The regiment was organized at Camp Cadwalader near Philadelphia on 22 July 1864, under the command of volunteer officer Colonel John R. Haslett, who had worked as a house painter before the war. It was alternately known as the 3rd Coal Exchange Regiment due to its having been organized with the assistance of the Coal Exchange Association of Philadelphia, and had a total enrollment of 932. All companies were recruited in Philadelphia, except for a portion of one company in Montgomery County. According to Samuel Penniman Bates' official history, "a large proportion" of the regiment were "well schooled soldiers." Shortly after its organization, the regiment was sent to Camp Bradford at Mankin's Woods near Baltimore on 29 July, where it trained for two weeks. From there, it entrained for Rock Island in August to guard Confederate prisoners of war. The number of guards was insufficient for the task, and this placed pressure on the 197th, which repeated the 133rd Illinois Infantry's practice of firing upon prisoners, but was otherwise undistinguished. The regiment returned to Philadelphia at the end of its term, and was mustered out there on 11 November. During its service, six men of the regiment died of disease.
