{{Short description|Union Army officer of the American Civil War}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}} {{Infobox military person |name = Byron Root Pierce |birth_date = {{birth date|1829|9|20}} |death_date = {{death date and age|1924|7|10|1829|9|20}} |birth_place = East Bloomfield, Ontario County, New York, United States |death_place = |burial_place = Fulton Street Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States |image = Byron Root Pierce.jpg |caption = |nickname = |allegiance = United States of America *Union |branch = Union Army |service_years = 1861–1865 |rank = 35px Brigadier General<br />border|35px Brevet Major General |commands = |battles = American Civil War * First Battle of Manassas * Peninsula Campaign * Seven Days Battles * Battle of Gettysburg * Battle of Chancellorsville * Overland Campaign * Appomattox Campaign (Battle of Sailor's Creek)
|awards = |other_work = }} '''Byron Root Pierce''' (September 20, 1829 – July 10, 1924) was an American dentist who served as a Union Army general in the American Civil War.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=Terry L.|title=Historical Dictionary of the Civil War|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0-8108-7953-9|location=Lanham, MD|pages=1118–1119|language=en}}</ref> He was noted for fighting at First Manassas and during the Peninsula and Seven Days Campaigns.<ref name=":0" /> Pierce participated in all of the major battles in the East.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=The Union Army: States and regiments|date=1908|publisher=Federal Publishing Company|location=Madison, Wisconsin|volume=III|pages=369|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Herringshaw|first=Thomas William|title=American Blue-book of Biography: Prominent Americans of 1914|publisher=American Publishers Association|year=1914|location=Chicago|pages=759|language=en}}</ref>
== Biography == Pierce was born on September 20, 1829, in East Bloomfield, Ontario County, New York.<ref name=":1" /> His parents were Silas and Mary Pierce.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|title=National Year Book|date=1913|publisher=Sons of the American Revolution|pages=322|language=en}}</ref> He came from a family of soldiers. His grandfather, Thaddeus Root, was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Byron Root Pierce|url=https://ranger95.com/civil_war_us/generals_of_the_union/generals/byron_root_pierce.htm|access-date=December 20, 2021|website=ranger95.com}}</ref> He was also the great grandson of Aaron Root, a Lieutenant Colonel of the First Berkshire County Regiment of the Massachusetts militia.<ref name=":6" />
Pierce studied at an academy in Rochester, New York, and worked for his father's milling business.<ref name=":2" /> He obtained a degree in dentistry and in 1856 he relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he practiced his profession.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />
On October 12, 1881, Pierce married Abbie L. Evans of Rhode Island.<ref name=":3" />
== Civil War == When the American Civil War began Pierce was captain of a militia company, the Valley City Lights Guard, before entering Federal service in June 1861<ref name=":5" /> and was appointed captain<ref name=":0" /> He then served as a company commander in the 3rd Michigan Infantry Regiment at the Battle of First Manassas.<ref name=":0" /> Pierce continued to serve as part of the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula and Seven Days campaigns, rising the ranks.<ref name=":0" /> He also saw action at Groveton, Chantilly and Fredericksburg, commanding the regiment in the latter. Afterwards he was promoted to Colonel and then fought at Chancellorsville, where he was wounded and received a commendation for his command.<ref name=":0" /> left|thumb|First Manassas Pierce's regiment also fought Confederate forces, led by Joseph B. Kershaw, in the defense of the Peach Orchard during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pfanz|first=Harry W.|title=Gettysburg: The Second Day|date=June 15, 2011|publisher=UNC Press Books|isbn=978-0-8078-1749-0|pages=157|language=en}}</ref> There he was wounded and his brother, Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Pierce, took over.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hessler|first1=James A.|title=Gettysburg's Peach Orchard: Longstreet, Sickles, and the Bloody Fight for the "Commanding Ground" Along the Emmitsburg Road|last2=Isenberg|first2=Britt C.|publisher=Casemate Publishers|year=2019|isbn=978-1-61121-456-7|location=El Dorado Hills, CA|language=en}}</ref> Some sources said his leg required amputation. However, this was wound was addressed by the regimental surgeon and did not require hospitalization.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://civilwarintheeast.com/people/byron-root-pierce/|title=Byron Root Pierce|website=Civil War in the East|accessdate=2024-07-19}}</ref> He took part in the Bristoe and Mine Run campaigns, among other operations conducted in Virginia.<ref name=":2" /> He commanded the 3rd Michigan Infantry Regiment in the Battle of the Wilderness, the first battle of the Overland Campaign.<ref name=":0" />During the final years of the war he commanded various brigades in the II Corps.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Eicher|first1=John H. and David J.|title=Civil War High Commands|date=2001|publisher=Stanford University Press|location=Stanford, CA|isbn=0-8047-3641-3|page=429}}</ref> He was promoted to brigadier general of U.S. Volunteers on June 7, 1864.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Rossiter|title=The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans ...|last2=Brown|first2=John Howard|date=1904|publisher=Biographical Society|language=en}}</ref> After the Battle of Sailor's Creek, on April 6, 1865, he was brevetted to major general.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />
Overall, Pierce was wounded five times during the war and was present in all of the major battles in the East from First Bull Run to Appomattox.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Richard F.|title=Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry|last2=Miller|first2=Richard|publisher=University Press of New England|year=2005|isbn=978-1-58465-505-3|location=Hanover|pages=385|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Byron Root Pierce|url=http://www.migenweb.org/kent/biographies/famous/pierceBR.html|access-date=December 20, 2021|website=www.migenweb.org}}</ref> After the war he was active in veteran affairs, serving as the Grand Army of the Republic's commander of the Department of Michigan for two years.<ref name=":2" /> After retirement, Pierce was employed by the U.S. post office at Grand Rapids where he lived after the war. He was Michigan's last living Civil War general.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Finney|first1=David|title=Remembering Michigan's Civil War Soldiers|last2=McIntosh|first2=Judith Stermer|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4671-1345-8|location=Charleston, NC|pages=19|language=en}}</ref>
Pierce died in 1924 and was buried in Fulton Street Cemetery in Michigan.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Ingall|first1=David|title=Michigan Civil War Landmarks|last2=Risko|first2=Karin|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2015|isbn=978-1-62619-940-8|location=Charleston, SC|pages=134|language=en}}</ref>
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==External links== *{{commons category-inline}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Byron Root}} Category:1829 births Category:1924 deaths Category:Union army generals Category:People of Michigan in the American Civil War Category:People from East Bloomfield, New York Category:Military personnel from Grand Rapids, Michigan Category:American dentists Category:Grand Army of the Republic officials