Ebenezer W . Peirce Ebenezer Weaver Peirce ( April 10 , 1822 – August 14 , 1902 ) , was a brigadier general in the Massachusetts militia , serving as 90 – day volunteers in the Union Army in the opening months of the American Civil War , and a colonel of the 29th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Union Army between December 1861 and July 1864 . He later became a farmer , real estate speculator , historian and genealogist . Biography . Peirce was born in Assonet , Massachusetts to Ebenezer and Joanna ( Weaver ) Peirce . He attended local schools in Assonet and Andover Academy . He inherited an estate rich in real estate , and took up sheep farming . Peirce enlisted in the 4th Artillery , Massachusetts Volunteer Militia , in 1843 , and continued his service up to and including the Civil War . In 1861 Peirce was a brigadier general in the Massachusetts State Militia . Serving under Major General Benjamin F . Butler at Fort Monroe in Virginia , he was in direct command of the Union forces at the Battle of Big Bethel in June , 1861 . On December 13 , 1861 , Peirce joined the volunteer forces as colonel of the 29th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment . His regiment was located at Fort Monroe and was involved in the battle of Hampton Roads . He was court - martialed for presenting burlesque shows to the troops of his command and for incompetency , but was acquitted . Peirce then fought in the Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days Battles where , on June 30 , 1862 , he lost his right arm at the Battle of White Oak Swamp , considered part of the larger Battle of Glendale or Nelson ' s Farm . He was out of action until November 1862 when he returned to command his regiment and served in the siege of Knoxville . His regiment returned to Virginia with the rest of the IX Corps and fought at Cold Harbor . He commanded a brigade at the Second Battle of Petersburg . Peirce commanded a brigade during the following time periods : August 18 – September 18 , 1863 ; January 10 – March 16 , 1864 ; and , June 4 – July 23 , 1864 . Peirce was discharged from the volunteer service on November 4 , 1864 due to the loss of his right arm and general nervous debility relating to miasmatic diseases , and returned to Assonet . In 1880 , he served one year as a member of the Freetown Board of Selectmen . Peirce was married November – December 1849 to Irene I . Payne until she was granted a divorce from him on May 1 , 1875 , and the couple had one son , Palo Alto Peirce , who was many years the town clerk of Freetown . He was elected a life member of the Old Colony Historical Society on April 2 , 1855 , and a resident member on October 11 , 1886 . On April 5 , 1892 , Ebenezer Peirce married Ida E . Gardner , an 1881 graduate of the Bridgewater Normal School . On August 14 , 1902 , Ebenezer Peirce died at the age of 80 . He is buried in the Assonet Burying Ground . Legacy . In 1867 , the E . W . Peirce Encampment , Post 8 , Grand Army of the Republic was established in Middleborough , Massachusetts and named for Ebenezer W . Peirce . Peirce was an author of numerous books and articles on historical subjects in Bristol and Plymouth counties . Peirce vs . Pierce . In the Assonet - Lakeville area , there has historically been an inconsistent spelling of the surname Pierce . In some cases , parents with the surname Pierce are shown to have children with the surname Peirce , and vice - versa . The most common spelling of this subject ' s last name seems to be Peirce ( sometimes pronounced as " purse " ) .