The 8th Connecticut Infantry Regiment was organized at
Camp Buckingham,
Hartford, in September, 1861, It was first commanded by
Colonel Edward Harland of
Norwich. The regiment drew most of its enlisted men from northern Hartford and Litchfield counties and was composed mostly of merchants and farmers from the Housatonic River and Connecticut River Valleys south to near New Milford and north to the Massachusetts state line and west to present day Hartford. The regiment left Hartford October 17, 1861, for a camp of instruction at
Jamaica,
Long Island, and there received its colors. It proceeded to
Annapolis, where it spent the fall. Early in January, 1862, the Eighth sailed with the
Burnside Expedition to
North Carolina as part of the
IX Corps. It was held in reserve during the
Battle of Roanoke Island. It was engaged in the
Battle of New Bern, on March 14, 1862. The Eighth then participated in the successful
siege of Fort Macon, during the March and April 1862. From there the regiment proceeded to
Fredericksburg in July, 1862. On September 1 the Eighth accompanied the Union Army to Washington, and on September 8, joined the
Maryland Campaign, including action at
South Mountain. The
Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, resulted in a greater number of casualties for the regiment than any other engagement of the war. Along with other regiments of Harland's Brigade, the Eighth marched downstream from Burnside's Bridge, and crossed the
Antietam at
Snaveley's Ford. They proceeded up the slopes towards Sharpsburg to attack the
Confederates, finally being repulsed by reinforcements under Gen.
A. P. Hill at the close of the day's fighting. After Antietam, the Eighth stayed in
Pleasant Valley until marching back to Fredericksburg, with the
Army of the Potomac, assuming their old camps at the Lacey House. Soon it was involved in the contested crossing of the
Rappahannock, where over 80 men of the Eighth volunteered to assist the engineers in building the pontoon bridges. The
Battle of Fredericksburg followed on December 13, 1862, and they were moved towards Marye's Heights in the last assault. However darkness fell and the Eighth only advanced as far as the bed of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, never having been heavily engaged. Following their participation in Burnside's
Mud March, the Eighth left of the IX Corps early in 1863, and went to
Newport News, then to
Suffolk, Virginia. They participated
in the siege there for several months. It was there that the Eighth, now under Col. John Ward, attacked
Fort Huger and took it by surprise in a daring raid. The regiment remained in the Portsmouth area during the summer, and participated in the "
Blackberry Raid" demonstration in force. In December 1863, 310 original members of the regiment re-enlisted, and in January were sent home on veteran furloughs. Those who had volunteered in 1862 and 1863 were temporarily transferred to the 15th Connecticut and remained in southeastern Virginia. The year of 1864 found the Eighth transferred to the
XVIII Corps, Army of the James. There they participated in the battles of
Walthall Junction,
Fort Darling,
Drewry's Bluff,
Cold Harbor, and the
siege of Petersburg. In September, they served on
Bermuda Hundred, and across the James River. September 29 they fought at the battles of
Fort Harrison and
Chaffin's Farm, which was their last engagement of the war. The Eighth was with the 24th Corps, Army of the James in its final advance on Richmond in the spring of 1865. After Gen. Lee's surrender at
Appomattox, the Eighth moved to
Lynchburg, Virginia, where it performed police and provost duties until it was mustered out of service December 12, 1865, serving a longer term than all but two other Connecticut regiments. == Principal engagements ==