VIII Corps (Union army): Difference between revisions
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''(See [[Valley Campaigns of 1864]] for a more detailed description of the campaigns mentioned below.)'' |
''(See [[Valley Campaigns of 1864]] for a more detailed description of the campaigns mentioned below.)'' |
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The VIII Corps |
The VIII Corps played a major part in the defense of Washington from [[Jubal Anderson Early | Jubal Early]] at [[Battle of Monocacy | Monocacy]] on July 9, 1864 under the commander of Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace. The primary duty of the VIII Corps in 1864 was rear echelon duties in Maryland guarding the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The headquarters of the department was located in Baltimore. |
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The VIII Corps is often confused with the Army of West Virginia which served in the Shenandoah Valley and western Virginia throughout 1864. This confusion stems from a part of the AWV being composed of troops that had served in the Eighth Corps in 1863 but were officially transferred to the Department of West Virginia by the time of the 1864 Campaigns. This confusion resulted in references to the Army of West Virginia as the VIII Corps. |
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The corps saw action at [[Battle of Martinsburg | Martinsburg]], [[Battle of Opequon | Opequon]] (or Third Winchester), [[Battle of Fisher's Hill | Fisher's Hill]], and [[Battle of Cedar Creek | Cedar Creek]] and served with extreme distinction and valor. The corps suffered horrendous casualties in this campaign; three divisional commanders became casualties during the campaign: Colonel [[Isaac Duval]] was wounded at Opequon, and Colonels [[James A. Mulligan]] and [[Joseph Thoburn]], were killed at Opequon and Cedar Creek, respectively. Mulligan's division was so badly mauled at Winchester that it was forced to consolidate into a single brigade. |
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== Final days == |
== Final days == |
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Revision as of 18:02, 22 March 2008
The VIII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Creation and early service
The corps was initially created out of various Union commands as part of the Middle Department in the Shenandoah Valley on July 12, 1862, and was placed under the command of Major General John E. Wool. It spent most of 1862 guarding the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines between Baltimore, Harpers Ferry, and Winchester. The corps, then led by Robert C. Schenck, played a major role in the early stages of the Gettysburg Campaign, where elements of the corps unsuccessfully opposed Robert E. Lee's initial advance through the Shenandoah. The second division, under Robert H. Milroy, suffered heavy casualties during the Second Battle of Winchester on June 13–15, 1863, and elements of the corps also took part in the delaying action at Martinsburg a few days later. The badly battered corps withdrew to Harpers Ferry after that, playing no further role in the campaign, until it helped join in George G. Meade's pursuit of Lee following the Battle of Gettysburg.
Defense of Washington and service in the Valley
(See Valley Campaigns of 1864 for a more detailed description of the campaigns mentioned below.)
The VIII Corps played a major part in the defense of Washington from Jubal Early at Monocacy on July 9, 1864 under the commander of Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace. The primary duty of the VIII Corps in 1864 was rear echelon duties in Maryland guarding the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The headquarters of the department was located in Baltimore.
The VIII Corps is often confused with the Army of West Virginia which served in the Shenandoah Valley and western Virginia throughout 1864. This confusion stems from a part of the AWV being composed of troops that had served in the Eighth Corps in 1863 but were officially transferred to the Department of West Virginia by the time of the 1864 Campaigns. This confusion resulted in references to the Army of West Virginia as the VIII Corps.
Final days
The majority of Thoburn's division was sent in December 1864 to join XXIV Corps of the Army of the James, taking part in the Siege of Petersburg. The remainder of the corps remained in the Valley for the rest of the war, and was disbanded in August 1865.
Command history
References
- Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- VIII Corps history