Initially intended to serve in Virginia, the regiment instead was placed under the command of Confederate General Albert Sydney Johnston for service in west of the Mississippi.

They soon saw combat, their first skirmish taking place on December 17, 1861, near Woodsonville, Kentucky, when they engaged the Union and were supported by the 6th Arkansas Infantry.

[2] Now a part of the Army of Tennessee led by General Braxton Bragg, the Texans' riding and shooting skills often caused them to be used as shock troops.

On July 30, Terry's Texas Rangers met the troops of Union Col. E. M. McCook, and defeated them.

Following the loss of Atlanta, the regiment harassed the flanks of Sherman's force as it marched through Georgia, although by then the Confederacy lacked the strength to stop him.