G. I. Historical Society Program

Past event
Jun 22, 2022, 6:30 to 7:45 PM

"Vermont's Remarkable Sharpshooters and Gettysburg"
By Lucille Campbell--Grand Isle Historical Society

Historian Howard Coffin will present "Vermont's Remarkable Sharpshooters and Gettysburg" on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 at 6:30:00 PM at Grand Isle United Methodist Church, 12 Hyde Road.

Vermont sent far more sharpshooters to the Union armies than any other state, on a per capita basis. By the hundreds, Vermont marksmen passed the rigorous marksmanship test to join one of three Vermont companies. Sharpshooters from this state played a little-known but major role at Gettysburg, the great Union victory that changed the Civil War's course.

Coffin will discuss his recent research into this little recognized group and consider the reasons why Vermont may have been so well-represented in this elite group of marksmen. One of the Vermont Sharpshooters, Aquilla E. Chase of Coventry, VT, enlisted in the 4th VT INF, 1st USS in August 1864. He also served in the 2nd USS, Co. E. His daughter, Alys Chase, was the wife of Clarence Kinney of Grand Isle. By 1910 Aquilla Chase was living in South Hero and working for Wallace Robinson. After his death in 1915, he was buried in theGrand Isle Cemetery.

This talk is free, open to the public, and accessible to those with disabilities. "Vermont's Remarkable Sharpshooters and Gettysburg" is a Vermont Humanities program hosted by Grand Isle Historical Society and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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