Federal Regiment

8th Connecticut Infantry

Organized: Hartford, CT; mustered in Fall 1861
Disbanded/Mustered out: Hartford, CT 12/12/1865

Commanding Officers on the Antietam Campaign:
LCol. Hiram Appelman
Maj. J Edward Ward

This Regiment's Chain of Command:
  Army - Army of the Potomac
  Corps - Ninth Army Corps
  Division - 3rd Division, 9th Corps
  Brigade - 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 9th Corps

Unit history

In response to President Lincoln's call to the states, the regiment was one of those organized in Hartford in the fall of 1861, a few months after the war began with the firing on Fort Sumter.

On the Antietam Campaign

The Eighth had been sent to ford Antietam Creek at the left, or south, wing of the battlefield and at great cost won a little hill on the far side. But the other regiments left the Eighth exposed and alone in a Confederate counterattack:

[Lt.] Colonel Appelman [commanding the regiment while Colonel Harland led the brigade] tells the standard-bearer never to leave the colors. He responds firmly. One of the color-guard falls; two; three; four; the last, and the standard goes to the ground with him. Private Charles H. Walker [of Norwich] springs forward, and seizes it amid the storm of death; strikes the staff firmly in the ground; and shakes out the flag defiantly towards the advancing foe.

No re-inforcements come. Twenty men are falling every minute. Col. Appelman is borne to the rear. . . . Men grow frantic. The wounded prop themselves behind the rude stone fence, and hurl leaden vengeance at the foe. Even the chaplain snatches the rifle and cartridge-box of a dead man, and fights for life.

"We must fall back," says Major John E. Ward, now in command. Some protest against what they feel is inevitable; and the hundred men still unscathed are faced to the rear, and marched back in unbroken and still formidable column down the hill. No regiment of the 9th Corps has advanced so far, or held out so long, or retired in formation so good.

Statistics

Initial Strength: 400; Killed in Action (KIA): 32; Wounded (WIA): 158; Missing in Action (MIA): 1; Captured (POW): 7;
Losses, % of Initial Strength: 49.5%

Maps Showing this Unit

Detail Map #8: Rodman's Division Crosses at Snavely's Ford (10 am-1 pm)
Detail Map #12: Burnside's Ninth Corps Climbs Toward Sharpsburg (3-4 pm)
Detail Map #13: AP Hill's Division Hits Burnside's Flank (4-5 pm)

Battlefield Tablets for this Unit

Tablet #56: Ninth Army Corps - 15 Sep, 7 AM to 16 Sep, 3 PM
Tablet #122: Army of the Potomac - 17 Sep, 10 AM to 17 Sep, 6 PM
Tablet #70, cont: Ninth Army Corps - 17 Sep, 3 PM to 17 Sep, 5 PM
Tablet #65: Rodman's Division, Ninth Army Corps - 17 Sep, 5 AM to 17 Sep, 5 PM
Tablet #70: Ninth Army Corps - 17 Sep, 7 AM to 17 Sep, 3 PM
Tablet #57: Ninth Army Corps - 17 Sep, 7 AM to 17 Sep, 5 PM
Tablet #67: Harland's Brigade, Rodman's Division - 17 Sep, 7 AM to 17 Sep, 5 PM

After the Antietam Campaign

"In December, 1863, three hundred and ten of the original members of the Eighth re-enlisted as veterans, and in January, 1864, went to Connecticut on veteran furlough ... March 1st found the regiment returned to the field for duty."
(from 8CV, CoA)

More on the Web

See a very fine page on the history of the 8th, and a series of articles and documents specific to the unit at Antietam - both from the reenactors of Company A.

References & Notes

Antietam battle drama above from a Stonington History site.

We have 213 individuals in the AotW database who were on the Maryland Campaign with this unit:

Co.	Rank	Name	Casualty?
A	Pvt	Babb, Erwine	WIA 09/17
A	Corp	Brooks, Albion Dennis
A	Corp	Clark, Lemuel Beach	WIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Evans, Leverett F.	MWIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Frost, Oswin S.	MWIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Johnson, Cyrus V.	WIA 09/17
A	Pvt	King, Lewis D.	POW 09/17
A	Pvt	Lane, Edward	WIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Lord, Orton L.	KIA 09/17
A	Corp	Marsh, George H.	KIA 09/17
A	Sgt	Poyer, Henry	WIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Shinners, James	WIA 09/17
A	Corp	Smith, Henry A.	WIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Smith, John A.	WIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Sweetland, Ransom	WIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Thompson, Charles	WIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Wadhams, Martin Luther	KIA 09/17
A	Lt	Wait, Marvin	KIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Wheeler, Jared	WIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Wheeler, Lucius	MWIA 09/17
A	Sgt	Wilcox, Whiting	KIA 09/17
A	Pvt	Winchell, James	WIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Bowen, James Monroe	WIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Boyle, Robert	MWIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Case, Oliver Cromwell	KIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Dixon, John A.	MWIA 09/17
B	Lt	Eaton, Jacob	WIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Glover, Joseph	WIA 09/17
B	Corp	Gordon, Andrew	WIA 09/17
B	Corp	Guy, Christopher	WIA 09/17
B	Corp	Hall, William Rutter	WIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Hayes, Michael	WIA/POW 09/17
B	Pvt	Higley, Walter Orson	WIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Keach, Jr., George Hudson	WIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Keefe, Michael	WIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Kent, William	WIA/POW 09/17
B	Pvt	Mann, Peter	MWIA 09/17
B	Pvt	McCarthy, Florence	WIA 09/17
B	Pvt	O'Brien, Morris	WIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Patrick, William	WIA/POW 09/17
B	Lt	Shepard, Charles	WIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Smart, Thomas	WIA 09/17
B	Pvt	Smithson, Walter
B	Pvt	Terry, Arthur Orlando	WIA/POW 09/17
B	Pvt	Thompson, Thomas	WIA 09/17
C	Corp	Beach, Seba R.	WIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Burns, Patrick	WIA 09/17
C	Corp	Caghans, William	WIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Castle, Morton W.	MWIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Castle, Ransom William	WIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Clapp, George W.	WIA 09/17
C	Sgt	Elmore, Harvey E.	KIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Galpin, Thomas Cyrus	WIA 09/17
C	Lt	Jones, Henry Roger	WIA/POW 09/17
C	Pvt	Kenney, Patrick	WIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Knight, William H.	KIA 09/17
C	Corp	McCarty, William Henry	WIA/POW 09/17
C	Pvt	Nighting, John	KIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Pelton, James E.	WIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Randall, Henry	WIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Remington, Napoleon Bonaparte	WIA 09/17
C	Capt	Ripley, Eleazer H.	WIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Robinson, George W.	KIA 09/17
C	Sgt	Rust, Cyprian H.	KIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Shea, Daniel	WIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Smith, William H.	WIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Spelman, James M.	WIA 09/17
C	Sgt	Strickland, Henry E.	MWIA 09/17
C	Corp	Tillotson, Lafayette	KIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Watson, Robert	WIA 09/17
C	Pvt	Wentworth, Jonas	WIA 09/17
C	Pvt	White, Jr., Elijah	KIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Bacon, James Monroe	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Blumley, Edward	POW 09/17
D	Corp	Burke, Robert W.	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Costello, Thomas	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Edwards, Thomas F.	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Edwards, William A.	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Eldridge, Nathaniel C.	MWIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Ellsworth, Frederick J.	MWIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Fanning, Henry C.	MWIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Fanning, Theodore A.	MWIA 09/17
D	Sgt	Fletcher, Joseph E.	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Huling, Stephen B.	POW 09/17
D	Sgt	Huntington, William	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Jackson, Charles	WIA/POW 09/17
D	Sgt	Jennings, James C.	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Jerome, Francis Denison	WIA 09/17
D	Corp	Lathrop, Oliver Woodworth	MWIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Lockwood, Edgar A.	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Martin, Mortimer J.	WIA 09/17
D	Lt	McCall, John	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Mulkin, Charles Edward	WIA 09/17
D	Corp	Murphy, William M.	POW 09/17
D	Pvt	Ranger, Richard	POW 09/17
D	Pvt	Ransom, Henry Asahel	WIA 09/17
D	Corp	Smith, John	WIA 09/17
D	Sgt	Spofford, Lester Edwin Forrest	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Tefft, John Kenyon	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Thompson, Addison Ferry	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Walden, Jr., Winthrop	POW 09/17
D	Pvt	Walker, Charles H.
D	Pvt	Weaver, Edward Maurice	WIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Wilson, Frederick	KIA 09/17
D	Pvt	Woodworth, William A.	POW 09/17
E	Corp	Beeman, Charles N.	WIA 09/17
E	Corp	Booth, George F.	MWIA 09/17
E	Lt	Bronson, Nelson	WIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Buell, Charles Sidney
E	Pvt	Bunnell, Wesley	WIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Cotney, Andrew J.	WIA 09/17
E	Pvt	English, Alton H.	WIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Garrigus, Horace Edmund	WIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Grannis, Lewis Stillman	WIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Honner, Arthur	WIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Hotchkiss, Philo Delos	WIA/POW 09/17
E	Pvt	Levaughn, Donald	WIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Mason, Thomas	KIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Mitchell, George William	WIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Morse, Henry R.	MWIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Nichols, Jerome	MWIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Peters, James T.	WIA 09/17
E	Sgt	Plumb, Seth Frederick
E	Pvt	Tuttle, John Edson	KIA 09/17
E	Pvt	Yemmons, Joseph R.	Died (d) 11/10
F	Corp	Austin, Albert
F	Pvt	Baldwin, George	WIA/POW 09/17
F	Pvt	Bemis, Nelson Amariah	WIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Bentley, John	MWIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Card, Lewis P.	WIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Carey, Dwight	KIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Clark, William W.	WIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Culver, Isaac	WIA/POW 09/17
F	Sgt	Kilbourn, James B.	WIA 09/17
F	Corp	Kimball, Andrew Johnson	MWIA 09/17
F	Sgt	Lewis, Charles E.	KIA 09/17
F	Corp	Lewis, Samuel	WIA 09/17
F	Lt	Main, Edwin G.	MWIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Mann, Asahel	WIA 09/17
F	Capt	Marsh, Wolcott Pascal
F	Pvt	Moffitt, William H.	WIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Neff, Henry H.	KIA 09/17
F	Pvt	O'Neal, John	WIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Parkhurst, Edward Sabin	WIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Rouse, Horace G.	KIA 09/17
F	Corp	Spalding, Henry Otis	WIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Sweet, William A.	KIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Thompson, Albion Dennison	WIA 09/17
F	Corp	Trask, Jr., Francis Arnold	KIA 09/17
F	Pvt	Watson, James Riley	WIA/POW 09/17
F	Corp	Winsor, Jr., Olney	MIA (r) 09/17
F	Pvt	Young, George Herbert	WIA 09/17
G	Corp	Barber, Leonidas A.	WIA 09/17
G	Pvt	Bayard, Charles	WIA 09/17
G	Pvt	Bedford, Thomas	WIA/POW 09/17
G	Pvt	Casey, Thomas	WIA 09/17
G	Pvt	Clift, Lemuel	WIA 09/17
G	Sgt	Clift, IV, Amos	WIA 09/17
G	Pvt	Conlon, Patrick	WIA 09/17
G	Pvt	Doyle, William	WIA 09/17
G	Pvt	Edwards, Albert Tanner	WIA 09/17
G	Corp	Edwards, Charles John	WIA 09/17
G	Corp	Hewitt, Oscar Winslow	KIA 09/17
G	Pvt	Lanphear, Clark Truman	WIA 09/17
G	Pvt	Lord, Thomas Howe	WIA 09/17
G	Lt	Morgan, Henry E.	WIA 09/17
G	Pvt	O'Connor, Cornelius	WIA/POW 09/17
G	Pvt	Price, Jr., David W.	WIA 09/17
G	Capt	Russell, James Luzerne	WIA 09/17
G	Pvt	Ryan, Thomas W.	WIA 09/17
G	Corp	Sloan, Francis DeVolney	WIA 09/17
G	Pvt	Terwilliger, William H.	WIA 09/17
I	Pvt	Birch, George J.	KIA 09/17
I	Corp	Ferriss, Robert Bruce	KIA 09/17
I	Pvt	Garlick, Charles Daniel	WIA 09/17
I	Lt	Hall, Henry C.
I	Sgt	Irwin, Charles Newton	WIA 09/17
I	Sgt	Lake, David	KIA 09/17
I	Pvt	Lattin, Booth	WIA 09/17
I	Pvt	McKay, John H.	WIA 09/17
I	Capt	Roberts, William Jay
I	Sgt	Seeley, John David	WIA 09/17
I	Pvt	Sprague, Orville	WIA/POW 09/17
I	Pvt	Squires, Oscar	WIA 09/17
I	Pvt	Stuart, Robert	WIA 09/17
I	Corp	Terrell, Timothy T.	WIA 09/17
I	Pvt	Terrell, William Peacham	WIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Allen, Lewis F.	WIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Allen, Lyman D.	WIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Blakeslee, Hiram A.	WIA 09/17
K	Sgt	Booth, Albert T.	WIA/POW 09/17
K	Pvt	Burr, Henry Curtis	WIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Camsell, George	WIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Dagle, George V.	KIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Doolittle, John K.	MWIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Finken, Henry	KIA 09/17
K	Lt	Ford, Roger M.
K	Corp	Lewis, William G.	KIA 09/17
K	Corp	Matthews, Luther R.	WIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Pelton, Edward Ensign	WIA/POW 09/17
K	Pvt	Pratt, William M.	WIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Richards, Alonzo I.	KIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Richmond, Willis B.	KIA 09/17
K	Corp	Simonds, John H.	KIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Stevens, Ellis Munroe	WIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Sweetland, Oscar A.	WIA 09/17
K	Capt	Upham, Charles Leslie
K	Pvt	Walker, Joseph H.	WIA 09/17
K	Pvt	Wilcox, George Saxton	WIA 09/17
F&S	LCol	Appelman, Hiram	WIA 09/17
F&S	Chpl	Morris, John Moses
F&S	Surg	Storrs, Melancthon
F&S	Maj	Ward, John Edward

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