Boys In Blue: Pvt. William Baker Kaericher, 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company I

At the age of eighteen, William Baker Kaericher from Edwards, Illinois was mustered into the Union Army on November 25, 1861 at Benton Barracks, Missouri. The 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry was more commonly known as the “Western Sharpshooters.” To qualify as a member of the company, the volunteers had to pass a rigid shooting test: From a distance of 200 yards, three shots could average no more than 3 1/3 inches from the center of bull’s-eye.

As a member of the sharpshooters, William Kaericher fought in many of the Civil War’s major battles including Shiloh, Corinth, and Sherman’s March to the Sea. Despite seeing this much action in a bloody Civil War, William survived and filed for his pension on December 5, 1866.

“Uncle Bill,” as he was would later be known, married Mary Fishel in May 1870 and settled in Brocton, Illinois as a blacksmith. They remained married until her death in February 1927. “Uncle Bill” lived another six years and passed away in April 1933, four days after his 90th birthday. The following poem was included in his obituary in the April 19, 1933 edition of the Brocton Weekly Review:

He never spake an unkind word,

By malice he was never stirred,

His was the clearer, kindlier eye

Which lets the little flaws pass by

Unnoticed, but is quick to see

The good in all humanity.

His was the friendly life and brave,

Unto this world himself he gave.

His dreams were lofty, and his

creed

Found adherence in many a deed.

Clean, manly, upright to the end

He taught us how to be a friend.

©2012 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum