The following
information, forwarded to the SCV Dispatch by Arnold M Huskins of Sam Davis SCV
Camp 596,
is
courtesy of the Heritage Preservation Association and is for educational
purposes only
A Confederate Soldier's Wish Granted
LAURENS, S.C. (AP) April 28, 2002 - More than 1,000 people turned out to watch a Confederate soldier's dying wish granted.
The
remains of Capt. William Downs Farley, a South Carolina volunteer killed at the
Battle of Brandy Station, were buried Saturday in the Laurens City Cemetery
following a memorial service in the Public Square.
Farley asked to be brought home to Laurens County if he died.
Many of those in attendance wore period uniforms and paid
final respects to a native son who was a favored scout of Confederate Gen. J.E.B.
Stuart.
Farley was fatally wounded by a Union cannonball on June 9,
1863. He was buried in Fairview Cemetery in Culpeper, Va., in the family plot of
Dr. Charles Ashby, who died several months before Farley.
Police blocked downtown streets as the horse-drawn caisson
carrying Farley's remains edged slowly from the funeral home to the square. A
color guard and honor guard flanked Farley's casket.
As the procession passed the Epiphany Episcopal Church, where
Farley was thought to have worshipped, the church bell sounded 27 times - once
for each year of Farley's life.
Descendants of Farley and Stuart were at the ceremony.
William Dows Farley, 61, of Decatur, Ga., said he was unaware
of his namesake's burial here until reading about it earlier this month.
``It is definitely an honor to be part of this,'' he said.
Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 40 Commander Steve Cline
told how Farley joined the Confederate army in 1861. After receiving a furlough
the next year, Farley returned to the army and Virginia to rejoin Stuart.
The general's descendant, J.E.B. Stuart IV, spoke at the
ceremony.
He said his ancestor and Capt. Farley had a special
relationship built on admiration.
``I honestly believe that he admired the activities and deeds
of Captain Farley more than any other officer in his command,'' Stuart said.
``That's the reason I am here today.''
Stuart told a story of how when Gen. Stuart ordered his
soldiers to stop a Union supply train, Farley grabbed a shotgun, chased the
train down and killed the engineer.
``Captain William Downs Farley, we will never forget the
principles for which you struggled,'' Stuart said.
After the ceremony, the casket was brought to the Laurens
City Cemetery. When they arrived at the burial site, taps played and the
pallbearers folded the flag draping the casket.
The flag was given to Mary Farley Johnsey, who had granted
permission in the 1980s on behalf of the Farley family to exhume the remains.
An alternating volley of artillery rounds and musket shots
rang out, with the rolling sound of gunfire reverberating in the air.
``We thank you for this noble example and commit his soul to
South Carolina,'' said Terry Rude, the local church pastor.
Virginia attorney Ed Gentry, who worked for 18 years to
research Farley's case and have his remains brought to Laurens, poured dirt from
Farley's Culpeper grave on top of the casket before it was covered up.
As Gentry came forward, he kissed his hand and patted the
headstone of Farley's mother, Phoebe Downs Farley.
``May the Lord be with you. You are always in our hearts,''
Gentry said as the dirt fell atop Farley's casket.
``Closure is an overused word,'' Gentry said, ``but it is
certainly appropriate this weekend.''
Copyright 2002 Media General Inc.