During the Civil War, members of the 74th helped form the 21st New York Volunteer Infantry (the First Buffalo Regiment).

The 74th New York Volunteer Infantry that also existed during the war was a different unit with no connection to the 74th regiment of Buffalo.

[2] The remainder of the officers and men were transferred to the 55th Pioneer Infantry, which was organized on 4 January 1918 at Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina, and they arrived in France in September 1918.

[3] The regiment was transferred to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, on 16 January 1942, and then to Fort Lewis, Washington, on 4 May 1942.

Now assigned to the Western Defense Command, the 174th was subordinated to the III Corps on 22 January 1944 and moved to Camp White, Oregon, on 4 February 1944.

From April 1944, the regiment provided an accelerated six-week course of infantry training (four weeks of familiarization, qualification, and transition firing, and two weeks of tactical training) to men who were formerly members of disbanded anti-aircraft and tank destroyer units or who had volunteered for transfer to the infantry from other branches of the Army.