Goldsboro's Sacrifice at Battle of Antietam-- Part 1

From the september 19, 2012, Goldsboro (NC) News-Argus "Historian tells of Goldsboro's sacrifice at Battle of Antietam" by Dennis Hill.

"Regiment that included the Goldsboro Rifles suffered third-highest casualty rate of the Confederate Army: On the bloodiest day in American history (even worse than D-Day) the regiment that included the Goldsboro Rifles suffered the third-highest casualty rate in the Confederate Army.

At the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, the 27th North Carolina Infantry regiment lost 61 percent of its men killed and wounded.  Out of 325 men who entered the battle, 31 were killed and 168 wounded."

The reiment penetrated deepest into Union lines and was the only one mentioned specifically in General Robert E. Lee's official report of the battle.  The regiment wa smade up of men from Wayne, Lenoir, Pitt, Guilford, Orange, Jones and Perquimans counties.  Lee reported them "standing boldly in line without a cartridge" after they ran out of ammunition, holding the center of the rebel line.

The Brave and the Courageous, the 27th NC.  --Old Secesh