Last Man Standing, Posted on June 3, 2026

This ambrotype of Ralph Farnham was made in 1858 when he was 102 years old.

At that time, Ralph was one of the few remaining veterans of the Revolutionary War. He had enlisted in May of 1775, a few weeks before the Battle of Bunker Hill.

As is often the case, when the number of survivors of an historic event starts to dwindle, interest is generated for those that remain.

Ralph was written about and as he became more and more famous, he was credited with being the last survivor of the Battle of Bunker Hill. Not exactly.

As far as we know, Ralph did enlist a few weeks before Bunker Hill but was not engaged in that particular conflict. He never said that he was. We know about his war record from the pension application he filed in 1832.

 Farnham did serve in subsequent campaigns, however, and he was a witness to British general John Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga in 1777. 

Ralph left the Continental Army and returned home to Maine. He became a farmer, married a woman named Mehitabel Bean, and together they raised a family.

When invited to visit Boston for a celebration, Ralph Farnham wrote in reply, “I do not think I deserve any special credit to the part I took in the Revolution. I only felt and acted as others.”

Farnham nevertheless accepted the invitation and arrived in Boston on October 8, 1860.

On October 15, 1860, a concert was given in Farnham’s honor at the Tremont Temple. His visit to Boston coincided with a tour of the city by the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII), and the Maine veteran briefly met with the young prince on 18 October.