| VIII Corps | |
|---|---|
 VIII Corps badge | |
| Active | 1862–1865 |
| Type | Army Corps |
| Size | Corps |
| Engagements | American Civil War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | John E. Wool Robert C. Schenck Lew Wallace |
| Insignia | |
| 1st Division |  |
| 2nd Division |  |
| 3rd Division |  |
United States Army Corps, 1861-1865 | |
|---|---|
| Previous | Next |
| VII Corps (Union Army) | IX Corps (Union Army) |
The VIII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
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.
(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. Elements of the corps also battled Confederate cavalry as it raided across Maryland to the suburbs of Baltimore during Early's Raid on Washington. 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 the Army of West Virginia 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. It is furthermore confusing in the fact that the Army of West Virginia functioned as a corps within the Army of the Shenandoah. The result was references to the Army of West Virginia as the VIII Corps even though they were never officially synonymous.
| John E. Wool | July 12, 1862 – December 22, 1862 |
| Robert C. Schenck | December 22, 1862 – March 12, 1863 |
| William W. Morris | March 12, 1863 – March 22, 1863 |
| Robert C. Schenck | March 22, 1863 – August 10, 1863 |
| William W. Morris | August 10, 1863 – August 31, 1863 |
| Robert C. Schenck | August 31, 1863 – September 22, 1863 |
| William W. Morris | September 22, 1863 – September 28, 1863 |
| Erastus B. Tyler | September 28, 1863 – October 10, 1863 |
| Robert C. Schenck | October 10, 1863 – December 5, 1863 |
| Henry H. Lockwood | December 5, 1863 – March 22, 1864 |
| Lew Wallace | March 22, 1864 – February 1, 1865 |
| William W. Morris | February 1, 1865 – April 19, 1865 |
| Lew Wallace | April 19, 1865 – August 1, 1865 |
Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert was a career United States Army officer, a Union Army General commanding both infantry and cavalry forces in the American Civil War, and a U.S. diplomat.
Robert EmmettRodes was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, and the first of Robert E. Lee's divisional commanders not trained at West Point. His division led Stonewall Jackson's devastating surprise attack at the Battle of Chancellorsville; Jackson, on his deathbed, recommended that Rodes be promoted to major general. Rodes then served in the corps of Richard S. Ewell at the Battle of Gettysburg and in the Overland Campaign, before that corps was sent to the Shenandoah Valley under Jubal Early, where Rodes was killed at the Third Battle of Winchester.
John Daniel Imboden, American lawyer, Virginia state legislator, and a Confederate army general. During the American Civil War, he commanded an irregular cavalry force. After the war, he resumed practicing law, became a writer, and was active in land development founding the town of Damascus, Virginia.
The eastern theater of the American Civil War consisted of the major military and naval operations in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina.
Robert Huston Milroy was a lawyer, judge, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War, most noted for his defeat at the Second Battle of Winchester in 1863.
The city of Winchester, Virginia, and the surrounding area, were the site of numerous battles during the American Civil War, as contending armies strove to control the lower Shenandoah Valley. Winchester changed hands more often than any other Confederate city.
The Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia was a military organization within the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during much of the American Civil War. It was officially created and named following the Battle of Sharpsburg in 1862, but comprised units in a corps organization for quite some time prior to that. The Second Corps developed a reputation for hard fighting under famed early commander Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.
The 23rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, known as the "First Irish" or "Irish 'Brigade'", was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 35th Virginia Cavalry Battalion, also known as White's Battalion, White's Rebels and the Comanches, was a Confederate cavalry unit during the American Civil War raised by Elijah V. White in Loudoun County, Virginia in the winter of 1861-62. The battalion was initially raised as border guards along the Potomac River below Harpers Ferry but were ultimately mustered into regular service as part of the Laurel Brigade. Despite this, they continued to play a conspicuous role in the ongoing partisan warfare in Loudoun throughout the war. The battalion was particularly notable during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, when it played a prominent role in the Battle of Brandy Station and subsequently conducted a series of raids on Union-held railroads and defensive positions in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The 35th was the first Confederate unit to enter Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The Winchester and Potomac Railroad (W&P) was a railroad in the southern United States, which ran from Winchester, Virginia, to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, on the Potomac River, at a junction with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). It played a key role in early train raids of the B&O during the beginning months of the American Civil War.
The 1st Maryland Infantry Regiment, Potomac Home Brigade was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 87th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
1st Maryland Cavalry Battalion, Potomac Home Brigade, originally organized as the 1st Potomac Home Brigade Cavalry, "Cole's Cavalry" was formed under the guidance of Henry A. Cole. There are also references to it being designated as Cole's 1st Volunteer Maryland Cavalry. The unit, a battalion, originally consisted of four companies, A, B, C & D and was initially enlisted between August 10 and November 27, 1861.
The 123rd Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 123rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
1st Ohio Independent Light Artillery Battery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
17th Indiana Battery Light Artillery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 1st Connecticut Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 3rd Regiment Maryland Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was noted for its holding the high ground at the center of the line at Antietam as part of Stainrook's 2nd Brigade, Greene's 2nd Division of Mansfield's XII Corps.
The 2nd Maryland Infantry, Eastern Shore was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
