The 8th New Hampshire 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 ...

Service

The 8th New Hampshire Infantry was organized in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on December 23, 1861, under the command of

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 ...

Hawkes Fearing, Jr.. The regiment was attached to Butler's New Orleans Expedition to March 1862. 1st Brigade,

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was cons ...

, to November 1862. Independent Command, Department of the Gulf, to January 1863. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to September 1863. The 8th New Hampshire Infantry ceased to exist in December 1863 when its designation was changed to the 2nd New Hampshire Cavalry.

Detailed service

Left New Hampshire for

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, January 24, 1862; then sailed for

Ship Island Ship Island is a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, one of the Mississippi–Alabama barrier islands. Hurricane Camille split the island into two separate islands (West Ship Island and East Ship Island) in 1969. In early 2019, t ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, February 15, arriving there March 15. Duty at Ship Island until April 1862. Occupation of Forts Wood and Pike,

Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrain ( ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from west ...

, May 5. Moved to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and duty at

Camp Parapet Camp Parapet was a Civil War fortification at Shrewsbury, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, a bit more than a mile upriver from the current city limits of New Orleans. History The fortification consisted of a Confederate defensive line about a mile ...

until October. Expedition to Lake Pontchartrain July 23 – August 2. Operations in District of LaFourche October 24 – November 6. Occupation of Donaldsonville October 25. Action at Georgia Landing, near Labadieville, October 27, and at Thibodeauxville October 27. Duty in the District of Lafourche until March 1863. Expedition to

Bayou Teche Bayou Teche (Louisiana French: ''Bayou Têche'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 waterway of great cultural significance in south central Louisiana in t ...

January 12–14, 1863. Aboard the steamer ''Cotton'' January 14. Operations on

Bayou Plaquemine Bayou Plaquemine Brulé (; historically spelled ''Plakemine''; translated to ''"burnt persimmon bayou"'') is a waterway in the Mermentau River basin of south Louisiana. The bayou is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-res ...

and the

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and Atchafalaya rivers February 12–28. Operations against Port Hudson March 7–27. Teche Campaign April 11–20.

Fort Bisland The Battle of Fort Bisland was fought in the American Civil War between Union Major General Nathaniel P. Banks against Confederate Major General Richard Taylor during Banks' operations against the Bayou Teche region in southern Louisiana. Pre ...

, near Centreville, April 12–13. Irish Bend April 14. Expedition from

Opelousas :''Opelousas is also a common name of the flathead catfish.'' Opelousas (french: Les Opélousas; Spanish: ''Los Opeluzás'') is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were ...

to Chicotsville and Bayou Boeuff May 1. Expedition to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

on Red River May 5–17. Movement from Alexandria to Port Hudson May 17–24.

Siege of Port Hudson The siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, (May 22 – July 9, 1863) was the final engagement in the Union (American Civil War), Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. While Major General#United States, Union Gen ...

May 24 – July 8. Assault on Port Hudson June 14. Expedition to Niblett's Bluff May 26–29. Surrender of Port Hudson July 9. Moved to

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

, August 22. Sabine Pass Expedition September 4–11. Moved to Camp Bisland September 15 and duty there until October. Moved to Opelousas, then to

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

, December 1863.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 360 men during service; 8 officers and 94 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 officers and 256 enlisted men died of disease.This figure includes all casualties, even after the regiment was changed to the 2nd New Hampshire Cavalry.

Commanders

* Colonel Hawkes Fearing, Jr.

Notes

References