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Hell by the Acre: A Narrative History of the Stones River Campaign, November 1862-January 1863
Daniel A. Masters
Few soldiers on either side, though, received specialized training in how to use the gun’s long-range capabilities [rifled musket]. A bullet fired from such a weapon did not fly in a level line. Rather, it flew in a parabolic curve with an approximate 75-yard long “killing zone” near the shooter and a somewhat smaller one farther out. For example, a soldier setting his sights and firing on a target 300 yards away had a reasonable chance of hitting a man within the first 75 yards before the bullet’s flight path curved upward, above the typical height of an enemy soldier. It would begin curving downward about 240 yards out, creating a second “killing zone” the subsequent 100 yards before hitting the ground. What this meant in the field was that a long “safe zone” existed between the killing zones in which advancing troops could march unhindered by the barrage of flying bullets passing just over their heads. This safe zone increased in size the farther out a soldier aimed. “It was incredibly difficult for the average soldier to compensate for the unusual trajectory and make his shots count at ranges longer than about 100 yards,” argued historian Earl Hess. “This greatly decreased the effect of the rifle musket precisely in the area were advocates thought it might have a revolutionary impact on warfare.” The result was that rifled muskets were typically used just like their smoothbore predecessors, as their primary “killing zone” of the first 75 yards nearly matched that of the smoothbore musket.
Interesting.
_________________ Gen. Blake Strickler
Confederate General-in-Chief
El Presidente 2010 - 2012
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