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 GeneralJohn 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 Garrison Duty in 1864Edit
(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.
Army of West VirginiaEdit
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.
Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN0-8047-3641-3.
October 21, 2023
viii, corps, union, army, this, article, about, united, states, army, unit, involved, american, civil, other, units, same, name, viii, corps, viii, corps, corps, union, army, during, american, civil, viii, corpsviii, corps, badgeactive1862, 1865typearmy, corps. This article is about United States Army unit involved in the American Civil War For other units of the same name see VIII Corps The VIII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War VIII CorpsVIII Corps badgeActive1862 1865TypeArmy CorpsSizeCorpsEngagementsAmerican Civil WarCommandersNotablecommandersJohn E WoolRobert C SchenckLew WallaceInsignia1st Division2nd Division3rd Division Contents 1 Creation and early service 2 Defense of Washington and Garrison Duty in 1864 3 Army of West Virginia 4 Command history 5 ReferencesCreation and early service EditThe 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 Garrison Duty in 1864 Edit 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 Army of West Virginia EditThe 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 Command history EditJohn E Wool July 12 1862 December 22 1862Robert C Schenck December 22 1862 March 12 1863William W Morris March 12 1863 March 22 1863Robert C Schenck March 22 1863 August 10 1863William W Morris August 10 1863 August 31 1863Robert C Schenck August 31 1863 September 22 1863William W Morris September 22 1863 September 28 1863Erastus B Tyler September 28 1863 October 10 1863Robert C Schenck October 10 1863 December 5 1863Henry H Lockwood December 5 1863 March 22 1864Lew Wallace March 22 1864 February 1 1865William W Morris February 1 1865 April 19 1865Lew Wallace April 19 1865 August 1 1865References EditEicher John H amp Eicher David J Civil War High Commands Stanford University Press 2001 ISBN 0 8047 3641 3 VIII Corps history Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title VIII Corps Union Army amp oldid 1147553865, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
