Medal of Honor
At any time, you want to take a step back in history and see first hand reasons for appreciating our military men and women, it might be a nice idea to take a stroll through Bay View Cemetery in Middletown, New Jersey. There are more than 300 souls buried there who joined whatever forces were helping defend the United States at that time in their lives. We should always take time to honor each of them. But one name in particular should be recognized…Hay. Fred Stewart Hay
Fred Stewart Hay, aka, as his tombstone says, Frederick H. Schwabe. That is his small, plain white stone just beneath the American flag as you enter the cemetery. By either name, Fred Hay or Frederick Schwabe is a hero.
To those in the Bayshore towns of Monmouth County, he is “OUR HERO.”
This Medal of Honor recipient, one of 3534 Medals presented, is one of the 426 who earned the honor during the Indian Wars, that series of conflicts that lasted from King Phillips’ War at the start of the 19th century for almost the next 100 years.
Action
Hay served with Company I of the 5th US Infantry and rose to the rank of Sergeant while serving. According to Medal of Honor records, Fred was born in 1850 in Stirlingshire, Scotland, and entered the US Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. At some point after his enlistment, Fred was in a small cavalry unit escorting a supply train to Battle Creek where they were to meet up with General Nelson Mile’s forces camped there.
Miles, who himself also received a Medal of Honor for earlier action in the Civil War, was in desperate need of supplies and anxiously awaiting the train at Battle Creek. On Sept. 9, 1874, as the train came out of a canyon on the Upper Wachita River in what was then Texas, now Oklahoma, it was attacked by a large war party of Kiowa and Comanche warriors.
Heavily outnumbered, according to reports, the American soldiers fought valiantly for an entire day and the train successfully moved towards its destination. Hay, as a sergeant, was one of six soldiers cited for their gallantry that day, the commendation simply stating “for gallantry,” absent of all detail.
The battle continued for another two days, and in addition to Hay and the other five who earned honors on the first day, another seven soldiers were also cited for their continuing efforts before the train finally reached the 650-man force and General Miles.
Highlands
Sgt. Hay lived through the Civil War and for many years after, dying Jan. 14, 1914 at age 64 in Highlands, NJ. When he came to Monmouth County, where he lived here, or why his family chose this serene, locally significant cemetery for his final resting place, still remain mysteries. Medal of Honor records show the Medal was issued for his action at Upper Wichita River, Texas Sept. 9, 1874. The citation reads simply “GALLANTRY IN ACTION.” His Medal of Honor is at the Tropic Lightning Museum at Wheeler Army Airfield, Schofield Barracks, Hi. It was presented to him on April 23, 1875.
In fact, within the confines of Bay View Cemetery, it is still unknown the site of his actual remains. Because of that, the Cemetery Association, wanting to be certain his memory is honored, thought it important every visitor to Bay View knew about the Medal of Honor recipient. So, they placed his stone at the entrance. The tall American flag that waves behind it is tended by the Atlantic Highlands American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts.
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