DEATH OF A BERDAN SHARPSHOOTER.–

A correspondent of a Southern paper says:

“A gentleman informs us of the death of one of McClellan’s sharpshooters, on the Peninsula, under circumstances which possess interest sufficient to give them to the public. Several of our men, it seems, were killed while going to a spring near by, but by whom no one could imagine. It was at last determined to stop this inhuman game, if possible, even at the cost of killing the hireling himself, who was thus in cold blood butchering our men. So a sharp lookout was kept for this sharpshooter, and the next time he fired the smoke of his rifle revealed the locality of his pit.

“That night a pit was dug by the Confederate soldiers, commanding the position of the Yankee sharpshooter, and arrangements made to get rid of the annoying creature. For this purpose a young Kentuckian was placed in our pit, with a trusty rifle, and provisions enough to last him until the next night. Next morning early a man was despatched, as usual, with two buckets to go to the spring. He had proceeded about two hundred yards, when the Yankee marksman elevated himself, and placing his rifle to his shoulder, was about to pull trigger; but the Kentuckian was too quick for him, for he pulled his trigger first, and simultaneously therewith the Yankee fell.

“Upon repairing to the spot, which the Kentuckian did immediately, he discovered a riflepit, and a sturdy Yankee in it, in the last agonies of expiring nature. The pit was provided with a cushioned chair, pipes and tobacco, liquors and provisions. But the rifle which had been used was really a valuable prize. It was of most superb manufacture, and supplied with the latest invention–an improved telescopic sight upon its end. The pit had been dug at night, and its occupant had been provisioned at night; so, but for a sharp lookout for the smoke of his gun, there is no saying how long this Yankee vandal would have enjoyed the luxury of killing Southern men, without even a chance of losing his own worthless life.”

This entry was posted on 15. April 2009 at 04:00 and is filed under Recent Entries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

| Print