Sherrill, Eliakim

Born: 1813-02-16 New York

Died: 1863-07-04 Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Sherrill was a New York politician and Union officer during the Civil War. After attending public schools in Ulster County, New York, Sherrill worked as a tanner and farmer. He held several local government offices, and rose to the rank of major in the New York State Militia. In 1846, he won election as a Whig to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving until 1849. In 1854, he was a member of the New York Senate. At the beginning of the Civil War, he organized the 126th New York Infantry and became its colonel. Sherrill and his unit served in the Eastern theater. At the Battle of Gettysburg, Sherrill took command of the Third Brigade, Third Division, Second Army Corps upon the death of its commander Colonel George L. Willard on July 2, 1863. Sherrill continued to command the brigade until he was mortally wounded on July 3. He died the next day from his wounds.

Gravestone, Washington Street Cemetery, Geneva, NY; Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1996 (Alexandria, VA: CQ Staff Directories, 1997), 1815-16; Jeffry D. Wert, Gettsyburg: Day Three (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001), 147.