Hawkins' Mississippi Sharpshooters

Hawkins' Mississippi Sharpshooters. Perryville . The Battle For Kentucky. , Major Abner T. Hawkins' Mississippi Sharpshooters (later named 15th Battalion Sharpshooters) was organized during the late summer of 1862 at Chattanooga, Tennessee. The battalion consisted of two companies of men, one commanded by Lieutenant T.M. Steger and the other commanded by Lieutenant Harry Vasser. It was originally organized as a pioneer company and recruited from other Mississippi units already in the field., At the Battle of Perryville, Hawkins' Battalion was assigned to Sterling Alexander Martin (S.A.M.) Wood's 4th Brigade, Simon B. Buckner's 3rd Division, William J. Hardee's Left Wing, Braxton Bragg's Army of the Mississippi., A mile behind you to the east, three brigades of the Confederate army started moving towards this position at about 1:00pm after the first two brigades passed here, crossed Doctors Creek, and moved towards the Union positions, elements of S.A.M. Wood's Brigade waited in reserve while Wood's Sharpshooters reached this position at about 2:30pm., From this site, the 60 men of Major A.T. Hawkins Mississippi Sharpshooters opened fire on the Union Line. Advancing with the rest of the Confederates, Hawkins' men moved forward another half of a mile, suffering 2 men killed, 10 men wounded and one missing for a total of 13. This was the battalion's first action. Major Hawkins was killed less than a year later at the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia