John McCreath Farquhar

This article is about the U.S. Representative from New York. For the U.S. Representative from Indiana, seeJohn Hanson Farquhar.

John McCreath Farquhar
Medal of Honor winner, United States Congressman, and printer John McCreath Farquhar c1913
Born	(1832-04-17)April 17, 1832 nearAyr,Scotland
Died	April 24, 1918(1918-04-24)(aged 86) Buffalo, New York,U.S.
Place of burial	Forest Lawn Cemetery
Allegiance	United States Union
Service/branch	US Army Union Army
Years of service	1862 - 1865
Rank	Major
Unit	89th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	American Civil War
Awards	Medal of Honor

John McCreath Farquhar(April 17, 1832 – April 24, 1918) was aUnited States RepresentativefromNew Yorkand a recipient of theUnited Statesmilitary's highest decoration, theMedal of Honor.

Biography

Born nearAyr,Scotland,Farquhar attendedAyr Academy.He immigrated to the United States as a boy and settled inBuffalo, New York.He was a printer, editor, and publisher for 33 years, and served as president of theInternational Typographical Unionfrom 1860 to 1862.

During theCivil War,Farquhar enlisted fromChicago,Illinois, into theUnion Armyon August 9, 1862, as a private in Company B of the89th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment.He was promoted tosergeant majorand, on December 31, 1862, earned the Medal of Honor at theBattle of Stones River,Tennessee.His official citation reads: "When a break occurred on the extreme right wing of theArmy of the Cumberland,this soldier rallied fugitives from other commands, and deployed his own regiment, thereby checking theConfederateadvance until a new line was established. "His medal was not awarded until several decades later, on August 6, 1902. Promoted again tomajor,Farquhar served as ajudge advocateand inspector in theIV Corps.After his military service, he returned to Buffalo, New York, and resumed his business activities.

Farquhar was elected as aRepublicanto the49th,50th,and51stcongresses (March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1891). He served as chairman of theCommittee on Merchant Marine and Fisheriesduring the 51st Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination to the 52nd Congress.

He served as a member of theUnited States Industrial Commissionfrom 1898 to 1902, before retiring from public life and active business pursuits.

Farquhar died in Buffalo at age 86 and was interred there inForest Lawn Cemetery.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant Major, 89th Illinois Infantry. Place and date: At Stone River, Tenn., December 31, 1862. Entered service at: Chicago, Ill. Birth: Scotland. Date of issue: August 6, 1902.

Citation:

When a break occurred on the extreme right wing of the Army of the Cumberland, this soldier rallied fugitives from other commands, and deployed his own regiment, thereby checking the Confederate advance until a new line was established.

See also

• List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F

References

• United States Congress."John McCreath Farquhar (id: F000027)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.Retrieved on 2008-01-31
• "Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (A-L)".Medal of Honor citations.United States Army Center of Military History.June 6, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon September 2, 2012.RetrievedJune 6,2007.

This article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress