Information on Company C and the other Units we
Portray.
Short History of the 1st U.S.S.S.
The unit that we primarily portray is that of the First United States
Sharpshooters. The 1st and 2nd Regiments of U.S. Sharpshooters were
raised in the summer of 1861 by authorizing states to raise one or
several companies. Each man who wished to enlist had to pass a rigorous
marksmanship test in order to be accepted for service. Enlistees were to
be paid higher wages, wear a distinctive uniform and serve as specialty
troops in the Army. Specifically, the regiments were intended to be used
as skirmish troops, whose job was to act individually and in small
groups to disrupt enemy formations and eliminate its officers. The man
responsible for this idea as well as it execution was Hiram Berdan. It
was Hiram, commissioned as a Colonel, who received permission from
Congress to raise a corps of sharpshooters, and because of this the two
regiments were often referred to as Berdan's Sharpshooters. A total of
1,392 officers and men served in the 1st Regiment, and an additional
1,178 served in the 2nd Regiment. A total of 1,008 U.S. Sharp-shooters
were killed or wounded in action. The regiment fought in all the major
actions of the Army of the Potomac from 1861-1864, usually being
assigned by company to different commands as needed.
Company C was raised in the state of Michigan (specifically around
Lansing) and comprised of marksmen from all over the Great Lakes area,
the unit was mustered into United States service on August 21, 1861 at
Lansing, Michigan. Company C was the first to be mustered in and as well
as one first to see action. On August 20, 1864 Company C's three year
enlistment expired and the remaining soldiers were discharged from
service. Of the 101 men who originally enlisted in Company C, only six
were present at the final muster.
Company C's War
This is the first in what will hopefully become a series of articles on
the actions and anecdotes associated with our
inpression - Company C of the 1st United States Sharpshooters. My intent
is to provide the membership of the recreated company with background
information on how and where the original company fought and what it saw
(or could have seen) and experienced during its service. Hopefully these
details will provide us all with a little extra "ammunition"
to work into our first person impressions.
Since many of us wear the red diamond on our uniforms (which is the
Corps badge for the 1st Division of the III Corps) our
impression can be assumed to date from the time when the Sharpshooters
wore that particular badge: the summer of 1863.
For my first couple of articles I will therefore concentrate on the two
major engagements of this time period, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
Chancellorsville:
The Battle of Chancellorsville was fought May 1-4, 1863 between the
Federal Army of the Potomac, Major General Joseph Hooker commanding, and
the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, General Robert E. Lee
commanding. Both armies had wintered around Fredericksburg, following
the disastrous Federal defeat near the town in December 1862. Frontal
assault having failed under Burnside, Hooker would try a flanking
maneuver. He would lead a sizable portion of his 130,000-man army up the
north side of the Rappahanock River to cross behind Lee and jeopardize
the position of the Southerners near Fredericksburg.
On May 1, the battle flared into action west of Fredericksburg as
General T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson attacked toward
Chancellorsville on two seperate roads. General Hooker committed the
fatal blunder of retreating under Jackson's pressure, thus losing the
initiative and giving his opponents the chance to attack this weak
spots. Early next morning - in a bold move to cut around the Union army
- Jackson marched west with nearly 30,000 men, leaving Lee with only
15,000 troops to face Hooker's main threat. By late afternoon Jackson
had his entire force behind Hooker's army, and he was able to launch an
overwhelming surprise attack which caved in the Federal line for 2.5
miles.
When confusion and darkness finally brought the attack to a halt,
Jackson rode out in front of his lines to find a means of
renewing the offensive and destroying Hooker's army. With total success
in hand, tragic circumstances intervened. As the general rode back
towards his own men, some of them fired a blind volley that badly
wounded Jackson. He died a week later at Guinea Station, Virginia as a
result of his wounds and the pneumonia that subsequently developed.
Very early on the morning of May 3, Southern troops (Jackson's men
now commanded by J.E.B. Stuart) charged against the fortified Federal
lines southwest of Chancellorsville. Confederate forces captured the key
to the battlefield at the outset when they occupied the high open
clearing known as Hazel Grove. The Federals abandoned this vital
position with hardly a struggle. After several hours of violent and
costly fighting in the woods, Confederate infantry joined hands with
their comrades to the east and drove Hooker back to a new position north
of Chancellorsville.
Company C's Battle:
At this time Company C was commanded by Captain James Baker. His
lieutenants were Byron Brewer and Edwin Wilson. The 1st USSS (Lt. Col.
Caspar Trepp) and 2nd USSS (Maj. Homer Stoughton) formed the 3rd Brigade
(Col. Hiram Berdan) of the 3rd Division (Maj. Gen. Amiel Whipple) of the
III Army Corps (Maj. Gen. Dan Sickles). Along with the rest of the army,
the Sharpshooters had been in winter quarters at Falmouth, Virginia.
On the 28th of April the Sharpshooters broke camp about 2 P.M.
carrying 60 rounds of ammunition per man, eight days rations, overcoats
and gum blankets. Two men in each company were also issued tree
climbers. The weather was quite rainy and generally unpleasant. They
marched along with the rest of III Corps to the river at Fredericksburg
where, along with the VI Corps, they were intended to hold Lee's
attention while the rest of the army executed its flank march. On the
morning of April 29th the regiment were distant witnesses to the
storming of the enemy rifle pits at Fitz Hugh Crossing by the Iron
Brigade (who took the pits and captured several hundred prisoners). The
regiment stayed under arms near the river until the afternoon of the
30th, when General Sickles received orders to rejoin the rest of the
army. Happily these orders were accompanied by a break in the weather.
III Corps moved out that afternoon and, marching out of sight of the
river to avoid detection by the enemy, finally came to a stop near
United States Ford around 2 A.M. , having covered around twenty miles.
While en route, the Sharpshooters were passed by some 200 Confederate
prisoners marching to the rear who, recognizing the Green Coats, were
heard to remark: "There goes them Sharp fellows."
On the move again at 6 A.M. on the 1st of May, the regiment crossed
the Rappahannock River on the army pontoon bridge at United States Ford
around 9 A.M. The regiment was now in that heavily wooded section of
Virginia known as The Wilderness.They halted in the early afternoon and
four companies were assigned to picket duty (unfortunately I do not know
whether Co. C was so assigned). While performing this duty Co. K (1st
USSS) caught two rebel spies dressed in blue. About sunset the division
reformed and began moving forward, towards the sound of heavy
cannonading and some musketry in the distance. The regiment halted for
the night near Hooker's headquarters, The Chancellor House, and spent a
fairly miserable night in the water and mud left behind by the preceding
days of rain.
On the 66th Illinois
Not everyone liked Hiram Berdan or his "Treefrogs". Some
States refused to send companies to a unit that would be based in the
east. Instead, the 66th Illinois a.k.a. the "Western
Sharpshooters" were formed to keep some of the sharpshooters for
the Western Front of the war. The 66th IL did essentially the same job
as the 1st U.S.S.S.
In modern times, on those occasions when we attend an event where the
organizers have decided to portray a specific Western Theater action,
Company C packs away the "Greens" and change our impression to
that of the 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Also known as the
"Western Sharpshooters".
Other Unit the 1st USSS portrays
The Sharpshooter from time to time also portay other units, and we are
developing packets of information for each on of these units. If you
would like to learn more about any of these units, please contact our
unit administrator
Company "A", Fifth Georgia "Clinch" Rifle
Company
C, 1st Regiment United States Sharpshooters
