At Smithland, Kentucky, it joined General Ulysses Grant for the movement upon Fort Henry, was present at the capture of the Fort. It then moved to Fort Donelson, where it took part in the fight and assault which resulted in victory. It won glory for itself at the Battle of Shiloh on the battle's bloody first day (April 6, 1862). It did so by fighting in the advance until sundown, and by holding back the enemy while other regiments withdrew to a new point and waited the arrival of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell. The regiment, together with the 8th and 14th Iowa Infantry Regiments, comprised four-fifths of that advance line, and surrendered only when surrounded by ten times their numbers.