On October 14, 1863, the regiment, then attached to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, IX Corps, marched from Knoxville to Loudon, Tennessee, to oppose the advance of the Confederate General James Longstreet.

While crossing Turkey Creek, Longstreet's men attacked in force, causing a severe engagement to occur.

From Annapolis, the regiment set out with Ulysses S. Grant's campaign of 1864; when in May of that year it lost 7 men killed, and 39 wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness.

From the time it arrived in front of Petersburg until its fall, the Regiment was actively building and reconstructing fortifications, all the while being held in reserve, if needed as infantry.

Eight men from the regiment were awarded the Medal of Honor:[1] Captain Christian Rath of the 17th Michigan acted as the executioner at the hanging of four people convicted of involvement in the assassination of President Lincoln: George Atzerodt, David Herold, Lewis Powell, and Mary Surratt.