Keith, The NC 1st Vol. Infantry was indeed a remarkable, honorable regiment. Was your gg-grandfather a member of Co. E? Was he from Buncombe County? That happens to be my family's home. See below.

THE BUNCOMBE RIFLEMEN

In December of 1859 in response to the raid on Harper’s Ferry, W.W.(William Wallace) McDowell organized a local volunteer company known as the Buncombe Riflemen. With McDowell as its captain it left Asheville in 1861 and as Company E of the North Carolina First Volunteer Infantry participated in the Battle of Big Bethel on June 10, 1861. This was the first major land battle of the Civil War.