Famous last words on May 9, 1864
Posted: Tue 09 May, 2006 3:31 am
May 9, 1864: 142 years ago Union Major General John Sedgwick was killed at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse. His death was said to have been caused by a Confederate sharpshooter armed with a Whitworth rifle.
Just before he fell Sedgewick had been berating some artillerymen for ducking due to long distance Confederate fire. Sedgwick's last words were said to have been "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance!"
Moments later he fell dead from a headshot. The shot was estimated to have been fired from "over a half mile" away.
Both sides effectively employed sharpshooters, with Union Colonel Hiram Berdan's green coated regiments the best known. However, one veteran stated, perhaps with an element of bias, "The Whitworth men on the Confederate side were a class quite to themselves."
The Whitworth was a target grade British rifle supplied to the Confederacy in small numbers by blockade runners.
Just before he fell Sedgewick had been berating some artillerymen for ducking due to long distance Confederate fire. Sedgwick's last words were said to have been "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance!"
Moments later he fell dead from a headshot. The shot was estimated to have been fired from "over a half mile" away.
Both sides effectively employed sharpshooters, with Union Colonel Hiram Berdan's green coated regiments the best known. However, one veteran stated, perhaps with an element of bias, "The Whitworth men on the Confederate side were a class quite to themselves."
The Whitworth was a target grade British rifle supplied to the Confederacy in small numbers by blockade runners.