The 8th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

that served in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Service

The 8th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was organized in September 1861, at Camp Boone in Montgomery County, Tennessee, because Kentucky had officially declared its neutrality in the war. Henry Cornelius Burnett, a former member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, helped organize the regiment and was commissioned its

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

, but he never took active command. The regiment was captured at the Battle of Fort Donelson 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.

John B. Floyd John Buchanan Floyd (June 1, 1806 – August 26, 1863) was an American politician who served as the List of governors of Virginia, 31st Governor of Virginia. Under president James Buchanan, he also served as the U.S. Secretary of War from 1857 ...

'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's Brigade, and then to Brig. Gen. Abraham Buford's Brigade in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. The regiment fought under Generals Earl Van Dorn and John C. Pemberton during the

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaigns were 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 ...

. Prior to the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, Colonel Hylan Benton Lyon and 250 men of the 8th Kentucky managed to fight their way out. Lyon led them to

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, 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 wi ...

. It served under Lt. Gen.

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

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, Mississippi, 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 ...

, nearly a month after

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

's surrender at Appomattox Court House in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. 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 Hylan Benton Lyon * Lieutenant Colonel A. R. Shacklett *

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

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