In just one short week the reputation of the [Third Arkansas Regiment] with a rifle had become legend. Their deadly markmanship was a source of wonder to men from other states training in the area. The hill men of "F" Company claimed that they learned this trade while "barking" squirrels in Arkansas. This, they said, was the art of firing a bullet between a spuirrel's ers so close to his head tht the shock killed him, thereby doing no damage to the animal. Witnesses who saw them shoot had no doubt as to the accuracy of this tale! These men with the strange, soft accent, so foreign to the men of Virginia, had brought with them a peculiar piece of equipment which also became legend in the Army - a vicious-looking knife. This weapon was about twelve inches long and had a peculiar-shaped, slightly-curved blade of three inches in width that ended in a sudden, razor-edged point. This nasty instrument had the dubious title of "Arkansas toothpick." Practically every man in the regiment carried one of these weapons and through mock battles demonstrated that they were masters in its use!
(from They'll Do to Tie To, by Major Calvin L. Collier) My great-grandfather served in this regiment.
1 comment:
That is a neat piece of history!
Post a Comment