52nd Infantry Regiment completed its organization at Camp Mangum, near Raleigh, North Carolina, in April, 1862. Its members were raised in the counties of Cabarrus, Randolph, gates, Chowan, Stokes, Richmond, Wilkes, Lincoln, Stanly, and Forsyth. The unit fought at Goldsboro, then moved to Virginia where it was brigaded under Generals Pettigrew, Kirkland, and MacRae. It fought with the Army of Northern Virginia from Gettysburg, had 2 killed and 25 wounded in the fight at Bristoe, and surrendered with only 6 officers and 60 men. Its commanders were Colonels James K. Marshall and Marcus A. Parks, Lieutenant Colonels Eric Erson and Benjamin F. Little, and Major John Q. Richardson.
