Some of the men were from Columbia, including several students from The Citadel Academy. The 6th Cavalry saw action at Willstown and Pon Pon River in South Carolina, and then moved to Virginia with about 1,000 men and was assigned to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. Assigned to General Matthew C. Butler's brigade, the regiment participated in the Wilderness and Cold Harbor operations and in various conflicts south of the James River. Later, it was engaged in the Carolinas Campaign assigned to Logan's Brigade.