May 9, 1864. Union and Confederate forces were facing off in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in northern Virginia. The Confederates had just taken possession of a shipment of new guns with rifled barrels, and the improved accuracy of these weapons was something they were eager to test out. Whereas most gunfire in Civil War battles occurred in mass barrages at close range, Confederate sharpshooters were taking potshots at the Union lines, and the much more accurate fire was causing the men to duck and flinch.
This infuriated General John Sedgwick, who rode up and down the lines berating and swearing at his men. He saw their behavior as cowardly and unbecoming, so he heaped invective upon them and ordered them to stand up in the face of the enemy. “Stop flinching, damn you!” he roared as he rode up and down the front lines. “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist—”
I will leave it to the reader to surmise why he didn’t finish that sentence.
That’s why I say, hey man, nice shot