The regiment was recruited in the District of Columbia and mustered into service on February 26, 1862 and assigned to the defenses of Washington, D.C.

The regiment then returned to the garrison of Washington in October.

During the Battle of Fort Stevens the regiment was held in reserve.

Alexander resigned in February 1865 and was replaced by Colonel William Graham.

Nineteen-year-old Private John Summerfield Staples of Company H, who mustered in on October 1, 1864, served as the "representative recruit" for President Abraham Lincoln.