[1] In the fall of 1862, the Regiment moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee to join General Bragg's forces during the Confederate Heartland Offensive.

Colonel John C. Wilkinson, commander of the 8th Mississippi, was seriously wounded and captured in this battle,[2] and the regiment suffered a 47% casualty rate.

[3] In 1863, the 8th Regiment was stationed at Bridgeport, Alabama, and then moved to Chattanooga in August as Bragg's forces retreated from Middle Tennessee.

During the Battle of Chickamauga, Jackson's brigade, including the 8th Regiment, was assigned to General Benjamin F. Cheatham's division on the right wing of the Confederate line, and took part in a successful movement on September 19 that pushed back the advancing Union forces.

[1] Lieutenant Colonel Aden McNeill was killed during fighting at Chickamauga on September 20, and the Regiment suffered a 23% casualty rate.