The 8th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 that served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Service

The 8th Kentucky Infantry was organized at Estill Springs

Irvine, Kentucky

Irvine is a city in and county seat of Estill County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 2,843 at the 2000 census. It is located on the Kentucky River at the junction of Kentucky Route 52 and Kentucky Route 89....

 and Lebanon, Kentucky

Lebanon, Kentucky

Lebanon is a city in Marion County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 6,331 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Marion County. Lebanon is located in central Kentucky, southeast of Louisville. A national cemetery is located nearby....

 and mustered in for a three year enlistment in October 1861.

The regiment was attached to Thomas' Command to January 1862. 16th Brigade, Army of the Ohio

Army of the Ohio

The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.-History:...

, to February 1862, 23rd Independent Brigade, Army of the Ohio, to September 1862. 23rd Brigade, 5th Division, Army of the Ohio, September 1862. 23rd Brigade, 5th Division, II Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November 1862. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Left Wing, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland

Army of the Cumberland

The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...

, to January 1863. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, XXI Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, IV Corps, to April 1864. 1st Separate Brigade, Post of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Department of the Cumberland, to November 1864. 2nd Brigade, District of the Etowah, Department of the Cumberland, to February 1865.

The 8th Kentucky Infantry mustered out of service in February 1865; veterans and new recruits were transferred to the 4th Kentucky Mounted Infantry.

Detailed service

Duty at Estill Springs, Ky., until November 28, 1861. March to Lebanon, Ky., November 28-December 3, and duty there until March, 1862. Moved to Nashville, Tenn., March 10–23; thence to Murfreesboro, Tenn., April 3–4, and to Wartrace May 3. Duty there until June 11. Dumont's Expedition over Cumberland Mountains June, 11-19. Moved to Elk River Bridge July 4; thence to Tullahoma July 9, and joined Nelson. March to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg August 21-September 26. Russellville and Glasgow September 30. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–22. Battle of Perryville October 8. Nelson's Cross Roads October 18. Reconnaissance on Madison Road October 19. March to Nashville, Tenn., October 22-November 12, and duty there until December 26. Murfreesboro Pike November 9. Dobbins' Ferry, near Lavergne, December 9. Advance on Murfreesboro December 26–30. Battle of Stones River December 30–31, 1862 and January 1–3, 1863. At Murfreesboro until June. Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 7. Liberty Gap June 25–26. At McMinnville until August 16. Passage of Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga Campaign August 16-September 22. Ringgold, Ga., September 11. Battle of Chickamauga September 19–20. Siege of Chattanooga September 24-November 23. Reopening Tennessee River October 26–29. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23–27. Lookout Mountain November 23–24. Missionary Ridge November 25. Taylor's Ridge, Ringgold Gap, November 27. At Shellmound, Tenn., until March 1864. Demonstration on Dalton, Ga., February 22–27. Buzzard's Roost Gap and Rocky Faced Ridge February 23–25. Moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., March 1, and garrison duty there until September 26, 1864. Moved to Elk River Bridge September 26 and duty there until October 20. At Chattanooga until November 28 and at Bridgeport, Ala., until January 1865.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 205 men during service; 4 officers and 56 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 144 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

• Colonel Sidney Barnes
• Colonel James Murrell Shackelford
  James M. Shackelford
  James Murrell Shackelford was a lawyer, judge, and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War...
  
  
• Lieutenant Colonel Reuben May
• Lieutenant Colonel James D. Mayhew
• Major Green B. Broaddus
• Major John S. Clark

See also

• List of Kentucky Civil War Units
• Kentucky in the Civil War
  Kentucky in the Civil War
  Kentucky was a border state of key importance in the American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln recognized the importance of the Commonwealth when he declared "I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky." In a September 1861 letter to Orville Browning, Lincoln wrote "I think to lose...
  
  

External links

• Alphabetical roster of the 8th Kentucky taken from Thomas Speed's Union Regiments of Kentucky