing that is superfluous or distracting. The same sort of thoughtfulness that is so much in evidence in the presentation of Shock Troops of the Confederacy can also be seen in the structure of the text. The book as a whole tells several stories, each of which relates to the others in a manner reminiscent of Russian stacking dolls. The tale at the heart of the book, the analog of the smallest matryoshka, is the saga of a particular group of sharpshooters who served the cause of Southern independence. This regimental history is insinuated into a concise (and extraordinarily fresh) account of the operations of the Army of Northern Virginia, beginning with the Peninsula Campaign of the spring of 1862 and ending three years later with the Confederate withdrawal from the doomed fortress of Petersburg. This unique exercise in operational history, in turn, is nested in an overview of the organization and achievements all of the sharpshooters, whether Union and Confederate, who fought in the American Civil War. Finally, the material that is specific to the War Between the States is embedded in an authoritative discussion of the broader revolution in shoulder arms and infantry tactics that took place in the middle years of the nineteenth century. The story at the core of Shock Troops of the Confederacy makes extensive use of the unpublished (and hitherto unexploited) memoirs of Major Eugene Blackford. A witness of a sort that historians rarely encounter, Blackford combined a thorough understanding of military affairs with a novelist s eye for detail and a knack for being at the right place at the right time. His memoir thus permits the painting of a highly nuanced picture of the sharpshooter battalions he commanded, the tactics they employed, and the effect that such employment had upon the course of battles and campaigns. In addition to this, material from the memoirs makes possible encounters with Blackford himself, a study-in-contrasts who challenges many of our long-standing stereotypes about Confederate officers. Neither lowland planter nor upcountry yeoman, Blackford was a third-generation abolitionist who, at the start of the war, decided that the defense of his home state of Virginia was of greater importance than the freeing of slaves. --Bruce I. Gudmundsson, Marine Corps University
This is a skillfully researched and written story of men, their weapons, and their contributions to the war effort of the Confederacy. It is not a common story, however, and it is one that has never been told before. Any student of the Civil War has heard of Berdan's Sharpshooters in the Union army, but few have heard of an Alabama colonel named Bristor Gayle. Few know about the battalions of sharpshooters formed in 1863 or of Robert E. Lee's embracing the concept of incorporating a sharpshooter battalion in each infantry brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia. These were elite troops, specially trained in marksmanship, and their use in the war affected tactics and the results of battles. Understand, as Fred Ray teaches us: these sharpshooters functioned as snipers, but in fact they were light infantry especially trained as pickets, scouts, advance guards. and skirmishers. The story begins with the 18th century story of riflemen and an analysis of military tactics. It progresses through the description of technological advances in the development of rifled weapons. And, it takes us through the trials and tribulations of gaining acceptance of the use of trained units of sharpshooters in the Confederate army. They were at Seven Pines, Gaines' Mill, South Mountain. and they trained through the winter at Fredericksburg. They fought at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. For these and the campaigns and battles that followed, Fred Ray takes you through each with detail and effective analysis. In many battles, even as the Confederate resources declined, these sharpshooters dominated skirmish lines. Their story is truly a remarkable one and they have finally been given their due. --James H. Nottage, Blue & Gray magazine Holiday 2007
Fred Ray's Shock Troops of the Confederacy covers a little-known but important aspect of the Civil War: the "sharpshooter battalions" of the Army of Northern Virginia. Overall, though, this book is really about adaptation and innovation on the battlefield. Although Ray uses a multitude of credible sources, including many firsthand accounts from sharpshooters on both sides, his best source is a diary kept by Major Eugene Blackford, a Confederate sharpshooter battalion commander in General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Blackford trained his unit in skirmish drills and marksmanship out to 600 yards. *** Shock Troops of the Confederacy contains 43 informative maps and 59 illustrations, including pictures with information of the sharpshooter's weapons and uniforms. More than just an account of the sharpshooters' exploits, the book makes a strong case that the late Civil War battles they fought in were predecessors to the nonlinear tactics of the 20th century. Ray follows the development of light infantry organization, tactics, and weapons forward to the Boer War, through World War I, and beyond. In fact, Ray's study is still relevant for our forces in the field today, as we learn again that small-unit battlefield adaptation, innovation, and precision marksmanship are just as important now as they ever were. --Scott A. Porter, Lieutenant Colonel, Ret. September-October Military Review

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