3rd Infantry Regiment was organized during July 1861, at Camp Boone, Tennessee. Many of the men had previous service in the Kentucky State Guard. The unit took an active part in the Battle of Shiloh and reported 174 casualties. Later it was assigned to Rust's and Buford's Brigade, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. It lost 26 men at Baton Rouge then participated in various conflicts around Vicksburg and Jackson. During the spring of 1864 the regiment was mounted and continued the fight by confronting the Federals in Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama. It was included in the surrender on May 4, 1865.
