Grave #540: Jerome Pierce

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Jerome Pierce, Corporal, Co. H, 36th Massachusetts. Enlisted at age 31 on August 4, 1862 and mustered in August 27, 1862. Killed in action May 12, 1864 at Spotsylvania. Jerome Pierce's grave is one of the most well-known in the National Cemetery due to the long-standing tradition of decorating his grave for Memorial Day.

Images

Jerome Pierce (Patricia Mason Family)

It is a tradition to decorate Pierce's grave each year for Memorial Day

Grave #540: Jerome Piece

Jerome, Albinia, and Lucy Pierce from the early 1860s (Patricia Mason Family)

Lucy Pierce as a young woman (Patricia Mason Family)

Albinia J. Pierce later in life (Patricia Mason Family)

Company Descriptive Book -- Compiled Service Record

Compiled Service Record

Brown, Handwriting, Book, Material property

Company Muster-In Roll -- Compiled Service Record, page 2

Handwriting, Rectangle, Font, Material property

Company Muster Roll for October 1862 -- Compiled Service Record, page 3

Company Muster Roll for November/December 1862 -- Compiled Service Record, page 4

Company Muster Roll for January/February 1863 -- Compiled Service Record, page 5

Special Muster Roll, April 11, 1863 -- Compiled Service Record, page 6

Company Muster Roll for March/April 1863 -- Compiled Service Record, page 7

Company Muster Roll for May/June 1863 -- Compiled Service Record, page 8

Company Muster Roll for July/August 1863 -- Compiled Service Record, page 9

Company Muster Roll for September/October 1863 -- Compiled Service Record, page 10

Company Muster Roll for November/December 1863 -- Compiled Service Record, page 11

Company Muster Roll for January/February 1864 -- Compiled Service Record, page 12

Company Muster Roll for March/April 1864 -- Compiled Service Record, page 13

Company Muster Roll for May/June 1864 -- Compiled Service Record, page 14

Handwriting, Font, Rectangle, Material property

Company Muster-out Roll -- Compiled Service Record, page 15

Compiled Service Record, page 16

Adjutant General's Report for Jerome Pierce -- Compiled Service Record, page 17

Back of Adjutant General's Report -- Complied Service Record, page 18

Rectangle, Handwriting, Font, Tints and shades

Discharge papers -- Compiled Service Record, page 19

Back of discharge -- Compiled Service Record, page 20

Widow's pension card for Albinia Pierce

Pension file, page 1

Handwriting, Rectangle, Paper, Paper product

Letter from J.B. Smith of the 36th MA about Pierce's death (July 3, 1864) (pension file, page 27)

Back of Smith letter (pension file, page 28)

Rectangle, Font, Parallel, Paper product

Widow's Declaration for Pension (November 1, 1864) (pension file, page 3)

Back of pension declaration (pension file, page 4)

Record of marriage for Jerome and Albinia Pierce, married September 10, 1857 (February 17, 1865) (pension file, page 6)

Back of marriage record (pension file, page 7)

(February 23, 1865) (Pension file, page 11)

Pension file, page 12

Rectangle, Tints and shades, Pattern, Paper product

Adjutant General's Report (July 10, 1865) (pension file, page 5)

Adjutant General's Report (Massachusetts) (August 18, 1865) (pension file, page 24)

Brief in the pension case of Albinia J. Pierce (September 6, 1865) (pension file, page 2)

Pension file, page 13

Pension file, page 14

Rectangle, Tints and shades, Paper, Paper product

Widow's Claim For an Increase of Pension (September 24, 1866) (pension file, page 15)

Back for increase application (pension file, page 16)

Handwriting, Font, Material property, Parallel

Record of birth for Lucy Pierce, born December 26, 1859 (February 20, 1867) (pension file, page 8)

Back of birth record (pension file, page 9)

Brief in pension increase case (June 4, 1867) (pension file, page 17)

Pension file, page 22

Pension file, page 23

Rectangle, Tints and shades, Parallel, Wood

Pension file, page 21

Letter from Senator John Weeks to the Commissioner of Pensions asking for information about Pierce's pension (October 11, 1913) (pension file, page 34)

Letter to Senator John W. Weeks in regards to Albinia Pierce's pension (October 14, 1913) (pension file, page 33)

Special Act of Congress regarding Albinia's pension (August 7, 1914) (pension file, page 31)

Pension file, page 32

Increase of pension under special act of Congress (August 27, 1914) (pension file, page 35)

Pension file, page 36

Pension file, page 29

Pension file, page 30

Albinia Pierce received a pension until her death in 1920 (pension file, page 10)

Pension file, page 18

Pension file, page 19

Pension file, page 20

Pension file, page 25

Pension file, page 26

Rectangle, Font, Material property, Parallel

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Jerome Pierce left behind a wife, Albina (he called her Allie), and a two year old daughter, Lucy, when he joined the 36th MA in 1862. On May 12, 1864 Jerome was struck in the heart with a bullet, killed instantly during the Battle of Spotsylvania. Like most soldiers, he was buried on the battlefield and was later re-interred here in Fredericksburg. News of his death devastated his wife, a widow at the age of 29. After the war, she sent a check for 100 dollars to Andrew Birdsall, the cemetery superintendent, with a request that he put the money in a bank and use the interest to decorate the grave regularly. Birdsall did so, and his family passed the responsibility down the generations until the 1990s. Allie Pierce never remarried, dying in 1920 at the age of 85. Lucy also never married, thus Jerome has no direct descendants to remember his story. In a sense, the American people have become the family of these men, coming together to remember them and make sure their stories never die. Today the park still decorates Jerome’s grave, a remembrance to the tragedy of war and the families affected by it.

Sources

Pfanz, Donald C. "Where Valor Proudly Sleeps: A History of Fredericksburg National Cemetery, 1866-1933." National Park Service, 2007. (Available at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP)

Cemetery Roster & Book File, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Rokus, Josef W. "The Sgt. Jerome Peirce Story: 'Once Lost, Now Found, Never Forgotten.'" Draft 12/22/15. Accessed May 19, 2021. https://billericalibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Sergeant-Jerome-Peirce-Story.pdf.

Photograph by Kathleen Thompson

Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American Civil War, compiled 1890 - 1912, documenting the period 1861 - 1866. NARA Record Group 94, ID 300398. Accessed through Fold3, May 19, 2021.

Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900, compiled 1949 - 1949, documenting the period 1861 - 1942. NARA Record Group 15, ID 2588825, T289. Accessed through Fold3, May 19, 2021.

Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Veterans of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, compiled 1861 - 1934. NARA Record Group 15, ID 300020. Accessed through Fold3, May 19, 2021.