bartow's 21st oglethorpe light infantry finally arrived in richmond, virginia, with the objective of protecting the region from any union attack. on june 1, 1861, bartow was promoted to colonel of the 8th georgia infantry, which had been formed in virginia from companies that had been arriving from different georgia counties. later that day, he mustered the regiment for the first time at camp bartow in howard's grove in richmond. the regiment was initially assigned to the shenandoah valley. crossing the virginia piedmont, it arrived in winchester, near the northern end of the valley. once settled, bartow incorporated some local forces from the 2nd brigade of the army of the shenandoah.