The entire North-west resounded with praises for Governor Tod and his thoughtful and successful expedient. To the “Squirrel Hunters,” it was not an entirely new thing; they had often heard of the times when their fathers were the actors at Cleveland, Fort Meigs and the Miamies, and bore their honors with a degree of modesty becoming their military equipments. When Lewis Wallace, Major-General commanding, bid these gallant men farewell, he said: “In coming time, strangers viewing the works on the hills of Newport and Covington, will ask, ‘Who built these intrenchments?’[32] You can answer—‘We built them.’ If they ask ‘Who guarded them?’ You can reply—‘We helped in thousands.’ If they inquire the result, your answer will be—‘The enemy came and looked at them, and stole away in the night.’ You have won much honor; keep your organizations ready to win more. The people of Ohio appreciated this noble act of the ‘Squirrel Hunters,’ in saving the City of Cincinnati, by turning back the Rebel army and prevented the destruction of property by a dissolute and desperate army.”
And the Ohio Legislature, at its next session adopted the following resolution:
“Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Ohio, That the Governor be and he is hereby authorized and directed to appropriate out of his contingent fund a sufficient sum to pay for printing and lithographing discharges for the patriotic men of the state who responded to the call of the governor and went to the southern border to repel the invader, who will be known in history as ‘The Squirrel Hunters,’
“James R. Hubbell,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
P. Hitchcock,
President pro tem. of the Senate.
Columbus, March 11, 1863.”
Governor’s Certificate of Honorable Membership.
To this joint resolution of the legislature the governor responded with a handsome souvenir entitled
THE SQUIRREL HUNTER’S DISCHARGE.
Honorable Discharge.