The 8th Kentucky 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

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

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 ...

Service

The 8th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was organized in September 1861, at Camp Boone in

Montgomery County, Tennessee Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 220,069. The county seat (and only incorporated municipality) is Clarksville. The county was created in 1796. Montgomery Count ...

, because Kentucky had officially declared its neutrality in the war.

Henry Cornelius Burnett Henry Cornelius Burnett (October 25, 1825 – October 1, 1866) was an American politician who served as a Confederate States senator from Kentucky from 1862 to 1865. From 1855 to 1861, Burnett served four terms in the United States House of Repre ...

, a former member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, helped organize the regiment and was commissioned its

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 ...

, but he never took active command. The regiment was captured at the

Battle of Fort Donelson The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11–16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The Union capture of the Confederate fort near the Tennessee–Kentucky border opened the Cumberland River, an important ave ...

in February 1862. Of the 312 men engaged in the battle, 99 were killed or wounded. Burnett had joined the regiment prior to the battle, again not commanding, but escaped capture by leaving on a river boat with

Brig. Gen. Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

John B. Floyd John Buchanan Floyd (June 1, 1806 – August 26, 1863) was the 31st Governor of Virginia, U.S. Secretary of War, and the Confederate general in the American Civil War who lost the crucial Battle of Fort Donelson. Early family life John Buchan ...

's command. Burnett then resigned from the army to serve full-time as a Confederate senator for Kentucky. After being exchanged in September 1862, the regiment was attached first to Brig. Gen.

Lloyd Tilghman Lloyd Tilghman (January 26, 1816 – May 16, 1863) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. A railroad construction engineer by background, he was selected by the Confederate government to build two forts to defend the Tennessee ...

's Brigade, and then to Brig. Gen.

Abraham Buford Abraham Buford (July 21, 1747 – June 30, 1833) was an American soldier. He was a Continental Army officer during the American Revolutionary War, best known as the commanding officer of the American forces at the Battle of Waxhaws. After the ...

's Brigade in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. The regiment fought under Generals

Earl Van Dorn Earl Van Dorn (September 17, 1820May 7, 1863) started his military career as a United States Army officer but joined Confederate forces in 1861 after the Civil War broke out. He was a major general when he was killed in a private conflict. A g ...

and

John C. Pemberton John Clifford Pemberton (August 10, 1814 – July 13, 1881) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He resigned his commission to serve as a Confederate Stat ...

during the

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi Riv ...

. Prior to the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, Colonel

Hylan Benton Lyon Hylan Benton Lyon (February 22, 1836 – April 25, 1907) was a career officer in the United States Army until the start of the American Civil War, when he resigned rather than fight against the South. As a Confederate brigadier general, he le ...

and 250 men of the 8th Kentucky managed to fight their way out. Lyon led them to

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, where they joined the Confederate forces stationed there. In Spring 1864, the 8th Kentucky was converted to mounted infantry and fought the remainder of the war as

dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat ...

. It served under Lt. Gen.

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

for much of that time. The 8th Kentucky Regiment surrendered on May 4, 1865, at

Columbus, Mississippi Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, on the eastern border of Mississippi, United States, located primarily east, but also north and northeast of the Tombigbee River, which is also part of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterwa ...

, nearly a month after Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The regiment was paroled and the men allowed to make their way home on their own.

Battles and skirmishes of the 8th Kentucky Infantry Regiment

- Fought on 13 February 1862 at Fort Donelson, TN
- Fought on 15 February 1862 at Fort Donelson, TN
- Fought on 16 February 1862 at Fort Donelson, TN
- Fought on 6 April 1862 at Shiloh, TN (those who escaped capture at Fort Donelson)
- Fought on 1 December 1862
- Fought on 2 December 1862 at Tallahatchie River
- Fought on 4 December 1862
- Fought on 5 December 1862 at Coffeeville, MS
- Fought on 16 May 1863 at Baker's Creek, MS
- Fought on 4 July 1863 at Vicksburg, MS
- Fought on 10 July 1863 at Jackson, MS
- Fought on 11 July 1863 at Jackson, MS
- Fought on 15 July 1863 at Harrisburg, MS
- Fought on 17 July 1863 at Jackson, MS
- Fought on 22 December 1863
- Fought on 15 February 1864 at Canton, MS
- Fought on 25 March 1864 at Paducah, KY
- Fought on 1 April 1864
- Fought on 18 April 1864 at Paducah, KY
- Fought on 20 April 1864 in Kentucky
- Fought on 10 June 1864 at Tishomingo Creek, MS
- Fought on 11 June 1864 at Tishomingo Creek, MS
- Fought on 20 June 1864 at Kenesaw Mountain, GA
- Fought on 14 July 1864 at Harrisburg, MS

Commanders

* Colonel Henry Cornelius Burnett - commissioned, but never commanded * Colonel

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

A. R. Shacklett *

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Jabez Bingham * Major R. W. Henry

References

* George, Henry. ''History of the 3d, 7th, 8th and 12th Kentucky C.S.A.'' (Louisville, KY: C. T. Dearing), 1911. * Thompson, Edwin Porter. ''History of the First Kentucky Brigade'' (Cincinnati, OH: Caxton Pub. House), 1868. * Thompson, Edwin Porter. ''History of the Orphan Brigade'' (Louisville, KY: L. N. Thompson), 1898. {{Kentucky in the Civil War Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Kentucky 1861 establishments in Kentucky

Service

Battles and skirmishes of the 8th Kentucky Infantry Regiment

Commanders

See also

References