An old state militia unit dating back to the Revolution, the 4th Battalion was called upon to serve garrison duty at Fort Independence shortly after the beginning of the Civil War.

After President Abraham Lincoln's August 1862 call for 300,000 men to serve for nine months the 4th Battalion was given permission to recruit to a full regiment and to muster into federal service.

The objective of this maneuver was to disrupt the Confederate supply line along the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad by destroying the Goldsborough Bridge.

In late April, the regiment moved to New Bern where, for the next two months, they participated in patrols and reconnaissance expeditions.

During their service in North Carolina, the regiment lost 12 men killed in action or mortally wounded and 29 by disease.