Title: The Eighth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War
Authors: William A. Liska and Kim L. Perlotto
Unit: 8th Connecticut Infantry
Unit Affiliation:
- (2), 1, XVIII
- Unattached, XVIII
- HQ Guard, XVIII
- HQ Guard, XXIV
- (2), 3, XXIV
BTC’s Take: William A. Liska and Kim L. Perlotto, members of the Eighth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers, Company A, Incorporated website and reenactors, have spent decades compiling the written recollections of members of the 8th Connecticut. They’ve taken these recollections and used them liberally in a new history of the Eighth Connecticut, the first unit history ever written about this regiment. The result is a traditional military history with delightful maps showing where on the battlefield these men actually fought. The 8th Connecticut was part of the 18th Corps by the time of the Siege of Petersburg, though they fought with Burnside along the North Carolina Coast in 1862 and served in the Ninth Corps at South Mountain and Antietam. It was at the last battle where the 8th Connecticut had its worst day of the war, losing nearly 200 of the 400 officers and men brought into the battle. The unit spent most of 1863 near Suffolk, Portsmouth, and the Great Dismal Swamp in southeastern Virginia. The 8th Connecticut fought in the BermudaHundred Campaign before seeing action at Second Petersburg and Fort Harrison during the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign. Multiple appendices round out the book and give readers the list of battles and organizations of the 8th Connecticut, lengthy biographies of key members of the unit including the “narrators” whose words were often used such as Captain Charles Coit and Sergeant Seth F. Plumb, and flags and arms and equipment of the regiment. The bibliography provides a tantalizing glimpse into the first person accounts the authors found as well as a first for me, a bibliography section specifically dedicated to the maps in the book.
Book Summary/Review:
BTC Siege of Petersburg Book Notes:
BTC Siege of Petersburg Book Sources:
The Eighth Connecticut Infantry was one of the longest-serving Union volunteer regiments in the Civil War and saw action throughout the Eastern Theater, from Burnside’s expedition in North Carolina to the battles at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Cold Harbor and Petersburg, and campaigns throughout Virginia. Drawing on soldiers’ letters and diaries, this first-ever regimental history of the Eighth chronicles four years of combat service, with maps newly created from historical accounts.
William A. Liska is a retired attorney with a career as counsel in the title insurance industry. He lives in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Kim L. Perlotto is a retired computer scientist who spent a career in aerospace engineering. He lives in Simsbury, Connecticut.
Table of Contents:
Maps viii
Acknowledgments xi
Foreword by Matthew Warshauer 1
Preface 3
Introduction 5
Chapter 1. Hartford to Annapolis 9
Chapter 2. Hatteras to New Bern 24
Chapter 3. Fort Macon to Washington, D.C. 48
Chapter 4. Frederick, South Mountain, and Antietam 68
Chapter 5. Fredericksburg to Newport News 88
Chapter 6. Suffolk, Portsmouth, Deep Creek, Home 107
Chapter 7. Deep Creek to Drewry’s Bluff 137
Chapter 8. Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Fort Harrison 156
Chapter 9. Richmond, Lynchburg, and Home 186
Conclusion: After the War 192
Appendix A. Record of Service 201
Appendix B. Biographies of Narrators and Notables 209
Appendix C. Flags of the Eighth 233
Appendix D. Arms and Equipment of the Eighth 241
Appendix E. The Modern Eighth Connecticut Volunteers 248
Appendix F. Map Notes 250
Chapter Notes 255
Bibliography 281
Index 285
Paperback Edition:
ISBN: 978-1-4766-9041-4
Publisher: McFarland
Release Date: 2023
Pages: 301
The Siege of Petersburg Online: Beyond the Crater Pages Which Mention This Book: