State

Twenty-two young men met to form this Company. Among these were leaders of the community in many lines. Robert Adam, a native of Scotland and a prominent mer¬ chant of Fayetteville and Wilming¬ ton was elected Captain, John Winslow. First Lieutenant and Robert Cochran, Ensign. In 1861 when the War Between the States began, the F.I.L.I. was among the first to volunteer and marched away under the command of Major Wright Huske as Com¬ pany H. First North Carolina Regi¬ ment. They fought gallantly in the first battle of the war and were a part of the famous Bethel Regi¬ ment and later became knows as the "Bethel Heroes.” The officers in 1861 were Major Wrigh^ Huske, First Captain B. R. Huske. Second Captain С. B. Cook. Third Captain Hector MacKethan. Thirty years after the Confed¬ erate Army had laid down its arms, came the War with Spain in 1898. The Company with that same noble spirit of patriotism with which it had always been embued, volun¬ teered to go to the aid of their country — under the flag of a re¬ united country. It was mustered in as Co. A, 2nd N. C. Regiment under the command of Major B. R. Huske. In the Mexican border troubles in 1916, the Company went in as Co. F. N. C. National Guard, under the command of Capt. Robert Lamb. At the beginning of the World War they were mustered into the National Army as Co. F. | 1 1 9th Infantry of the 30th Division. This was another glorious chapter | in their history, when under Capt. Lamb they did their part in break¬ ing the Hindenburg Line. Now in World War II with 68 members in active service and the remainder of the Company in Active Civilian Defense Work, it can be seen that the motto adopted in 1793 — "He that hath no stomack to this fight, let him depart" — was ( not only a resolution but a 1 prophecy, because in all of these years, whether in days of war or days of peace, there has never been a time when the F.I.L.I. has I not stood ready to act in defense v of its city, its state, its nation, or j its friends. In 1819 the State Legislature I passed a special act in which the company was given a major and four captains. This is the only company ever accorded this dis- tinction. Oldest Company in the State IVol only does the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Company deserve this distinc¬ tion. lint it also is the second oldest military the country. fit/ MRS. E. К THE Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry is the second oldest military organization in the United States, the “Ancient and Honarable Artilery of Boston." being the oldest. Organized August 23, 1793. it has rounded out 151 years of long and useful service. During this century and a half it has upheld its motto: “He That Hath No Stomach to This Fight. Let Him Depart." The company has taken part in every war in which this country has been engaged since its formation: the Indian War. the War of 1812, the Mexican War. the War Between the States, the Spanish American organization in MsicKETII.AN War, and World War I. When war was declared in 1941 the Company offered its services to the President of the United States and to the Governor of North Carolina. The Company was not accepted as a unit but now 68 active members of the F.I.L.I. are in the active par¬ ticipation of the present World War. In 1793 war clouds hung over all Europe, and it looked as if the United States might be forced into a war. It was in this troubled at¬ mosphere that the F.I.L.I. came into being. Immediately its serv¬ ices were offered to President Washington in case of war. This picture of officers of the F.I.L.I. was taken in 1893. at the centen¬ nial celebration of the organization. Those in the top row are believed to be Major Joseph Huske, Captain William McDuffie, Major J. C. Vann. Those in the hottom row arc believed to be Major John Mc¬ Laughlin, Major W. F. Campbell. Major John Broadfoot.