Charles R. Farnham was attached to the U.S.S. Braziliera as Signal Quartermaster. The Braziliera was serving blockading duty in St. Andrews Sound on November 21, 1863 when Farnham drowned when the dinghy he was aboard was swamped while enroute to Jekyll Island. Following a period of rain squalls and an exhaustive search, his body finally was found on November 24th. He was buried the same day on the northern end of Little Cumberland Island, within the six-acre plot of land owned and operated by the U.S. government as a light house station. In 1894, a marble headstone and iron fence was erected at Farnham's grave. Active erosion of a dune face along the northern end of Little Cumberland Island exposed portions of the iron fence in 1994. Drifting sands over the last. century had deposited over six feet of sand upon the 1894 ground surface, completely burying the fence and enclosed grave. As it was predictable that erosion would continue and destroy the grave site, plans were made excavate Farnham's grave and rebury him in a secure location southwest of the lighthouse (Map #1). Deposited sands were removed from within the iron fence to a level about 18 inches above the 1894 ground surface, exposing the marble headstone. Plywood supports and framing were placed around the fence to prevent the surrounding sand from entering the grave site (Plate 1). Excavation within this area began on August 29, 1995 and continued for three days.
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