Dec 17

Dec 17 Timothy Murphy - Sniper at Saratoga

Timothy Murphy was a sniper in the Continental Army who killed two high ranking officers at the Battle of Saratoga.

Timothy Murphy

Timothy Murphy was a 24-year-old frontiersman living in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania when the Revolutionary War broke out.

Murphy, who was already known as an excellent shot, joined the Continental Army as a rifleman.

He marched to join the Siege of Boston before following the fight into the New York/New Jersey Campaign.

Morgan’s Riflemen

By the summer of 1777, Murphy had distinguished himself as a marksman to the point that he was selected to join Morgan’s Riflemen.

Officially known as the Provisional Rifle Corps, this unit was led by Daniel Morgan and featured a relatively new weapon...the rifle.

The rifle was superior to the significantly more common musket because it had groves on the inside that forced a bullet to spin, similar to how a quarterback spirals a football. This gave the Riflemen better accuracy at a much greater distance.

Saratoga

Timothy Murphy earned such respect from Morgan that he was given an important task at the Battle of Saratoga.

Morgan was informed by Benedict Arnold that an officer across the field was Brigadier General Simon Fraser and that he should be seen as a target.

While officers were not usually targeted at this time, the Americans had been throwing many customs out of the window in an effort to win the war.

Morgan pulled aside Murphy and ordered him to snipe Fraser, saying, “I admire him, but it is necessary that he should die.”

Afterwards

Murphy climbed a tree, took aim, and on his third shot hit Fraser in the stomach from 300 years away. He died later that night.

Additionally, Sir Francis Clerke, an aide-de-camp to General John Burgoyne, was approaching with information for Fraser.

Murphy shot him in the head, killing him instantly.

The Battle of Saratoga was the high point of Murphy’s career, though he did continue to fight throughout the war and participated in several more important engagements.

After the Revolutionary War concluded, he moved to Upstate New York.

Timothy would marry twice and through his life have at least thirteen children.

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The Battle of Saratoga was a long, important fight that contributed greatly to American Independence.

To learn more about this engagement, check out ‘Tipping Point’ from the link below.

If you’d like a copy you can get one through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).