The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.
Colored Infantry was organized at Camp Stanton in Benedict, Maryland beginning February 12, 1864 for three-year service under the command of Colonel Delevan Bates.
The regiment was attached to 1st Brigade, 4th Division, IX Corps, Army of the Potomac, to September 1864.
1st Brigade, 3rd Division, X Corps, Department of North Carolina, to July 1865.
Guarded supply trains of the Army of the Potomac through the Wilderness and to Petersburg.
Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond June 16 to December 7, 1864.
Boydton Plank Road, Hatcher's Run, October 27–28.