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In January 1861, Abraham Lincoln was elected as President of the United States of America. Eleven of the southern states viewed him and his policies as a threat to thier way of life and succeeded from the union, and so began the road to the War of Rebellion The American civil war was to be a war unlike anything seen before, it was to be a war of firsts, it saw the first use of mass troop transport, it had aerial reconnaissance & Anti-aircraft fire, The first submarine, the iron clad, Photography of battle, & trench warfare on a grand scale, and the list goes on with too many to mention here, but on this list should also be, the first Long-range rifles with Telescopic sights, and the first breach loading rife. These were of special interest to a well known target shooter, marksman and inventor Hiram Berdan, who with his friend and business associate Casper Trep, (a retired military veteran of the Crimean War, who had also served in the British army and was latter to serve as Captain of Company A, 1st U.S. Sharpshooters), used his recognition and influence to persuade the Federal government to allow him to establish a regiment of Sharpshooters, based on the rifle regiments of the European armies. A regiment of marksmen, men who new how to shoot and could meet specific marksmanship restrictions, men that could use stealth, cover and firepower to intimidate the enemy, men that could skirmish with the enemy and breakup there formation. In June 1861 the government finally agreed to Berdan’s request and the call went out for recruits. These recruits were finally organised into two regiments, a total of 18 company's, with each company selected from men from one of the loyal states. Four company's came from Michigan, four from New York, three from, Vermont. three from New Hampshire and one each from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, & Main.
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Co E 1st US Sharpshooters as part of the American civil war society Portray An 1863 Impression
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