I did not see an email on your post, however I suspect your are just now returning from your event. If the weather there was like it was here in Tennessee, you probably had a great time.

The question you pose really depends on what era of the sharpshooters you are portraying. As you probably know Company K was comprised of Ohio men. All of the images I have seen that date as early as Shiloh/Corinth show men of the 14th Missouri / 66th Illinois wearing standard Federal issue frock and shell jackets. I have a few images of them wearing black felt hats w/ one having a squirrel tail hanging off of it. Some of the images have no headgear in the image, so I do not know what those particular soldiers are wearing.

I have a hard image of a member of the 66th Illinois armed in a Federal Frock coat wearing a forage cap holding a Dimmick Rifle. The cool thing about it, is that he is wearing a D shaped buckle on his belt as opposed to a standard US buckle. He clearly has an oversized haversack with no cartridge box noted.

The 66th Illinois as you know carried Henry's but were purchased sometime around the Corinth / Building of Camp Davies era, as several relic hunters have found Henry brass in the northern parts of Mississippi and Alabama along with Dimmick Bullets. The Dimmicks have also been found throughout the start of the Atlanta Campaign, however not many have been found south of Snake Creek Gap, Ga.

John Walsh