8th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment

The 8th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. They served in the western theater of the war, most notably in the Vicksburg campaign. The 8th Wisconsin Infantry was probably most famous for their military mascot, Old Abe, a bald eagle that accompanied the regiment into battle; Old Abe's legacy lives on through its likeness utilized in the 101st Airborne Division unit patch.

Service

The 8th Wisconsin was raised at Madison, Wisconsin, and mustered into Federal service September 13, 1861.

The regiment was mustered out on September 5, 1865, at Demopolis, Alabama.

Battles

The 8th Wisconsin Infantry along with their mascot Old Abe The War Eagle attended numerous battles and lesser engagements during the war:

• Fredericktown, Missouri - 21 October 1861
• New Madrid and *Island #10 - March & April 1862 Union General John Pope captures Point Pleasant, Missouri, and provokes Confederates to evacuate New Madrid. The Confederates abandon arms and provisions, valued at one million dollars, during their escape across the Mississippi River to the eastern bank and to Island No. 10.
• Point Pleasant, Missouri - 20 March 1862
• Farmington, Mississippi. - 9 May 1862
• Corinth, Mississippi. - 28 May 1862
• Iuka, Mississippi. - 12 September 1862
• Burnsville, Mississippi. - 13 September 1862
• Iuka, Mississippi. - 16–18 September 1862
• Corinth, Mississippi. - 3–4 October 1862
• Tallahatchie, Mississippi. - 2 December 1862
• Mississippi Springs, Mississippi. - 13 May 1863
• Jackson, Mississippi. - 14 May 1863
• Assault on Vicksburg, Mississippi. - 22 May 1863
• Mechanicsburg, Mississippi. - 4 June 1863
• Richmond, Louisiana. - 15 June 1863
• Vicksburg, Mississippi. - 24 June 1863
• Surrender of Vicksburg- 4 July 1863
• Brownsville, Mississippi. - 14 October 1863
• Meridian campaign, Mississippi. - February 3 - March 6, 1864
• Fort Scurry, Louisiana. - 13 March 1864
• Fort DeRussy, Louisiana. - 15 March 1864
• Henderson's Hill, Louisiana. - 21 March 1864
• Grand Ecore, Louisiana. - 2 April 1864
• Pleasant Hill, Louisiana. - 8–9 April 1864
• Natchitoches, Louisiana. - 20 April 1864
• Kane River, Louisiana. - 22 April 1864
• Clouterville and Crane Hill, Louisiana. - 23 April 1864
• Bayou Rapids, Louisiana. - 2 May 1864
• Bayou La Monre, Louisiana. - 3 May 1864
• Bayou Roberts, Louisiana. - 4–6 May 1864
• Moore's Plantation, Louisiana. - 8–12 May 1864
• Mansura, Louisiana. - 16 May 1864
• Battle of Maysville, Louisiana. - 17 May 1864
• Calhoun's Plantation, Louisiana. - 18 May 1864
• Bayou De Glaise, Louisiana. - 18 May 1864
• Lake Chicot, Arkansas. - 6 June 1864
• Hurricane Creek, Mississippi. - 13 August 1864
• Pursuit of Price, Jackass Cavalry September - October 1864
• Nashville, Tennessee. - 15–16 December 1864
• The Mobile Campaign March - April 1865

Commanders

• Colonel Robert C. Murphy (July 11, 1861January 10, 1863) was dismissed after failing to properly safeguard supplies on two separate occasions.
• Colonel George W. Robbins (December 20, 1862September 1, 1863) was previously lieutenant colonel of the regiment. He was wounded at the Second Battle of Corinth
• Colonel John W. Jefferson (September 1, 1863October 11, 1864) was a grandson of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. He began the war as major of the regiment and was promoted to lieutenant colonel before becoming officially promoted to colonel on June 7, 1864. He was wounded twice and mustered out at the end of his three years of service.
• Colonel William B. Britton (October 11, 1864September 5, 1865) began the war as captain of Co. G, and was then promoted to major and lieutenant colonel. He was officially promoted to colonel on March 8, 1865. Wounded at the Battle of Nashville, he mustered out with the regiment. After the war he served in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Total enlistments and casualties

The 8th Wisconsin initially mustered 870 men and later recruited an additional 333 men, for a total of 1,203 men. The regiment lost 2 officers and 53 enlisted men killed in action or who later died of their wounds, plus another 2 officers and 219 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 280 fatalities.

Notable members

• Thomas J. Bowles was a private in Co. D in 1864 and 1865. After the war he served in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
• Augustus G. Weissert was enlisted in Co. K and was promoted to sergeant major of the regiment. After the war he became the 21st Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (1892–1893).
• William P. Lyon was captain of Co. K for the first year, and was then promoted to colonel of the 13th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. He received an honorary brevet to brigadier general and after the war became the 12th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the 7th Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
• George Washington Glover Jr., the only son of Mary Baker Eddy, was a private in Co. I through nearly the entire war. He was wounded at Corinth.
• Ezra T. Sprague was adjutant of the regiment for nearly three years. Prior to joining the 8th Wisconsin, he was enlisted in Co. K of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. Afterward, he was colonel of the 42nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. He received an honorary brevet to brigadier general and later served as a Wisconsin circuit judge.

See also

• List of Wisconsin Civil War units
• Wisconsin in the American Civil War

References

Further reading

• Armitage, Ambrose, and Alden R. Carter. Brother to the Eagle: The Civil War Journal of Sgt. Ambrose Armitage, 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. [Bangor, ME]: Booklocker.com, Inc, 2006.
• Barrett, J. O. History of "Old Abe," The Live War Eagle of the Eighth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers. Chicago: O.L. Sewell, 1865.
• Driggs, George W. Opening of the Mississippi: Or Two Years' Campaigning in the South-West. A Record of the Campaigns, Sieges, Actions and Marches in Which the 8th Wisconsin Volunteers Have Participated. Madison, Wis: W.J. Park & Co., printers, 1864.
• Shumway, Francis, Ronald William Harris, and Rhonda Harris. Francis #3138: The Civil War Letters of Francis (Frank) Shumway, Company F, Eighth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteers, 1861–1862. La Crosse, WI : R.W. Harris, 1995.
• Williams, J. M. The Eagle Regiment, 8th Wis. Inf'ty. Vols. A Sketch of Its Marches, Battles and Campaigns, from 1861 to 1865 ; with a Complete Regimental and Company Roster, and a Few Portraits and Sketches of Its Officers and Commanders. Belleville, Wis: Recorder Print, 1890.

External links

• The Civil War Archive
• 8th Wisconsin
• "Old Abe, the Battle Eagle" Words by Electa S. Kellogg, 1865, music by T. Martin Towne.