International Riflemen:
Scotland

INDEX

Creedmoor and the
International Matches

R. McVittie

The following biographic sketch of Private Robert McVittie was extracted from 'Langholm As It Was', by John & Robert Hyslop (Hills & Co.: Sunderland, 1912). The engraving is from Harper's Weekly, 16 September 1882. That year McVittie was a member of the British team of Volunteers competing in the US, at Creedmoor, against a team of the American National Guard.

The name of Private McVittie of Langholm was for a quarter of a century known throughout the world as one of the most famous rifle-shots in the British Isles. He early distinguished himself with the rifle and won many important prizes at the various rifle meetings - Wimbledon, Altcar, Lanark and Edinburgh. As early as 1869 Private McVittie was selected as a member of the Scottish Twenty to shoot for Scotland in the International Matches. He was also for many years a member of the Scottish Eight, to compete against England and Ireland for the Elcho Shield. In 1876 he was one of the representatives of Scotland in the great Centennial matches at Creedmoor, New York when America, Scotland, Canada, Ireland and Australia competed for the Centennial Trophy in what was perhaps the most famous rifle-match in the history of long-range shooting. On the first day's shooting Scotland led, and McVittie was top scorer with a score of 209 out of a possible 225. This was the biggest score which had ever been made in a long-range rifle match, and the third largest score on record. In 1882, he was a member of Sir Henry Halford's team, representing Great Britain against America in the military breech-loading matches. His scoring on that occasion surpassed all records, and on the average of the aggregate scores, he was some four points ahead of his nearest competitor [McVittie's score was actually 8 points ahead of the nearest American competitor, but he was however one point behind Major George Pearse, the top scoring British shooter. dbm.]. It is an evidence of the reliance placed by the team captain's on McVittie's judgement, that he was invariable selected to lead of the firing, and from him the team received guidance as to windage and elevation.

During his various visits to America, the inventive press of the country contained such apocryphal matter relating to the Border marksman, - interviews, which never happened, and photographs of him for which he never sat! One paper having described him as an "Englishman and the best shot in England" The Scottish American Journal, with national pride, at once corrected the statement, saying that "McVittie was not an Englishman, but a Scotsman, and the best shot in Great Britain". In 1885 the Volunteer Record took a plebiscite of its readers as to who was the best all-round shot in the shooting world, and McVittie headed the list by a tremendous majority.

In 1874 he won the St George's Vase and Dragon Cup at Wimbledon, with the highest possible score at 500 yards with a Snider Rifle. He also won the Bass, the Olympic, the Albert, and many other notable prizes. Albert Place, Langholm, was so named in commemoration of his success in the Albert Competition. In the famous Queen's Prize competition he was three times second for the silver medal, and has been third and fourth in the final stage, only losing the great prize, in 1881, with his last shot. By it he scored an outer, counting two, but had it been an inner, which counted four, the 'Blue Ribband' would have been his. His successes are too numerous to mention here, but he won distinction with every rifle he tried. In the famous Wimbledon Ballads the following reference to McVittie is made :-

From near the Border-land comes Nestor sage,
For skill, esteemed the wonder of the age,
May heaven protect him and reward him still,
Preserve his eye-sight and his snuff-box fill

During the period of which we write, the Langholm Volunteer Corps possessed not a few first class shots in addition to McVittie, and its fame was known throughout the country. The team embraced such veteran and cools shots as John Cowan, Samuel Hounam, James Bell, Thomas Wintrope, George Duncan, Gilbert Byers, C Weatherstone, Thomas Bell, Sergeant Pearson and his son Albert, Ackroyd Bowman, and others, who well maintained the honour of Langholm at the rifle-butts.

In 1886 Private McVittie produced a manual entitled "Hints and Advice on Rifle Shooting" which had a very large circulation both in this country and America. He emigrated to Canada in 1888, where he also distinguished himself at great rifle meetings.

McVittie's "Hints and Advice on Rifle-Shooting" (ISBN 0 948216 12 3) was reprinted by:
W.S. Curtis (Publishers) Limited in 1993.

Can anyone supply further information as to McVittie's activities in Canada? Please contact me if you can. Thanks. mailto:dbm@researcpress.co.uk?subject=Marksmen Biography

©2004 DB Minshall