4th United States Colored Infantry Regiment The 4th United States Colored Infantry Regiment was an African American unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War . A part of the United States Colored Troops , the regiment saw action in Virginia and North Carolina , taking part in the Richmond - Petersburg Campaign , the capture of Fort Fisher and Wilmington , North Carolina , and the Carolinas Campaign . History . Organized at Baltimore , Maryland from July 15 to September 1 , 1863 , the 4th Regiment was first sent to Fort Monroe , Virginia , on October 1 before moving to Yorktown , Virginia . As part of the XVIII Corps , the unit participated in several expeditions and engagements : an expedition to Mathews County from October 4 to October 9 , 1863 , Wistar ' s Expedition against Richmond from February 6 to February 8 , 1864 , action at New Kent Court House on February 8 , an expedition to Bottom ' s Bridge in aid of Brigadier General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick ' s cavalry from March 1 to March 4 , an expedition into King and Queen County from March 9 to March 12 , and an expedition into Mathews and Middlesex Counties from March 17 to March 21 . In May 1864 , the 4th left Yorktown and took part in Brigadier General Benjamin F . Butler ' s operations on the south side of the James River and against Petersburg and Richmond , Virginia . The regiment saw action in a skirmish at Bermuda Hundred on May 4 and served the rest of Butler ' s campaign at Spring Hill on the Appomattox River . While there , the men of the unit built Fort Converse and defended the fort against an attack on May 20 . From June to December 1864 , the 4th Regiment participated in the Richmond - Petersburg Campaign . At Petersburg , the unit was involved in the Second Battle of Petersburg from June 15 to June 18 and the Battle of the Crater on July 30 . Later , the 4th moved towards Richmond and took part in an engagement at Dutch Gap on September 7 , the Battle of Chaffin ' s Farm from September 28 to September 30 , and the Battle of Fair Oaks on October 27 and October 28 . Three men of the regiment received the Medal of Honor for their actions at Chaffin ' s Farm : Christian Fleetwood , Alfred B . Hilton , and Charles Veale . In December the unit was assigned to the newly formed XXV Corps and took part in the failed attack on Fort Fisher , North Carolina , from December 7 to December 27 , 1864 and the successful Second Battle of Fort Fisher from January 7 to January 15 , 1865 , where the regiment was involved in the assault and capture of the fort . The 4th then participated in several other engagements in the area , Sugar Loaf Hill on January 19 , Sugar Loaf Battery on February 11 , the Battle of Wilmington at Fort Anderson from February 18 to February 20 , and the capture of Wilmington and action at Northeast Ferry on February 22 , 1865 . In March 1865 , the 4th Regiment was re - assigned to the X Corps and took part in General William Tecumseh Sherman ' s Carolinas Campaign . The unit saw action during the advance on Goldsboro , North Carolina , starting on March 6 and occupied Goldsboro after its capture on March 21 . The regiment saw further action at Cox ' s Bridge on March 23 and March 24 and participated in the advance on Raleigh , North Carolina , starting on April 9 and the occupation of Raleigh after the city ' s fall on April 14 . With the end of the war at hand , the men of the 4th witnessed the surrender of Confederate General Joseph E . Johnston and his army at Bennett Place , North Carolina , on April 26 , 1865 . The unit served out the rest of its term in the Department of North Carolina . The 4th was mustered out on May 4 , 1866 after about three years of existence . The regiment lost a total of 292 men during its service ; three officers and 102 enlisted men were killed or mortally wounded and one officer and 186 enlisted men died of disease .