True Life Tuesday: Joseph Pierce

The man who would become known as Joseph Pierce was born sometime in 1842 in Guangdong Provence, China. He was brought to America in 1853 by Amos Peck, a ship captain from Berlin, Connecticut. It is not known for sure how he came to be in Peck's care but stories include that his father sold him for $6 and another that his brother sold him for $50-$60. His Chinese name was not recorded. The crew of Peck's ship called him Joe so he was given the name of Joseph. His last name of Pierce was after US President Franklin Pierce. When they arrived in America Joseph lived with Peck's family, went to school and attended church.

He voluntarily joined the Union army on July 26, 1862 in New Britain, Connecticut. He was placed with the 14th Connecticut Infantry Regiment which left for Washington, D.C. on August 25, 1862. In September 1862 he fell over a fence and injured his back during the Battle of Antietam and was sent to a hospital. He returned to his regiment in November or December where he was assigned to work in a convalescent camp. In spring of 1863 he returned to the hospital where he stayed until May. he then rejoined his unit and fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was promoted to Corporal on November 1, 1863. After this he was sent back to New Haven on February 9, 1864 to work in recruitment. He left the service on June 10, 1865.

After leaving the service he lived on a farm in New Britain until 1868. After that he moved to Meridan where he learned silver engraving over the next two years. He would work as an engraver for the rest of his life. On November 21, 1876 he married Martha Morgan, an 18 year old from Portland, Connecticut. The couple had a daughter and 2 sons. In the 1880 census he listed his race as Chinese. However, he changed that to Japanese for the 1890 census due to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. He passed away on January 3, 1916 due to a combination of "the grippe" (influenza), arteriosclerosis and chronic bronchitis. He was buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery in Meridan.