First Combat

Let us hope the practice was satisfactory to the man from Wisconsin, too, for it was not a pleasant prospect to enter battle with a new weapon, and one untried by the soldier. Pierce and his fellows soon had a chance to Warm up their Colts, at Yorktown, April 5, 1862.
In the morning of that day, the Sharpshooters were given the order to advance. Rain greyed the sky but did not dampen the enthusiasm of the target shooters for combat. Suddenly, through the drizzle, a Confederate gun opened on them, a field piece possibly firing leadflanged Hotchkiss shells. The screaming shell passed high above them and dropped into a field beyond the line. But every man instinctively ducked as the sound hit him—so sudden did the noise occur that the motion of ducking was as if an order had been given, right down the line. Captain Stevens continues:
“As the riflemen pressed forward, the enemy fell hurriedly back, and soon after, far in advance, approached within sight of the formidable-looking earth works next to York river, computed by our battery men 1,800 yards distant, and which were well mounted with guns of large caliber. These forces were commanded by Gen. J. B. Magruder.

“Leaving the road on the right, the Wisconsin men with the Swiss company deployed out in an open field, the latter on the right of the line, where they remained upwards of an hour in support of Weeden’s battery, which had hurried up, taken position, and opened fire, and which was afterwards joined by Griffin’s battery⁷ on their right . . . The Wisconsin company was finally assembled and marched to some buildings in a peach orchard on the left of the road, where they rested under arms an hour . . .
“From the peach orchard fence the Sharpshooters proved themselves. In a very short time they succeeded in silencing a number of cannon on their front, which the enemy were unable to load, so fast and thick did Colt, Sharps, and target-rifle bullets come in upon them. Their futile attempts to man their guns, their excited gestures running to and fro, were plainly to be seen by our men, and with cheers they drove them off, or dropped them, whenever they came forward. They were completely silenced, and the Sharpshooters thus demonstrated their efficiency for such an occasion.

“There was but one Sharps rifle in the regiment at the time, which was the personal property of Truman Head, better known as “Old Californy,” or “California Joe,” a member of Company C, who gave most convincing proofs of his skill as a marksman. This particular Sharps rifle was purchased at Camp of Instruction and had a sabre bayonet and single trigger. But the men, after a careful examination of the outfit, while they unanimously endorsed the rifle, decided they would rather have the angular bayonet as less cumbersome and more to the point.”

They preferred the Sharps over the Colt, but those who carried the five-shooters realized the value of firepower under special conditions. The Rebel cavalry, determined to make an attack on the peach orchard snipers, came out from behind the protection of their barricades, preparing to make a charge, . . . “they drew up in line, threatening to ride down the five-shooting riflemen by the roadside, and cut off those in the orchard. The men with the Colts quietly awaited their coming, and had the enemy made the rash attempt but few would ever have returned. With five shots from every man at close quarters, death and destruction would have awaited them.” But a shell from a Union gun burst near to them, scattering the formation as the horses bucked from shell fragments, and the charge did not materialize.
There were few casualties that day among the Sharpshooters. The first man dead, Private John S. M. Ide of New Hampshire, had been using a scope-sighted target rifle. He had exchanged shots from an exposed position in front of an old building with a Confederate sniper placed in a tree, and taken a Rebel bullet in the forehead.
When Lieutenant Colonel Ripley learned that one of his men had fallen, he walked out alone to where Ide lay and picked up his rifle. “With a quick step, but erect, this good officer advanced, the admiration of hundreds of eyewitnesses, while bullets ploughed and dusted the ground around him.”
As cool as if he had been on the range, Ripley picked up Ide’s rifle. “I’ll try him a shot at one notch higher, anyway,” the colonel said, as he adjusted the scope sight one turn more of elevation, thinking Ide had been shooting under. Then, taking position, the man in the tree top was discovered, and a quick exchange of shots followed. Ripley escaped injury as the bullets spattered the log wall behind him. After an instant, no more shots came from the tree top.
This sort of activity was summarized dryly by General Porter who reported that: “The Sharpshooters under Colonel Berdan were busily engaged as skirmishers, and did good service in picking off the enemy’s skirmishers and artillerists whenever they should show themselves.”