147-633: Nancy Morgan Hart (c. 1735–1830) was a rebel heroine of the American Revolutionary War , noted for her exploits against Loyalists in the northeast Georgia backcountry . She is characterized as a tough, strong and resourceful frontier woman who repeatedly outsmarted Tory soldiers, and killed some outright. Stories about her are mostly unsupported by contemporary documentation, and it has been impossible for researchers to entirely distinguish fact from folklore . Although explicit details concerning most of her life are unknown, Nancy Ann Morgan Hart
294-533: A brief skirmish at Lexington, followed by the full-scale Battles of Lexington and Concord. British troops suffered around 300 casualties before withdrawing to Boston , which was then besieged by the militia. In May 1775, 4,500 British reinforcements arrived under Generals William Howe , John Burgoyne , and Sir Henry Clinton . On June 17, they seized the Charlestown Peninsula at the Battle of Bunker Hill ,
441-639: A charter dating from 1466. During the American Civil War , Confederate marksmen equipped with the imported Whitworth rifles were known as the Whitworth Sharpshooters . Snipers are also called "hunters" in many languages, due to the nature of the craft (with the hunting horn also being a symbol of marksmanship), being called caçadores , chasseurs and Jäger . Other words for sniper include franc-tireur , tireur d'élite and atirador de escol . Completely different and peculiar
588-544: A civil war, since each state represented in Congress was engaged in a struggle with Britain, but also split between American Patriots and American Loyalists. Patriots generally supported independence from Britain and a new national union in Congress, while Loyalists remained faithful to British rule. Estimates of numbers vary, one suggestion being the population as a whole was split evenly between committed Patriots, committed Loyalists, and those who were indifferent. Others calculate
735-768: A customs vessel in the June 1772 Gaspee Affair , then came to a head in 1773. A banking crisis led to the near-collapse of the East India Company , which dominated the British economy; to support it, Parliament passed the Tea Act , giving it a trading monopoly in the Thirteen Colonies . Since most American tea was smuggled by the Dutch, the act was opposed by those who managed the illegal trade, while being seen as yet another attempt to impose
882-403: A first class of only six, in time he was able to lecture to large numbers of soldiers from different Allied nations, proudly proclaiming in a letter that his school was turning out snipers at three times the rate of any such other school in the world. He also devised a metal-armoured double loophole that would protect the sniper observer from enemy fire. The front loophole was fixed, but the rear
1029-542: A frontal assault in which they suffered over 1,000 casualties. Dismayed at the costly attack which had gained them little, Gage appealed to London for a larger army, but instead was replaced as commander by Howe. On June 14, 1775, Congress took control of Patriot forces outside Boston, and Congressional leader John Adams nominated Washington as commander-in-chief of the newly formed Continental Army . On June 16, Hancock officially proclaimed him "General and Commander in Chief of
1176-1064: A hit at a distance of 3,540 m (3,871 yd). In November 2009, Craig Harrison , a Corporal of Horse (CoH) in the Blues and Royals RHG/D of the British Army struck two Taliban machine gunners consecutively south of Musa Qala in Helmand Province in Afghanistan at a range of 2,475 m (2,707 yd) or 1.54 miles using a L115A3 Long Range Rifle . The QTU Lapua external ballistics software, using continuous doppler drag coefficient (C d ) data provided by Lapua, predicts that such shots traveling 2,475 m (2,707 yd) would likely have struck their targets after nearly 6.0 seconds of flight time, having lost 93% of their kinetic energy, retaining 255 m/s (840 ft/s) of their original 936 m/s (3,070 ft/s) velocity, and having dropped 121.39 m (398 ft 3 in) or 2.8° from
1323-409: A hole in the wall of the cabin. After the soldiers had been drinking a sufficient time, she grabbed one of the remaining guns and ordered the men to stay still. One ignored her threat, so she shot and killed him. Another made a move toward the weapons, and she killed him as well. She held the remaining Tories captive until her husband and neighbors arrived. According to legend, her husband wanted to shoot
1470-409: A letter in 1872 recalling some of the stories her uncle had heard from his mother. According to this letter, once when Nancy was taking a bag of grain to the mill, a band of Tories forced her off her horse and threw the grain to the ground. Undaunted, Hart picked up the heavy bag and walked the rest of the way to the mill. Nancy Hart was said to have acted as a sniper , killing Tories as they came across
1617-647: A life." Police snipers typically operate at much shorter ranges than military snipers, generally under 100 meters (109 yd) and sometimes even less than 50 meters (55 yd). Both types of snipers do make difficult shots under pressure, and often perform one-shot kills. Police units that are unequipped for tactical operations may rely on a specialized SWAT team, which may have a dedicated sniper. Some police sniper operations begin with military assistance. Police snipers placed in vantage points, such as high buildings, can provide security for events. In one high-profile incident commonly referred to as "The Shot Seen Around
SECTION 10
#17330849853521764-450: A logistically challenging and dangerous operation. Meanwhile, the Hessians were involved in numerous clashes with small bands of Patriots and were often aroused by false alarms at night in the weeks before the actual Battle of Trenton . By Christmas they were tired, while a heavy snowstorm led their commander, Colonel Johann Rall , to assume no significant attack would occur. At daybreak on
1911-418: A long list of alleged violations of "English rights" committed by George III . This is also one of the first times that the colonies were referred to as "United States", rather than the more common United Colonies . On July 2, Congress voted for independence and published the declaration on July 4. At this point, the revolution ceased to be an internal dispute over trade and tax policies and had evolved into
2058-537: A long-range weapon and a rapid-firing shorter-ranged weapon in case of close quarter combat . The German doctrine of largely independent snipers and emphasis on concealment, developed during the Second World War, has been most influential on modern sniper tactics, and is currently used throughout Western militaries (examples are specialized camouflage clothing, concealment in terrain and emphasis on coup d'œil ). Sniper rifles are classified as crew-served in
2205-533: A man in order to enter Tory camps, where she could overhear talk and observe the layouts and other elements of military value. According to folklore, the local Native Americans referred to her as "Wahatche" which may translate to "War Woman", and named a creek for her. But many scholars dispute this, as there were records of the Cherokee name for the creek prior to the war. In addition, the late 19th-century ethnographer James Mooney noted, "Several cases of women acting
2352-405: A military sniper, who operates as part of a larger army, engaged in warfare. Sometimes as part of a SWAT team, police snipers are deployed alongside negotiators and an assault team trained for close quarters combat . As policemen, they are trained to shoot only as a last resort, when there is a direct threat to life; the police sharpshooter has a well-known rule: "Be prepared to take a life to save
2499-490: A penchant for exacting vengeance upon those who offended her or harmed her family and friends. Many remembered that she, rather than her husband, ran the Hart household. They had a total of six sons and two daughters. Although she was illiterate, Hart was amply blessed with the skills and knowledge necessary for frontier survival; she was an expert herbalist , a skilled hunter, and an excellent shooter. According to one account, during
2646-553: A rearguard. Howe met with a delegation from the Second Continental Congress at the September Staten Island Peace Conference , but it failed to conclude peace, largely because the British delegates only had the authority to offer pardons and could not recognize independence. On September 15, Howe seized control of New York City when the British landed at Kip's Bay and unsuccessfully engaged
2793-608: A requirement for loopholes both for discharging firearms and for observation. Often a steel plate was used with a "key hole", which had a rotating piece to cover the loophole when not in use. Soon the British army began to train their own snipers in specialized sniper schools. Major Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard was given formal permission to begin sniper training in 1915, and founded the First Army School of Sniping, Observation, and Scouting at Linghem in France in 1916. Starting with
2940-842: A riot started in Boston when the authorities seized the sloop Liberty on suspicion of smuggling. Tensions escalated further in March 1770 when British troops fired on rock-throwing civilians, killing five in what became known as the Boston Massacre . The Massacre coincided with the partial repeal of the Townshend Acts by the Tory-based North Ministry , which came to power in January 1770 and remained in office until 1781. North insisted on retaining duty on tea to enshrine Parliament's right to tax
3087-425: A row. A few of the skeletons' necks were broken, which suggested they had been hanged. They were determined to have been buried for at least 100 years. In her 1925 county history, Cook published a version based on an 1825 newspaper article. McIntosh quoted two such stories in a 1940 history of Elbert County. Mrs. Louisa H. Kendall was the niece of John Hart, the son whom Nancy lived with in later life. Kendall wrote
SECTION 20
#17330849853523234-515: A seating ring to improve the already high ballistic coefficient of .584 (G1) further. For aiming optics German snipers used the Zeiss Zielvier 4x (ZF39) telescopic sight which had bullet drop compensation in 50 m increments for ranges from 100 m up to 800 m or in some variations from 100 m up to 1000 m or 1200 m. There were ZF42, Zielfernrohr 43 (ZF 4), Zeiss Zielsechs 6x, Zeiss Zielacht 8x and other telescopic sights by various manufacturers like
3381-643: A second attack captured Fort Mifflin on November 16, while Fort Mercer was abandoned two days later when Cornwallis breached the walls. His supply lines secured, Howe tried to tempt Washington into giving battle, but after inconclusive skirmishing at the Battle of White Marsh from December 5 to 8, he withdrew to Philadelphia for the winter. On December 19, the Americans followed suit and entered winter quarters at Valley Forge ; while Washington's domestic opponents contrasted his lack of battlefield success with Gates' victory at Saratoga, foreign observers such as Frederick
3528-419: A special unit of marksmen. Subsequently raised as the " Experimental Corps of Riflemen ", they were armed with the formidable Baker rifle rather than the inaccurate smoothbore muskets used by most troops at that time. Through the combination of a leather wad and tight grooves on the inside of the barrel (rifling), this weapon was far more accurate, though slower to load. On 25 August 1800, three companies, under
3675-595: A threat to liberty in general. This led to increased sympathy for the Patriot cause locally, in the British Parliament, and in the London press. Throughout the 18th century, the elected lower houses in the colonial legislatures gradually wrested power from their governors. Dominated by smaller landowners and merchants, these assemblies now established ad-hoc provincial legislatures, effectively replacing royal control. With
3822-615: A variety of special operation techniques: detection, stalking, target range estimation methods, camouflage , tracking , bushcraft , field craft , infiltration , special reconnaissance and observation , surveillance and target acquisition . Snipers need to have complete control of their bodies and senses in order to be effective. They also need to have the skill set to use data from their scope and monitors to adjust their aim to hit targets that are extremely far away. In training, snipers are given charts that they're drilled on to ensure they can make last-minute calculations when they are in
3969-660: Is believed to have been born in North Carolina around 1735, in the Yadkin River valley, though Some researchers think that she was born in Pennsylvania or New York state . She married Benjamin Hart of that area. His extended family's descendants included such famous later political figures as Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and Kentucky Senator Henry Clay . During the early 1770s, Nancy, Benjamin and their family left North Carolina and migrated to Georgia, settling in
4116-474: Is credited with 505 confirmed kills, most with the Finnish version of the iron-sighted bolt-action Mosin–Nagant. The most successful German sniper was Matthäus Hetzenauer with 345 confirmed kills. In Germany, confirmed kills are only valid in the presence of an officer, so Hetzenauer's estimated kills are many times higher. His longest confirmed kill was reported at 1,100 meters (1,200 yards). Hetzenauer received
4263-872: Is still made by modern authors regarding the subject. The main sniper rifles used during the First World War were the German Mauser Gewehr 98 ; the British Pattern 1914 Enfield and Lee–Enfield SMLE Mk III, the Canadian Ross rifle , the American M1903 Springfield , the Italian M1891 Carcano , and the Russian M1891 Mosin–Nagant . During the interbellum , most nations dropped their specialized sniper units, notably
4410-708: Is the Italian term cecchino [tʃekˈkiːno] , in common use since First World War. The term cecchino is derived from Cecco (Beppe), familiarly and mockingly referring to the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I (in Italian Francesco Giuseppe I; Cecco and Beppe are nicknames for Francesco and Giuseppe respectively). Different countries use different military doctrines regarding snipers in military units , settings, and tactics . A sniper's primary function in modern warfare
4557-803: Is to stay concealed at all times and avoid detection. Then from long range, to provide detailed surveillance from a concealed position and, if necessary, to reduce the enemy's combat ability by neutralizing high-value targets (especially officers and other key personnel ), and in the process, cause disruption, pinning down and demoralizing the enemy . Typical sniper missions include managing intelligence information they gather during reconnaissance , target acquisition and impact feedback for air strikes and artillery , assisting employed combat force with accurate fire support and counter-sniper tactics , killing enemy commanders , selecting targets of opportunity, and even destruction of military equipment , which tend to require use of anti-materiel rifles in
Nancy Hart - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-673: The Appalachian Mountains also avoided the cost of an expensive military occupation. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was designed to achieve these aims by refocusing colonial expansion north into Nova Scotia and south into Florida , with the Mississippi River as the dividing line between British and Spanish possessions in America. Settlement was tightly restricted beyond the 1763 limits, and claims west of this line, including by Virginia and Massachusetts , were rescinded despite
4851-472: The Battle of Brandywine on September 11, then allowing him to withdraw in good order. After dispersing an American detachment at Paoli on September 20, Cornwallis occupied Philadelphia on September 26, with the main force of 9,000 under Howe based just to the north at Germantown . Washington attacked them on October 4, but was repulsed. To prevent Howe's forces in Philadelphia being resupplied by sea,
4998-506: The Battle of Sullivan's Island on June 28, 1776, but it failed. A shortage of gunpowder led Congress to authorize a naval expedition against the Bahamas to secure ordnance stored there. On March 3, 1776, an American squadron under the command of Esek Hopkins landed at the east end of Nassau and encountered minimal resistance at Fort Montagu . Hopkins' troops then marched on Fort Nassau . Hopkins had promised governor Montfort Browne and
5145-761: The Burning of Norfolk on January 1, 1776. The siege of Savage's Old Fields began on November 19 in South Carolina between Loyalist and Patriot militias, and the Loyalists were subsequently driven out of the colony in the Snow Campaign . Loyalists were recruited in North Carolina to reassert British rule in the South, but they were decisively defeated in the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge . A British expedition sent to reconquer South Carolina launched an attack on Charleston in
5292-922: The Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army . The conflict was fought in North America , the Caribbean , and the Atlantic Ocean . The war ended with the Treaty of Paris (1783) , which resulted in Great Britain ultimately recognizing the independence and sovereignty of the United States of America . After the British Empire gained dominance in North America with victory over
5439-540: The Continental Association , which instituted economic sanctions and a boycott of goods against Britain. While denying its authority over internal American affairs, a faction led by James Duane and future Loyalist Joseph Galloway insisted Congress recognize Parliament's right to regulate colonial trade. Expecting concessions by the North administration, Congress authorized the colonial legislatures to enforce
5586-702: The Declaration of Independence , the Second Continental Congress appointed the Committee of Five : Thomas Jefferson , John Adams , Benjamin Franklin , Roger Sherman , and Robert Livingston . The declaration was written almost exclusively by Jefferson. Identifying inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies as "one people", the declaration simultaneously dissolved political links with Britain, while including
5733-562: The Delaware River and winning small but significant victories at Trenton and Princeton . In the summer of 1777, as Howe was poised to capture Philadelphia , the Continental Congress fled to Baltimore . In October 1777, a separate northern British force under the command of John Burgoyne was forced to surrender at Saratoga in an American victory that proved crucial in convincing France and Spain that an independent United States
5880-488: The Highland Clearances ; the mass eviction of Stewart clansmen and their replacement by members of Clan Campbell . Hunting terminology was quickly adapted to warfare by British soldiers. In a 1772 letter, a soldier described enemies firing very accurately: … in erecting our batteries, the people frequently play tricks, by putting a hat with a cockade in it on a spunge staff, which the enemy fire at and often hit, to
6027-628: The Iroquois for their support, while US envoys urged them to remain neutral. Aware of Native American leanings toward the British and fearing an Anglo-Indian attack from Canada, Congress authorized a second invasion in April 1775. After the defeat at the Battle of Quebec on December 31, the Americans maintained a loose blockade of the city until they retreated on May 6, 1776. A second defeat at Trois-Rivières on June 8 ended operations in Quebec. British pursuit
Nancy Hart - Misplaced Pages Continue
6174-680: The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 April 1945. One of the best known battles involving snipers, and the battle that made the Germans reinstate their specialized sniper training, was the Battle of Stalingrad . Their defensive position inside a city filled with rubble meant that Soviet snipers were able to inflict significant casualties on the Wehrmacht troops. Because of the nature of fighting in city rubble, snipers were very hard to spot and seriously dented
6321-689: The Lee–Metford rifle, while the Boers had received the latest Mauser rifles from Germany. In the open terrain of South Africa the marksmen were a crucial component to the outcome of the battle. The first British sniper unit began life as the Lovat Scouts , a Scottish Highland regiment formed in 1899, that earned high praise during the Second Boer War (1899–1902). The unit was formed by Lord Lovat and reported to an American, Major Frederick Russell Burnham ,
6468-671: The Mississippi River , south of the Great Lakes , and north of the Floridas to the United States . [REDACTED] Great Britain Combatants The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence , was an armed conflict that was part of the broader American Revolution , in which American Patriot forces organized as
6615-539: The Proclamation of Rebellion , issued on August 23 in response to the Battle at Bunker Hill , it ended hopes of a peaceful settlement. Backed by the Whigs, Parliament initially rejected the imposition of coercive measures by 170 votes, fearing an aggressive policy would drive the Americans towards independence. However, by the end of 1774 the collapse of British authority meant both Lord North and George III were convinced war
6762-467: The Revolution , a group of five or six Tory soldiers came by the Hart house looking either for food or a Whig they were pursuing (accounts vary). The soldiers demanded that Hart cook them one of her turkeys , and she agreed to feed them. As they entered the cabin, they placed their guns by the door before sitting at her table to eat. As they were drinking and eating, she pushed their guns outside through
6909-732: The Sugar Act and Stamp Act , which imposed additional taxes on the colonies to pay for defending the western frontier. In July 1765, the Whigs formed the First Rockingham ministry , which repealed the Stamp Act and reduced tax on foreign molasses to help the New England economy, but re-asserted Parliamentary authority in the Declaratory Act . However, this did little to end the discontent; in 1768,
7056-506: The Treaty of Aranjuez , though Spain did not formally ally with the Americans. Howe's replacement Henry Clinton intended to take the war against the Americans into the Southern Colonies . Despite some initial success, British general Cornwallis was besieged by a Franco-American force in Yorktown in September and October 1781. Cornwallis was forced to surrender in October. The British wars with France and Spain continued for another two years, but fighting largely ceased in North America. In
7203-489: The United States military . A sniper team (or sniper cell ) consists of a combination of at least one primary weapon operator, (i.e.: the shooter), with other support personnel and force protection elements, such as a spotter or a flanker . Within the Table of Organization and Equipment for both the United States Army and Marine Corps , the shooter does not operate alone, but has a backup shooter trained to fulfill multiple roles in addition to being sniper-qualified in
7350-520: The colonial legislatures agreed on the boundaries but disagreed on where to set them. Many settlers resented the restrictions entirely, and enforcement required permanent garrisons along the frontier, which led to increasingly bitter disputes over who should pay for them. Although directly administered by the Crown , acting through a local governor, the colonies were largely governed by native-born property owners. While external affairs were managed by London, colonial militia were funded locally but with
7497-572: The morale of the German attackers. The best known of these snipers was probably Vasily Zaytsev , featured in the novel War of the Rats and the subsequent film Enemy at the Gates . German Scharfschützen were prepared before the war, equipped with Karabiner 98 and later Gewehr 43 rifles, but there were often not enough of these weapons available, and as such some were armed with captured scoped Mosin–Nagant 1891/30, SVT, Czech Mauser rifles or scoped Gewehr 98 from WW1. The Wehrmacht re-established its sniper training in 1942, drastically increasing
SECTION 50
#17330849853527644-547: The required leads for moving targets. It is not unusual for the spotter to be equipped with a ballistic table , a notebook or a tablet computer specifically for performing these calculations. Law enforcement snipers , commonly called police snipers, and military snipers differ in many ways, including their areas of operation and tactics. A police sharpshooter is part of a police operation and usually takes part in relatively short missions. Police forces typically deploy such sharpshooters in hostage scenarios. This differs from
7791-441: The 15th century. Small companies of shooters ( Schützenfähnlein ) from the German states and Swiss cantons would form teams of Scharfschützen for such popular competitions; proudly carrying flags depicting a crossbow on one side and a target musket on the other. The earliest known date for the creation of a shooting club formed specifically for the use of firearms comes from Lucerne , Switzerland, where one club has
7938-420: The 1820s. The term sniper was first attested militarily in 1824, becoming commonplace in the First World War . The older term sharpshooter comes from the calque of German word Scharfschütze , in use by British newspapers as early as 1801. The word alludes to good marksmanship, itself descendent of the shooting competitions ( Schützenfeste ) that took place throughout the year in Munich in
8085-431: The 18th century, letters sent home by English officers in India referred to a day's rough shooting as "going sniping", as it took a skilled flintlock sportsman a lot of patience and endurance to wing-shoot a snipe in flight. Accomplishing such a shot was regarded as exceptional. During the late 18th century, the term snipe shooting was simplified to sniping . This evolved to the agent noun sniper , first appearing by
8232-445: The 26th, the American Patriots surprised and overwhelmed Rall and his troops, who lost over 20 killed including Rall, while 900 prisoners, German cannons and supplies were captured. The Battle of Trenton restored the American army's morale, reinvigorated the Patriot cause, and dispelled their fear of what they regarded as Hessian "mercenaries". A British attempt to retake Trenton was repulsed at Assunpink Creek on January 2; during
8379-492: The Ajack 4x, Hensoldt Dialytan 4x and Kahles Heliavier 4x with similar features employed on German sniper rifles. Several different mountings produced by various manufacturers were used for mounting aiming optics to the rifles. In February 1945 the Zielgerät 1229 active infrared aiming device was issued for night sniping with the StG 44 assault rifle. A total of 428,335 individuals received Red Army sniper training, including Soviet and non-Soviet partisans, with 9,534 receiving
8526-402: The American cause. The reduced Continental Army had dwindled to fewer than 5,000 men and was reduced further when enlistments expired at the end of the year. Popular support wavered, and morale declined. On December 20, 1776, the Continental Congress abandoned the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia and moved to Baltimore , where it remained until February 27, 1777. Loyalist activity surged in
8673-526: The Americans at the Battle of Harlem Heights the following day. On October 18, Howe failed to encircle the Americans at the Battle of Pell's Point , and the Americans withdrew. Howe declined to close with Washington's army on October 28 at the Battle of White Plains , and instead attacked a hill that was of no strategic value. Washington's retreat isolated his remaining forces and the British captured Fort Washington on November 16. The British victory there amounted to Washington's most disastrous defeat with
8820-433: The British Army Chief of Scouts under Lord Roberts . Burnham fittingly described these scouts as "half wolf and half jackrabbit.". Just like their Boer scout opponents, these scouts were well practised in the arts of marksmanship, field craft , map reading, observation, and military tactics. They were skilled woodsmen and practitioners of discretion: "He who shoots and runs away, lives to shoot another day." They were also
8967-415: The Broad River. McIntosh quotes a Mr. Snead, who was also related to the Harts. He said that one time during the war, Nancy was cooking lye soap in her cabin when her daughter discovered a spy looking through a crack in the wall. Hart threw a ladle of the boiling soap into the spy's eyes, went outside and tied him up, and turned him over to the local Patriot militia. Two accounts say that Nancy dressed as
SECTION 60
#17330849853529114-407: The Canadians. In Virginia, Dunmore's Proclamation on November 7, 1775, promised freedom to any slaves who fled their Patriot masters and agreed to fight for the Crown. British forces were defeated at Great Bridge on December 9 and took refuge on British ships anchored near Norfolk. When the Third Virginia Convention refused to disband its militia or accept martial law, Lord Dunmore ordered
9261-584: The Colonial Secretary Lord Germain , proposing a limited offensive against Philadelphia, while a second force moved down the Hudson from Canada. Burgoyne supplied several alternatives, all of which gave him responsibility for the offensive, with Howe remaining on the defensive. The option selected required him to lead the main force south from Montreal down the Hudson Valley, while a detachment under Barry St. Leger moved east from Lake Ontario. The two would meet at Albany , leaving Howe to decide whether to join them. Reasonable in principle, this did not account for
9408-541: The Culper Spy Ring substantially increased the effective allocation and deployment of Continental regiments in the field. Throughout the war, Washington spent more than 10 percent of his total military funds on military intelligence . Washington split the Continental Army into positions on Manhattan and across the East River in western Long Island. On August 27 at the Battle of Long Island , Howe outflanked Washington and forced him back to Brooklyn Heights , but he did not attempt to encircle Washington's forces. Through
9555-400: The Eastern Front, the German army was forced to rely more heavily on enlisting teenage soldiers. Due to lack of training in more complex group tactics, and thanks to rifle training provided by the Hitlerjugend , those soldiers were often used as autonomous left-behind snipers. While an experienced sniper would take a few lethal shots and retreat to a safer position, those young boys, due both to
9702-425: The French and British believed such hits to be coincidental hits, until the German scoped rifles were discovered. During World War I, the German army received a reputation for the deadliness and efficiency of its snipers, partly because of the high-quality lenses that German industry could manufacture. During the First World War, the static movement of trench warfare and a need for protection from snipers created
9849-410: The French in the Seven Years' War in 1763, tensions and disputes arose between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies over a variety of issues, including the Stamp and Townshend Acts . The resulting British military occupation led to the Boston Massacre in 1770. Among further tensions, the British Parliament imposed the Intolerable Acts in mid-1774. A British attempt to disarm the Americans and
9996-475: The German Scharfschütze. Scouts in the Ashanti army were made up of professional hunters who used their skill as marksmen to snipe at advancing enemy forces in response to detection by the enemy. They executed this often from a perch high in trees. The Whitworth rifle was arguably the first long-range sniper rifle in the world. A muzzleloader designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth , a prominent British engineer, it used polygonal rifling instead, which meant that
10143-520: The Germans. Effectiveness and dangers of snipers once again came to the fore during the Spanish Civil War . The only nation that had specially trained sniper units during the 1930s was the Soviet Union . Soviet snipers were trained in their skills as marksmen, in using the terrain to hide themselves from the enemy and the ability to work alongside regular forces. This made the Soviet sniper training focus more on "normal" combat situations than those of other nations. Snipers reappeared as important factors on
10290-605: The Great were equally impressed with Germantown, which demonstrated resilience and determination. Over the winter, poor conditions, supply problems and low morale resulted in 2,000 deaths, with another 3,000 unfit for duty due to lack of shoes. However, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben took the opportunity to introduce Prussian Army drill and infantry tactics to "model companies" in each Continental Army regiment, who then instructed their home units. Despite Valley Forge being only twenty miles away, Howe made no effort to attack their camp, an action some critics argue could have ended
10437-584: The Hart family cemetery a few miles outside of Henderson. On the approximate site of Hart's frontier cabin along River Road in Elbert County, the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a replica cabin in the early 20th century. They used chimney stones recovered from the site of the original cabin, which had stood on the crest of a large hill overlooking Wahachee Creek . Georgians have memorialized Nancy Hart in several place names: American Revolutionary War American and allied victory Great Britain cedes generally, all mainland territories east of
10584-704: The Patriots erected Fort Mifflin and nearby Fort Mercer on the east and west banks of the Delaware respectively, and placed obstacles in the river south of the city. This was supported by a small flotilla of Continental Navy ships on the Delaware, supplemented by the Pennsylvania State Navy , commanded by John Hazelwood . An attempt by the Royal Navy to take the forts in the October 20 to 22 Battle of Red Bank failed;
10731-723: The Thirteen Colonies—;the Northern Theater and the Southern Theater —and a smaller but strategically important third one west of the Appalachian Mountains . On April 14, 1775, Sir Thomas Gage , Commander-in-Chief, North America and Governor of Massachusetts , received orders to take action against the Patriots. He decided to destroy militia ordnance stored at Concord, Massachusetts , and capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams , who were considered
10878-691: The Treaty of Paris, ratified on September 3, 1783, Great Britain acknowledged the sovereignty and independence of the United States, bringing the American Revolutionary War to an end. The Treaties of Versailles resolved Great Britain's conflicts with France and Spain and forced Great Britain to cede Tobago , Senegal , and small territories in India to France, and Menorca , West Florida and East Florida to Spain. The French and Indian War, part of
11025-641: The US did not extend sniper training beyond long-range shooting was the limited deployment of US soldiers until the Normandy Invasion . During the campaigns in North Africa and Italy , most fighting occurred in arid and mountainous regions where the potential for concealment was limited, in contrast to Western and Central Europe. The U.S. Army's lack of familiarity with sniping tactics proved disastrous in Normandy and
11172-490: The US, UK and other countries that adopt their military doctrine are typically deployed in two-man sniper teams consisting of a shooter and a spotter . A common practice is for a shooter and a spotter to take turns to avoid eye fatigue . In most recent combat operations occurring in large densely populated towns, such as Fallujah, Iraq , two teams would be deployed together to increase their security and effectiveness in an urban environment. A sniper team would be armed with
11319-503: The United States Armed Forces, sniper training was only very elementary and was mainly concerned with being able to hit targets over long distances. Snipers were required to be able to hit a body over 400 meters away, and a head over 200 meters away. There was almost no instruction in blending into the environment. Sniper training varied from place to place, resulting in wide variation in the qualities of snipers. The main reason
11466-605: The World" due to going viral online, Mike Plumb, a SWAT sniper in Columbus, Ohio , prevented a suicide by shooting a revolver out of the individual's hand, leaving him unharmed. The need for specialized training for police sharpshooters was made apparent in 1972 during the Munich massacre when the German police could not deploy specialized personnel or equipment during the standoff at the airport in
11613-634: The area of food. This slowed Burgoyne's progress and forced him to send out large foraging expeditions; on one of these, more than 700 British troops were captured at the Battle of Bennington on August 16. St Leger moved east and besieged Fort Stanwix ; despite defeating an American relief force at the Battle of Oriskany on August 6, he was abandoned by his Indian allies and withdrew to Quebec on August 22. Now isolated and outnumbered by Gates, Burgoyne continued onto Albany rather than retreating to Fort Ticonderoga, reaching Saratoga on September 13. He asked Clinton for support while constructing defenses around
11760-638: The army of the United Colonies." He assumed command on July 3, preferring to fortify Dorchester Heights outside Boston rather than assaulting it. In early March 1776, Colonel Henry Knox arrived with heavy artillery acquired in the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga . Under cover of darkness, on March 5, Washington placed these on Dorchester Heights, from where they could fire on the town and British ships in Boston Harbor. Fearing another Bunker Hill, Howe evacuated
11907-558: The base for American naval operations. After regrouping at Halifax in Nova Scotia, Howe set sail for New York in June 1776 and began landing troops on Staten Island near the entrance to New York Harbor on July 2. The Americans rejected Howe's informal attempt to negotiate peace on July 30; Washington knew that an attack on the city was imminent and realized that he needed advance information to deal with disciplined British regular troops. On August 12, 1776, Patriot Thomas Knowlton
12054-494: The battlefield from the first campaign of World War II . During Germany's 1940 campaigns , lone, well-hidden French and British snipers were able to halt the German advance for a considerable amount of time. For example, during the pursuit to Dunkirk , British snipers were able to significantly delay the German infantry's advance. This prompted the British once again to increase training of specialized sniper units. Apart from marksmanship, British snipers were trained to blend in with
12201-636: The battlefield that day. At the Battles of Saratoga , Morgan's Riflemen hid in the trees and used early model rifles to shoot senior British officers. Most notably, Timothy Murphy shot and killed General Simon Fraser of Balnain on 7 October 1777 at a distance of about 400 yards. In early 1800, Colonel Coote Manningham and Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. William Stewart of the British Army proposed using what they had learned while leading light infantry to establish
12348-620: The boycott; this succeeded in reducing British imports by 97% from 1774 to 1775. However, on February 9 Parliament declared Massachusetts to be in rebellion and instituted a blockade of the colony. In July, the Restraining Acts limited colonial trade with the British West Indies and Britain and barred New England ships from the Newfoundland cod fisheries . The tension led to a scramble for control of militia stores, which each assembly
12495-618: The camp to a "squalid hell" and supplies were dangerously low. Burgoyne capitulated on October 17; around 6,222 soldiers, including German forces commanded by General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel , surrendered their arms before being taken to Boston, where they were to be transported to England. After securing additional supplies, Howe made another attempt on Philadelphia by landing his troops in Chesapeake Bay on August 24. He now compounded failure to support Burgoyne by missing repeated opportunities to destroy his opponent, defeating Washington at
12642-520: The campaign in Western Europe where they encountered well trained German snipers. In Normandy, German snipers remained hidden in the dense vegetation and were able to encircle American units, firing at them from all sides. The American and British forces were surprised by how near the German snipers could approach in safety and attack them, as well as by their ability to hit targets at up to 1,000m. A notable mistake made by inexperienced American soldiers
12789-515: The city on March 17 without further loss and sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia , while Washington moved south to New York City. Beginning in August 1775, American privateers raided towns in Nova Scotia, including Saint John , Charlottetown , and Yarmouth . In 1776, John Paul Jones and Jonathan Eddy attacked Canso and Fort Cumberland respectively. British officials in Quebec began negotiating with
12936-430: The civilian inhabitants that their lives and property would not be in any danger if they offered no resistance; they complied. Hopkins captured large stores of powder and other munitions that was so great he had to impress an extra ship in the harbor to transport the supplies back home, when he departed on March 17. A month later, after a brief skirmish with HMS Glasgow , they returned to New London, Connecticut ,
13083-501: The closing phase of the crisis, and consequently all of the Israeli hostages were killed. While the German army did have snipers in 1972, the use of army snipers in the scenario was impossible due to the German constitution 's explicit prohibition of the use of the military in domestic matters. This lack of trained snipers who could be used in civilian roles was later addressed with the founding of
13230-569: The colonies; the amount was minor, but ignored the fact it was that very principle Americans found objectionable. In April 1772, colonialists staged the first American tax revolt in Weare , New Hampshire against the British royal authority later referred to as the Pine Tree Riot . This occurrence would later inspire the design of the Pine Tree Flag . Tensions escalated following the destruction of
13377-680: The command of Stewart, spearheaded an amphibious landing at Ferrol , Spain. The term, "sharp shooter" was in use in British newspapers as early as 1801. In the Edinburgh Advertiser , 23 June 1801, can be found the following quote in a piece about the North British Militia; "This Regiment has several Field Pieces, and two companies of Sharp Shooters, which are very necessary in the modern Stile of War". The term appears even earlier, around 1781, in Continental Europe, translated from
13524-595: The committee shared information and built alliances through secret correspondence, as well as employing secret agents in Europe to gather intelligence, conduct undercover operations, analyze foreign publications, and initiate Patriot propaganda campaigns. Paine served as secretary, while Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane , sent to France to recruit military engineers, were instrumental in securing French aid in Paris. The Revolutionary War included two principal campaign theaters within
13671-484: The diversion of the soldiery, who humorously call it sniping, and watch the flash to return the fire. On 11 September 1777, during the Battle of Brandywine , British Captain Patrick Ferguson had a tall, distinguished American officer in his rifle's iron sights. Ferguson did not take the shot, as he considered shooting anyone in the back dishonourable. Only later, did Ferguson learn that George Washington had been on
13818-610: The door closed against intruders. She took out her knife, cut the fastening and stalked in. She heard how the wicked might work out their salvation; became a shouting Christian, fought the devil as manfully as she fought the Tories . . . During the late 1780s, the Harts moved to Brunswick, Georgia . (Some accounts suggest that they may have spent time in Alabama and South Carolina as well). Benjamin Hart died shortly thereafter. Nancy Hart returned to
13965-456: The dummy by enemy sniper bullets then could be used for triangulation purposes to determine the position of the enemy sniper, who could then be attacked with artillery fire. He developed many of the modern techniques in sniping, including the use of spotting scopes and working in pairs, and using Kim's Game to train observational skills. In 1920, he wrote his account of his war time activities in his book Sniping in France , to which reference
14112-527: The ending of the French threat in 1763, the legislatures expected less taxation, not more. At the same time, the huge debt incurred by the Seven Years' War and demands from British taxpayers for cuts in government expenditure meant Parliament expected the colonies to fund their own defense. The new taxes levied on subjects in the colonies proved highly burdensome in colonies such as North Carolina , particularly for
14259-457: The environment, often by using special camouflage clothing for concealment. However, because the British Army offered sniper training exclusively to officers and non-commissioned officers , the resulting small number of trained snipers in combat units considerably reduced their overall effectiveness. During the Winter War , Finnish snipers took a heavy toll of the invading Red Army . Simo Häyhä
14406-416: The environmental conditions were perfect for long range shooting, "... no wind, mild weather, clear visibility." In a BBC interview, Harrison reported it took about nine shots for him and his spotter to initially range the target successfully. Before the development of rifling , firearms were smoothbore and inaccurate over long distance. Barrel rifling was invented at the end of the fifteenth century, but
14553-663: The exception of Georgia , twelve colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress to agree on a unified response to the crisis. Many of the delegates feared that a boycott would result in war and sent a Petition to the King calling for the repeal of the Intolerable Acts. After some debate, on September 17, 1774, Congress endorsed the Massachusetts Suffolk Resolves and on October 20 passed
14700-513: The exception of a minor skirmishing between the two armies which continued until March, Howe made no attempt to attack the Americans. The 1776 campaign demonstrated that regaining New England would be a prolonged affair, which led to a change in British strategy to isolating the north by taking control of the Hudson River , allowing them to focus on the south where Loyalist support was believed to be substantial. In December 1776, Howe wrote to
14847-496: The extremely fertile Broad River valley of the northeast Piedmont area. There she drew on her many frontier skills, including herbalism , hunting and shooting. Hart was well connected through family ties to other prominent figures in early American history. She was a cousin to Revolutionary War general Daniel Morgan , who commanded victorious American forces at the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina on January 17, 1781. According to contemporary accounts, "Aunt Nancy", as she
14994-548: The face of enemy fire. The successes led to predictions that the British could win within a year. The British established winter quarters in the New York City area and anticipated renewed campaigning the following spring. On the night of December 25–26, 1776, Washington crossed the Delaware River , leading a column of Continental Army troops from today's Bucks County, Pennsylvania , to today's Mercer County, New Jersey , in
15141-582: The fact that each colony argued that their boundaries extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean . The vast exchange of territory ultimately destabilized existing alliances and trade networks between settlers and Indians in the west, while it proved impossible to prevent encroachment beyond the Proclamation Line. With the exception of Virginia and others deprived of rights to western lands,
15288-469: The field. The name sniper comes from the verb to snipe , which originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India in reference to shooting snipes , a wader that was considered an extremely challenging game bird for hunters due to its alertness, camouflaging color and erratic flight behavior. Snipe hunters therefore needed to be stealthy in addition to being good trackers and marksmen. In
15435-559: The first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit . Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard said of them that "keener men never lived", and that "Burnham was the greatest scout of our time." Burnham distinguished himself in wars in South Africa, Rhodesia, and in Arizona fighting the Apaches, and his definitive work, Scouting on Two Continents, provides a dramatic and enlightening picture of what a sniper
15582-410: The following on-site (average) atmospheric conditions: barometric pressure: 1,019 hPa (30.1 inHg) at sea-level equivalent or 899 hPa (26.5 inHg) on-site, humidity: 25.9%, and temperature: 15 °C (59 °F) in the region for November 2009, resulting in an air density ρ = 1.0854 kg/m at the 1,043 m (3,422 ft) elevation of Musa Qala. Harrison mentions in reports that
15729-459: The larger calibers such as the .50 BMG , like the Barrett M82 , McMillan Tac-50 , and Denel NTW-20 . Soviet - and Russian-derived military doctrines include squad-level snipers. Snipers have increasingly been demonstrated as useful by US and UK forces in the recent Iraq campaign in a fire support role to cover the movement of infantry, especially in urban areas. Military snipers from
15876-475: The logistical difficulties involved and Burgoyne erroneously assumed Howe would remain on the defensive; Germain's failure to make this clear meant he opted to attack Philadelphia instead. Burgoyne set out on June 14, 1777, with a mixed force of British regulars, professional German soldiers and Canadian militia, and captured Fort Ticonderoga on July 5. As General Horatio Gates retreated, his troops blocked roads, destroyed bridges, dammed streams, and stripped
16023-498: The loss of 3,000 prisoners. The remaining American regiments on Long Island fell back four days later. General Henry Clinton wanted to pursue Washington's disorganized army, but he was first required to commit 6,000 troops to capture Newport, Rhode Island , to secure the Loyalist port. General Charles Cornwallis pursued Washington, but Howe ordered him to halt. The outlook following the defeat at Fort Washington appeared bleak for
16170-467: The night of August 28, Knox bombarded the British. Knowing they were up against overwhelming odds, Washington ordered the assembly of a war council on August 29; all agreed to retreat to Manhattan. Washington quickly had his troops assembled and ferried them across the East River to Manhattan on flat-bottomed freight boats without any losses in men or ordnance, leaving General Thomas Mifflin 's regiments as
16317-440: The night, Washington outmaneuvered Cornwallis, then defeated his rearguard in the Battle of Princeton the following day. The two victories helped convince the French that the Americans were worthy military allies. After his success at Princeton, Washington entered winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey , where he remained until May and received Congressional direction to inoculate all Patriot troops against smallpox . With
16464-487: The number of snipers per unit with the creation of an additional 31 sniper training companies by 1944. German snipers were at the time the only snipers in the world issued with purpose-manufactured sniping ammunition, known as the 'effect-firing' sS round. The 'effect-firing' sS round featured an extra carefully measured propellant charge and seated a heavy 12.8 gram (198 gr) full-metal-jacketed boat-tail projectile of match-grade build quality, lacking usual features such as
16611-442: The operation of the main weapon. The shooter focuses mainly on firing the shot, while the spotter assists in observation of targets, accounts for atmospheric conditions and handles ancillary tasks as immediate security of their location, communication with other parties (e.g. directing artillery fire and close air support ). A flanker is an extra teammate who is tasked to act as a sentry observing areas not immediately visible to
16758-564: The original bore line. Due to the extreme distances and travel time involved, even a light cross-breeze of 2.7 m/s (6.0 mph) would have diverted such shots 9.2 m (360 in) off target, which would have required compensation. The calculation assumes a flat-fire scenario (a situation where the shooting and target positions are at equal elevation), using British military custom high-pressure .338 Lapua Magnum cartridges, loaded with 16.2 g (250 gr) Lapua LockBase B408 bullets, fired at 936 m/s (3,071 ft/s) muzzle velocity under
16905-477: The part of warriors are on record among the Cherokee." George Rockingham Gilmer , twice governor of Georgia before 1850, knew Hart personally. In an account of early settlers which he published in 1855, he wrote that she became "religious" after the war: A Methodist society was formed in her neighborhood. She went to the house of worship in search of relief. She found the good people assembled in class meeting, and
17052-524: The petition was immediately followed by the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms , Colonial Secretary Lord Dartmouth viewed the offer as insincere and refused to present the petition to the king. Although constitutionally correct, since George could not oppose his own government, it disappointed those Americans who hoped he would mediate in the dispute, while the hostility of his language annoyed even Loyalist members of Congress. Combined with
17199-552: The poorer classes, and quickly became a source of much discontent. The 1763 to 1765 Grenville ministry instructed the Royal Navy to cease trading smuggled goods and enforce customs duties levied in American ports. The most important was the 1733 Molasses Act ; routinely ignored before 1763, it had a significant economic impact since 85% of New England rum exports were manufactured from imported molasses. These measures were followed by
17346-557: The principal instigators of the rebellion. The operation was to begin around midnight on April 19, in the hope of completing it before the American Patriots could respond. However, Paul Revere learned of the plan and notified Captain Parker , commander of the Concord militia, who prepared to resist. The first action of the war, commonly referred to as the shot heard round the world , was
17493-621: The principle of taxation by Parliament. In December 1773, a group called the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk natives dumped 342 crates of tea into the Boston Harbor , an event later known as the Boston Tea Party . The British Parliament responded by passing the so-called Intolerable Acts , aimed specifically at Massachusetts, although many colonists and members of the Whig opposition considered them
17640-517: The projectile did not have to bite into grooves as was done with conventional rifling. The Whitworth rifle was far more accurate than the Pattern 1853 Enfield , which had shown some weaknesses during the recent Crimean War . At trials in 1857 which tested the accuracy and range of both weapons, Whitworth's design outperformed the Enfield at a rate of about three to one. The Whitworth rifle was capable of hitting
17787-504: The resulting Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775 ignited the war. In June, the Second Continental Congress formalized Patriot militias into the Continental Army and appointed Washington its commander-in-chief. The British Parliament declared the colonies to be in a state of rebellion in August 1775. The stakes of the war were formalized with passage of the Lee Resolution by the Congress in Philadelphia on July 2, 1776, and
17934-567: The settlement on the Broad River but found that a flood had washed away their former cabin. Eventually, she settled with her son John Hart and his family along the Oconee River in Clarke County near Athens . Around 1803 John Hart took his mother and family to Henderson County, Kentucky , where they settled again near relatives. Hart spent the remaining years of her life there. She was buried in
18081-448: The shooter, as well as assessing the outcome of the shot. Using a spotting scope and/or a rangefinder , the spotter will predict the external ballistics and read the wind speed using an anemometer or physical indicators like the mirage caused by ground heat. Also, in conjunction with the shooter, the spotter will calculate the distance, shooting angle ( slant range ), mil -related correction, interference by atmospheric factors and
18228-401: The sniper and spotter, assisting with the team's rear security and perimeter defense , and therefore are usually armed with a faster-firing weapon such as an assault rifle , battle rifle or designated marksman rifle . Both the spotter and flanker carry additional ammunition and associated equipment. The spotter is responsible for detecting, identifying and assigning priority of targets for
18375-503: The sniping 'higher qualification'. During World War ІІ, two six-month training courses for women alone trained nearly 55,000 snipers, of which more than two thousand later served in the army. On average there was at least one sniper in an infantry platoon and one in every reconnaissance platoon, including in tank and even artillery units. Some used the PTRD anti-tank rifle with an adapted scope as an early example of an anti-materiel rifle. In
18522-486: The soldiers outright, but she demanded that they be hanged, which was accomplished from a nearby tree. The various versions of this story provide different details. But in 1912 construction crews working on the Elberton and Eastern Railroad in the area found evidence that seemed to validate the legend. While grading a railroad site less than a mile from the old Hart Cabin, the workers found five or six skeletons buried neatly in
18669-630: The specialized police counter-terrorist unit GSG 9 . The longest confirmed sniper kill in combat was achieved by an undisclosed member of the Security Service of Ukraine in November 2023, hitting a Russian soldier at a distance of 3,800 m (4,156 yd) during the Russian invasion of Ukraine . The previous record holder was a member of the Canadian JTF2 special forces who in June 2017 achieved
18816-468: The split as 40% Patriot, 40% neutral, 20% Loyalist, but with considerable regional variations. At the onset of the war, the Second Continental Congress realized defeating Britain required foreign alliances and intelligence-gathering. The Committee of Secret Correspondence was formed for "the sole purpose of corresponding with our friends in Great Britain and other parts of the world". From 1775 to 1776,
18963-517: The target at a range of 2,000 yards, whereas the Enfield could only manage it at 1,400 yards. During the Crimean War, the first optical sights were designed to fit onto rifles. Much of this pioneering work was the brainchild of Colonel D. Davidson, using optical sights produced by Chance Brothers of Birmingham . This allowed a marksman to observe and target objects more accurately at a greater distance than ever before. The telescopic sight, or scope,
19110-495: The town. Morale among his troops rapidly declined, and an unsuccessful attempt to break past Gates at the Battle of Freeman Farms on September 19 resulted in 600 British casualties. When Clinton advised he could not reach them, Burgoyne's subordinates advised retreat; a reconnaissance in force on October 7 was repulsed by Gates at the Battle of Bemis Heights , forcing them back into Saratoga with heavy losses. By October 11, all hope of escape had vanished; persistent rain reduced
19257-448: The unanimous ratification of the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4, 1776. After a successful siege , Washington's forces drove the British Army out of Boston in March 1776, and British commander in chief William Howe responded by launching the New York and New Jersey campaign . Howe captured New York City in November. Washington responded by clandestinely crossing
19404-428: The wake of the American defeat, especially in New York state . In London, news of the victorious Long Island campaign was well received with festivities held in the capital. Public support reached a peak. Strategic deficiencies among Patriot forces were evident: Washington divided a numerically weaker army in the face of a stronger one, his inexperienced staff misread the military situation, and American troops fled in
19551-571: The war. Sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic sights. Modern snipers use high-precision rifles and high-magnification optics . They often also serve as scouts / observers feeding tactical information back to their units or command headquarters. In addition to long-range and high-grade marksmanship, military snipers are trained in
19698-619: The wider global conflict known as the Seven Years' War , ended with the 1763 Peace of Paris , which expelled France from their possessions in New France . Acquisition of territories in Atlantic Canada and West Florida , inhabited largely by French and Spanish-speaking Catholics , led British authorities to consolidate their hold by populating them with English-speaking settlers. Preventing conflict between settlers and Indian tribes west of
19845-573: Was a viable possibility. France signed a commercial agreement with the rebels, followed by a Treaty of Alliance in February 1778. In 1779, the Sullivan Expedition undertook a scorched earth campaign against the Iroquois who were largely allied with the British. Indian raids on the American frontier, however, continued to be a problem. Also, in 1779, Spain allied with France against Great Britain in
19992-552: Was at the time and how he operated. After the war, this regiment went on to formally become the first official sniper unit, then better known as sharpshooters . During World War I , snipers appeared as deadly sharpshooters in the trenches. At the start of the war, only Imperial Germany had troops that were issued scoped sniper rifles. Although sharpshooters existed on all sides, the Germans specially equipped some of their soldiers with scoped rifles that could pick off enemy soldiers showing their heads out of their trench. At first
20139-431: Was during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House , where on 9 May 1864, Union General John Sedgwick was killed by a Confederate Whitworth sharpshooter at a range of about 1,000 yards (910 meters) after saying the enemy "couldn't hit an elephant at this distance". During the Boer War the latest breech-loading rifled guns with magazines and smokeless powder were used by both sides. The British were equipped with
20286-451: Was housed in a metal shutter sliding in grooves. Only when the two loopholes were lined up—a one-to-twenty chance—could an enemy shoot between them. Another innovation was the use of a dummy head to find the location of an enemy sniper. The papier-mâché figures were painted to resemble soldiers to draw sniper fire. Some were equipped with rubber surgical tubing so the dummy could "smoke" a cigarette and thus appear realistic. Holes punched in
20433-483: Was inevitable. After Boston, Gage halted operations and awaited reinforcements; the Irish Parliament approved the recruitment of new regiments, while allowing Catholics to enlist for the first time. Britain also signed a series of treaties with German states to supply additional troops . Within a year, it had an army of over 32,000 men in America, the largest ever sent outside Europe at the time. The employment of German soldiers against people viewed as British citizens
20580-420: Was initially blocked by American naval vessels on Lake Champlain until victory at Valcour Island on October 11 forced the Americans to withdraw to Fort Ticonderoga , while in December an uprising in Nova Scotia sponsored by Massachusetts was defeated at Fort Cumberland . These failures impacted public support for the Patriot cause, and aggressive anti-Loyalist policies in the New England colonies alienated
20727-421: Was legally obliged to maintain for defense. On April 19, a British attempt to secure the Concord arsenal culminated in the Battles of Lexington and Concord , which began the Revolutionary War. After the Patriot victory at Concord, moderates in Congress led by John Dickinson drafted the Olive Branch Petition , offering to accept royal authority in return for George III mediating in the dispute. However, since
20874-407: Was often called, was a tall, gangly woman. She was rough-hewn and rawboned, with red hair and a face scarred by smallpox . One early account said that Hart had "no share of beauty—a fact she herself would have readily acknowledged, had she ever enjoyed an opportunity of looking into a mirror." Hart was said to have a feisty personal demeanor characterized by a hotheaded temper, a fearless spirit, and
21021-481: Was only employed in large cannons. Over time, rifling, along with other gunnery advances, has increased the performance of modern firearms. Marksmanship (later "sharpshooting" or "sniping") occurred as early as the mid-eighteenth century. For instance, in the 1752 Appin Murder , Colin Roy Campbell of Glenure was shot in the back near Duror by an unknown sniper, most likely from within Clan Stewart of Appin , in retaliation for Campbell's role in an early version of
21168-411: Was opposed by many in Parliament and by the colonial assemblies; combined with the lack of activity by Gage, opposition to the use of foreign troops allowed the Patriots to take control of the legislatures. Support for independence was boosted by Thomas Paine 's pamphlet Common Sense , which was published on January 10, 1776, and argued for American self-government and was widely reprinted. To draft
21315-414: Was ordered to form an elite group for reconnaissance and secret missions. Knowlton's Rangers , which included Nathan Hale , became the Army's first intelligence unit. When Washington was driven off Long Island , he soon realized that he would need to professionalize military intelligence. With aid from Benjamin Tallmadge , Washington launched the six-man Culper spy ring . The efforts of Washington and
21462-411: Was originally fixed and could not be adjusted, which therefore limited its range. Despite its success at the trials, the rifle was not adopted by the British Army. However, the Whitworth Rifle Company was able to sell the weapon to the French army , and also to the Confederacy during the American Civil War, where both the Union and Confederate armies employed sharpshooters. The most notable incident
21609-450: Was to lie down and wait when targeted by German snipers, allowing the snipers to pick them off one after another. German snipers often infiltrated Allied lines and sometimes when the front-lines moved, they continued to fight from their sniping positions, refusing to surrender until their rations and munitions were exhausted. Those tactics were also a consequence of changes in German enlistment. After several years of war and heavy losses on
#351648