In late 1864, the Federal armies under
William T. Sherman had captured
Atlanta and were marching towards the
Atlantic Ocean and the port city of
Savannah. At the end of October, efforts were made to recruit loyal men to join the Federal army for duty in the rear lines to free up veterans for front-line combat duty. A number of men from
Dawson County enlisted in two companies, and others from
Pickens County joined Company B. Some of these enlistees were ex-
POWs from Atlanta who had served in the
Confederate States Army, but had since
sworn allegiance to the Federal government. The battalion was mustered in at
Marietta,
Georgia on October 31, 1864. It was assigned as an unattached unit to the
Department of the Cumberland, and subsequently guarded the
Western & Atlantic Railroad near
Dalton,
Georgia, until March 1865. The battalion was then attached to the 1st Brigade, 2nd Separate Division, District of the Etowah,
Department of the Cumberland, and guarded the railroads near the
Etowah River until mid-July 1865. The battalion was mustered out in Dawson County on July 19, 1865. == Battalion officers and men ==