The Eighth Iowa Infantry

This regiment was made up of companies raised in the counties of Clinton, Scott, Linn, Benton, Washington, Marion, Keokuk, Iowa, Mahaska, Monroe, and Louisa. It was organized at Davenport in September, 1861, and its first field officers were Frederick Steele, of the regular army, colonel; James L. Geddes, lieutenant-colonel, and John C. Ferguson, major. It numbered about 900 when it embarked for St. Louis and joined General Fremont's army. In its march through southwestern Missouri it lost many men from exhaustion and sickness. In February, 1862, Colonel Steele was promoted to brigadier-general, Geddes to colonel of the Eighth, Ferguson to lieutenant-colonel, and Capt. Joseph Andrews, major. On the 12th of March the regiment was sent to reinforce Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing. In the battle of Shiloh the Eighth regiment was in Sweeney's brigade, and when the battle began it was on the extreme left of General Smith's division, joining the right of Prentiss. Here it fought desperately for ten hours on that terrible Sunday, repelling charge after charge in supporting a battery. When finally assailed on three sides it slowly retreated, but was soon after surrounded by the advancing confederates and forced to surrender. It was one of the last to leave the field and left nearly 200 of its brave men among the killed and wounded. The regiment was reorganized at St. Louis early in 1863, and was in Grant's Vicksburg campaign, was in the assault of the 22d, and fought at Jackson. Lieutenant-Colonel Ferguson died of sickness during the siege of Vicksburg. It was at Memphis in August, 1864, and helped to defend that city against the attack by General Forrest. In March, 1865, the Eighth was in the campaign against Mobile. On the 8th of April Colonel Geddes led the assault on the Spanish Fort, in which he commanded a brigade. The rebels were driven from their works, leaving many guns and prisoners in our hands. The Eighth Iowa alone captured several hundred of the enemy. This was the last important battle of the war, and in that campaign Iowa furnished the following regiments: The Eighth, Twelfth, Nineteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-first, Twenty-third, Twenty-seventh, Twenty-ninth, Thirty-second, Thirty-third, Thirty-fourth, and Thirty-fifth.

SOURCE, Benjamin F. Gue, Biographies And Portraits Of The Progressive Men Of Iowa, Volume 1, p. 95