Morris Mason Farrar

[Diane Merkel]

Rabble hasn't visited here in a couple of months, and I really could use him now!

If anyone has researched Morris Mason Farrar (beyond what is in the LBH "Bibles") please let me know.

Thanks!

[in1876]

Hi Diane

A bit slow I know.....
Here is an extract from an Australian newspaper and a link to the article:

We had left Australia with a name, Private Morris Farmer (Company C), the one Australian among 379 immigrant soldiers and civilians from 25 countries who saw action at the Little Bighorn. What seemed more like a foreign legion, the 7th Cavalry merely reflected the racial melting pot America had become by the latter half of the 19th century. We had cut short a skiing holiday in Colorado to travel north to the Montana battlefield in the hope of learning more about this Australian cavalryman.

The search for Private Morris Farmer led us to the battlefield's visitors' centre, run by the US National Parks Service which manages the battlefield as a national monument. No Morris Farmer is listed among the men who rode with Custer that day. Official records, however, list a similar name, Morris M. Farrar, identified as an Australian born in Sydney on July 30, 1846; he died on April 9, 1889, in Philadelphia.

A puzzling feature in Farrar's records is that he claims two birthplaces, Sydney and Amesbury, Massachusetts. Was he an Australian or an American? He served three separate terms in the US Army, the first being from January 1864, to November 1865, with the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry. His first term coincides with the last two years of the American Civil War, in which he probably fought for the north. He may have felt it prudent to establish a northern identity rather than fight as a foreigner.

He re-enlisted in 1872 , this time with the 7th Cavalry and, when discharged in 1877, he was "a sergeant of excellent character". At 35 he rejoined the army but lasted only two months before deserting. Farrar died, aged 52, in Philadelphia from "cerebral congestion" and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Custer's first blunder was to seriously weaken his fighting strength by splitting his column into three separate units, leaving his No. 2, Major Marcus Reno, to attack the southern end of the Indian village while Captain Frederick Benteen scouted nearby hills with the third group.

Private Farrar was still with Custer when he rode north to attack the other end of the village, six kilometres away. Somewhere on that last quickening stretch, the Australian "straggled from the column and [later] joined the force on the hilltop". This hilltop was the site of the secondary battle fought by the combined Reno-Benteen forces after Reno's assault on the village was routed, with awful losses.

We will never know why Farrar did not ride on to certain death with his comrades but whatever the reason, it saved his life. Quite possibly his horse became exhausted and could not keep up with the Custer column, hurrying to its collective death.

www.smh.com.au/national/the-killing-field-20020325-gdf58r.html

[Kentishman]

Diane, I believe I have solved the mystery of Morris Farrar’s place of birth and how at such a young age he served with two Massachusetts’ regiments during the Civil War. I will explain why when I have had time to write up my notes. His is an interesting story.

[Kentishman]

I have now completed a first draft of my notes on Private Morris Farrar, which can be found by following the link - www.menwithcuster.co.uk/fact-or-fiction - and scrolling down to Item No. 14.

[Kentishman]

By its very nature biographical research is always work in progress and as is often the case that new information comes to light soon after one goes into print or online. So, it is with Morris Farrar. Thanks to the magic of the internet, websites can be updated in an instant and the newly discovered circumstances that brought Farrar's father to Australia and when the family arrived in the United States have now been incorporated into my account of this cavalryman’s remarkable life.

[Diane Merkel]

Peter,

Farrar's upcoming birthday prompted me to look for his birthplace once again. I don't see him listed on your website, so I'm hoping you will share what you discovered. Was he an Aussie?

Diane

[Kentishman]

Diane, Morris Farrar was definitely born in Australia though no evidence has been found by me (or 'on the ground' Aussie historians) that it was in Sydney, New South Wales, on 30 July 1846. Farrar Family history places his father working in Victoria for a Scottish farmer but no mention of him ever being in NSW. Although Farrar was born in Australia, his American father and Irish mother were not permanent residents, which is why he rightly considered himself to be an American. This is supported by the fact that he never felt the need to seek U.S. citizenship as he already enjoyed that status.  As he claimed to be age 26 at his enlistment into the U.S. Army on 23 January 1872 it suggests he was born in 1845 (not 30 July 1846) and, therefore, both his date and place of birth must remain uncertain.  Lastly, long experience has taught me that if someone can 'lie under oath' - he gave his place of birth as Amesbury, MA - then 'anything' they say thereafter must necessarily be treated with caution. Hope this helps. 

[noggy]

littlebighorn.info/Cavalry/NameF.htm They may want to change this then, they are missing the mark with...oh, just a continent

Noggy