Sniper Spares George Washington Due to Chivalry

Col. Patrick Ferguson, British Army
Patrick Ferguson was a leading developer of breech loading firearms. The Ferguson Rifle was considered at the time to be one of the most deadly weapons in the British inventory. Ferguson's second claim to fame was the "Shot Never Taken." As a Major, Ferguson found himself in position to make a shot on an unidentified Continental officer near Germantown Pennsylvania. When the man turned away at approximately 125 yards, the good major chose not to shoot him in the back. That man turned out to be none other than General George Washington. Had Ferguson taken the shot one can assume that the entire history of what is today the United States would have been affected. Recall it was Washington who turned down the offer to be King of the Colonies after the successful resolution of the War for Independence. Had he not been in charge of the Colonial forces, not only would the outcome of the war have been in question, but so would the very nature of the Republic which rose from that conflict. Ironically, Patrick Ferguson was later killed on 7 October of 1780 when a member of Morgan's Kentucky Riflemen shot him at approximately 450 yards. As a result, Ferguson's unit surrendered which forced Gen. Cornwallis to abandon his invasion of North Carolina. The loss was doubly hurtful to the British cause, since they had lost one of their premier weapons designers.