The unit was one of the Massachusetts regiments organized in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call on May 2, 1861 for volunteer troops to serve a term of three-years.

[3] The battery performed garrison duty at Ship Island off the Mississippi coast, which served as the staging point for Butler's expedition, until April 15.

During the first assault on Port Hudson in May, the right section of the battery advanced to within 300 yards of the Confederate fortifications and remained in that position for the duration of the siege.

[8] In January 1864, 56 men (nearly the entire unit at that time) reenlisted for a second three-year term and returned to Massachusetts in April for a month's furlough.

The 6th Battery returned to New Orleans in June and remained stationed there for the rest of the year, relatively inactive due to their small numbers.