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 November 11, 1863.
1st Brigade, 3rd Division, X Corps, Army of the James, Department of Virginia and North Carolina, to December 1864.
Duty at Hilton Head, S.C., until April 1864, and at Port Royal Island, S.C., until June.
Battle of Chaffin's Farm, New Market Heights, September 28–30.
Moved to Brazos Santiago, Texas, June 7-July 1, then to Brownsville.
Duty at Brownsville and on the Rio Grande River, Texas, until October 1866.