Joseph Pierce (name at birth unknown; presumably October 5, 1842 [1] - January 3, 1916 [2] ) - an American soldier of Chinese origin. Born in the province of Guangdong and at about the age of 10, he ended up in the USA [3] . After joining the army of the Union during the American Civil War , he participated in most of the important battles of this war, and he was given the rank of corporal. Joseph Pierce is one of the few first Americans of Chinese origin whose history is well documented, as well as the only one of this ethnic group who received a military rank during the Civil War.
| Joseph pierce | |
|---|---|
| English Joseph pierce | |
 | |
| Date of Birth | October 5, 1842 |
| Place of Birth | Guangdong Province , China |
| Date of death | January 3, 1916 (73 years) |
| Place of death | Meriden , Connecticut , USA |
| Citizenship |  USA |
Biography
Pierce was born around 1842 in the Guangdong province of the Qing Empire . "Joseph Pierce", of course, was not the name given to him at birth, but to determine his real Chinese name today is not possible. There are several different versions of how Pierce ended up in the USA. According to one of them, published in his obituary, Pierce, at a young age, found himself in some unknown way in Japan, where he had no relatives and had been in poverty; there he was discovered by the American captain Joseph A. Pierce from New Britain , who sailed to Japan, who allegedly could not find the boy’s relatives and decided to take him to America, then settle in his house and give the boy his name.
There is also a version of Pierce's origin, told by his colleague in the 14th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, Edwin Stroud. Edwin said that little Pierce was rescued by a Connecticut captain named Amos Peck at sea 40 miles from the Chinese coast. At the same time, the family of Captain Peck himself had a different version regarding Pierce: he recognized that he accepted Pierce upbringing, but at the same time he told that this happened in China itself, in Guangdong province, and he allegedly bought the boy for six dollars from his own Pierce's father, because he really needed money to feed his starving family. At the same time, other members of the Peck family said that in fact the head of the family bought the boy from Pierce’s older brother for $ 50 or $ 60. Although the deal itself was more like the acquisition of a slave, Captain Peck decided to make the boy a member of his family. The crew of the ship Peck gave him the nickname "Joe", and his last name was given in honor of the then US President Franklin Pierce , and his name thus allegedly became "Joseph Pierce".
In 1861, the Civil War between the North and the South began in the United States. The following year, July 26, 1862, Pierce, who lived on the Pekov family farm in Berlin, Connecticut, volunteered for the Union army and was assigned to Company F of the 14th Connecticut Infantry Regiment of the Potomac Army . In his first battle, the battle of Entity , he was wounded and was in the hospital for more than a month. After a long treatment due to complications from injury, he returned to service in May 1863 and participated in the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, and on July 3 volunteered to participate in the Battle of Bliss-Burn. On the evening of the same day, Pierce was ordered to bury the bodies of those killed in this battle — this was his punishment for what he was thought to be responsible for the destruction of dummies, tents, and other property as a result of a fire in the Confederate camp. the courage shown during this battle, on November 1 of the same year, was promoted to corporals, becoming the owner of the highest rank among soldiers of Chinese origin who fought in the Union army [4] . Subsequently, he was sent to New Haven , where he recruited new recruits, returning to the front in September 1864. On May 10, 1865, the Civil War ended in victory for the North, and on May 31 of the same year, Pierce resigned.
After the war, Pierce became a silver engraver; he settled in the city of Meriden , where he spent the rest of his life. On November 12, 1876, he and a woman named Martha Morgan got married; they married two boys and two girls, but only both sons survived. From the end of 1890, Pierce began to receive a monthly pension of $ 10 as a wounded war veteran; in 1907, after his requests, the pension was increased by two dollars, and in November 1912 its amount was raised to $ 24, but no longer increased. Pierce continued to work until 1915. On January 3, 1916, Pierce died at the age of 73 as a result of flu, bronchitis and atherosclerosis and was buried in the Valvut cemetery. The local newspaper then published his obituary, without mentioning his Chinese origins, but only writing that he was "well known and loved by the people."
Notes
- ↑ Joseph Pierce . Gettysburg Discussion Group . The date of appeal is January 16, 2011.
- ↑ Chinese-American participation in the Civil War - Joseph Pierce (Inaccessible link) . CTAPAAC . The appeal date is May 5, 2013. Archived February 26, 2014.
- ↑ Stuart, Heaver. The Gettysburg redress (English) // Post Magazine : magazine.
- ↑ Stephen Heidler, David. Civil War and Military History . - WW Norton & Company, 2002. - P. 434. - ISBN 978-0-393-04758-5 .