The Eighth Wisconsin

The Eighth Wisconsin. A State Divided: The Civil War in Missouri. The Eagle Bearers in Missouri , In late 1861, the Eighth Wisconsin Infantry joined many other units from Midwestern states moving through the Federal hub in St. Louis, Mo. The Eighth Wisconsin was known as the "Eagle Regiment" after its mascot, Old Abe. Although its bald eagle mascot was unique among Civil War volunteer regiments, the unit followed a path similar to thousands of Midwestern soldiers whose military service began in the critical border state of Missouri., Soldiers of the Eighth Wisconsin enlisted in locally raised companies consisting of mostly New England ancestry but with significant numbers of Norwegians and Germans. Assembled at Madison, Wis., the regiment mustered into Federal service on Sept. 13, 1861. The unit was barely organized and largely untrained when ordered to Missouri by rail on Oct. 12. The soldiers were ferried to St. Louis on Oct. 14, bearing their eagle mascot and wearing state-supplied gray uniforms which led some townspeople to mistake them as secessionists., The regiment left immediately for southeastern Missouri to combat the threat of Maj. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson's Missouri State Guard forces. They joined Col. William P. Carlin's expeditionary force moving towards Thompson's division at Fredericktown, Mo. Carlin reached the town on Oct. 21. The exhausted soldiers slept in the streets until Thompson's forces were discovered on the outskirts of town. As the Eighth Wisconsin rushed to form the battle line it suffered its first death from an accidental firearm discharge. The unit was ordered to the back of the line to form a reserve. They did not engage in the Battle of Fredericktown, but took part in the unsuccessful pursuit of Thompson the next day., In November, the Wisconsin soldiers made a tiresome but uneventful expedition to Greenville, Mo., then set up winter quarters along the Mississippi River. In March 1862, they joined Brig. Gen. John S. Pope's army operating against the Confederate Mississippi River blockade in New Madrid, Mo., and Island No. Ten. The Eighth then helped capture Tiptonville, Tenn., which precipitated the surrender of Island No. Ten in April 1862. They were transferred out of Missouri for the next two years., The Eighth Wisconsin returned to Missouri in September 1864 to pursue Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's raiding Confederate army. Union authorities, having drawn down volunteer units in Missouri for service elsewhere, hurried reinforcements toward the threatened state. They included Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Smith's detachment of the 16th Army Corps, including the Eighth Wisconsin., Without Old Abe, who had retired, the Eighth Wisconsin took steamboats to De Vall's Bluff, Ark., and then marched northeastward, shadowing Price's eastern flank. The division marched to Cape Girardeau and boarded steamboats for St. Louis and Jefferson City, Mo. They marched as far as Little Santa Fe on the Missouri-Kansas border, but never made contact with Price before returning to St. Louis on foot. Upon their arrival in November, the infantrymen had covered 819 miles in eight weeks., (caption) Old Abe is spreading his wings for his portrait. Courtesy Wisconsin Historical Society., (Upper Right Sidebar) , Old Abe: "Living Symbol of the Nation at War" , Capt. John B. Perkins acquired an eagle to use as a mascot for a company of the Eighth Wisconsin Infantry. The eagle was named "Old Abe" and the unit Formerly known as the Eau Claire Badgers became the Eagle Company., Soldiers built a perch and the bird bearer took a place with the color guard. For three years, Old Abe and the Eagle Company were inseparable and instantly recognizable., Old Abe came under fire with the Eighth Wisconsin in 37 battles and skirmishes. His most celebrated exploit, dubbed "Old Abe's Aerial Reconnaissance," occurred in October 1862. During the Battle of Corinth in Mississippi Old Abe's tether was shot through allowing him to escape. He soared up and down the opposing lines amidst a hail of bullets., As a national symbol, the eagle had greater public appeal than other regimental mascots. Photographer and journalists soon generated images and stories that featured the bird., When the regiment reorganized as a veteran unit in September 1864, they voted unanimously to give Old Abe to the State of Wisconsin. The eagle resided in the basement of the Capitol and began a new career as a celebrity fundraiser., Nationally famous after the war, "Wisconsin's War Eagle" toured extensively. His photographs sold by the thousands; the proceeds benefited war orphans and disabled soldiers. Later, Old Abe promoted state fairs, soldiers' reunions and Republican politics., In February 1881 fire in the basement of the Capital, Old Abe was overcome by smoke. He never recovered and died on March 26, 1881., In World War II, the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles," adopted Old Abe's martial legacy. Their insignia still uses his image. Courtesy US Army, (caption) Wisconsin's War Eagle would scream and fluff his wings while rallying the troops to battle., (Lower Right Sidebar) , Wisconsin in the Western Theater , The Eighth Wisconsin infantry was one of many regiments to serve west of the Appalachians and along the Mississippi Valley in a theater known as "The West.", In 1862, the Eighth Wisconsin was in northern Mississippi. On May 28, their casualties at Farmington, Miss., included Capt. John E. Perkins. They also suffered severe losses at Corinth, Miss., on Oct. 13., The unit was involved in Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1862-1863 campaign against Vicksburg, Miss. They were among the Union units that crossed the river below the city in May 1863. The Eighth experienced heavy casualties in the failed "Grand Assault" of the Vicksburg fortifications. As part in the same campaign the Eighth Wisconsin also participated in the captures of Port Gibson and Jackson, Miss. By the end of the Vicksburg Campaign, only 436 of the 606 men remained fit for duty. The debilitated unit then served garrison duty in Mississippi and Tennessee. From March to May 1864, they served in Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks' Red River Expedition in Louisiana. in June, they fought Gen. John S. Marmaduke's Missourians at Lake Chicot, Ark. A fight near Abbeville, Tenn., on Aug. 18, 1864, was the last action for the non-reenlisting veterans, including Old Abe, before they mustered out and returned home. Following a diversion in Arkansas and Missouri pursuing Sterling Price's Confederate army, the remainder of the Eighth returned to Tennessee and fought in the Battle of Nashville in December 1864. It participated in its last combat operations against Mobile Bay, Ala., in April 1865., By the time the unit mustered out in September 1865, it had 37 battles and skirmishes to its credit. It had 55 men killed in action or mortally wounded and 221 lost from disease. The regiment travelled over 15,000 miles in seven states. The men took steamboats for about 7,000 of the miles and trains for about 2,500 miles; the remainder was on foot., (caption) Old Abe and the color guard of the Eight Wisconsin posed for this picture at Vicksburg, July 1863. Courtesy Wisconsin Historical Society.