[3] During the American Civil War, it mustered on the side of the Confederacy at Dalton, Georgia and fought as part of the Alabama Brigade in the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Antietam, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House.

In preparation for the upcoming war, the 4th Alabama was recalled to Montgomery and assigned guard duties at various strategic sites.

[3] On August 15, 1917, the 4th Alabama was federalized as the 167th Infantry Regiment and joined other similar units to form the 42nd "Rainbow" Division.

The 167th embarked for Liverpool, England and from there moved to Le Havre, France to fight in World War I.

The regiment arrived at the port of New York on 25 April 1919 on the USS North Carolina and was demobilized on 19 May 1919 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi.

[3][6] The 167th Regiment was assigned to the 31st "Dixie" Division during World War II and fought in the western Pacific, notably in New Guinea and the Philippines.

[3] During the civil rights movement, the federal government activated the 167th as a National Guard unit, twice in 1963 and once in 1965, to protect demonstrators such as the Freedom Riders.

[8] In 2012, about 600 members of the 1-167th Infantry Battalion deployed to Afghanistan to conduct security force missions in support of NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan (NTM-A), providing freedom of maneuver for NTM-A and regional support command assets.

The statue honors 167th's service as part of the 42nd "Rainbow" Division during World War I and was created by James Butler, the same sculptor who had made a similar sculpture for the Croix Rouge Farm memorial in France in 2011–12.

[3] The unit has been headquartered at Talladega, Alabama with companies in Tuscaloosa, Pelham, Cullman, Calera, and Oxford.

[3][13] The five fleurs-de-lis on the unit's coat of arms symbolize the five major operations it participated in during World War I.