“In Remembrance to the Men of this Regiment who served with some of my ancestors.”
E. Ralph Biggs, a self-described “’History Buff/Family Researcher “, did not realize the amount of work he was setting himself up for when he discovered an ancestor’s enlistment in 8th Missouri Volunteers Cavalry Volunteers Regiment. A Civil War unit that operated from 1862 to 1865.
During his family research, he discovered he was kin, either by blood or by marriage, to 7 men who were in the 8th MO.
In his words “Pension Records, Military Records, and Family History along with better documentation of facts led me to explore diving into this project I’ve undertaken on my own. If it had not been for this, I may not have been able to re-write my family history correctly. Military Pension Files/Records have been a GOLDMINE!”
But this goldmine, he soon learned, was sometimes inaccurate.
The discoveries of inconsistent information triggered what became an unquenchable desire to gather and correct the Civil War documents related to this unit. Not only for his personal family research but for the Regiment as a whole. These mistakes found were due to human errors in filling out forms and, later, misinterpretation of penmanship contained in these and other documents.
A wealth of information, culled from numerous sources, turned the project into a “military biography” of sorts. A military biography of the all the men who ever served in the 8th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry.
A huge hurdle was the fact the original lists consisted of “discrepancies” in the spelling of names by the different clerks involved in the keeping of records. These differences in spellings sometimes gave the impression there were several men with the similar names. When in fact they were all the same individual. Sorting these records out would be a project that would end up taking years to accomplish.
Mr. Biggs spent untold hours attempting to straighten these records out, notating the different spellings which he encountered. To add to the confusion in some cases there was indeed more than one man sharing the same name. These were noted in his records as such as well.
Mr. Biggs has generously donated the use of his results to the Okmulgee County Genealogical Society to create a database consisting of over 1,300 names. Whereby interested individuals can search the Roster for the 8th Missouri Cavalry Volunteers and view a synopsis of the military records contained in government records.
To give his ancestors their recognition, members of his family who rode with the 8th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment in the Civil War were:
Andrew Allen Biggs born 1834 – Great-grandfather to Ralph Biggs.
Hardy L. Biggs born 1839 – A younger brother to the Great-grandfather.
David S. {Solomon} Biggs born 1843 – Also a younger brother to the Great-grandfather.
Hardy C. Biggs born 1829 – An older cousin to the Great-grandfather.
Brothers John Austin Rector and Silas F. Rector – both of whom were brother-in-laws to Andrew Allen Biggs through his wife, their sister.
Levi Keen, the future father-in-law to David S. {Solomon} Biggs.
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8th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry Volunteers, USA
Overview: Organized at Springfield, Missouri August 6 to September 15, 1862. Attached to 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, Army of the Frontier, Department of Missouri, to June, 1863. 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, District of Southeast Missouri, Department of Missouri, to August, 1863. 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Arkansas Expedition, to December, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Army of Arkansas, to January, 1864, and 7th Army Corps, Department of Arkansas, to May, 1864. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 7th Army Corps, to September, 1864. 3rd Brigade, Cavalry Division, 7th Army Corps, to February, 1865. 2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, 7th Army Corps, to March, 1865. 1st Separate Cavalry Brigade, 7th Army Corps, to July, 1865.
Service: Springfield, Missouri August 9, 1862. Blount’s Campaign in Missouri and Arkansas October 17-December 27, {1862}. Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, December 7, {1862}. Expedition from Fayetteville to Huntsville December 21-23, {1862}. Expedition over Boston Mountains to Van Buren December 27-29, {1862}. Bloomfield, MO., May 12, 1863. Join Davidson’s Division at Pilot Knob, MO., June, 1863, and march to Clarendon on White River, Arkansas. Steele’s expedition against Little Rock, Arkansas, August 1-September 10, {1863}. Grand Prairie August 17, {1863}. Brownsville August 25, {1863}. Bayou Metoe or Reed’s Bridge August 27, {1863}. Reconnaissance from Brownsville August 29, {1863}. Ferry’s Landing September 7, {1863}. Bayou Fourche and capture of Little Rock September 10, {1863}. Pursuit of General Price September 11-14, {1863}. Near Little Rock September 11, {1863}. Duty at Little Rock till March, 1864. {? Patrolled area between Little Rock, Arkansas and DeVall’s Bluff!} Duvall’s {DeVall’s} Bluff December 1 and December 12, 1863 (NOTE: These dates must be wrong. The 8th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment arrived at DeVall’s Bluff, Arkansas in late September 1863 and was there until July 1865!) The 8th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry was stationed at: Ft. Geiger in DeVall’s Bluff, Arkansas.} (Detachments). {Expeditions:} Indian Bay – February 16, 1864. Clarendon – March 15, {1864}. Fitzhugh’s Woods, near Augusta – April 1, {1864} (Detachment). Cache River Cotton Plant – April 21-22, {1864}. Operations against Shelby north of the Arkansas River – May 13-31, {1864}. Stony Point – May 20, {1864}. Searcy – June 3, {1864} (Detachment). Bealer’s Ferry, Little Red River – June 6, {1864} (Detachment). Expedition from Little Rock to Little Red River – August 6-16, {1864}. Jones’ Hay Station and Long Prairie – August 24, {1864}. Expedition in pursuit of Shelby – August 27-September 6, {1864}. Expedition from Lewisburg to Strahan Landing – November 26-December 2, {1864}. Expedition from Brownsville to Augusta – January 4-27, {1865} (Detachment). Duty in the Department of Arkansas till July.
Mustered Out July 20, 1865.
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