Jack Hinson's One Man War, A Civil War Sniper

A quiet, unassuming, and wealthy plantation owner, Jack Hinson was focused on his family life and seasonal plantings when the Civil War started to permeate the isolated valleys of the Kentucky-Tennessee border area where he lived. He was uniquely neutral--friend to both Confederate and Union generals--and his family exemplified the genteel, educated, gracious, and hardworking qualities highly valued in their society. By the winter of 1862, the Hinsons' happy way of life would change forever.

Jack Hinson's neutrality was shattered the day Union patrols moved in on his land, captured two of his sons, accused them of being bushwhackers, and executed them on the roadside. The soldiers furthered the abuse by decapitating the Hinson boys and placing their heads on the gateposts of the family estate. The Civil War, now literally on Hinson's doorstep, had become painfully personal, and he could remain dispassionate no longer. He commissioned a special rifle, a heavy-barreled .50-caliber weapon designed for long-range accuracy. He said goodbye to his family, and he took to the wilderness seeking revenge.

Hinson, nearly sixty years of age, alone, and without formal military training, soon became a deadly threat to the Union. A Confederate sniper, he made history after single-handedly bringing down an armed Union transport and serving as a scout for Nathan Bedford Forrest. A tenacious and elusive figure, Hinson likely killed more than one hundred Union soldiers, recording the confirmed deaths on the barrel of his rifle with precision.

Despite the numbers of men sent to kill him, Hinson evaded all capture, and like his footsteps through the Kentucky and Tennessee underbrush, his story has been shrouded in silence--until now. The result of fifteen years of research, this remarkable biography presents the never-before-told history of Jack Hinson, his savage war on his country, and the brutal cost of vengeance and war.


This is one of those books that you do not want to put down till you finish reading the last sentence.


Jack Hinson's One-Man War, A Civil War Sniper Hardcover – January 27, 2009 by Tom McKenney (Author)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1589806409/?tag=survivalmonke-20

 

It just goes to show, that heavy handed injustice creates and strengthens resistance. When an occupying force treats civilians arbitrarily and institute summary punishment without due process of the law, then innocents on both sides of the conflict will be hurt.

 

IIRC the Ninja's started out as something like that?

Got fed up with being sword test dummies just because... or some such?

 

And THIS is why we need a book club!

@RouteClearance How come no link, no ISBN or Author? Tsk! Tsk! You're slipping, RC, me lad...
I think this is it. It is quite expensive for a Kindle book $15 ($20.56 for Hardcover) and I normally would not even look at it until the price dropped (because it's pure price gouging, nothing more, nothing less) but I am salivating I want to read this so badly. I might check the library first to at least try to keep to my standards but it's definitely on my short list. That is for sure! Thank you very much, RC!

JACK HINSON'S ONE-MAN WAR
by Tom C. McKenney
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IWRNDI/?tag=survivalmonke-20

@chelloveck 'It just goes to show, that heavy handed injustice creates and strengthens resistance."
Jesse and Frank James, the Youngers, and many more were the result of Northern 'heavy handed injustice'...
And, let's not forget my favorite - Josie Wales!...think I will go watch that movie now...for the 100th time LOL!

 

I did have a link to the Amazon page, but have no clue as to why it is gone.

Most books I buy from Amazon are used. I paid $15.99 for this one and it looked new to me.

 

My local Library has a copy, and I am now on the list for when it comes in. Thanks for the heads up RC, this is right up my book reading alley.

 

I was speaking in general terms...not specifically the Northern occupation of Confederate States territory.

The James brothers are not quite in the same category as Hinson. Given the James brothers history, Id suggest that they were bad'uns from the beginning...they weren't made bad by their experiences at the hands of the Union. They certainly following the owl hoot trail well after the war finished.....for self benefit, more so than revenge on Union jayhawkers.

Josie Wales....well, he's just a Hollywood fictional character...(very) loosely based on Bushwhacker Bill Wilson, supposedly. Josie Wales, aka Bushwhacker Bill Wilson Wilson is a better comparison with Hinson, but undoubtedly Wales has more of the myth and Legend to his story than might possibly be the case with Wilson.

 

I've heard it's an incredible book.

 

Being a Tennessean, I have always had a tremendous interest in Nathan Forrest, particularly the damage he did to Johnsonville and the Yankee Gunboats on the Tennessee River. I have heard Hinson mentioned several time throughout my research into Forrest's campaign. I will look forward to reading this book.

 

The Second Battle of Sabine Pass took place on September 8, 1863, the result of a failed Union Army attempt to invade the Confederate state of Texas during the American Civil War. It has often been credited as the most one-sided Confederate victory during the War.

Dowling's well practiced Irish-Texan artillerymen, whose chosen and officially approved unit name was "Jefferson Davis Guards", had placed range-stakes in the two narrow and shallow (5-to-7 feet or 1.5-to-2.1 m) river channels. These were the "Texas channel" near the southwest shore and the "Louisiana channel" against the Louisiana shore. The white-painted stakes were for determining accurate range of the fort's guns: six old smooth-bore cannon. Each "Davis Guards" gun crew during gunnery practice thereby worked to predetermine the approximate charge (amount of gunpowder) needed for each type projectile available for their specific gun (ball, canister, or grapeshot); and which specific guns, charges, and loads had the best potential to hit each range-stake.

Crocker's squadron had no local river pilots, only general knowledge of the river's channels, no assurance of locations of the constantly varying depths especially of large oyster-shell "reefs" or "banks" between the river's two channels. Regarding this battle no mention is found in official U.S. Navy reports of whether Union sailors were making observations and taking depth soundings from the gunboats' now dangerous top decks, while the Confederate cannon shots pounded and shook their ships. The few maps to which they had access were old and outdated or could not account for recent changes in river-bottom conditions. On Captain Crocker's signal the Sachem, followed by Arizona, advanced up the right channel (Louisiana side) as fast as they dared, firing their port-side guns at the fort. Clifton approached in the lead, ascending the Texas channel at full speed. Granite City hovered out of range behind Clifton, having orders not to risk debarking the 500 assault troops until the fort surrendered or its guns were silenced. As Sachem entered among the range-stakes, the Confederates opened fire. Then Clifton came into range, followed by Arizona. Despite their old smoothbore cannon, one of which had just become inoperable, after only a few rounds it was obvious the Confederate artillerymen's months of training and target practice was an astounding success as their aim was deadly accurate.

The Union fleet lost two warships with a total of 13 heavy cannon, including at least two new potent Parrott rifles, two dozen killed and badly wounded, about 37 missing (including several "colored men" U.S. sailors), and 315 Navy men captured. The combined Union Army and Navy invasion force withdrew and returned to New Orleans. The Confederates had no casualties.

The Fort had 46 men, Texans, to defeat 5000 (yes, 5K) Union soldiers and 22 US Navy ships. Texas did not suffer the horrors visited upon the rest of the South because of 46 men...and their ranged weapons. In the end, it was all for nought.

(use Second Battle of Sabine Pass as a search string to find photos, more history and links to State of Texas historical sites)

 

The only reason they took Vicksburg was because ALL of the cannon lining the Mississippi missed (I've heard theorys on bad powder), unlike every other time they tried to take the city by boat. That stroke of luck was the turning point.

 

" Josie Wales " , always time well spent..

 

Other Names for the Civil War.

Northerners have also called the Civil War - the War to Preserve the Union, the War of the Rebellion or War of the Southern Rebellion, and the War to Make Men Free.
Southerners may refer to it as the War Between the States or properly, the War of Northern Aggression.

In addition, I've also seen
"Historians" using the term "War of the Rebellion" or the "Great Rebellion", while the Confederate term was "War for Southern Independence"

In several European languages, the war is called "War of Secession".
In most East Asian languages, the war is called "Battle between North and South side of the United States" or more commonly as "American (US) North-South War", depending of their languages.

I have also seen it refereed to as "The Warring States period"

Then there is this
Queen Victoria's proclamation of British neutrality referred to "hostilities ... between the Government of the United States of America and certain States styling themselves the Confederate States of America"
Bit of a slap I'd say.

A final bit of miscellany-
Other names for the conflict include "The Confederate War", "Mr. Lincoln's War", and "Mr. Davis' War".
In 1892, a D.C. society of war-era nurses took on the name National Association of Army Nurses of the Late War. More euphemistic terms are "The Late Unpleasantness", or "The Recent Unpleasantness". Other postwar names in the South included "The War of the Sections" and "The Brothers' War", these especially in the border states.

It is stunning that the conflict still echos (very strongly in some places) even now, 153 years after the last shots were fired.....

 

And then....there's Red Skelton.....


With an each way bet............

 

In the 1930's, didn't they officially change the name in Congress to the War for Southern Independence? Heard that somewhere.

 

I read the book a couple of years ago, very well done and a lot of history that was never taught in school. Not that ANY history is taught in school any more.

 

@RouteClearance Library just called and I just picked up the book. The library had to borrow it from a long ways away, another state (Washington). I will start reading it this evening or tomorrow evening for sure, can't wait. Thanks again for taking the time to let us know about it.

 

I just finished this book and it was excellent. I don't think I would pay $15 for a Kindle copy but am very glad I read it. Extremely well researched in amazing detail. There were some things that stick in my mind about the book like... like the amount of children that women gave birth (12-15 babies!) and the mortality rate of these children. I am not even talking about war deaths just plain old mortality rate. Jack's wife had 12 (that were documented so possibly more) and 5 of them died off from illness or natural causes...

The other thing that sticks in my mind is...the damn Yankees, their atrocities and brutality. Unbelievable. I have read other books that talk about this (Shelby Foote, Stephen Ambrose, etc.) but McKenney truly documents it and doesn't water it down or paint a better picture. It's the truth and it's ugly. Anyway, excellent read...highly recommend it.

 

I was about, oh, 12, before I understood that 'damn', and 'yankee', were two different words...
Here in the south, we have a tradition... black eyed peas and greens on New Years day.

It has been taught down through the generations, that the yankees came through and stripped the land, burned the barns and the fields, and stole or killed the livestock, meaning to starve us to death... blaming the entire south for Mr. Lincoln's assassination. They took anything worth taking, and burned the rest. Now, not everybody in the south supported the War of Northern Aggression, but we all suffered from it because the yankee soldiers left only "food fit for hogs". And we remember...
Now, the entire country sees that Washington is a corrupt den of yankee industrialists and corrupt vipers, the true cause of the war, as always, was taxes the south paid on exported cotton(The Federals receiving 2/3rds of their income from said tax) and the laws against using anything but yankee ships( a twofer), while yankee industrialists paid no export tax. Mr. Lincoln needed a Cause to rally the troops and the population because he was getting his butt kicked.
From the beginning of the Republic there has always been the hypocrisy of the rich, in fact we fought against an aristocracy of royalty only to install an aristocracy of money... In The Whisky Rebellion, the Federals could have taken whisky for taxes paid, sold it into the market and made a profit... but, no, they had to 'demonstrate that they had the power', in order for European based banks to take them seriously... When General Washington marched against the Whisky Rebels, he nullified every word he had ever spoken about liberty.
From then till today, the Republic was a sham of the rich, that handed out enough freedom and rights to keep the sheep mollified. Now, things are reversing, and even a duly elected president cannot move The Establishment. I have often thought, that if, at the First Battle of Bull Run, we had simply chased the yankees back into Washington, and then moved reinforcements into a siege around the city... there would have been an entirely different result... instead of leftist sycophants conspiring to remove hallowed monuments of the fallen.

But, now, welcome to The Kabuki dance in the theater of the damned.

 

Well said bagpiper.

My grand mother told me stories from her GM about the thieving murdering rapists loosed from northern cities upon a defeated South as retribution for having dared defy the PTB. I've considered adding some of it to a novel, but don't think anyone would believe it, and it would probably be banned anyway.

Jim