William Farley (Medal of Honor)

William Farley

William Farley was born in 1835 in Whitefield, Maine. The surviving historical record preserves far more information about his naval service and Medal of Honor action than about his family background or civilian life. What can be established securely is that Farley was a Maine sailor who entered the United States Navy before the outbreak of the American Civil War and eventually served as a Boatswain’s Mate aboard USS Marblehead, a Union steam gunboat operating along the Atlantic coast.

Farley entered naval service during the period when tensions between North and South were rapidly approaching open war. By the time the Civil War began in April 1861, the United States Navy was expanding dramatically. Sailors were needed not only for the traditional fleet but also for the enormous blockade established against Confederate ports and for operations along the rivers and coastal waterways of the South.

Farley’s naval career brought him into this demanding environment. His best-documented service was aboard USS Marblehead, a screw gunboat commissioned in March 1862. Marblehead initially operated with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, supporting Union operations in Virginia before later being transferred to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

As a Boatswain’s Mate, Farley occupied an important enlisted leadership position. Boatswain’s mates were experienced seamen responsible for maintaining order and efficiency among deck crews and supervising many aspects of shipboard work. During combat they could also hold important responsibilities within the ship’s gun crews.

Farley’s official Medal of Honor record identifies him not simply as a Boatswain’s Mate but also as the first captain of a 9-inch gun during the action that made him famous. This meant that during battle he carried direct responsibility for the effective operation of one of Marblehead’s heavy guns.

USS Marblehead operated extensively along the Confederate coast. After assignments in Virginia waters, she joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and participated in patrols and military operations along the coast of Georgia and South Carolina.

The ship’s duties included searching for Confederate vessels, supporting Union troops ashore, protecting river positions, conducting reconnaissance, and engaging Confederate artillery batteries.

During 1863, Marblehead became particularly active on the Stono River in South Carolina.

The Stono River provided an important water route near Charleston and James Island. Union naval vessels operating there supported Federal troops and threatened Confederate positions, while Confederate forces attempted to drive the gunboats from the river.

In July 1863, Marblehead had already come under Confederate artillery fire while supporting Union forces near James Island. Despite being forced farther down the river, the gunboat continued providing fire support and helped prevent Confederate reinforcements from reaching their objective.

Later that year Marblehead returned to the Stono River with USS Pawnee.

By November 1863, the vessels were assisting Union Army operations near Legareville. Their presence gave Federal troops substantial naval fire support and made it more difficult for Confederate forces to operate freely along the river.

The Confederates therefore had strong reason to attempt to drive the gunboats away.

On the morning of December 25, 1863, Confederate artillery batteries opened fire on USS Marblehead near Legareville on the Stono River.

Christmas Day became the defining combat experience of William Farley’s naval career.

Marblehead was suddenly engaged by Confederate guns positioned on John’s Island. The Confederate intention was to damage or destroy the Union gunboats and remove the naval support protecting Federal operations in the area.

The engagement became intense.

USS Marblehead was struck repeatedly by Confederate fire. Official ship history records that the gunboat sustained approximately twenty hits during the action.

Inside the Union vessel, Farley was serving as Boatswain’s Mate and first captain of a 9-inch gun.

His responsibility was not simply to remain at his station. A gun captain had to help maintain the speed, discipline, and effectiveness of the gun crew while the ship was under enemy fire.

Farley distinguished himself through both leadership and personal courage.

The official wartime record described him as showing extraordinary energy and heroism while carrying out his duties. He set an example for the men around him and helped maintain an effective rate of fire against the Confederate position.

His later Medal of Honor citation emphasized the same qualities.

During the engagement, Farley encouraged his men and kept up rapid and effective fire against the enemy.

The importance of his conduct was not based on a single isolated movement. His recognition reflected sustained performance during the battle while the ship was receiving enemy fire.

Farley remained at his combat station and helped ensure that Marblehead’s gun continued firing effectively.

The Union response eventually forced the Confederate troops to abandon their positions.

The Confederate withdrawal left artillery equipment behind, including a gun and caisson. The official history of USS Marblehead records that Union forces captured Confederate artillery pieces following the engagement.

Farley was not the only member of Marblehead’s crew recognized for exceptional conduct that day.

Several sailors from the vessel later received the Medal of Honor for their actions during the Christmas Day battle, including Robert Blake, James Miller, Charles Moore, and William Farley.

The recognition of multiple members of the crew demonstrates the severity of the engagement and the importance placed on the performance of Marblehead’s sailors under fire.

For Farley, the Battle of Legareville became the permanent centerpiece of his military legacy.

The Medal of Honor itself was still a very new decoration at the time.

Congress had authorized the Navy Medal of Honor in December 1861, during the first year of the Civil War. The Army version followed in 1862.

During the Civil War, the Navy Medal of Honor became the principal federal decoration available for recognizing exceptional gallantry and extraordinary conduct among enlisted naval personnel.

Farley belonged to this earliest generation of Medal of Honor recipients.

His award was formally authorized through Navy General Order No. 32 on April 16, 1864.

The official Navy award record recognized him as Boatswain’s Mate aboard USS Marblehead and specifically praised his extraordinary energy and heroism while serving as first captain of the 9-inch gun.

The wording also emphasized that his courage and devotion provided an example to those around him.

His later standardized Medal of Honor citation similarly stated that Farley behaved gallantly, encouraged his men, and maintained rapid and effective fire throughout the engagement until the Confederate forces abandoned their positions.

There is therefore an important distinction between the date of his heroic action and the date of his formal recognition.

The action occurred on December 25, 1863.

The Medal of Honor was authorized on April 16, 1864.

For the historical database, the correct medal classification is Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — 1864.

No separate clasp, star, bar, or other device has been verified for William Farley’s Medal of Honor.

His confirmed decoration therefore remains one Medal of Honor without an additional device.

A Navy Civil War Campaign Medal has not been included in his verified ribbon rack.

Farley unquestionably performed Civil War naval service, and his participation in combat is firmly documented. However, the Navy Civil War Campaign Medal was created decades after the conflict.

For this research project, historical eligibility based on wartime service is not sufficient by itself to establish recipient-specific entitlement.

No sufficiently strong individual issuance record, named medal, medal roll entry, or comparable authoritative evidence has been established showing that William Farley personally received the later Navy Civil War Campaign Medal.

It therefore remains excluded from his final verified medal rack.

His final confirmed award history consists of one decoration: Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — 1864.

Farley’s surviving Medal of Honor also provides an important physical link to his story.

The Naval History and Heritage Command preserves and documents a Medal of Honor associated with William Farley. The reverse of the medal has been photographed and catalogued by the Navy, permanently connecting the surviving artifact with his service aboard USS Marblehead and the engagement of December 25, 1863.

Beyond his Medal of Honor action, the later details of Farley’s life become much less certain.

Historical research into his naval personnel record indicates that he was a Maine resident and entered naval service before the Civil War. However, surviving sources do not provide the same level of dependable documentation for his later civilian life.

There are also unresolved questions surrounding the final period of his naval service.

Because those details cannot presently be reconstructed with the same confidence as his Medal of Honor action, they should not be expanded into a definite narrative.

Most importantly, no authoritative death date has been established for William Farley.

His place of death and burial location also remain unverified.

For that reason, his biography must end differently from those of many other Medal of Honor recipients. It would be inaccurate to assign him a cemetery, death year, or postwar occupation simply to complete the story.

What survives securely is his military identity.

William Farley was born in Whitefield, Maine, in 1835.

He served in the United States Navy.

He was a Boatswain’s Mate aboard USS Marblehead.

He served as first captain of a 9-inch gun during one of the vessel’s most serious engagements on the Stono River.

On Christmas Day 1863, while Confederate artillery struck the Union gunboat repeatedly, Farley maintained discipline among his men and helped keep his gun firing rapidly and effectively.

His conduct contributed to the resistance that forced the Confederate troops to abandon their position.

Less than four months later, the United States Navy formally recognized his heroism through General Order No. 32.

William Farley’s historical significance therefore rests not on rank or high command but on enlisted naval leadership under fire.

As a Boatswain’s Mate and gun captain, he demonstrated the discipline required to keep a warship fighting when enemy artillery was striking around him.

The Medal of Honor awarded to him in 1864 belongs to the earliest period in the history of America’s highest military decoration.

His single verified award, Medal of Honor 1862–1912 Navy — 1864, remains the official recognition of the courage and leadership he displayed aboard USS Marblehead off Legareville, South Carolina, on December 25, 1863.