System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Hiram Berdan
1824 - 1893
Hiram Berdan, a crack shot who led a regiment of sharpshooters for the Union during the Civil War, died March 31, 1893. He was 68.
Berdan was born in New York City on September 6, 1824. A mechanical engineer by trade, he was also the top sharpshooter in the United States for 15 years prior to the Civil War.
A munitions inventor, Berdan had developed a repeating rifle and musket ball before the war. After the war, he would invent a twin-screw submarine gunboat, a long-range distance finder and a distance fuse for shrapnel.
Berdan was recruited by the Union army to lead a regiment of sharpshooters. He was given the rank of Colonel, and by war's end had been brevetted to major general.
Each of Berdan's sharpshooters had to pass stringent tests before being assigned to a unit. And instead of the Union blue uniform, sharpshooters were attired in green to help blend in with the environment.
While Berdan was a crack shot, he did not have a reputation of being an effective leader. Those close to Berdan say he was unscrupulous and unfit to command troops.
Of the 2,500 sharpshooters recruited during the war, casualty rates were high. Over 1,300 were killed or taken out of action by injuries. Sharpshooters were usually sent to the leading edge of a battle and were the first to encounter the enemy. They were also targeted by each side's sharpshooters for termination.
Berdan resigned his commission on January 2, 1864, and returned to civilian life as an engineer and inventor. He died on March 31, 1893, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
