The South Carolina 2nd Regiment Rifles was organized during the spring of 1862 using the 5th South Carolina Battalion Rifles as its nucleus. It was organized from extra companies initially intended for Orr's Rifles. These companies were organized into a battalion that was officially designated the Fifth South Carolina Infantry Battalion.
The unit served in South Carolina, then was ordered to Virginia and assigned to General Jenkins' and Bratton's Brigade. It participated in the Seven Days' Battles and the conflicts at Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and Fredericksburg. Later the regiment was with Longstreet at Suffolk and D.H. Hill in North Carolina. It moved again with Longstreet but did not take part in the Battle of Chickamauga. The unit was involved in the Knoxville operations, returned to Virginia, and saw action at The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. After enduring the hardships of the Petersburg siege south and north of the James River, it ended the war at Appomattox.