ORIGIN OF THE WORDS “SNIPER”, “SHARPSHOOTER”, AND “GHILLIE”
The snipe is a species of elusive and agile bird in India. In the 18th century, the few British soldiers who were quick and accurate enough marksmen to successfully hunt the snipe were informally referred to as “snipers”.
During the American Civil War, these marksmen often used rifles made by the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company and therefore also referred to as “sharpshooters”.
However, it is unclear if that term had any direct association with the manufacturer of the rifle, as it appears in literature close to fifty years prior.
AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR
Small groups of skilled marksmen, known as riflemen, patrolled on behalf of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. These units served to demoralize the British forces.
Captain Henry Beaufoy, of the British Army, noted -
“[They] were in the habit of forming themselves into small bands of ten or twelve. Accustomed to shooting in hunting parties, they went out in a sort of predatory warfare, each carrying his ammunition and provisions and returning when they were exhausted. From the incessant attacks of these bodies, their opponents could never be prepared; as the first knowledge of a patrol in the neighborhood was generally given by a volley of well-directed fire, that perhaps killed or wounded the greater part. [...] It has been readily confessed by old soldiers, that when they understood they were opposed by riflemen, they felt a degree of terror never inspired by general action, from the idea that a rifleman always singled out an individual, who was almost certain of being killed or wounded.”
These riflemen were so effective with their specially-designed rifles that British officers often removed signs of their rank from their uniforms before battle to avoid being targeted.
Marksmen on both sides of the conflict played important roles in determining the outcome of the war, both by shots taken and by shots not taken. During the pivotal Battle of Saratoga, rifleman Timothy Murphy5 is alleged to have fired the shot that killed British Army General Simon Fraser.
Fraser’s death expedited the surrender of British General Burgoyne’s forces. Several months prior, during the Battle of Brandywine, British Captain Patrick Ferguson had his sights set on a distinguished General of the American Army.
The general’s back was turned toward Ferguson and he decided it would be too unseemly a violation of protocol to shoot an officer from behind. This act of chivalry spared the life of General George Washington.
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
John Hinson was an unaffiliated plantation owner before the outbreak of hostilities but, when his two sons were killed and their bodies mutilated by Union forces, he allied with the Confederacy.
Rather than join the ranks of the regular Confederate Army, he operated as an “irregular”, using his custom-built .50 caliber Kentucky Long Rifle to strike terror into the hearts of Union units operating in Tennessee and Kentucky.
He is alleged to have been able to hit targets up to a half mile distance (approximately 800 meters), an especially impressive feat with 1860’s technology.
Among his 36 confirmed kills were crew members of Union gunboats operating along the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers.
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5. While British General Simon Fraser was known to have died of wounds sustained during the Saratoga Campaign, there is some controversy as to whether or not the fatal wound was delivered as a sniper shot from Timothy Murphy or through more conventional means by more conventional forces.
Another notable Civil War sniper was Confederate Sgt Ben Powell. Powell is credited with killing Union Major General John Sedgwick during the Battle of Spotsylvania, hastening that Confederate victory.
A (perhaps apocryphal) account of the incident had General Sedgwick admonishing his men for seeking cover when the enemy was so distant saying, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dis--,” his bravado cut short by Powell’s 730 meter head shot.
While the timing of the shot and Sedgwick’s final words may be contested in the historical record, the fact and placement of the shot are not. General Sedgwick was the highest ranking Union casualty and he was felled by a sniper’s well-placed bullet.
On the Union side, perhaps the greatest snipers could be found in Colonel Hiram Berdan’s 1st and 2nd US Volunteer Sharpshooter Regiments, units he formed and trained. They used, almost exclusively, the .52 caliber Sharps’ rifle.
Berdan’s units are credited with amassing the highest numbers of enemy casualties of any Union regiments. In addition to commanding these outstanding sharpshooter regiments, Berdan was an inventor, marksman and firearms expert of international renown.
His Berdan rifle was the standard issue Russian Army firearm for over 20 years. Berdan’s most lasting legacy, however, is the Berdan centerfire primer, a method of priming ammunition that he invented in the 1870’s, which is still in use today.
VASILY ZAYTSEV (WORLD WAR II)
From a very young age, Zaytsev displayed unusual talent for marksmanship. He enjoyed hunting with his grandfather but, since bullets were scarce, was forced to use them sparingly. At the age of 12, he killed his first trophy – a wolf, brought down with one shot.
Zaytsev was the originator of the Soviet Army’s sniper program. His exploits were fodder for the Soviet propaganda machine and a great boost to morale.
After witnessing Zaytsev take down a Nazi officer and two aides from a distance of 800 yards, his commanding officer saw to it that he was awarded a Medal for Courage and a specialized sniper rifle.
Zaytzev trained dozens of snipers at conferences during the war. His students are credited with anywhere from 1000 to 3000 kills. Zaytsev, himself, is credited with 149 confirmed kills and some estimates put his unconfirmed tally near 600.
He is also credited with many tactical innovations in the deployment of snipers, some still in use today. One such tactic, known as the “sixes”, involves deploying three two-man teams to cover a large region and has seen action recently as the conflict in Chechnya.
Zaytsev’s diary reports a three day sniper duel during the Battle of Stalingrad with a German sniper during which several of Zaytsev’s subordinates were killed, including his spotter.
The diary’s account of the battle concludes with Zaytsev allegedly spotting his opponent under a piece of sheet metal by catching the glint of reflected sunlight off his scope and then shooting him.
The diary goes on to report that Zaytsev took the German’s scope as a souvenir and examined the papers on the body. They revealed that the man was the head of the Wermacht sniper school, Major Erwin Konig.
No German records exist of a head of the Wermacht sniper school named Major Konig so it is unclear if the story was a fabrication of the Soviet propaganda machine or if records of the Major’s existence were destroyed to cover up the demoralizing defeat of their champion sniper by the enemy.
Either way, Zaytsev remains a towering figure in sniper history. His story was dramatized in the movie, “Enemy At The Gates”. Zaytsev’s rifle is on display at the Museum for the Defense of Stalingrad.
CARLOS HATHCOCK (VIETNAM)
Like Zaytsev, Carlos Hathcock learned to shoot at an early age and showed immense talent. Hathcock’s skills were further honed during Marine Corps boot camp, competitions and training.
In Vietnam, he was known for his calm precision and his impressive tally of 93 confirmed kills. His exploits were the subject of several books and the inspiration for many movies.
Hathcock’s sniping career came to a close when he pulled seven men from an unstable mine shaft in Vietnam. The explosion that followed caused him burns and other injuries that required a lengthy recovery.
This, coupled with his subsequent multiple sclerosis diagnosis ended his active sniping career. He was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in Vietnam.
BATTLE OF MOGADISHU (1993)
Task Force Ranger, a joint special operations unit operating as part of a UN mission, was conducting an operation to capture two aides to Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Almost immediately, the task force came under heavy fire, resulting in a Blackhawk helicopter being shot down.
When a second Blackhawk was shot down, there were scant few forces left to come to the survivors’ aid. The task force’s manpower was already devoted to getting to the first crash site and securing it.
Two Delta Force snipers, Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon, were in another Blackhawk, circling the second crash site. They provided sniper cover from the helicopter for some time.
When they saw a large Somali force moving towards the second crash site, they requested to be inserted near the crash site to provide assistance on the ground. Their first request was denied, but a subsequent request was approved.
Shughart and Gordon knew that it was unlikely they would be able to hold off the dozens, if not hundreds, of Somali fighters indefinitely. Eventually they would be overrun and captured or killed.
Their hope was that they could hold off their enemy long enough to provide an opportunity for a larger task force ground unit to secure the second crash site.
They were inserted near the crash site and fought their way to the wreckage. They extracted the survivors and began fighting off the amassing enemy. They used their sniper rifles, but as those weapons became depleted, they transitioned to their pistols.
As their ammunition ran low, Gordon retrieved more from the wreckage. Shughart was eventually mortally wounded. With the exception of pilot Mike Durant, the remaining survivors were soon killed, as well.
As Gordon neared the end of his ammo supply, he gave a few of his remaining rounds to Durant and wished him luck. Gordon was soon killed by the overwhelming enemy force. Durant was captured and held prisoner for 11 days.
After his release, Durant attributed his survival to the heroic actions of these two Delta Force snipers. Shughart and Gordon were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest award bestowed upon any US sniper.
These events were recounted in great detail by Mark Bowden in his book, “Blackhawk Down” and then dramatized in the 2001 film of the same name.