The North-South Skirmish Association (N-SSA) is a historical and competitive organization whose goal is to maintain the knowledge of the unique firearms used during the American Civil War. Formed in 1950 to commemorate the men who fought on both sides during the war, the association is based mainly in the eastern United States, and there are related associations in the western United States [1]
The N-SSA is headquartered in Winchester, Virginia, and has skirmish locations all over the eastern United States, with a heavy preponderance of activities in the Midwest and Northeastern United States.
A shot from the weekday matches at the N-SSA Fall Nationals 2014
Organization
N-SSA matches, known as Skirmishes, are not re-enactments of specific Civil War battles. Rather, the N-SSA is concerned with promoting the accurate shooting of the firearms of the era. Matches are devoted to authentic firearms accuracy, with a secondary, but still important, devotion to historical accuracy in uniforms and equipment.
Unlike most American Civil War reenactments, skirmish events are composed of individuals and teams that fire live ammunition at paper and breakable targets. Competitors can shoot firearms that are either original (e.g., date from 1861–65) or are N-SSA approved reproductions of firearms issued to soldiers from that period. Individual events are usually composed of paper bullseye targets at varying ranges, with five or ten shots for score.
The core of N-SSA shooting is the 8-man musket team match. Uniformed Union and Confederate teams compete in timed, rapid-fire events, shooting at breakable targets such as clay pigeons, ceramic tiles, and clay flower pots at ranges of 50 and 100 yards (91m). The team with the lowest time wins.
The N-SSA is a team-based organization rather than individual-based; one belongs to a team first and then to the larger N-SSA organization, but it is the N-SSA which issues membership cards to individual competitors.
Teams are grouped into thirteen Regions. Each Region has roughly ten to fifteen teams, and is responsible for holding a Regional Championship at least annually. Geographically, many of the Regions overlap each other, as the N-SSA organizes new Regions to accommodate the creation of new teams.
In 1949, John L. Rawls ran across an article describing Ernest W. Peterkin's avid interest in Civil War era muskets. The two exchanged letters, and agreed to plan a Civil War display at a local gun club.
On May 28, 1950 Rawls and Peterkin were invited to meet and put on a display of Civil War weaponry, uniforms, and equipment at the Berwin Rod and Gun Club in Muirkirk, Maryland. Rawls arrived with seven men, the "Norfolk Long Rifles", dressed in period Confederate infantry uniforms. Peterkin and his five "Berwyn Blue Bellies" were dressed in period Union infantry uniforms. At the scheduled hour these men fired at individual targets, and participated in a team event that used balloons as targets. The Norfolk Long Rifles won the match. This event has come to be known as the "First Skirmish".
Two men from another gun club, the Cavalier Rifle and Pistol Club of Richmond, Virginia, witnessed this match, and were very impressed. They convinced the club to invite the two teams to their range for a rematch. Rawls and Peterkin were eager to accept this invitation to this second "skirmish".
The second skirmish witnessed the appearance of the first artillery. A mountain howitzer owned by the Confederates opened the event with a shot, and later fired three rounds for exhibition. The two teams also changed their names at this event, the Blue Bellies being renamed the Washington Blue Rifles, and the Long Rifles changed their name to the 1st Virginia Greys.
Events at the second skirmish included an exploding cardboard fort, moving silhouettes, and more balloons. The crude scoring system gave the match win to the Virginia Greys, who were awarded blue ribbons and medals. One of the Blue Rifles, William B. Poland, won the individual event.
The third skirmish was held at Camp Pendleton (Virginia) in July 1951. Rawls and Peterkin held this event in conjunction with the last reunion of United Confederate Veterans, which was attended by "General" John Salling of Slant, Virginia,[where?] and two other veterans. A parade was marched down the streets of Norfolk in blistering heat. Joining the Virginia Greys and Blue Rifles were two new teams, the 1st Richmond Rifles, and the Huron Rangers Riflemen who traveled 800 miles (1,300km) from Detroit, MI to participate.
These events, and the ones that followed, built the framework for the North-South Skirmish Association as it is today.
Other Notable Events
October 1956 - Formal adoption of a Constitution & By-Laws, First National Commander Elected.
July 1958 - Incorporation of the association is completed.
January 1961 - Timed scoring system adopted.
July 1961 - 1st Manassas Reenactment, first of many U.S. Civil War Centennial Events, heavily attended and hosted by N-SSA member units.
September 1963 - 28th National, First National Skirmish Held at Fort Shenandoah.
May 2012 - The 125th Nationals Held at Fort Shenandoah, Tom Shedd and Joseph A. Sansone, Jr. Co-Skirmish Directors.
Competition arms
Firearms used in N-SSA competition are restricted to those types documented to have been purchased by or issued to Federal or Confederate forces during the American Civil War. For an arm to qualify, there must be documentation supporting its issue to at least 100 troops, either in a regular branch of the military or in a state militia. Arms may be either original or replica. Arms not on the Approved Arms List [3] require individual approval by the Small Arms Committee. Limited modifications may be made to firearms to improve performance. Triggers and locks may be tuned, sight heights may be changed, and barrels may be bedded. However, the general external profile and dimensions of arms must closely match those of original Civil War small arms.
Six major types of small arms are used in N-SSA competition.
Musket
The standard infantry arm of the American Civil War was the rifle-musket. These arms were muzzle-loading rifles firing the Minié ball. Major types of musket used by combatants during the Civil War were the Model 1861 and 1863 Springfield, as well as the British-made Pattern 1853 and 1858 Enfield. Although the long 'three-band' muskets (so called because they had three bands fastening the barrel to the stock) were the most widely issued, many N-SSA competitors favor the shorter 'two-band' muskets due to their superior balance and heavier barrels.
As of 2015, a new event, "Traditional Musket" was added to the event list. Competitors firing in this event must use an as-issued rifle-musket, with no modifications to stocks, locks, or bedding permitted. Competitors must also wear a full period-correct uniform to fire in these matches, and utilize only period-correct projectiles and paper cartridges.
Carbine
Carbines were issued to many cavalrymen from the 17th century until the 20th century. The American Civil War was notable for the use of carbines that were of markedly different design than the standard infantry weapon. Although short-barreled versions of the issue musket were used, breechloading designs such as the Sharps carbine and the Burnside carbine were more frequently encountered.
The N-SSA groups muzzle-loading and breech-loading carbines together for competitive purposes. There is considerable debate about which design is the best. The advocates of muzzle-loading carbines argue that their arms are more accurate than most breechloaders, while the breechloader advocates argue that the superior rate of fire makes up for any loss of accuracy.
Revolver
Revolvers were issued to cavalrymen, artillery troops, and officers during the Civil War, which was one of the first conflicts to see such arms used in quantity. N-SSA revolver competition is limited to revolvers using percussion cap ignition. The major types of revolver used were the Colt Model 1851 and 1860, and the Remington Models of 1858 and 1863.
There is also a single shot pistol competition for individual entry only (i.e. no team events).
Breechloading rifle
The American Civil War was the first conflict in which firearms using self-contained cartridges were widely used. In the mid-1990s, the N-SSA added events for such arms to the competition schedule. Breechloading Rifles, as defined in N-SSA events, include the Henry Rifle and the Spencer Repeating Rifle. This is often referred to as the repeater match, given the ability of these weapons to hold more than one cartridge in its magazine.
Single shot rifle
In addition to the repeater match listed above, the N-SSA offers a category for single shot breechloading weapons. Both externally primed percussion weapons (mainly the Sharps 1859 rifle and rifle versions of the Maynard) as well as internally primed cartridge guns (such as the Ballard, Frank Wesson, and so on) are used.
Smoothbore musket
Although the American Civil War is frequently thought of as a conflict fought with rifle-muskets, the older smoothbore muskets were commonly used during the first half of the war. The N-SSA instituted matches for smoothbore muskets in the 1990s. Current N-SSA rules require the use of a bare bullet, and prohibit the use of a patched round ball, as is permitted under MLAIC rules. Either flintlock or percussion cap muskets may be used in smoothbore musket competition.
Shooting competition
The N-SSA holds numerous shooting competitions, known as Skirmishes, throughout the year. Skirmishes may be Invitational, sponsored by individual teams; Regional, sponsored by regions; or National, sponsored by the National organization.
National Championship skirmishes are held twice yearly at the N-SSA home range near Winchester, Virginia in the months of May and October. The eastern part of the country is broken up into regions which hold their own regional skirmishes throughout the year, generally once or twice a month during the warmer months. Skirmishes feature both individual competitions and team competitions.
Individual competition
Individual competitions are held with musket, revolver, carbine, repeater, single shot, single shot pistol, and smoothbore arms. Distances are 50 and 100 yards (91m) with muskets, carbines, and repeaters; and 25 and 50 yards (46m) with revolvers, single shot pistols, and smoothbore muskets.
All individual matches are slow-fire precision events fired on standard N-SSA paper targets. The dimensions of these targets correspond closely to National Rifle Association targets for rifle and pistol. Individual matches at the National and most Regional Skirmishes are 10 shots for score with unlimited sighter shots, but some Regional and Invitational
In addition to each individual match, there are several aggregate matches, including aggregates for each type of arm, as well as the Grand Aggregate of the musket, carbine, and revolver matches.
Team competition
Team competitions are rapid-fire events fired against breakable targets. Teams may fire for up to five minutes (two minutes for revolver events) in each event, and a penalty assessed for every unhit target. The total time to complete all events is a team's score, with the team having the lowest total time winning.
Musket team event
The core of the North-South Skirmish Association is the musket team match. For both National and Regional matches, this competition consists of eight members. There are usually five events, one event at a distance of 100 yards (91m) and four at a distance of 50 yards (46m).
At the National, 50-yard (46m) musket team events include: 32 clay pigeons on a cardboard backer, 16 hanging 4"x4" ceramic tiles, 16 hanging clay pigeons, and 16 hanging clay flower pots. The 100-yard (91m) musket team event at a National is 10 hanging 6"x6" ceramic tiles.
Regional musket matches are free to substitute other targets in place of the ones listed above. Other typical targets for the 50-yard (46m) events are 12 ounce drink cans or 8 ounce styrofoam cups filled with water. Another typical target for the 100-yard (91m) event would be 2 liter bottles filled with colored water.
Carbine team event
The second largest (next to the musket match) competition within the North-South Skirmish Association is the carbine team match. For the national matches, this competition consists of eight members, and targets are usually the same as musket team.
Regional carbine matches quite often consist of five members; this is done to increase the number of teams competing since there are a smaller number of people attending. There are usually four or five events, one event at a distance of 100 yards (91m) and three or four at a distance of 50 yards (46m).
Revolver team event
Revolver team events are quite popular in the N-SSA. Revolver teams consist of four shooters at the National matches, and usually three shooters at other Skirmishes.
The normal target set for the revolver team match is: 1. Three clay pigeons on a cardboard backer per shooter 2. Two hanging clay pigeons per shooter 3. Two other hanging targets (wood blocks or clay pots) per shooter
Breechloader, single shot, and smoothbore events
Among the newest events to be added to the skirmish schedule, repeater, single shot, and smoothbore events consist anywhere from 3 members (at regional demonstration events) to 4 members (at official national match events). Targets are usually similar to other matches held during a skirmish.
Artillery team event
The most distinctive competition within the North-South Skirmish Association is the artillery team match. This match is broken down into mortar, rifled, smoothbore, and howitzer artillery.
Mortar - 100-yard (91m) range, 7 shots, fired at stake, scoring determined by distance measured to 5 closest hits to stake.
Rifled cannon - 200-yard (180m) range, 1 Hour Limit, 12 shots, best 10 for score, fired at two paper targets, a bullseye, and a counter battery, scoring is determined by points system. Best score: 50-5V. Common rifled cannon included in this match are the 10pdr. Parrott, the 10pdr. Ordnance Rifle, and the James Rifle.
Smoothbore cannon - 200-yard (180m) range, 1 Hour Limit, 12 shots, best 10 for score, fired at two paper targets, a bullseye, and a counter battery, scoring is determined by points system. Best score: 50-5V. Common smoothbore cannon include the 12pdr. Napoleon and the 6pdr. Smoothbore Field Gun.
Home range
The N-SSA's headquarters and main range, known as Fort Shenandoah, are located on approximately 430 acres (1.7km2) of land approximately seven miles north of Winchester, Virginia. Facilities include a rifle range, a separate revolver range, and private camping.
The main rifle range has a firing line over one-quarter mile (400 m) long, with room for nearly 600 competitors to shoot simultaneously. Shooting distance in this configuration is 50 and 100 yards (91m). The width of the range is employed, with a slanted firing line, to provide distances of up to 300 yards (270m) for artillery and long-range rifle competition. This range is controlled from a single tower, and is one of the largest in the world.
The revolver range has a firing line of approximately 250 positions. Distances available are 25 yards (23m) for the entire line, and 50 yards (46m) for approximately 25 positions. The full width of the revolver range is normally used only for revolver team competition.
Member units are assigned campsites for their use throughout the year. Utilities are limited to central water and toilet facilities. Most competitors and their families spend skirmish weekends on the range - a particularly enjoyable experience during the prime camping seasons of late May (Spring Nationals) and early October (Fall Nationals).
Planned activities for a typical skirmish weekend include children's programs, dances, cook-outs, and trips to "Sutler Row," where vendors display and sell Civil War firearms, accoutrements, and clothing.
A carbine is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges.
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries.
A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with both hands and braced firmly against the shooter's shoulder via a buttstock for stability during shooting. Rifles are used extensively in warfare, law enforcement, hunting, shooting sports, and crime.
Single-shot firearms are firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded manually after every shot. The history of firearms began with single-shot designs, then multi-barreled designs appeared, and eventually many centuries passed before multi-shot repeater designs became commonplace.
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms and bows/crossbows.
A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun. This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading firearms. The term "muzzleloader" applies to both rifled and smoothbore type muzzleloaders, and may also refer to the marksman who specializes in the shooting of such firearms. The firing methods, paraphernalia and mechanism further divide both categories as do caliber.
Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also known as the true flintlock, that was introduced in the early 17th century, and gradually replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock, the wheellock, and the earlier flintlock mechanisms such as snaplock and snaphaunce.
The Springfield Model 1861 was a Minié-type rifled musket used by the United States Army and Marine Corps during the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as the "Springfield". It was the most widely used Union Army shoulder weapon during the Civil War, favored for its range, accuracy, and reliability.
A rifled musket, rifle musket, or rifle-musket is a type of firearm made in the mid-19th century. Originally the term referred only to muskets that had been produced as a smoothbore weapon and later had their barrels replaced with rifled barrels. The term later included rifles that directly replaced, and were of the same design overall as, a particular model of smoothbore musket.
Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Montecuccoli are closely associated with the post-1648 development of linear infantry tactics. For both battle and parade drill, it consisted of two to four ranks of foot soldiers drawn up side by side in rigid alignment, and thereby maximizing the effect of their firepower. By extension, the term came to be applied to the regular regiments "of the line" as opposed to light infantry, skirmishers, militia, support personnel, plus some other special categories of infantry not focused on heavy front line combat.
The Henry repeating rifle is a lever-action tubular magazine rifle famed both for its use at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and being the basis for the iconic Winchester rifle of the American Wild West.
Sharps rifles are a series of large-bore, single-shot, falling-block, breech-loading rifles, beginning with a design by Christian Sharps in 1848 and ceasing production in 1881. They were renowned for long-range accuracy. By 1874 the rifle was available in a variety of calibers, and it was one of the few designs to be successfully adapted to metallic cartridge use. The Sharps rifles became icons of the American Old West with their appearances in many Western-genre films and books. Perhaps as a result, several rifle companies offer reproductions of the Sharps rifle.
The M1819 Hall rifle was a single-shot breech-loading rifle designed by John Hancock Hall, patented on May 21, 1811, and adopted by the U.S. Army in 1819. It was preceded by the Harpers Ferry M1803. It used a pivoting chamber breech design and was made with either flintlock or percussion cap ignition systems. The years of production were from the 1820s to the 1840s at the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. This was the first breech-loading rifle to be adopted in large numbers by any nation's army, but not the first breech-loading military rifle – the Ferguson rifle was used briefly by the British Army in the American Revolutionary War. The Hall rifle remained overshadowed by common muskets and muzzleloading rifles which were still prevalent until the Civil War. The early flintlocks were mostly converted to percussion ignition.
The Enfield Pattern 1853 rifle-musket was a .577 calibre Minié-type muzzle-loading rifled musket, used by the British Empire from 1853 to 1867; after which many were replaced in service by the cartridge-loaded Snider–Enfield rifle.
The Colt New Model Revolving rifles were early repeating rifles produced by the Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1855 until 1864. The design was essentially similar to revolver type pistols, with a rotating cylinder that held five or six rounds in a variety of calibers from .36 to .64 inches. They were mainly based upon the Colt Model 1855 Sidehammer Pocket Revolver developed by Elisha K. Root. Colt revolving pistols and rifles were attractive mainly because of their high rate of fire. They were used to a limited extent on the Pony Express, and made a brief appearance in the American Civil War. However, the rifles were generally disliked by soldiers, and were ultimately discontinued due to serious design flaws.
A paper cartridge is one of various types of small arms ammunition used before the advent of the metallic cartridge. These cartridges consisted of a paper cylinder or cone containing the bullet, gunpowder, and in some cases, a primer or a lubricating and anti-fouling agent. Combustible cartridges are paper cartridges that use paper treated with oxidizers to allow them to burn completely upon ignition.
During the American Civil War, an assortment of small arms found their way onto the battlefield. Though the muzzleloader percussion cap rifle was the most numerous weapon, being standard issue for the Union and Confederate armies, many other firearms, ranging from the single-shot breech-loading Sharps and Burnside rifles to the Spencer and the Henry rifles - two of the world's first repeating rifles - were issued by the hundreds of thousands, mostly by the Union. The Civil War brought many advances in firearms technology, most notably the widespread use of rifled barrels.
The .44 Henry, also known as the .44 Rimfire, the .44 Long Rimfire, or the 11x23mmR in Europe, is a rimfire rifle and handgun cartridge featuring a .875 in (22.2 mm)-long brass or copper case. The round has a total overall length of 1.345 in (34.2 mm), with a 200 or 216 gr .446 in (11.3 mm)-diameter cast solid-lead heeled bullet. The original propellant load is 26 to 28 gr of black powder. The round has a muzzle velocity of approximately 1,125 ft/s (343 m/s), giving a muzzle energy of 568 foot-pounds.
The Springfield Model 1855 was a rifled musket widely used in the American Civil War. It exploited the advantages of the new conical Minié ball, which could be deadly at over 1,000 yards (910 m). It was a standard infantry weapon for Union and Confederates alike, until the Springfield Model 1861 supplanted it, obviating the use of the insufficiently weather resistant Maynard tape primer.
Frank Wesson rifles were a series of single-shot rifles manufactured between 1859 and 1888 in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were purchased by many state governments during the American Civil War, including Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Ohio. They were one of the first rifles to use rimfire metallic cartridges.
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