Metcalfe Civil War Sniper Rifle

[wolf_meister]

A long time ago, on the TV show General Electric “True”, an episode dealt with a person named Metcalfe (from Massachusetts I think) who invented an extremely accurate rifle. The rifle was to be used to shoot a Confederate General at a camp a mile away. (That would be an incredible distance even by today’s standards).
The rifle, platform and instrumentation were rather complicated and I think it took a few days to get the rifle properly alligned. It took 5 seconds for the bullet to travel the one mile distance to its intended victim. Although not immediately fatal, the general later died from that bullet wound.
I have tried searching the Internet many times trying to find this story. The Metcalfe family were involved in firearms but I have never even found 1 instance of this story. I’m surprised it is never mentioned in “Believe It Or Not” or other similar publications.
Does anyone have any more details to this story? (Particularly, who was the victim, the date, was the rifle ever used again, etc?)

[Ice_Wolf]

The Spencer rifle is believed to have been, along with the Henry, the most powerful rifles used in the Civil War.

…they were better weapons that has yet taken their place, being strong and not easily injured by the rough usage of army movements, and carrying a projectiile that disabled any man who was unlucky enough to be hit by it." One of his soldiers wrote about the Spencer that it “never got out of repair. **It would shoot a mile just as accurately as the finest rifle in the world. **It was the easiest gun to handle in the manual of arms drill I have ever seen. It could be taken all to pieces to clean, and hence was little trouble to keep in order – quite an item to lazy soldiers.”

Bolding mine.

Could this have been confused with the Metcalfe rifle?

[wolf_meister]

Ice Wolf
Thanks for the quick reply. I am relying on a show I only saw once and it was (ahem) 40 years ago. Still, I could almost be 100% sure that it was some guy named Metcalfe that was the designer/assassin. However, from the description of the Spencer Rifle, that seems it could have done an effective job.

[Nametag]

http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Stage/2950/Anthology/GeneralElectricTrue.htm

General Electric “True”: MILE LONG SHOT TO KILL
25Nov62 CBS Sun
produced by Michael Meshekoff
teleplay by Harold Bloom
directed by William Conrad
director of photography Carl Guthrie
Relates how the telescopic rifle was developed and how it was used
during the Civil War by Lt. John T. Metcalf, to fire on a Confederate
general from a mile away.

http://www.blackpowderspg.com/productarticle.html

Metcalf, along with some picked men built a sniper’s blind at the crest of “Blood Top” to accommodate a bench rest for a heavy .68 caliber slug rifle made reportedly by Abe Williams. The rifle had telescopic sights and was adapted to machine rest shooting. Metcalf used surveyor’s instruments to triangulate the distance from his blind to the Confederate general’s tent at one mile, one hundred and eighty-seven feet. He then constructed the benchrest in order that it could be turned 180 degrees and the rifle shot in the opposite direction. Metcalf and his men proceeded to sight the gun in at the measured distance while taking notes as to barometric pressure, humidity, temperature, light, and wind velocity. Once he had the rifle zeroed for the triangulated distance, he reversed the bench and waited for similar conditions in order to make his shot.

He was offered a chance at a high-ranking officer the next day; making a slight allowance for a change in the wind he took the shot. Estimated time of flight for the bullet was four and three-quarters seconds; ironically in that time the intended target stepped out of harms way and General Lainhart, the commanding officer, stepped into the line of fire. He was hit squarely in the chest and immediately collapsed. At this point the Union Army coordinated an attack on the camp with artillery and infantry. The Confederates, confused and demoralized by the loss of their general, fled the field.

[Ice_Wolf]

Somehow, I’m sceptical. :dubious:

Is there any other cite for General Lainhart, who apparently was shot and killed, was a commanding officer, yet doesn’t seem to be on any list of Confederate generals online? Was any other reference work published including this story, other than the book Our Rifles referred to? And when did the incident take place?

Telescopic sights were apparently used at Fort Sumter, and orders given down by the War Department for squads to be trained in their use in 1861. But this incident, which should be so famous, seems hardly recorded.

[wolf_meister]

Nametag
Thanks for the tremendous amount of research you did.

Of course, Ice Wolf makes an interesting point. I couldn’t find anything on Google about this and you’d think they’d have something on this event.
Still, I think “True” was narrated and produced by Jack Webb who was a stickler for accuracy (although admittedly, some of his TV shows slipped up every now and then).

Nonetheless, Nametag thanks for all the details you managed to find.

[Reeder]

There is no General Lainhart listed for the Confederates.

http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/cong_l.html