Frederick Hitch War, aged 22, he fought at the Battle of Rorke's Drift (22–23 January 1879), and was awarded the VC for his actions. The citation was published in the "London Gazette": The soldiers were assisted in passing out ammunition by Padre George Smith. Hitch was severely wounded during the action, and was still in the Royal Victoria Military Hospital, Netley, Southampton when he received his medal from Queen Victoria. He was one of the eleven recipients of the VC awarded for their part in the battle. Hitch's wounds were so severe that they led to his discharge from service. He then
Bolt action Army in 1841. However, it was not the first bolt-action weapon to see combat, for it was not fielded until 1864. The United States purchased 900 Greene rifles (an under-hammer, percussion-capped, single-shot bolt action that utilized paper cartridges and an ogivial-bore rifling system) in 1857, which saw service at the Battle of Antietam in 1862, during the American Civil War; however, this weapon was ultimately considered too complicated for issue to soldiers, and was supplanted by the Springfield Model 1861, a conventional muzzle-loading rifle. During the American Civil War, the bolt-action Palmer carbine was patented in 1863, and by 1865,