Joachim Pease

Joachim Pease

A U.S. Navy poster featuring Pease
Born 1842
Allegiance

 United States of America

Service/branch

 United States Navy

Years of service 1862-1865
Rank Seaman
Unit USS Kearsarge
Battles/wars American Civil War
*Sinking of CSS Alabama
Awards Medal of Honor

Joachim Pease (born 1842, date of death unknown) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the American Civil War.

Biography

Although Joachim Pease has been referred to as a native of Long Island, New York, recently unearthed records in the National Archives show that when he enlisted in the United States Navy as an Ordinary Seaman on January 12, 1862 for a three-year hitch, he listed his birthplace as Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada. He was described as twenty years old, five feet, six and a half inches tall, with black hair and eyes and a "negro" complexion.[1]

Joachim Pease enlisted in the Navy from New Bedford, Massachusetts, not New York City, as commonly reported, and served onboard USS Kearsarge during the Civil War. On June 19, 1864, off the coast of Cherbourg, France, Kearsarge battled the Confederate sloop-of-war CSS Alabama. For his conduct during this engagement, Pease was awarded the Medal of Honor. He left the Navy at the end of his enlistment never having been awarded his Medal of Honor. It remains unclaimed in a drawer in the Navy Museum, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.

Medal of Honor citation

Pease's Medal of Honor, front and back

Rank and Organization:

Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: Long Island, N.Y. Accredited To: New York. G.O. No.: 45, December 31, 1864.

Citation:

Served as seaman on board the U.S.S. Kearsarge when she destroyed the Alabama off Cherbourg, France, 19 June 1864. Acting as loader on the No. 2 gun during this bitter engagement, Pease exhibited marked coolness and good conduct and was highly recommended by the divisional officer for gallantry under fire.[2]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Enlistments in New Bedford, Mass. in 1861/Return of the United States Naval Rendezvous, New Bedford, Mass., for the week ending January 18th, 1862" ,v. 18, p. 40; Records Group M1953, "Weekly Returns of Enlistments at Naval Rendezvous (Enlistment Rendezvous)", National Archives, Washington, D.C., as found online at https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XLBF-BMJ Retrieved 25 January 2012
  2. ↑ "PEASE, JOACHIM, Civil War Medal of Honor recipient". American Civil War website. 2007-11-08. Retrieved 2007-11-08.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History & Heritage Command.

"Joachim Pease". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. Retrieved 2007-11-08. 

Records of the Curator Branch, Naval History and Heritage Command Museum, Washington D.C.


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