GDG- Book review

[Tom Ryan]

For those who are interested, here is my review of Fred L. Ray's book called
"Shock Troops of the Confederacy:  The Sharpshooter Battalions of the Army
of Northern Virginia."  Some aspects of it deal with the Battle of
Gettysburg.  It is published in today's Washington Times.  You can also read
it and print it out at
http://washtimes.com/civilwar/20070105-090111-8241r.htm or go to
www.washtimes.com and click on Sections near the top of the page, then click
on Civil War in the drop down menu.  The review is the second item listed.
Click on the title and the review will come up.  It reads:

Sharpshooters pivotal in battles
By Thomas J. Ryan
Published January 6, 2007

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----


SHOCK TROOPS OF THE CONFEDERACY: THE SHARPSHOOTER BATTALIONS OF THE ARMY OF
NORTHERN VIRGINIA
    By Fred L. Ray, CFS Press, 414 pages, $34.95

    When Fred L. Ray discovered that his great-grandfather had commanded a
Confederate sharpshooter company, he wanted to learn more about this method
of combat. Since little had been published about Confederate sharpshooters
during the Civil War, he decided to research Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of
Northern Virginia, which had done pioneering work with light infantry
tactics.
    In "Shock Troops of the Confederacy," Mr. Ray shares the results of this
research in a comprehensive account of how Lee's army came to depend on
sharpshooter units to augment the firepower of its outnumbered forces and to
scout and infiltrate enemy positions. The author begins with a description
of light infantry operations as practiced by armies throughout history and
how Civil War sharpshooters followed in the footsteps of the American
rifleman dating to the Revolutionary War.
    To acquire information about the enemy's strength and disposition and
prevent opponents from learning the size and deployment of their own forces,
commanders typically relied on a line of skirmishers sent forward to "feel"
the enemy. "Shock Troops" describes the organization, training and
operations of units within the Confederate army assigned to this hazardous
duty.
    The term "Sharpshooter Battalions" in the subtitle may be misleading to
some, since it implies that their job was to serve as snipers who picked off
designated enemy personnel. Although this function was within their area of
responsibility, the role of sharpshooters was varied and included serving as
advanced guards, pickets, scouts and skirmishers. This book deals primarily
with Southern soldiers, but it also includes information about how the Union
army employed sharpshooters for similar duty.
    Although the Confederate Congress had authorized creation of
sharpshooter battalions for each brigade on a discretionary basis as early
as May 1862, the Confederate armies were slow to adapt to light infantry
tactics and virtually left the field to Union troops until 1863. It was
then, through the initiative of Lee and one of his division commanders, Gen.
Robert E. Rodes, that the Army of Northern Virginia began to experiment with
the use of sharpshooters.
    Rodes formed a sharpshooter battalion to be intensely trained as
skirmishers. He chose a man who was "conspicuous for gallantry and coolness
in action," Maj. Eugene Blackford of the 5th Alabama, to command this unit.
Rodes soon directed each brigade within his division to establish a corps of
sharpshooters. This proved so effective that the idea began to spread
armywide.
    A typical sharpshooter battalion was composed of "one commandant, eight
commissioned officers, 10 non-commissioned officers, 160 privates, four
scouts and two buglers," the author says. Rodes created a more effective
organizational structure through the establishment of a division-level unit
composed of all the sharpshooter battalions. In all, the Army of Northern
Virginia had a corps of sharpshooters numbering some 7,000 trained in
marksmanship and skirmish tactics.
    During the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg in mid-1863,
Blackford's skirmishers proved their worth by conducting reconnaissance and
engaging in combat with considerable effect against the Army of the Potomac.
The sharpshooters also operated effectively during Lee's retreat from
Gettysburg. At Manassas Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blackford's unit
stymied much larger Union forces, preventing them from overrunning Rodes'
division.
    Late in 1863, Rodes decided to put Blackford in command of a completely
independent mission at Orange Court House, Va., with a three-battalion force
forming a skirmish line a mile in front of the division. From that point on,
Rodes frequently depended on the sharpshooters to oppose or delay the
stronger enemy forces. At this stage of the war, the Confederate
sharpshooters had become the equal of their counterparts in the Union army,
particularly the vaunted regiments of Col. Hiram Berdan.
    The success of the sharpshooters was seen in early 1864 when Lee called
for all Army of Northern Virginia infantry brigades to form their own
sharpshooter battalions. Conversely, Army of the Potomac commanders failed
to appreciate the value of Union sharpshooter units, resulting in their
decline. This divergence would permit the Confederates to compensate for the
steady attrition of their regular forces through the advanced tactics and
intensive firepower of these special units.
    The author narrates the expansion of the "shock troops" and the vital
role they played throughout 1864 and early 1865 during Gen. Ulysses S.
Grant's Overland Campaign in Virginia at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North
Anna, Cold Harbor, and during the siege of Petersburg. He also discusses how
Gen. Jubal A. Early effectively employed sharpshooter battalions during the
1864 Shenandoah Valley campaigns, and includes a chapter on Confederate
sharpshooters in the Western theater.
    Mr. Ray concludes his analysis with a section on sharpshooter weapons
and uniforms, and another on how the Union sharpshooters were organized,
trained and deployed. He then describes how the light infantry tactics
developed during the Civil War were applied in later years on up to World
War I. The author wraps this all together in a final chapter that evaluates
the weapons, leadership and tactical innovation of the Confederate
sharpshooters and, for good measure, attaches appendices on weapons testing,
sharpshooter unit orders, and a discussion of the key battle at Fort Stedman
prior to the fall of Richmond.
    "Shock Troops of the Confederacy" is a tour de force that fills the
information vacuum that existed regarding these unique troops. This account
is oriented primarily toward the combat role of sharpshooters and less so on
their scouting, reconnaissance and counterintelligence duties. More emphasis
on the latter aspects would have been welcome.
    Fred L. Ray has put together a study that complements C.A. Stevens'
in-depth portrayal of "Berdan's United States Sharpshooters in the Army of
the Potomac." Together they provide a comprehensive account of sharpshooter
units and tactics during the Civil War. While this book will be a welcome
addition to the specialist's library, it also is an opportunity for the
general reader to enter the world of a little-known, yet uniquely effective,
branch of the Confederate military service.

    Thomas J. Ryan of Bethany Beach is president of the Central Delaware
Civil War Round Table.