9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion

9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion Pindall's Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion
Flag of the type carried by the battalion[1]
Active	November 29, 1862, to June 7, 1865
Country	Confederate States of America
Branch	Confederate States Army
Type	Sharpshooter
Size	battalion
Engagements	American Civil War Battle of Prairie Grove Battle of Helena Battle of Pleasant Hill Battle of Jenkins Ferry

The 9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion, also known as Pindall's Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion, was a unit that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The battalion was formed in late 1862, in compliance with an earlier authorization by the Confederate States Congress for each brigade to have an associated battalion of sharpshooters. When first formed, the men had no unique qualifications to serve as sharpshooters and were drawn from a defunct artillery battery, a partisan rangers unit, and infantrymen. The unit's first major battle was the Battle of Prairie Grove in December 1862.

The first half of 1863 saw the battalion serving at various points in Arkansas. When a Confederate force attacked the Federal-held city of Helena, Arkansas, on July 4, in the Battle of Helena, the 9th Missouri Sharpshooters saw action. The unit was present in the Little Rock area during the Little Rock campaign later in the year, but saw no action. In March 1864, it moved into Louisiana to oppose the Red River campaign, during which it fought at the Battle of Pleasant Hill in early April. After Pleasant Hill, the battalion returned to Arkansas and was engaged at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry on April 30. The 9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion spent the rest of the war at various points in Louisiana and Arkansas before the Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi Theater surrendered on May 26, 1865. The steamboat carrying the unit back to Missouri sank in the Red River of the South, killing at least 12 men of the battalion.