The Model 1859 Sharps Rifle and Telescopic Sight Used in Harper's Donelson

When planning to write a series of historical novels set in the American Civil War (ACW) I needed to decide what would be the firearm of choice for the main character, James (Jamie) Harper.  Although he serves in an infantry unit, I wanted Harper and his battalion to carry a weapon other than the Springfield rifled muskets assigned to most of the Federal infantry regiments.

Sharps Rifle Model 1859

I needed a weapon which had distinctive properties and which had existed long enough prior to the war that Harper could have used it when he served as a U.S. Deputy Marshall in the Nebraska-Dakota territory.  It did not take long to settle on the Sharps rifle as Harper’s weapon of choice because of its relative uniqueness on the Civil war battlefield, the reputation of the weapon with the First and Second U.S. Sharpshooter regiments, and because they were produced in sufficient numbers that the purchase of six hundred rifles by a battalion benefactor was a plausible premise.

The Model 1859 was reported to have a maximum effective range of one thousand yards.  When I was writing the first drafts of the Shiloh Trilogy, I accepted this number at face value and had my characters, happily blazing away at hapless Confederates from ranges over half a mile.  That was until I moved into an office with a window.

One day while busily writing away, I happened to gaze out of the window and mentally go through a sniper’s checklist on a target on the other side of the freeway.  While doing so, it became obvious that trying to sight onto a target the size of a single man over that distance would be very difficult without a telescope.  The apparent target size is about the same height as the front sight of most rifles.  Out of curiosity, I checked Google Maps and discovered that the house across the freeway was only six hundred yards away!

So, if my hero was to earn his reputation as a marksman, either he would have to have supernatural eyesight, or he would need a telescope on his rifle.  This set me on a quest to discover whether a telescope had ever been used with the Model 1859 Sharps Rifle.  I checked the websites of the two companies currently manufacturing this model or its successor, the model 1862.  No, they did not manufacture telescopes for the rifles, nor did they provide any modifications which would allow a scope to be mounted and aligned on the weapon.

Next, I did a search of antique firearms dealers and contacted many of them via email or telephone.  All returned the same response: the Model 1859/1862 Sharps Rifle did not use a telescopic sight.  So, I resigned myself to rewriting those chapters where Harper takes on targets at extreme ranges.

Fortunately for Harper and his men, I did one final internet search, trying to prove that the Model 1859 could mount a telescope.

Voila!  The Horse Soldier, a military antiques dealer in Gettysburg Pennsylvania showed exactly the weapon of Harper’s dreams in their on-line catalogue: a Model 1859 Sharps Rifle with a telescopic sight manufactured by William Malcolm of Syracuse, NY.  The Horse Soldier description of the rifle included a serial number associated with those on the weapons issued to the USSS regiments.

Sharps Model 1859 with Malcolm Telescopic Sight

So now, I can show the documentation proving that such a combination could have existed at the time in which the Shiloh Trilogy takes place. Unfortunately, I did not have the $12,000 asking price for the weapon and even if I had, it sold the same day that I found it.

My thanks go out to the National Museum of American History for use of the photo with the open sights and to The Horse Soldier for allowing the use of their photograph with the Malcolm sight.  

 

 

 

Harper's Donelson is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble On-Line, Smashwords, and Kobo.

 

Sean Kevin Gabhann is a Vietnam-era combat veteran of the US Navy.  He first became interested in American Civil War history during the centennial celebration and he owns an extensive library of primary and secondary material related to Civil War.  He especially wants to write about campaigns in the West because of a fascination with the careers of U.S Grant and W.T. Sherman.  Gabhann lives in San Diego, California.

Together is Better

I missed this post by a week, so I apologize for that.

As I continue to chronicle my writing journey, I wanted to touch a bit more on some of the other benefits of being a part of a writing group. I mentioned last time, that I belong to AllWriters Workplace and Workshop, but there are groups everywhere if you look hard enough.

Last night I came away from my Monday night group feeling energized and inspired. In a single night's reading, we had a poem, a fiction thriller novel work-in progress, another novel about a basketball player on-the-rise, and a children's book about a magic bear. We also have a guy working on a dysfunctional relationship story, a woman's memoir about growing up with a cop for a father, and a few others in the mix. (There is 10 of us in the group).

Workshopping at AllWriters' Retreat

And as a writer, I have to ask, where else can you be exposed to such a diverse group of genres and talent levels? It is invaluable to cheer one another on and point out fuzzy areas.

Along those lines, another function of this studio that I've really enjoyed in the past was their Spring Retreat. It is typically held on the grounds of an active monastery, so quiet is not a problem. Ha! We

Techny Tower Grounds

take over the old nun's quarters and for four days and three nights we do nothing but write, critique and network. (There might be some laughing and goofing off that goes on too.)

The thing about this retreat that allows a person to be more productive than being at home is the fact that you are AWAY from

2013 Retreat Gang

home. Away from distractions, laundry, kids, and the thousand attention grabbing things that beckon for your time. The nice thing is you can write anywhere you like - in your room, in a common area, or even outside. It is quality writing time, for sure.

The last thing I wanted to mention about this studio was their "Celebrity Saturday" series. Every couple of months they get a guest author or poet in to workshop with people for a 5 hour stretch on a Saturday. I was lucky to get in on one with one of my favorite authors, Michael Perry. These authors use a variety of teaching methods to help the students become better at writing, marketing, and networking.

So that is the gist of getting involved in a writing group or writing studio. All kinds of opportunities to get better and get published.

Next month I'll talk a bit about my promotional and marketing efforts.

Hope to see you then,

The Quiet

(Writing Life)

  

Mom is trying to be a Writer.

So we’re being quiet and leaving her alone.

As we tip-toe, stomp-foot into the kitchen searching for cookies. Searching, searching till Mom asks What are you looking for? and we say Cookies and she says They’re in the cupboard drawer labeled cookies and we shrug and say That’s weird and stomp-foot back upstairs.

Trailing crumbs as the dog follows us vacuum cleaner style, which is the right and proper job of dogs and how they earn their keep.

Mom is trying to be a Writer so Dad hisses Quiet! Louder than we ever are and Sister wants peach yogurt not spiced pear and isn’t there any left and Mom says I dunno and Sister asks again,

and again,

and again,

and again.

While Dad runs the garbage disposal (which as everyone knows is super quiet), and Littlest Brother says Be Quiet! to Sister who sticks out her tongue and Dad yells We need more wood!  Which evidently doesn’t count as noise because if the fire dies we will all freeze to death and Mom’s fingers will be stuck to her computer keys forever; or at least until spring thaw by which time she will have starved or maybe even lost that weight she’s been talking about losing since Littlest Brother was in diapers.

Minutes pass. Mom’s fingers are still. We imagine she is Thinking..

And the microwave beeps and Dad rummages in the spice cupboard while making the grocery list for dinner, and Oldest Brother - spotting Middle Brother eating a bagel by the fire - exclaims Is that the last bagel! 

To which Middle Brother replies, I Ttihinbm Swo.

And Oldest Brother hollers, What? 

And Middle Brother hollers back, I Thinkbm Swo!

And Dad hisses Be Quiet!! And Littlest Brother says Mom needs a Be Quiet sign! And Oldest Brother hollers, Well what the crap is he saying? 

And Mom yells HE SAYS I THINK SO!

So Mom, who is trying to be a Writer, decides to stay up late to work. And now it’s dark outside and kinda creepy and are those coyote eyes gleaming?  The fire has burned low though she has the space heater and a cuppa tea and a bag of spice cookies and it's blessedly quiet with a full moon shining in through a window she feels not quite positively certain no one is standing outside of.

Mom’s fingers click doggedly upon the keys and her mind races and she think thinks: wasn’t that a scratch at the back door and I’m no doubt imagining the moving shadows outside the window. Isn't it odd here when everyone is asleep but me, and dang but this space heater is burning up my right leg while the left is freezing right off and this flippin' hard chair's making my butt numb.

Virginia Woolf advocated having a room of one’s own - but look how she ended up. Though I do have a room of my own and another one besides, so why’d I put my desk so near the family room in the first place?

Because trying to be a Writer takes diligence and tenacity and perseverance and total insanity; plus the other rooms are cold and lonely and no doubt that’s part of the reason poor Virginia drowned herself.

It was the Quiet.

She just couldn't take it.

L.D.B. Taylor (aka Lisa) is the author of several books whose newest manuscript is pending publication; she is represented by Rena Rossner. Formerly of Its Own Sweet Will, she now blogs at LDBTaylor.com (a very new, work in progress!) A lifelong reader and writer, Lisa appreciates wit, sarcasm, chocolate, hot tea, cool mountain evenings, travel, and books by the score.

Incredibly cheesy photo of Lisa.

  

Learning The Ropes

As I mentioned last month, one of the best decisions I've made as a writer was to enroll in a class/critique group at a local studio in Waukesha. Here is how it works.

My AllWriters Workplace and Workshop class meets once a week, in my case on Monday nights from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. There's anywhere from 8-11 people in class and everyone brings up to 10 pages, (or 3 poems for poetry). Then, as your turn comes up you read your work. Copies are passed out to the students and they mark them up and critique after you are done reading. They tell you what they like, what didn't make sense and what they disliked. It is intended to be a positive feedback loop - no one is scorned or ridiculed - Lord knows writers do that enough to themselves.

I cannot undersell the importance of this group/process. It makes my writing better and helps me to encourage and critique other writers. It is the single thing I most emphasize to someone thinking about starting to write. Get in a group. No writer should be on an island.

But the group has done so much more for me than just help my writing. They encouraged me to submit my first work. When I had my first little poem accepted for publication I was ecstatic! How silly it seems now, but what that poem did was fuel my desire for publication. I started submitting more and more and, in large part because of the good editing I was getting from the group, I had decent luck getting work accepted routinely.

The group also holds three events called the Friday Night Free For All. At these events, students of the studio read from four different genres, Poetry, Memoir, Short Story and Novel. Because I have been chosen to do this on a number of occasions, it has helped my public speaking skills. We are encouraged to introduce ourselves and read a bit of our published work.

Writers as a general rule, tend to be introverted people. Reading in front of a group can be fairly daunting, but as writers, we need to know how to do it. If you write a book, someday, whether you want to or not, you will be required to read it in front of people, sometimes several times. And if you want to do it well, you have to look at it as performance in every sense of the word. As much as I'm not a crowd person, I went ahead and took advantage of every chance and got a little better each time I spoke.

So, good feedback, first time publication and presenting in front of a group are just a few of the things I've benefited from by being part of this writing group. Next month I'll touch on a few more things I've come away with.

Join me in March, won't you?

#NewRelease -- Sundown Western Tales -- Giveaway!

Do you love stories about the untamed days of the Old West? Well, pardner, this is one collection of short tales you will not want to pass up!  From old standards like Max Brand and Zane Grey to new authors and those in between, you’re sure to find these stories to your liking.  Settle back in your easy chair and get ready for ten fantastic tales of action and adventure that will pull you right in and have you reaching for your own pistol as you read!

In Zane Grey’s story, “The Horses of Bostil’s Ford”, a man’s horse means everything…

Richard  Prosch’s “Storm Damage” is the tale of a man finally getting the woman he always wanted.

There’s nothing better than a dog in Big Jim Williams’s “Riding Fence”—where a loyal canine friend saves a ranch hand’s life in a blizzard.

They say there’s a fortune to be made in picking up “Buffalo Bones”. Charlie Steel’s character, Smiley, will keep you guessing.

The young son of a gallows-builder places a bet with a school chum that a hard-to-hang prisoner will meet his fate, at last, in Kyle Rudek’s “The Man Who Wouldn’t Hang”.

In “Love’s Lonesome Serenade—The River Romance”, Lane Pierce pens a tale of escape and unexpected romance between a young gunman and a soiled dove.

W.M. Shockley’s “Mordecai” is a man determined to hold on to what’s his to the very end—even if he’s not sure he wants it.

A young man is killed, and a beautiful horse is accidentally shot, changing the course of several lives in Robert Steele’s  “The Good Shooting”.

The Hicks brothers stir up trouble with the wrong drifter in Gordon Rottman’s story, “Missing But Not Missed”.

“The Cure of Silver Canyon” is a wonderful Max Brand western short that blends plenty of drama, action, and emotion into an exciting read.

Don’t miss this new western anthology from SUNDOWN PRESS!

Be sure and leave a comment for a chance to win a free ebook!

Buy Links  Barnes and Noble    Smashwords    Kobo    iBook

Finding a Niche

When I left off last month, I had just talked to a friend who recommended I take another class to see where it took my writing.

I am so glad I listened!

On her advice, I inquired at AllWriters' Workplace and Workshop about their Wendesday workshop. AllWriters is a writing studio in downtown Waukesha, Wisconsin that caters to all writing styles. The director, Kathie Giorgio, said I was welcome to "audit" a session on a Wednesday night, so I took her up on the deal.

Let me say that I was incredibly apprehensive going into the room. I hadn't written much at all formally, so was sure I'd be the greenest writer in the place. Well, I was greeted with warmth and acceptance. The writing levels were all over the map - from novice to polished and published. There were poets, musician/writers and a few people looking for a way to tap something inside them. I shared a bit of what I'd scribbled in my notebook with the group and it was well received. By the end of class, I knew this was exactly where I should be.

I enrolled in the class that week seven years ago and have been enrolled on and off ever since. It was one of the best decisions I could have made. At class we bring in up to 10 pages of double-spaced writing and read it before the group. When we're done, the group of 8-12 people critique it. The critiques are intended to be positive and supportive. We're hard on each other but in a supportive way. We push each other because we want the best from one another. In the process of it all, we laugh and laugh. It is a fun group.

As a writer, I cannot say enough about how important it is to have a good critique group. It is the single most important thing you can do with your writing. I've found it's easy to think your writing is beautiful and perfect, only to bring it to group and have it humbly put in its place. It only serves to make me a better writer though, so I take it for what it is.

Next month, I'll talk more about this studio and some of the success it has helped me achieve.