Originally designated the First Battalion Mississippi Cavalry, the unit was upgraded to a regiment in 1862, and fought in many battles of the Western theater of the American Civil War.

The Battalion fought at the Battle of Shiloh, earning notice for a cavalry charge which successfully captured a Michigan artillery battery.

[3] During the later stages of the battle on April 6, Col. Lindsay was tasked by General Leonidas Polk with gathering all the Confederate cavalry on the field and cutting off the Union troops' line of retreat.

In December the Regiment took part in Van Dorn's Holly Springs Raid, a surprise attack which destroyed a large Union supply depot.

[4] The Regiment was then sent to the Big Black River in Mississippi in support of Confederate forces defending Vicksburg, however they arrived too late to relieve the besieged garrison, which surredered on July 4.

In May 1864 the Regiment moved to Georgia to support the Confederate defense in the Atlanta Campaign under Frank Crawford Armstrong's brigade.