[1] The regiment was one of several organized in New Orleans in August 1862 by order of Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler and recruited from among "white Unionists, and pro-Northern refugees" in the city; it consisted primarily of foreigners and men of Northern birth.

[2] The unit was assigned in 1863 to the Union XIX Corps of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks in the Department of the Gulf.

They participated in operations in Western Louisiana: Fort Bisland, Irish Bend, and Vermilion Bayou in April, 1863 and in the Siege of Port Hudson from May to July.

The unit left Louisiana and moved to Fort Barrancas, Florida in February 1865.

[3] After serving at the defenses of Brashear City, Baton Rouge and Port Hudson, the unit was consolidated with 1st Louisiana Cavalry on September 7, 1864.