The first unit of men from the city and county to go off to war was the Goldsboro Rifles. No one knows how they came up with the name. They were formed even before the war began. As relations between the sections of the nation became worse, home guards of militia were formed in towns and counties across the South. These men began drilling and learning to soldier.
The company journeyed to Fort Macon and enlisted April 15, 1861, even before North Carolina had seceded. They elected their captain (captains commanded companies) and other officers and were assigned to the 9th North Carolina Regiment.
Other companies pulled out of the 9th to join other regiments and then the Rifles were assigned to the 27th NC Infantry Regiment which later developed the reputation as one of the Army of Northern Virginia's crack units. After one battle, even Robert E. Lee praised them.
The Goldsboro Rifles became Company A in the 27th. Its first captain was Marshall D. Craton and stayed with them until he became a lieutenant colonel in another regiment in the fall of 1861. Stephen D.hillips commanded until the reorganization and revote in the spring of 1862 gave the captaincy to James D. Bryan.
More Rifles to Come. --Old Secesh
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