'From Sin to Righteousness'

Local historian shares story of Shang Bailey

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Another program in the series on the Civil War took place at the Marian J. Mohr Memorial Library on Monday, Sept. 22.

Anthony Ursillo, former retailer and owner of the Log Gift and Curtain Shoppe, told the story of Frederick “Shang” Bailey, who was born in Burrillville in 1842.

Even as a youngster, Bailey was a bit of a troublemaker, stealing watermelons and getting a job aboard a whaling ship using false information about his age.

When the Civil War came, he fought for the Union, seeing action at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.

Bailey was captured and held hostage in the infamous Libby Prison in Richmond, Va., later transferred to a prison in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and finally to Salisbury Prison in North Carolina. The conditions in these prisons were nothing short of horrific. Ursillo showed a picture of one Union man who had been reduced by starvation to little more than skin and bones.

Eventually, Bailey was released in a prisoner exchange and was discharged from the Army because of poor health. He recovered from his illness and re-enlisted for the war, this time in the Navy.

When the war was over, Bailey found a job working as a performer for the circus. Eventually he went on to operate a tavern, a dance hall called the Red Light Saloon and later a brothel in Burrillville. When that brothel was shut down after 12 years in operation, he opened another one on Hartford Avenue in Johnston. He eventually became one of the most widely known “hotel” owners in the country.

Bailey was a liar, a cheat and a scoundrel, but on Feb. 27, 1905, he surprised everyone by announcing he had heard the voice of God and was closing down all of his brothels. He was baptized, with hundreds coming to see the event. He even paid back the money he had stolen, including a fraudulent disability pension he had managed to get from the government for his service in the Civil War. He became active in prayer meetings and church events, and the Johnston brothel was converted to a site for religious revivals.

Bailey died in 1917 at the age of 71, having made the journey Ursillo used for the title of his lecture – “From Sin to Righteousness.”

The story was told with slides, and was attended by one of the largest gatherings of all the Civil War series programs at the library.

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