Jack Hinson: Civil War Sniper

The Wild West Extravaganza

Wild West Josh

Education, History

4.8 • 833 Ratings

🗓️ 30 August 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jack Hinson, known as “Old Jack,” began the Civil War as a wealthy Tennessee planter with no intentions to enlist in the Civil War. That changed in 1862 when Union troops executed his sons and displayed their heads on his plantation gateposts. At 57 years old, Hinson armed himself with a custom .50 caliber rifle and launched a one-man war of revenge. From hidden ridges above the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, he targeted Union officers, disrupted gunboats, and carved his legend as one of the deadliest guerrilla snipers of the Civil War. Some claim his tally reached 100 men, while his rifle bore 36 notches. Whether avenger or violent secessionist, Jack Hinson became a symbol of how personal tragedy could fuel relentless warfare. Buy Me A Coffee – https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Check out the website for more true tales from the Old West https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Join Patreon for ad-free and bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	What happens when he pushed the wrong man too far?
0:02.8	And what happens when that man has a particular set of skills that could turn your life
0:06.9	into a living nightmare?
0:08.8	Well, in the fall of 1862, that man turned out to be a Tennessee farmer by the name of Jack
0:13.5	Henson.
0:14.5	You see, two of Jack's sons were executed after being falsely identified as Confederate guerrillas.
0:20.0	The Yankee soldiers tied them to a tree,
0:22.1	filled them full of holes, and then placed their severed heads on the family's gateposts.
0:27.1	And from that day forward, Jack's personal goal in life was to make the Union soldiers pay dearly
0:32.2	for what they had done. Armed with nothing but a custom-built rifle, hence to turn the Tennessee
0:37.0	and Cumberland Rivers into literal kill zones.
0:40.3	He hunted down officers from the shadows,
0:42.3	guiding Confederate units on daring raids,
0:44.7	and built reputation as one of the most feared snipers in all of the Civil War.
0:50.2	Or at least that's how the legend goes.
0:52.5	Who was the real Jack Henson?
0:55.0	Are the story's true about him being a peace-loving farmer pushed to the brink?
0:58.8	Or was he just a violent secessionist who finally found an outlet for his uncontrollable temper?
1:04.0	And how true is the story about his sons being executed?
1:06.9	Did that even happen?
1:08.5	Join me today as we dive head first into the life, the legend, and possibly even the truth, behind the Civil War's most accomplished sharpshooter. And yeah, we will also be discussing whether or not Jack Hinson really took out a hundred Union troops. My name's Josh, and this is the Wild West extravaganza.
1:27.1	You may find this hard to believe, but Jack Hinson was not always a one-man killing machine.
	...

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