Hancock Co, OH residents serving in the 66th Illinois Infantry *********************************************************************** OHGENWEB NOTICE: All distribution rights to this electronic data are reserved by the submitter. Reproduction or re-presentation of copyrighted material will require the permission of the copyright owner. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net *********************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Graydon Gorby thegorb@one.net March 29, 2000 *********************************************************************** Unit History: The 2nd OH Independent Co Sharpshooters was organized in Findlay, Hancock Co, OH September-October 1861 by Captain C. Dougherty by order of Colonel J. W. Birge. Two other OH Independent Sharpshooter Companies were organized. The 1st in Dayton, Montgomery Co, OH and the 3rd in Lima, Allen Co, OH. These companies were part of what was also known as "Birge's Western Sharpshooters" and "The Squirrel Tail Brigade". The "Squirrel Tail" nomenclature came from the unusual headgear of the Sharpshooters which had attached three squirrel tails, knotted at the top. The was not the only unusual gear they carried. They were armed with the American Deer and Target rifle. This was a "long" rifle and to join the regiment, men had to prove that they were able to hit a target at 200 yards with no three shots measuring more than 10 inches apart. The sharpshooters also carried a bullet pouch covered with bear skin and a powder horn or flask. In the bullet pouch they also carried bullet molds and patch cutters as they molded, greased and patched their own bullets. This unit mustered in as part of the 14th Missouri Infantry on November 23, 1861 and was later attached to the 66th Illinois Infantry as Co H on November 20, 1862. The 43 names on the following list were extracted from the Illinois Civil War unit rosters database released by the Illinois State Archives in May 1997. All were members of the 66th Illinois Infantry, Co H and all listed Hancock Co, OH as their residence. A search of this database may be instituted from: http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/datcivil.html Copies of the muster rolls may be ordered from the Illinois State Archives through this same URL. Name: ------------------ BREMER, JOHN CAMERON, JOHN W CHURCH, ANDREW A CHURCH, DANIEL H CLARK, ELIHU S DALLY, MANSUR DOOLITTLE, CHARLES DOUGLAS, CHARLES H DRAGNE, FRANKLIN FLEMING, JOHN C FRASER, NICHOLAS GORBY, SAMUEL HENRY, GOIT HOAGLAND, ABRAHAM HODGE, ALEXANDER H HUGHES, SCOTT KNIGHT, JAMES LEASS, ENOS LEASS, FARRAS T LESLIE, CARSON J LIDICK, JOSEPH W LOCEY, JACOB A LOCEY, JONATHAN S MANN, JAMES L MARQUATT, PETER MOORE, WILLIAM McELROY, JAMES J PARISH, JOHN PARK, NICHOLAS R PARKER, EDWIN N PATTERSON, ADAM J PHILLIPS, DAVID J PHILLIPS, JAMES A POLSEN, ANDREW REIGLE, ELIAS REIGLE, PHILLIP A THOMPSON, BOYLE THOMPSON, SAMUEL WALTERMIRE, ALEX W WALTERMIRE, MICHAEL WALTERS, ROBERT WARNER, RILEY N WATT, THOMAS