Hampton's Legion was organized by Wade Hampton III during the spring of 1861. It contained a cavalry and infantry battalion, but they did not serve together. The cavalry battalion fought in the Seven Days' Battles and in the summer of 1862 merged into the 2nd South Carolina Cavalry Regiment. The infantry battalion was active at First Manassas and later was assigned to Hampton's, Hood's, and Jenkins' Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. It was involved in various conflicts from Seven Pines to Sharpsburg, moved to North Carolina, then served with Longstreet at Chickamauga and Knoxville. In May, 1864, the unit was reorganized, mounted, and united with the 2nd South Carolina Cavalry Regiment. It lost thirty-seven percent of the 350 at Seven Pines and in April, 1862, contained 658 officers and men. It sustained 20 casualties at Gaines' Mill, 74 at Second Manassas, 53 in the Maryland Campaign, and 85 at Wauhatchie. The field officers were Colonels Martin W. Gary, Wade Hampton III, and Thomas M. Logan; Lieutenant Colonels Robert B. Arnold, James B. Griffin, and Benjamin I. Johnson; and Majors Matthew C. Butler, James Conner, J. Hervey Dingle, Jr., Stephen D. Lee, and Benjamin E. Nicholson.