The regiment was organized at
Smithfield and
Fort Caswell, North Carolina, in June, 1861. Its companies were recruited from the counties of
Brunswick,
Columbus,
Cabarrus,
Duplin, and
Sampson counties.
Alfred Iverson, Jr. was the regiment's first colonel, with Frank Faison as lieutenant colonel, and William H. Toon as major. It was first assigned to garrison duties in the coastal areas of North Carolina before being transferred to
Samuel Garland, Jr.'s brigade, D. H. Hill's division of the
Army of Northern Virginia in June 1862. It fought in the
Peninsula Campaign and
Maryland Campaign. Following Garland's mortal wounding in the
Battle of South Mountain, Iverson was promoted to brigadier general and took command of the brigade. In the spring of 1863, Captain
Thomas F. Toon was promoted to colonel of the regiment. In the
Battle of Chancellorsville, he was wounded, so Lieutenant Colonel Nelson Slough commanded the regiment in the
Battle of Gettysburg. T. F. Toon recovered in time to return to command for the
Overland Campaign. The regiment was detached with the rest of the
Second Corps to the
Shenandoah Valley for the summer and fall of 1864. The regiment returned to the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia in March 1865 and participated in the
Appomattox Campaign. It surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, with four officers and 71 enlisted men remaining in the regiment. ==See also==