In late 1864, the Federal armies under William T. Sherman had captured Atlanta and were marching towards the Atlantic Ocean and the port city of Savannah.

At the end of October, efforts were made to recruit loyal men to join the Federal army for duty in the rear lines to free up veterans for front-line combat duty.

Some of these enlistees were ex-POWs from Atlanta who had served in the Confederate States Army, but had since sworn allegiance to the Federal government.

It was assigned as an unattached unit to the Department of the Cumberland, and subsequently guarded the Western & Atlantic Railroad near Dalton, Georgia, until March 1865.

The battalion was then attached to the 1st Brigade, 2nd Separate Division, District of the Etowah, Department of the Cumberland, and guarded the railroads near the Etowah River until mid-July 1865.