The men were from Suffolk and Portsmouth, and the counties of Nansemond, Isle of Wight, Sussex, and Chesterfield.

Hill's Third Corps of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, it fought in many conflicts: from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor.

Later in the War, it was involved in the Siege of Petersburg (south of the James River) and in the Appomattox Campaign.

The regiment reported 91 casualties at Malvern Hill, 154 at Second Manassas, 5 in the Maryland Campaign, and 18 at Chancellorsville.

The field officers were Colonels Raleigh E. Colston, Charles A. Crump, Stapleton Crutchfield, Joseph H. Ham, and Henry T. Parrish; Lieutenant Colonels John C. Page and Richard O. Whitehead; and Majors Francis D. Holladay, Francis M. Ironmonger, and John T. Woodhouse.