The regiment was part of second wave of enlistments following the early battles of the Civil War. The regiment was not immediately sent South because the Army hoped for a quick victory. The regiment participated in the Dakota War of 1862, that erupted in August of 1862. Company A fought in the Battle of Birch Coulee, the worst defeat suffered by U.S. forces during the war. Survivors of Birch Coulee defeated Dakota warriors in the decisive Battle of Wood Lake a few weeks later. At the end of September, they also witnessed the surrender of the Dakota at Camp Release.