William H. Face

William H. Face
Born (1827-08-02)August 2, 1827
Died August 16, 1894(1894-08-16) (aged 67)
Allegiance  Confederate States of America
Service/branch  Confederate States Navy
Rank Acting Master

William Haley Face (1827-08-02 - 1894-08-16) served as Acting Master of CSS Teaser during the Battle of Hampton Roads (March 8–9, 1862).[1][2]

The Civil War and the Battle of Hampton Roads

Face was recognized in the official report of the battle by Franklin Buchanan, Flag Officer, Confederate States Navy. Buchanan, the captain of the ironclad CSS Virginia during the battle, cited Teaser for actions in support of Virginia's attack on the Federal fleet:[1][2]

"Lt. Commanding Webb (William A. Webb) specially notices the coolness displayed by Acting Master Face... when facing the heavy fire of artillery and musketry from the shore..."[1][2]

Teaser took an active part in both days of the battle, acting as tender to Virginia. She received the thanks of the Congress of the Confederate States for this action.[1]

Face had previously commanded the boat (June 1861 - January 1862).[1]

Teaser was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Purchased at Richmond, Virginia by the State of Virginia in 1861, she was assigned to the naval forces in the James River with Lieutenant James Henry Rochelle, Virginia State Navy, in command prior to June 1861.

Almost a year before the battle, in April 1861, as Virginia moved toward secession, the Federals laid torch to the Gosport Navy Yard to prevent its huge store of munitions from falling into Southern hands. Just as the fire was set, Face (commanding the steamer Raney) completed the first successful transfer of gunpowder from the Navy Yard to the future Confederate capital of Richmond. According to a special correspondent to the Richmond Times Dispatch, Face was a "Virginia pilot, who was very prompt and energetic in the performance of the important duties assigned him, when men of nerve and action were in demand for special service."[3]

Postwar career

After the War, Capt. Face became a founder of the Virginia Pilot Association, which represents the ship pilots who guide all commercial shipping... and some military shipping... through the navigable waters of the state of Virginia.[1]

Family history of military service

Face's great-grandfather served as an officer in the Virginia Navy during the American Revolution. His paternal grandfather, William Face, was the son of Capt. Edward Face (born in 1724). In 1781, he and four hands serving on his sloop John spent 70 days "for the use of the troops at the Seege of York Town under the Command of his Excellency Gen'l Washington."[1]

William H. Face was the son of Edward Face[4] (1808–1838) and Catherine Heffley Face[5] (1805–1876).

Edward Face was the chief carpenter at Fortress Monroe while 1st Lieutenant Robert E. Lee was stationed there (1831–34). Lee played a major role in the final construction of both Fortress Monroe and its opposite, Fort Calhoun, later renamed Fort Wool. Both forts would later provide great vantage points for the Battle of Hampton Roads but neither played an important part in the action.[4]

Later in the 1830s, Edward Face was sent by the Federal government to Chattahoochee, Florida to build an arsenal for the protection of the ammunition there. Construction of the arsenal began in 1834 and was completed in 1839, by which time it was an impressive walled compound with two external powder magazines. The Apalachicola Arsenal was used as an arms depot during the Second Seminole Indian War (1835-1842).[4][6][7]

William H. Face married Sarah E. Dunbar on April 10, 1850.[1]

His brother, Edward Webster Face[6][8] (1829–1907), Private, Company H, 54th Virginia Militia, CSA, married Sarah Dunbar's sister, Elizabeth Widgeon Dunbar[9] (1831–1913) on March 27, 1851.

The brothers, their wives and many of their descendents are buried in Elmwood Cemetery[10] in Norfolk, Virginia.

A nephew, Sgt. Samuel T. Face,[11] Longstreet's Command, Semmes' Brigade, McLaws' Division, 32nd Virginia Infantry, CSA (1843–1862), was killed on the bloodiest day of the American Civil War, September 17, 1862, the second day of the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam) and was buried near the battlefield.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Captain William Haley Face (1827-1894) Find A Grave Memorial
  2. 1 2 3 Office Memo, Volume 7, By United States Office of Naval War Records, 1898
  3. ↑ Richmond Times Dispatch, January 31, 1862
  4. 1 2 3 Edward Face (1808 - 1838) - Find A Grave Memorial
  5. ↑ Catherine Heffley Face (later) Bennett (1805 - 1876) - Find A Grave Memorial
  6. 1 2 History of Norfolk County, Virginia and Representative Citizens, edited by William Henry Stewart, 1902, Page 632
  7. ↑ The Apalachicola Arsenal, Chattahoochee, Florida, exploresouthernhistoyr.com
  8. ↑ Edward Webster Face (1829 - 1907) - Find A Grave Memorial
  9. ↑ Elizabeth Widgeon Dunbar Face (1831 - 1913) - Find A Grave Memorial
  10. ↑ Find A Grave: Elmwood Cemetery
  11. ↑ Sgt Samuel T. Face (1843 - 1862) - Find A Grave Memorial
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