The 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment 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.
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. 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.
Commanders
Colonel Robert C. Murphy
Colonel George W. Robbins
Colonel John W. Jefferson
Colonel William B. Britton
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
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
Pvt Thomas J. Bowles – member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Sgt Maj Augustus G. Weissert – 21st Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1892–1893.
Maj William P. Lyon – brevet Brigadier General, Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
