The regiment was first organized during the winter of 1861–1862 with men recruited from Mitchell, Randolph, Bulloch, Chatham, Screven, Tattnall, Appling, Bryan, Liberty, and Dodge counties.

They fought in their first engagement of the Battle of Secessionville on June 10, 1862, at James Island, where forty out of seventy men were killed or wounded.

They then served in North Carolina until May 1863 when the regiment was ordered to Vicksburg, Mississippi, as a part of General John C. Breckinridge’s division under Joe Johnston.

Three months later, in August, they were sent to serve with General Braxton Bragg in the Army of Tennessee, fighting in such battles as Kennesaw Mountain, Resaca, Missionary Ridge and Chickamauga before returning to the East to defend Savannah, Georgia.

The remaining men surrendered to William T. Sherman on April 26, 1865, and were paroled.