History, Competition And Camaraderie At The N-SSA 133rd Nationals

By Bruce Miller · Originally published July 2016 · pp. 1–5

WINCHESTER, VA — The North-South Skirmish Association held its 133rd National Competition May 20-22, 2016. At Fort Shenandoah near Winchester, Virginia member units competed in live-fire matches with original or authentic reproduction Civil War period muskets, carbines, breech loading rifles, revolvers, mortars and cannons. It is the largest Civil War event of its kind. The N-SSA has over 3,200 individuals that make up its 200 member units. Dressed in the uniforms soldiers wore 150 years ago, and each unit represents a Civil War regiment. Competitions are called “skirmishes” where participating teams shoot at breakable targets in several timed events. The teams with the lowest cumulative times win medals or other awards. Women participate along with the men in all events. There are also competitions for the authenticity of Civil War period dress, both military and civilian, as well as lectures on topics of interest. Despite a few bouts with cold and rainy conditions, the stalwarts who braved the storm competed with their usual gusto and enjoyed the competition and camaraderie. The competition began with individual matches which are available for all Civil War period firearms from rifle muskets to single shot pistols. The competitors order their targets well in advance of the Nationals. For example, a competitor can order only one 50-yard and one 100-yard target for the rifle musket match. They can also order a score for the aggregate of the two targets if they choose to. There is no warm up and once the targets are shot there is no reentry. Targets are retrieved by the host team staff and are taken to the Stat House where host team staff assigned there must score more targets than you can imagine over the duration of the matches on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. For example, at the 133rd, they scored over 1,000 rifle musket targets, over 800 carbine targets and nearly 700 smoothbore musket targets. Competitors are classified for each firearm they shoot based on the average of their previous three matches and are reclassified after each National in which they participate. The team matches begin on Friday morning. As with individual matches, each unit is classified based on prior performance; A-1, A-2, A-3; if they enter a second team they are classified “B” and a third or more teams “C”. Set up for the revolver team matches begins bright and early at 7:30 a.m. with phase one immediately followed by phase 2. The favored revolver is the Rogers & Spencer, but many prefer the Remington, Colt Army and Navy models too. Seventy-eight four-person teams participated in the match of four events: 12 clay pigeons on a cardboard backer; eight hanging 6”x6” ceramic tiles; eight hanging clay pigeons and eight hanging 4”x4” ceramic tiles. With a terrific time of 139.8 seconds, the Iredell Blues finished first and claimed the gold medals. With the completion of the revolver match, the team matches are then moved to the main range. With over 60 shooting positions, each accommodating eight shooters, this range is over a quarter mile in length. It is observed and controlled by welltrained host staff members who man their important positions in the main control tower and three sub towers. On the ground, each team match relay requires a timer and safety officer to insure that all proper procedures are observed. Safety is always the first consideration at every N-SSA event. The smoothbore musket team match was next on the schedule. This relatively new match has become increasingly popular and, as you can imagine, a great test of skill. Competitors participate with many different firearms including the U.S. Model 1842; Confederate Macon Arsenal conversions of the Model 1842; the Hewes & Philips conversion of the U.S. Model 1816 (which features a rear sight) and the occasional European Potsdam in .72 caliber. The match is comprised of four events, including the extra challenging silhouette of a tiny clay pot and the Nansemond Guards bested 111 other units to finish first with a total time of 188.3 seconds. Friday’s shooting adventure then continued with the concurrent breech loading rifle and Spencer team these rifles can be shot. The speedy 2nd Maryland Artillery (CSA) took just 142.2 seconds to claim the gold medals. It was a bit different with the four units that competed with their magazine-fed Spencer’s as the 46th Illinois Infantry came in first at 775.8 seconds. matches. Fifty-two teams competed in the breech loading match, primarily with Henry rifles. Competitors can load their magazine to capacity, but when empty must then single load. You have to see this match to believe just how fast and accurately

Inside this issue:

23 – Ask The Appraiser 8 – Black Powder, White Smoke 11 – Book Reviews 28 – Classifieds

The final shoulder arm matches of the day were the concurrent single shot rifle match and the traditional musket match. In the single shot match, most participants shoot a Sharps rifle or Ballard rifle or carbine. The winner of that 21 team match was the 149th Pennsylvania Infantry, who beat out their closest competition by a hearty 24.3 seconds. While all firearms permitted in N-SSA matches must adhere to strict regulations regarding alterations from original issue, the traditional musket match is shot with rifle muskets as issued in the Civil War with no alterations whatsoever. The teams use paper cartridges and dress authentically, right down to their footwear. The Union Guard, (Company A, 19th Indiana Infantry) won this match handily. The final event of Friday was the mortar team match which featured a whopping 67 entrants. We saw everything from ringing brass Coehorn’s to gigantic siege mortars again this year. It is always great fun to watch this match because you can follow the flight of the projectile given the relatively low muzzle velocity. The mortar teams fire seven shots at a stake 100 yards down range. Officials then carefully measure the distance from the stake and tally the best five shots for score. The overall winner was Hazelwood’s Volunteers gun #1 with a five shot aggregate score of 21’2.5”. Saturday brought the rain, but it could not dampen the enthusiasm of the 112 units that prepared for the carbine matches. Many units staged “easy-up” covers on their position to keep their firearms and ammunition dry. Lots of towels were in use as the competitors tried to prevent rust forming before their very eyes. Smith carbines are a favorite in this match, and many are valuable originals. Skirmishers are also fond of Sharps’ carbines, and you will often see Burnsides’, Maynard’s and even muzzle-loading carbines and musketoons in this match of speed and accuracy. The program consisted of five events: four at 50 yards and one at 100 yards. When the smoke cleared, the 149th Pennsylvania Infantry came out victorious with a nice time of 375.1 seconds and beating the next closest unit by a healthy 23.6 seconds. The 149th PVI had now won two team matches. Saturday’s team matches then continued with a spectator favorite: the artillery matches. The range is reconfigured so that the cannons fire perpendicular to the regular firing line. Target frames and their paper targets are set at a range of 200 yards. Each cannon fires a solid shot at two targets; a bull’s eye and a silhouette of a cannon facing them that simulates counter battery fire. A maximum of 7 shots are fired on either target with a maximum point count of 25 per target. A perfect score is 50 points. Authentic or exact scale replicas of Civil War artillery pieces may be fired. The term “Civil War” applies to any artillery piece whose model antedates April 26, 1865. Crews consist of no less than six registered artillery crew members for all class guns. The guns are classified by type: smoothbore, rifled, howitzer and rifled howitzer. Despite the rain and mud, the winning scores were terrific. In the smoothbore class, the Dixie Artillery won with a 49-2V (“V” represents the dead center of the center ring). In the rifled class, the 15th Independent Battery, Ohio Light Artillery gun #1 shot an amazing 50-4V and in the howitzer class, the 3rd U. S. Infantry shot a lights-out 50-5V. The 5th Virginia Volunteer Infantry won the rifled howitzer class with a 41-2V. The accuracy of these Civil War cannons is truly amazing. The fun-filled Saturday concluded with the awards ceremony which was moved indoors from the Memorial Park to the barn where the medals and trophies were presented to winners in all matches staged so far. Sunday brought more rain, but 149 rifle musket teams were prepared to brave the elements and battle the clock in the N-SSA signature match. With so many teams competing, the match was staged in two phases; one at 8 a.m. and the next at 12:30 p.m. Both phases include impressive opening ceremonies where all participating units form up together with their colors flying. The band played the National Anthem, Dixie and The Battle Cry of Freedom and non-shooting awards were presented to deserving N-SSA members who have done extraordinary service to the organization. With the ceremonies over, the five-event match commenced. All N-SSA targets are breakable, and the pieces certainly flew as clay pigeons, ceramic tiles and pot silhouettes were blasted by minie balls. When it was all over, the 149th Pennsylvania Infantry had claimed the biggest of all prizes, and their third match win of the weekend, with a time of 469.5 seconds and a nice lead of 26.1 seconds over the second place finisher. With the 133rd National Competition in the record books, skirmishers cleaned their muskets, packed their gear and headed home, leaving the host units to put the range back in order (all units rotate nonshooting host duties). Most of us are already looking forward to next fall. The 134th National Competition is scheduled for October 7-9, 2016 at Fort Shenandoah, just north of Winchester, Virginia. If you’re a Civil War enthusiast ready for the experience of period firearms competition or just more information, visit our web site at www.n-ssa.org.

The gunner sights in his unit’s 3-inch Ordnance Rifle during the cannon matches. There are four classes of guns in competition: rifled, smoothbore, howitzer and rifled howitzer.