8th Wisconsin Infantry (USA), US Civil War

The 8th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 8th Wisconsin's mascot was Old Abe, a bald eagle that accompanied the regiment into battle.

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.

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.[1] 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.[2]

Colonels

Colonel Robert C. Murphy
Colonel George W. Robbins Colonel John W. Jefferson (Proven by DNA to be a direct descendant of one of Thomas Jefferson's slave Sally Hemings' children) Colonel William B. Britton

Battles

The 8th Wisconsin Infantry along with their mascot Old Abe The War Eagle attended numerous battles and lesser engagements during the war:[3]

• 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[4].
• 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
• Tallehatchie, 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
• Fort Scurry, Louisiana. - 13 March 1864
• Fort De Russey, 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

References

1. 8th Wisconsin
2. Civil war Archive
3. Old Abe the Civil War Eagle, Eau Claire County in the Civil War
4. Cyrus F. Jenkins Civil War Diary, 1861-1862: Civil War Timeline: June 30, 1861- 1862

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_Wisconsin_Volunteer_Infantry_Regiment