The 2nd Kentucky Infantry was organized in August 1861, at Camp Boone in Montgomery County, Tennessee, and became part of the Orphan Brigade.
The men were recruited from Hickman, Fayette, Bullitt, Jefferson, Graves, Franklin, Harrison, Scott, Owen, Bourbon, and Anderson counties.
In October of that same year, the regiment contained 832 men and, at the Battle of Fort Donelson, its force of 618 was captured.
It reported 13 killed, 70 wounded, and 21 missing at Murfreesboro, lost fifty-two percent of the 302 engaged at Chickamauga, and totaled 293 men and 214 arms in December 1863.
During fall 1864, the unit served as mounted infantry and took part in the defense of Savannah and the subsequent Carolinas Campaign in early 1865.