Gents;
The sharpshooters organized in the Western Theater for the Army of Tennessee was a recognition that the "cavalry plains" of Europe did not exit in the Western states and was as formal an attempt as could be made to give the division/brigades and an advanced guard trained in light infantry tactics to lead advances through the predominantly forested terrain the the armies found themselves fighting in.
It was an organized attempt to make tactically efficient troops into the hands of the generals trying to lead their brigades into action in terrain where they often could not see 100 yards and frequently had no idea where the enemy line was. It required reinforcement of light infantry/skirmish tactics – its significant "carrot" was a reduction in busy work that the men had to perform when not in battle situations.
What it was not was an organization requiring special uniforms that the South was in no condition to provide in any case. These were otherwise normal soldiers, trained to be more efficient in a specific battlefield function.
In the event, it was not always possible to have these troops at hand in the right place at the right time – often because those in command viewed all their "chess pieces" as interchangeable when the entire purpose for these units was to create special units that were not interchangeable.
Furthermore, because these units – mostly three-five companies in size – were significantly smaller than the customary "building block", the regiment, the battle strengths of these units were very small and, like most specialty units, they were lost in the immensity of the conflict.
I have made Cheatham's Tennessee Division as it was at Chickamauga in 25mm, researched all their battle flags and, when deployed on the table, the three sharpshooter battalions in the organizations appear to be little more than play toys compared to the rest of the division – with, more than anything, explains their eventual demise.
Hope this helps,
Mark E. Horan
