Timothy Murphy: Is the Revolutionary War Sniper’s Shot the Best Ever?

By williammiller

The battles at Lexington and Concord in April of 1775 launched the American Revolution, but the “shot heard round the world” would’ve meant nothing if not for a lead ball fired two years later near Saratoga, N.Y.

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Rally Shot

On Oct. 7, 1777, British Brigadier General Simon Fraser boldly rode onto Bemis Heights, rallying his troops in a desperate fight with rebel sharpshooters. American Major General Benedict Arnold marveled at Fraser’s audacity but feared it, too. “That man on the gray horse is a host unto himself and must be disposed of,” Arnold told Colonel Daniel Morgan, the sharpshooters’ commander.

Morgan sent a trusted marksman up a tree to target Fraser, who soon fell from the saddle, shot in the guts. The rally sputtered, the redcoats fled and the rebels won the Saratoga Campaign—and much more.

It was the first major victory of Americans over a similarly sized British force and proved the …Read the Rest

Source:: Tactical Life