8th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 8th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment


caption=Pennsylvania flag
dates= July, 1861 to May 24, 1864
country= United States
allegiance= Union
branch= Infantry
command_structure=1st Brigade, 2nd Division, I Corps, Army of the Potomac March to June 1862
2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, V Corps June to August 1862
2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 3rd Corps, Army of Virginia August to September 1862
2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, V Corps, Army of the Potomac, September 1862 to February 1863
2nd Brigade, Pennsylvania Reserves Corps, XXII Corps, Department of Washington, February 1863 to April 1864
3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, V Corps, Army of the Potomac, April to May 1864
equipment=
battles=Battle of Mechanicsville
Battle of South Mountain
Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House

The 8th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

History

The regiment was organized at Camp Wilkins near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with George S. Hays as colonel, S. D. Oliphant as lieutenant colonel, and J. B. Gardner as major. After training, it was sent to Washington, D.C. in late July, where it was assigned to the 1st Brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves division, which became the Second Division, I Corps, Army of the Potomac. In May, it followed the rest of the division to the Peninsula, where the division became the Third Division, V Corps. On May 23, Gardner resigned and Captain S. M. Baily of company I was promoted to major in his place.

The regiment first came under fire at the Battle of Mechanicsville, where it lost nearly 100 men. When the rest of the army withdrew, Company F of the 8th Reserve, which had been sent forward as skirmishers, was not informed of the retreat and was left behind and captured by the Confederates. It also fought at the battles of Charles City Cross Roads and Glendale, losing over 200 additional men. After the regiment arrived at Harrison's Landing, both Hays and Oliphant resigned due to illness. Baily was promoted to colonel, Captain Lemon to lieutenant colonel, and Captain Robert E. Johnston to major.

The Pennsylvania Reserves Division was sent to the Army of Virginia in August as part of the III Corps. The 8th Reserve fought at the Second Battle of Bull Run, where it lost 52 out of 100 men, and again at South Mountain, where it lost another 54 men. At the Battle of Antietam, it fought on the Union right in the Cornfield, losing twelve killed and forty three wounded. It played a part in the Union breakthrough on the Confederate right at the Battle of Fredericksburg but lost heavily, especially in officers. Twenty-eight were killed, eighty-six wounded, and twenty-two captured. Baily, five captains, and five lieutenants were among the wounded. In February 1863, the regiment was ordered to Washington, where it was rested and brought back up to strength.

In the spring of 1864, the 8th Reserve, along with the rest of the division, was sent back to the army, as the Third Division, V Corps. It fought in the initial battles of the Overland Campaign, losing thirty three men at the Battle of the Wilderness and another nineteen at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. On May 17, it was relieved from duty since its term of service had expired. Those whose enlistments had not expired yet were transferred to the 191st Pennsylvania Infantry. The remainder of the regiment was sent back to Pittsburgh, where on May 24, it was mustered out of service.

Casualties

* Killed and mortally wounded: 5 officers, 153 enlisted men
* Wounded: ? officers, ? enlisted men
* Died of disease: 0 officers, 68 enlisted men
* Captured or missing: ? officers, ? enlisted men
* Total casualties: ? officers, ? enlisted men

References

* [http://www.pa-roots.com/~pacw/reserves/8thres/8thresorg.html Pennsylvania in the Civil War website]
* [http://www.pareserves.com The Pennsylvania Reserve Division 1861-1864]