Death of Farley and Wounding of Butler

June 9, 1863 - 12:30 pm to 3:00 pmThis map prepared from the first hand account of Col. Butler, other historians, and the personal account of the family, who in the early 1950s cleared, leveled and ditched this bottom for cultivation, disturbing the soil for the first time since the Civil War. The shallow trench, part of an existing ditch, and the earthwork in front of the ford was leveled at this time. The bottomland flooded a few days after the clearing operation and when the water receded, with much erosion, there appeared many exposed bullets whose location told the story of what had happened here in 1863. More than 50 bullets have been found in front of and on the hillside behind the trench, also pieces of saber blade, broken bayonet and other iron not identified. A small number of bullets have been found near the stream edge at the crossing site. No background on the bottomland on this site of the stream, to stop stray bullets fired from the trench. Major Lipscomb (2nd SC Cav.) in his official report stated that the cannon never crossed Mountain Run. This would indicate that early in the day someone made the decision to create a defensive line using the barrier Mountain Run and would explain the time element needed to build the earthworks.Who ordered the defense at Mountain Run?Butler and Wickham didn't
know the whereabouts of the cannon and certainly Lipscomb would have mentioned it if he so ordered. So it would seem obvious then that since Stuart had asked Farley to take the 4th to Stevensburg, that it was probably Farley who early in the day knew that the natural barrier (Mountain Run) would be the only place a small number of men could turn back or delay a force as large as Duffie's. Farley would have been right as Duffie easily pushed through Butler's force east of Stevensburg but was stopped at Mountain Run. Duffie's failure to support Gregg - because of the action here - was decisive in allowing Stuart to hold his precarious position on Fleetwood Hill. Pleasonton did not withdraw his force until after Duffie failed to appear. The fighting here was as critical, for Stuart, as any engagement during the Battle of Brandy Station.

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