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8th New York
Artillery Heavy
Online Books:
8th New York
Artillery Heavy Soldier
Roster - Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of New York For the Year
1893, Volume 11 View the Entire Book
| Regimental History |
| Eighth New York Artillery (Heavy).— Cols.. Peter A. Porter, Willard
W. Bates, James M. Willett, Joel B. Baker; Lieut. -Cols., Willard W. Bates, James M.
Willett, Lawrence Kipp, Joel B. Baker, Joseph W. Holmes; Majs., James M. Willett, Joel B.
Baker, S. Dexter Ludden, Edwin L. Blake, Joseph W. Holmes, James Low, Jr., Erastus M.
Spaulding, Henry M. Starr. This regiment was recruited by Col. Porter in the summer of
1862, in the counties of Genesee, Niagara and Orleans. It was organized at Lockport as the
129th infantry and was there mustered into the U. S. service Aug 22, 1862, for three
years. It was changed to heavy artillery in December, and two additional companies were
organized at Lockport in Dec, 1863, and Jan., 1864, and mustered in for one and three
years, respectively. These companies, designated L and M, joined the regiment in Feb.,
1864. Few regiments in the service achieved a higher reputation for hard fighting and
efficiency than this splendid organization. Says Col. Fox, who includes it among the three
hundred fighting regiments: "The regiment performed garrison duty until May, 1864,
when it was sent with the other heavy artillery commands to the front to reinforce Gen.
Grant. It was in action for the first time at Spottsylvania, Va., where it lost 8 killed,
21 wounded and 4 missing. At Cold Harbor the 8th lost 80 killed, 339 wounded and 86
missing; total, 505 — it having twelve large companies engaged there. In that battle
Col. Porter led the regiment in its grand charge upon the enemy's works and fell dead in
the extreme advance. Eight officers were killed in that action. In the assault on
Petersburg the regiment made another gallant attack on the Confederate lines, in which
Col. Bates and Maj. Blake fell mortally wounded. In the actions around Petersburg in June,
1864, the regiment lost 42 killed, 261 wounded and 5 missing, a total of 308. Though known
as an artillery regiment, the men carried rifles and were drilled as infantry. When they
took the field, their full ranks — twelve companies of 150 men each — made them
a very efficient organization, but their heavy losses in action soon reduced their long
lines, until but few were left to witness the last fight at Appomattox. During all its
service in the field, in 1864-65, the regiment was attached to the 2nd division (Gibbon's)
of the 2nd corps." In addition to the severe losses enumerated above, the regiment
lost 6 killed, 28 wounded and 210 missing at Reams' station; 5 killed, 32 wounded and 11
missing at Boydton plank road, not to mention the constant losses sustained in the
trenches before Petersburg. During its term of service it lost 19 officers and 342 men
killed and mortally wounded; 4 officers and 298 men died of disease, accidents, in prison,
etc., a total of 663. Including the mortally wounded, it had 37 officers and 707 men
wounded. It also sustained an unusually heavy loss in prison, having 1 officer and 113 men
die in the hands of the enemy. In killed and mortally wounded, the 8th suffered the most
severely of any of the New York heavy artillery regiments, and ranks second in the whole
list of such regiments in killed and mortally wounded. Its percentage of killed, 14.0, is
only exceeded by that of one other New York organization, the 126th infantry, with a
percentage of 14.7. The total enrollment of the 8th was 2,575. On June 5, 1865, Cos. A to
K were mustered out at Munson's hill, Va., under the command of Lieut. -Col. Holmes, and
those not mustered out were transferred to the 4th N. Y. artillery and 10th N. Y. infantry
(q. v.). |
Footnotes:
Regimental history taken from "The Union Army" by Federal Publishing
Company, 1908 - Volume 2
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