The 1st Georgia Sharpshooter Battalion was a

sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with "marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" i ...

unit of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. It was authorized by an act in April 1862 by the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the Provisional government, provisional and permanent Legislature, legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned w ...

, and was formed in Savannah, Georgia. The 1st Battalion Sharpshooters served at

Fort McAllister Fort McAllister was a Confederate earthen-work fort used to defend Savannah, Georgia during the American Civil War. It was the southernmost of the forts defending Savannah and was involved in the most battles. It was located on the Ogeechee Rive ...

defending the coast of Georgia in the

Battle of Fort McAllister (1863) The First Battle of Fort McAllister was a series of naval attacks that took place from January 27 to March 3, 1863, in Bryan County, Georgia, during the American Civil War. The commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron Rear Adm. Sam ...

. They also saw action at the

Battle of Jackson, Mississippi The Battle of Jackson was fought on May 14, 1863, in Jackson, Mississippi, as part of the Vicksburg campaign during the American Civil War. After entering the state of Mississippi in late April 1863, Major General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union ...

as well as the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between United States, U.S. and Confederate States of America, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union Army, Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign ...

, and the Chattanooga Campaign. The battalion fought to the end of the war, their last engagement being at the

Battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last battle between the armies of Union Maj. ...

in March 1865.

History and lineage

On June 1, 1862, Major Robert H. Anderson, who graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1857, was serving as inspector general at the headquarters of the Department of South Carolina and Georgia in Charleston, SC. On that day he wrote a letter to Major General

John C. Pemberton John Clifford Pemberton (August 10, 1814 – July 13, 1881) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He resigned his commission to serve as a Confederate Stat ...

, the department commander. In his letter he asked the general to raise a battalion of four companies of sharpshooters; the men to be recruited from the regiments in the brigade of Brigadier General William Duncan Smith which was stationed in Savannah, Georgia. Pemberton gave his approval and Anderson began recruiting in the city. On June 20, Pemberton wrote to Adjutant and Inspector General

Samuel Cooper Samuel or Sam Cooper may refer to: *Samuel Cooper (painter) (1609–1672), English miniature painter *Samuel Cooper (clergyman) (1725–1783), Congregationalist minister in Boston, Massachusetts * Samuel Cooper (surgeon) (1780–1848), English surge ...

in Richmond, VA nominating Anderson to be in command of the 1st Georgia Sharpshooter Battalion.

Coastal Defense

The battalion was formed by early August, and on the 21st marched from Camp Pemberton to Camp Anderson, named for the battalion's commander, located on Wildhorn Plantation, about 12 miles from Savannah. Assigned to guarding strategic Fort McAllister in 1861,Brown, p. 29 they helped repulse seven US Naval engagements to capture

, which protected Savannah. By lining the riverbank with sharpshooters, the defenders rained projectiles on the Union ironclads, forcing them to withdraw, and winning the praise of Confederate generals and congressmen alike. Anderson was promoted to command the 5th Georgia Cavalry, with Major Arthur Shaaf given formal command of the battalion in April 1863. On 5 May, they were ordered to Mississippi as part of General

William H. T. Walker William Henry Talbot Walker (November 26, 1816 – July 22, 1864) was an American soldier. He was a career United States Army officer who fought with distinction during the Mexican-American War, and also served as a Confederate States Army, ...

's brigade. The brigade moved to join the army being formed under General

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia secede ...

for the

Battle of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

Battle of Atlanta

The Sharpshooters stayed with the

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating i ...

throughout the remainder of the conflict, seeing action in

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist Entertainment * Dalton (Buffyverse), minor cha ...

, and

Kennesaw Mountain Kennesaw Mountain is a mountain between Marietta and Kennesaw, Georgia in the United States with a summit elevation of . It is the highest point in the core (urban and suburban) metro Atlanta area, and fifth after further-north exurban count ...

. On June 27th Walker's Division, including the Georgian sharpshooters, was posted at the base of the mountain; at a place called 'the dead angle' where some of the fiercest fighting took place. For the next month, they resisted Union advances on Atlanta, and on July 20th they moved north along Peachtree Road, striking a Federal division south of Peachtree Creek. After being repulsed, Walker's division along with Hardee's Corps marched six miles south of the city, taking up position along the left flank of General McPherson's Union troops between Atlanta and Decatur. On August 19th, the 1st Battalion Georgia Sharpshooters marched with Hardee from Atlanta to East Point in an attempt to protect Atlanta's last rail connection. On August 30th, they moved toward Jonesborough.

Later service

On August 31, the 1st Sharpshooter Battalion was heavily engaged in what proved to be the final loss of Atlanta and the near destruction of the Army of Tennessee. Of the remaining members of the battalion, fifty percent were either killed, wounded or captured in the

Battle of Jonesborough The Battle of Jonesborough (August 31–September 1, 1864) was fought between Union Army forces led by William Tecumseh Sherman and Confederate forces under William J. Hardee during the Atlanta Campaign in the American Civil War. On the first ...

. Hardee's defeat allowed

Hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

to evacuate Atlanta, clearing Sherman's path to the sea. The battered unit wandered throughout Alabama in the fall, with the end coming in December at Franklin and Nashville. They moved throughout Tennessee and North Carolina, fighting at Bentonville before surrendering to General

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

on April 25th, 1865 16 days after Appomattox.

Notes

References

*Brown, Russell K, ''Our Connection with Savannah, A History of the 1st Battalion Georgia Sharpshooters'', Mercer University Press, 2004, *Durham, Roger S., ''Guardian of Savannah - Fort McAllister, Georgia, in the Civil War and Beyond'', The University of South Carolina Press, 2008, *Christman, William E., ''UNDAUNTED: The History of Fort McAllister, Georgia'', Darien Printing & Graphics, 1996, Library of Congress Catalog 96-77666 ASIN: *Smith, Derek, ''Civil War Savannah'', Frederic C. Beil, 1997, {{ISBN, 978-1929490004 Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Georgia (U.S. state) Sharpshooter units and formations of the American Civil War

History and lineage

Coastal Defense

Battle of Atlanta

Later service

See also

Notes

References