The 8th Iowa Infantry Regiment was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

that served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. It served mostly in the Western Theater with the Army of the Tennessee.

Service

The 8th Iowa Infantry Regiment was organized at

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

and mustered into Federal service between August 31 and September 4, 1861. The unit left the state for St. Louis on September 25 of that year and was attached to Dept. of Missouri until March, 1862. The regiment was assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Army of Tennessee for one month and then transferred to the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, until July, 1862. Following the fighting in SE Tennessee and NE Mississippi, the regiment was assigned to the District of Corinth, Dept. of the Tennessee, 1st Brigade, XIII Army Corps. Following the exchange of Shiloh prisoners, the regiment returned to Davenport for reorganization December 20, 1862-January 4, 1863. They were assigned to the District of St. Louis, Dept. of the Missouri, January-April, 1863. The Iowans returned to the Army of the Tennessee in the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, XV Army Corps, until December, 1863. They transferred to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, XVI Army Corps, until June, 1864, following which they moved to the District of Memphis, District of West Tennessee, until February, 1865. The 8th Iowas completed its service in the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, XVI Army Corps. The regiment was mustered out on April 20, 1866.

Major Engagements

* Fremont's Campaign against Springfield, Mo., October 21-November 8. *

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

(April 6-7, 1862), most of the regiment was captured, but were exchanged by November. Those not captured participated in the

Siege of Corinth The siege of Corinth (also known as the first Battle of Corinth) was an American Civil War engagement lasting from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. A collection of Union forces under the overall command of Major General Henry ...

(April 29-May 30, 1862) and the subsequent

Second Battle of Corinth The second Battle of Corinth (which, in the context of the American Civil War, is usually referred to as the Battle of Corinth, to differentiate it from the siege of Corinth earlier the same year) was fought October 3–4, 1862, in Corinth, M ...

in October. *

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

(May 18-July 4, 1863) *

Jackson Expedition The Jackson Expedition, also known as the Siege of Jackson, occurred in the aftermath of the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in July 1863. Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman led the expedition to clear General Joseph E. Johnston's ...

(July 10-17, 1863) * Red River Campaign March and Engagements (April 10-May 22, 1864) * Mobile Campaign (1865) (March 7-April 13, 1865)

Total strength and casualties

Total enrollment was 1589. The regiment lost 4 officers and 98 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds and 4 officers and 170 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 276 fatalities. 228 were wounded.

Commanders

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Frederick Steele Frederick Steele (January 14, 1819 – January 12, 1868) was a career military officer in the United States Army, serving as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for retaking much of secessionist Arka ...

* Colonel

James Lorraine Geddes James Lorraine Geddes (March 19, 1827 – February 21, 1887) was a soldier in India, a brigade commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, college administrator and professor, and military songwriter. Biography Geddes was b ...

Logan 8th Iowa

Notes

References