This hat was a part of the 1st United States Sharpshooters uniform. Sharpshooters fought mainly as skirmishers—soldiers who led advances and probed enemy lines for weaknesses, sometimes taking cover and targeting officers or artillerymen. Wearing green uniforms that made them hard to spot amid trees and grass gave them a strategic advantage. Sharpshooters of exceptional skill were assigned to act independently as snipers, using heavy target rifles that could hit their targets up to a thousand yards.
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