8th Infantry Regiment was organized at Leesburg, Virginia, in May, 1861. Its members were recruited in the counties of Loudoun, Prince William, and Fairfax. The unit was also called "Old Bloody Eighth" and from time to time "The Berkeley Regiment" because its Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, and one Captain were four Berkeley brothers. During the war it was brigaded under Generals Cocke, Pickett, R.B. Garnett, and Hunton. It fought at First Manassas and Leesburg, and in April, 1862, it totalled 450 effectives. The 8th was involved in the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from Williamsburg to Gettysburg, served in the Department of Richmond, then took part in the conflicts at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor. It went on to participate in the Petersburg siege north of the James River and the Appomattox Courthouse Campaign. This unit sustained 30 casualties at First Manassas, lost 8 killed and 43 wounded of the 375 engaged at Leesburg, and had 10 killed and 66 wounded during the Seven Days' Battles. Of the 193 engaged at Gettysburg about ninety percent were killed, wounded, or missing. From June 1 to December 31, 1864, it reported 53 casualties, and many were captured at Sayler's Creek. Only 1 surgeon and 11 privates surrendered on April 9, 1865. The field officers were Colonels Norborne Berkeley and Eppa Hunton, Lieutenant Colonels Edmund Berkeley and Charles B. Tebbs, and Majors William N. Berkeley and James Thrift.
