Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry (FILI) Company

From the Encyclopedia of North Carolina.

I wrote about this unit's formation in 1793 and history up to the Civil War and Spanish-American War, when it officially changed its Confederate gray uniforms for United States blue before shipping out for service.

They trained at Camp Dan Russell at Tybee Island, Georgia, but never got to Cuba. They were mustered out at Macon, Ga., 8 Feb. 1899. In 1917, FILI, went to Camp Stewart at El Paso, Texas, to defend the U.S. border from raids by Mexican leader Pancho Villa.

During World War I, FILI served as Company F of the 119th Infantry Regiment, part of the Thirtieth Division. This is the same unit that the Goldsboro Rifles, which also served during the Civil War and Spanish-American War fought with in World War I.

The unit was involved in the bloody fighting around Flanders. This was the last action the FILI was involved in. Since then, they have existed primarily as a fraternal organization. They maintained an armory where Fort Bragg soldiers were often entertained and they also have established a museum to house their artifacts.

--Cooter