8th Maine Regiment Infantry

HISTORICAL NOTES:
The 8th Maine Infantry was organized in Augusta, Maine and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on September 7, 1861.

The regiment lost a total of 381 men during service; 6 officers and 128 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 4 officers and 243 enlisted men died of disease. OFFICERS:

Colonel Henry Boynton

Colonel William Miltimore McArthur

Colonel John D. Rust

ASSIGNMENTS:
Attached to Viele's 1st Brigade, General Thomas West Sherman's South Carolina Expeditionary Corps, October 1861 to April 1862. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Department of the South, to November 1862. District of Beaufort, South Carolina, X Corps, Department of the South, to April 1863. District of Hilton Head, South Carolina, X Corps, Department of the South, to November 1863. District of Beaufort, South Carolina, X Corps, to April 1864. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, X Corps, Army of the James, Department of Virginia and North Carolina, to May 1864. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, X Corps, to June 1864, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XVIII Corps, to December 1864. 4th Brigade, 1st Division, XXIV Corps, to May 1865. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XXIV Corps, May 1865. 2nd Brigade. 1st Division, XXIV Corps, to August 1865. Department of Virginia to January 1866. SERVICE:

Moved to Annapolis, Md., October 6, 1861. Expedition to Port Royal, S. C., October 21-November 7. Capture of Forts Walker and Beauregard, Port Royal Harbor, November 7. Hilton Head November 8-9. Duty at Hilton Head till February, 1862. Five Companies ordered to Dafuskie Island, S. C., February 14. Siege operations against Fort Pulaski till April 11. Bombardment and capture of Fort Pulaski April 10-11. Duty at Hilton Head and Beaufort, S. C., till March, 1863. Expedition to Jacksonville, Fla., March 18-23. Operations near Jacksonville March 23-31. Reconnoissance toward Baldwin March 25. Skirmish near Jacksonville March 25. Moved to Beaufort, S. C., March 31-April 1. Expedition against Charleston April 3-12. Moved to Hilton Head, S. C., April 16, and duty there till November 14. Moved to Beaufort, S. C., November 14, and duty there till April, 1864. Veterans on Furlough March and April. Moved to Fortress Monroe, Va., April 14. Butler's operations on south side of James River and against Petersburg and Richmond May 4-28. Occupation of City Point and Bermuda Hundred May 5. Port Walthall May 6-7. Swift Creek May 9-10. Arrowfield Church, Chester Station, May 10. Operations against Fort Darling May 12-16. Drury's Bluff May 14-16. Bermuda Hundred front May 17-28. Moved to White House Landing May 28-June 1. Rapidan Campaign June 1-15. Cold Harbor June 1-12. Before Petersburg June 15-19. Siege of Petersburg and Richmond June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865. Mine Explosion, Petersburg, July 30, 1864 (Reserve). Non-Veterans left front September 4, 1864, and mustered out September 15, 1864. Chaffin's Farm September 28-30. Battle of Fair Oaks October 27-28. Duty in trenches north of James River before Richmond till March 27, 1865. Moved to Hatcher's Run March 27-28. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. White Oak Road March 30-31. Assault and capture of Forts Gregg and Baldwin April 2. Fall of Petersburg April 2. Pursuit of Lee April 3-9. Rice's Station April 6. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. Duty at Richmond, Va., till August; at Manchester till November, and at Fortress Monroe till January, 1866. Mustered out January 18, 1866. ROSTERS:

The composite rosters of this unit contain the names of 2539 men.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Vol. 2. Davenport, IA: Eastern Digital Resources, 1998. Ref. See p. 1222 (1 photocopied page) for a concise summary of the regiment's service.

Edwards, Abial H. "Dear Friend Anna": The Civil War Letters of a Common Soldier From Maine. Orono, ME: U ME, 1992. 161 p. E601E38.

Maine. AGO. Annual Report...for the Years 1864 and 1865. Augusta, ME: Stevens & Sayward, 1866. Davenport, IA: Eastern Digital Resources, 2010. UA43M2.1864-1865.AppD. See pp. 379-86 (5 photocopied pages) for a roster of the regiment. Although regimental rosters appear in earlier Annual Reports, that found in this edition is the most complete for the unit's wartime service.

Whitman, William W.S. Maine in the War for the Union: A History of the Part Borne by Maine Troops.... Lexington, ME: Nelson Dingley, 1865. Davenport, IA: Eastern Digital Resources, 2010. E511W61. See pp. 225-60 (19 photocopied pages) for a brief history of the regiment.
REFERENCES:
Dyer, Frederick H. - A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion
The Union Army by Federal Publishing Company, 1908 - Volume 1