William Fay
Submitted by Bill Moore
Exile From Virginia. In the year 1884 there arrived in Muskegon from the southern
state of Virginia, William Fay and his family, consisting now of four
daughters. Two sons had been lost in
infancy. The grandfathers of this man
had fought in the Revolutionary War, and setteled in Massachusetts. He worked for a company of bridge builders,
and prior to 1850 built the railroad bridges out of Richmond, Virginia, and
returned at this date to work for the railroad in Richmond where he married and
settled down. At the outbreak of the
war, all Union men were notified that they had 30 days in which to leave the
stat. William Fay and some
others refused to go, claiming they had a perfect right to stay, but would not
recognize the southern Confederacy. The
Confederate authorities planned to confiscate all the shipping in the harbor
and to sink most of it in the river in order to blockade the river to Union
use. Fay got wind of this and
warned most of the captains so they all escaped but one. He declined to work for the Confederacy, and
refursed to let his warehouse and tools
be used for the their work. Needless to
say, he was arrested and confined, but after complaining of the horrible
treatment to Washington, he was released and sent back to Richmond. He was under surveillance, however, but not
too closely. He now proceeded to work
in the encouragement of deserters from the Confederate Army. He was told that on the next day he would be
arrested. With nine deserters he made
his way by intrigue and daring to the Union lines at Williamsburg, only to be
arrested as a “Confederate” spy. It was
only at General Butler’s instigation that he was released and used in a
most helpful way for the Union cause.
Being familiar with the Virginia geography, he was helpful in correcting
many errors on the maps, and in explaining the terraine. He remained most helpful to the Union cause
until on one of his forays behind enemy lines he was captured and imprisoned in
Richmond. Not being able to press their
charges, he was released by the Confederates, but he was determined to get
North again. So with nine more
deserters, he started over the same route which he had used before but this
time the group was captured before reaching Union lines. Fay, however, was determined to
escape, so alone he managed to give his guard the slip. After ten exciting days of hide and seek,
during which time he was forced to stand in the river for hours up to his chin,
chased by horsemen and narrowly escaping being taken prisoner and saved miraculously
from the Confederate hanging by posing as a Confederate spy, he found his way
back to Richmond where he decided to await quietly the coming of General Grant. Familiar with the city and countryside, he
was of inestimable help in the Union capture of the city.
After the war, he was a member of the Grand Jury
that indicted Jefferson Davis for treason. The people of Richmond could not forgive William Fay, and
they made it so uncomfortable for him that he left all his property behind and
fled North. Muskegon welcomed this
daring soldier scout who had never received a penny for his service and always
refused to do so. She gave him a home
for many years and listened to his stories of courage and darng.
Source: Muskegon And The Civil War, by Rev. James
Donald Skinner, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, April 22, 1957 pg.22-25
Muskegon News Chronicle, Muskegon, MI Saturday, July 17,1909, pages 1 and 7.
WILLIAM FAY, TRUSTED SCOUT OF GRANT, DIES End Comes Suddenly to Aged Veteran and
Leading Citizen HAD ROMANTIC CAREER HOME IN CONFEDERATE CAPITAL AT OUTBREAK OF WAR< LOYAL TO UNION
CAUSE, IMPRISONED – ESCAPED. Succumbing to an attack of heart trouble,
William Fay, one of Muskegon’s best known citizens and a prominent Civil war veteran, died at his
cottage at Lake Harbor this morning at about 5 o’clock. Mr. Fay, whose home is at 156 Jefferson street has been at Lake Harbor the
past two days doing some work of alteration on his cottage there. Seemingly he was in the best of health when he retired last
evening, and his death at so early an hour this morning came most unexpectedly
and without warning. At about 4 o’clock this morning Mr. Fay
awakened his daughter, Mrs. Georgia Fay Merrill and his son-in-law, Lewis C. Scull, who were at the cottage with him, and
complained of severe pains about the region of the heart. They worked over him and called medical aid, but to no purpose, as he
soon passed away. Bore Advanced Age
Well Mr. Fay was 87 years of age, but
despite his advanced years, he was of
an especially healthy nature, both mentally and physically. He had been bothered lately with heart
trouble, but it was not thought at all
dangerous. Mrs. Fay, to whom he had
been married for 57 years, has been an invalid for the past two years, and her condition is such that she has
not been permitted to know of her husband’s death. Had Romantic Career That
truth itself is stranger than fiction
is brought out strongly in the life of Mr. Fay. His career was of a most remarkable character, and a story of it would be replete with stirring scenes
and eventful episodes far past the imagination of most men. His connection with the war of the rebellion as a Union scout, a man who
gave up a fortune because of his love for the flag and the Union and risked his
life time after time in an endeavor to
serve his country, is known to the secret service department of the nation
better than to his own intimate friends
and relatives. Came of Fighting Stock William Fay was born
of good New England and revolutionary stock on January 30, 1822, in Hampden, Mass. Both his paternal and maternal grandfathers
served in the war of the revolution.
His paternal grandfather had
five brothers, also in the Continental army.
While he was yet in his infancy, Mr. Fay’s parents left their New
England home and moved into Ohio,
locating in Ashtabula county. Here Mr.
Fay grew to manhood and spent his early years until in the first part of 1849 he left his home and started out into the
world to shift for himself. Little did
he know of the eventual career that he was going to have in the succeeding years. Mr. Fay first became a bridge builder and
assisted in the construction of several of the first railroad bridges built in Virginia, where his work first took
him in the last part of 1849. On March
10, 1822, Mr. Fay was married to Miss Eliza T. Hicks of Richmond, and his wife of 57 years survives him. Of this union, six children were born, two
sons and four daughters. The sons died in infancy. The daughters still living are Mrs. Georgia
Fay Merrill, Mrs. Lewis C. Scull, Mrs. James W. VanArkel, and Miss Mattie Fay all of this city. Seven grandchildren and one great grandchild
also survive him. War Splits Wife’s
Family At the time of the outbreak of the civil war, Mrs. Fay’s
family was divided on the question of sesession and one of her brothers joined
the confederate forces. Mrs. Fay, however, clung to the Union cause
and willingly saw her husband risk his life and fortune in support of the flag.
After Mr. Fay’s marriage and until the breaking out of the war, he was
engaged in ship-building, his shipyard being locate at the foot of Dock street and but one block
from the old tobacco warehouse which afterwards became famous and infamous as
Libby prison. The warehouse was in charge of Luther Libby, who was a warm
personal friend of Fay’s and also a Union sympathizer. The warehouse
was forcibly taken from Mr. Libby in Mr. Fay’s presence. It was then turned into the famous prison. Remained to Face Foes The Union
sympathizers were warned to leave Richmond, but Mr. Fay remained in the
Confederate capital. The rebel
authorities planned to seize and
confiscate all of the shipping in the harbor and then to sink the most of it in
the river to prevent the Yankee gunboats from coming up to Richmond. Mr. Fay learned of the scheme and, by giving
timely notice to the owners and masters, enabled most of these ships to escape. For this and his refusal to aid the Confederates in any way, Mr.
Fay was arrested in March of 1862 and
with 500 Union men was confined in Castle Goodwin for two months and then taken
to Salisbury, North Carolina, and confined
in the prison there. Mr. Fay was
injured by bayonet thrusts while confined in the prison. Of the 500 men who were first confined, 239 died in prison from
ill-treatment and abuse. By arrangement
with the federal government, Mr. Fay was released in exchange in September of the same year and returned to Richmond. Escaped from Rebel Capital Here he aided and abetted Confederate soldiers in deserting the rebel
forces and in enlisting them in the Union army. For this, a warrant was sworn out for him but Mr. Fay was warned of the impending
danger, and, disguised as a woodsman, he with nine deserting Confederate
soldiers broke through the lines at
Richmond and joined the Union forces some 60 miles away. From then on, Mr. Fay became a regular scout
of the Union army. His bridge-building experiences of former
days came most valuable to him as he was able to give information on all the roads, streams, and fords running into
Richmond. He fast became one of the
most valuable scouts in the army and his many experiences would fill a volume.
Suffice it to say, that Mr. Fay was one of General Grant’s closest
scouts and that his record stands high
in the archives of the secret service at Washington. In his own personal belongings, Mr. Fay had a number of
testimonials and passes from the Union
generals. His relics of the war
included, among other things, the lock and key of Libby prison. Helped Indict Davis Mr. Fay was a member
of the grand jury that indicted Jefferson Davis for treason. This was the direct cause of his leaving the
south.
The people of Richmond could not forgive him for serving on that jury
and finding their beloved president was a traitor. They made it so
uncomfortable for him that he had to leave and leaving, he sacrificed his
property. Up to one year ago, Mr. Fay
had never received any compensation
from the Union for his service. His own
loss of property amounted to over $100,000.
On May 25, 1908, he received a
pension of $20 per month. In 1884, Mr. Fay removed to Muskegon, having
bought considerable property in the block in which he now resides as early as 1857. He engaged in the wholesale paper business
in this city and became an active citizen here despite his advancing years.
Fr. Fay is survived by the following grandchildren: William Fay Scull of Saginaw, David E.
Scull, instructor in manual training at
the Agricultural college at Fargo, N.D., Miss Blanche Scull, a nurse at Hackley
hospital and Henry A. Scull, Charles E.
Scull, Mabel E. Scull and Arthur VanArkel of this city.