45th Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Mangum, near Raleigh, North Carolina, in April, 1862, with men from Rockingham, Caswell, Guilford, and Forsyth counties.

After fighting at the Battle of Malvern Hill in Virginia, it returned to North Carolina and was stationed in the Kinston-New Bern area.

During the spring of 1863 the unit moved north and took an active part in the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from Gettysburg to Cold Harbor.

It reported 2 killed and 14 wounded at Malvern Hill, lost about forty percent of the 570 engaged at Gettysburg, and sustained 2 casualties at Bristoe and 6 at Mine Run.

The field officers were Colonels Samuel H. Boyd, Junius Daniel, John H. Morehead, and John R. Winston; Lieutenant Colonels Andrew J. Boyd and James S. Dalton; and Majors Samuel C. Rankin, Charles E. Shober, and T. McGehee Smith.