The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men, mostly from southern Maryland and that state's Eastern Shore.
[1] Commanded by white officers, it was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.
Colored Infantry was organized at Camp Stanton in Benedict, Maryland beginning December 25, 1863 and mustered in for three-year service under the command of Colonel Henry Goddard Thomas.
[2] The regiment was attached to 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, IX Corps, Army of the Potomac, April to September 1864.
Initially posted to provost (guard) duty in Baltimore, Maryland, beginning on March 1, 1864, they were described as having "great proficiency in discipline and drill" and praised for their "bearing and military qualities", despite the prejudice of the times against "colored troops".
[1] The next month, they were ordered to join the Army of the Potomac under the command of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the Overland Campaign.
Praised for their "conspicuous gallantry", the victorious African-American Marylanders were among the first Union troops to enter Richmond, Virginia, when the Confederate capital fell in April, 1865.