| 8th West Virginia Infantry Regiment | |
|---|---|
 Flag of West Virginia | |
| Active | November, 1861 to January 26, 1864 |
| Country | United States |
| Allegiance | Union |
| Branch | Infantry |
| Engagements | Battle of Cross Keys Battle of Second Bull Run Battle of White Sulphur Springs Battle of Droop Mountain |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel | John H. Oley |
| Major | Hedgman Slack |
The 8th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 8th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was organized in Buffalo, West Virginia in November 1861 and attached to the District of the Kanawha, with men recruited from the central and southern counties of Braxton, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Putnam, Raleigh, Fayette, Boone, Logan and Wyoming.
Originally known as the 8th Virginia Regiment of the Union Army, it became the 8th West Virginia when West Virginia was designated a state.
The unit fought at the Battle of Cross Keys under Lt. Colonel Lucien Loeser as a part of Cluseret's Brigade, alongside the 60th Ohio under overall command of Col. Gustave Paul Clusteret, a French officer who served with the Union Army.
During May 1863, the regiment was converted to a mounted infantry by Brigadier General William W. Averell. The regiment was immediately sent to a camp for instruction and supplied. On January 26, 1864, the 8th West Virginia was reorganized into a cavalry regiment, the 7th West Virginia Cavalry. It was mustered out on August 1, 1865.
The U.S. state of West Virginia was formed out of western Virginia and added to the Union as a direct result of the American Civil War, in which it became the only modern state to have declared its independence from the Confederacy. In the summer of 1861, Union troops, which included a number of newly formed Western Virginia regiments, under General George McClellan drove off Confederate troops under General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Philippi in Barbour County. This essentially freed Unionists in the northwestern counties of Virginia to form a functioning government of their own as a result of the Wheeling Convention. Before the admission of West Virginia as a state, the government in Wheeling formally claimed jurisdiction over all of Virginia, although from its creation it was firmly committed to the formation of a separate state.
The 8th Ohio Cavalry Regiment was a regiment of Union cavalry raised by the state of Ohio for service during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater, primarily in West Virginia and then in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia.
The West Virginia National Guard is a part of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. It comprises the West Virginia Army National Guard and the West Virginia Air National Guard. Unlike some states, West Virginia does not maintain a state defense force, nor is there a naval component to the state's military forces.
The Battle of Charleston was a Confederate victory in Kanawha County, Virginia, on September 13, 1862, during the American Civil War. Troops led by Major General William W. Loring defeated a Union force led by Colonel Joseph Andrew Jackson Lightburn. This battle, which featured extensive use of artillery but few casualties, was the second major fight in Loring's Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862 that succeeded in driving Union forces out of the Kanawha River Valley. All points in the Kanawha River Valley were in the southwestern part of Virginia at the time of the battle, but are now part of the state of West Virginia.
The 5th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 9th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 11th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 2nd West Virginia Cavalry Regiment served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized in Parkersburg, Virginia during September 1861. Most of the original members of this regiment were from southeastern Ohio, and planners thought that this regiment would become the 4th Ohio Cavalry. Their application was rejected by the governor of Ohio, so the unit became the 2nd Regiment of Loyal Virginia Volunteer Cavalry. The "Loyal Virginia" part of the name was replaced with "West Virginia" after the state of West Virginia was officially admitted to the Union in 1863. Today, the National Park Service lists them as 2nd Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry under a heading of Union West Virginia Volunteers.
The 7th West Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 22nd Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment from the western Virginia that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Its commander was George S. Patton Sr., the grandfather of World War II General George S. Patton.
The 36th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment mostly raised in the Kanawha Valley for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly in western Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
The 50th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia and in Tennessee.
The 10th Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia.
The 44th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. In early 1864, the regiment was reorganized into the 8th Ohio Cavalry Regiment.
The following Union Army and Confederate Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Carnifex Ferry of the American Civil War on September 10, 1861, in Nicholas County, Virginia.
The Sinking Creek Raid took place in Greenbrier County, Virginia during the American Civil War. On November 26, 1862, an entire Confederate army camp was captured by 22 men from a Union cavalry during a winter snow storm. The 22 men were the advance guard for the 2nd Loyal Virginia Volunteer Cavalry, which was several miles behind. This cavalry unit was renamed 2nd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry in 1863, after West Virginia became a state.
The Battle of Lewisburg occurred in Greenbrier County, Virginia, on May 23, 1862, during the American Civil War. A Union brigade commanded by Colonel George Crook soundly defeated a larger Confederate force commanded by Brigadier General Henry Heth. Panicked Confederate forces escaped by crossing and burning a bridge across the Greenbrier River.
The Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862 was Confederate Major General William W. Loring's military campaign to drive the Union Army out of the Kanawha River Valley during the American Civil War. The campaign took place from September 6 through September 16, 1862, although an important raid that had impact on the campaign started on August 22. Loring achieved success after several skirmishes and two battles, and Union troops retreated to the Ohio River and the safety of the state of Ohio.
The Battle of Fayetteville occurred in Fayette County, Virginia, on September 10, 1862, during the American Civil War. A Confederate Army, consisting of multiple brigades commanded by Major General William W. Loring, drove away a Union brigade commanded by Colonel Edward Siber. The battle is part of the Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862.
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