Philip Piner (abt. 1842 - 1878)

Born about 1842 in New York City, New York, United States

Husband of Harriet B (March) Piner — married 7 Jun 1875 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Died 12 Dec 1878 at about age 36 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

Philip Piner is a part of US Black heritage.

Philip Piner was born about 1842^[1] in New York^[2][3][4], New York^[5]. He was the child^[4] of Maria and Henry Piner, and the husband^[4] of Harriet B. March. He served with the famous 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War.

Education

In 1850, he is attending school at the orphanage. Two of the orphanages six on-site teachers that year were women of color: 47-year-old Jane Stout and 20-year-old Mary A. Boder. The orphanage's matron was 40-year-old Susan Benedict who may have been a white Quaker.^[5]

Occupations

• 1878^[6]: Laborer
• 1875^[4]: Musician
• 1870^[7]: Working at the House of Corrections in Boston, Massachusetts
• 1863^[1]: Seaman

Residences

• 1878: 26 Tennyson, Boston, Massachusetts^[6]
• 1875: Boston, Massachusetts^[4]
• 1870: House of Corrections, Boston, Massachusetts^[7]
• 1855: Catholic Orphan Asylum, New York, New York^[8]
• 1850: Colored Orphans Asylum in New York, New York with 10-year-old Ann E. Piner, 4-year-old Anna M. Piner, 2-year-old Sarah L. Piner, 8-year-old Levy H. Piner, and many other orphans^[5]

The orphanage of his childhood was burned down in the draft riot of 1863 by angry Irish mobs who also assaulted and killed many Black New Yorkers.^[9]

Military Service

During the Civil War, he enlisted as a Private in Company D of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army, the second^[10] regiment in the United States made up entirely of enlisted men of color. He was a draft substitute for James A. Pindergast. He was about 22 years old and working as a seaman when he enlisted on 25 November 1864. He may or may not have also served with Company B of the 55th Massachusetts, appearing present on several of the company muster rolls of both the 54th and 55th Massachusetts in March-June 1865. He received a disability discharge in August 1865 from the 54th Massachusetts.^[3][1]

Prior to his service in the Massachusetts Infantry, he also served in the US Navy. He served on the USS Seminole from June 1863 to June 1864.^[11]

He may have known Corporal J. Henry Gooding of Company B from his childhood at the Colored Orphans Asylum in New York and subsequent work as a mariner.

Company D participated in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner on 18 July 1863^[12], the Battle of Olustee on 20 February 1864, picketed at the Coosawhatchie crossroads during the Battle of Honey Hill on 30 November 1864, and the Battle of Boykin's Mills on 18 April 1865.^[1]

Death

He passed away in 1878 in Boston, Massachusetts due to consumption and is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts.^[6][13][14]

Projects

• 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

Sources

• 1850 United States Federal Census Year: 1850; Census Place: New York Ward 19, New York, New York; Roll: M432_559; Page: 146B; Image: 298
• 1855 New York State Census Census of the state of New York, for 1855. Microfilm. Various County Clerk Offices, New York. Location: New York City, Ward 19, New York, New York, USA.
• 1870 United States Federal Census Year: 1870; Census Place: Boston Ward 12, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: M593_647; Page: 201B; Family History Library Film: 552146
• Emilio, Luis Fenollosa. History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1863-1865, Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Book Co., 1891 (1st ed.) and 1894 (2nd ed.)
• Find A Grave: Memorial #210259107
• Fold3.com. “Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served With the United States Colored Troops, 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.” Catalog #300398. “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.”
• Fold3.com. "Records of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment (Colored), 1863-1865." National Archives Catalog #577134. "Regimental and Company Books of Civil War Volunteer Union Organizations, compiled 1861 - 1865." Free Access Civil War Records 1-15 April 2018.
• Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook.) Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records, 1620-1988. Provo, Utah.
• National Archives. NARA T1099. An index to rendezvous reports during the Civil War, 1861-1865.
• New England Historic Genealogical Society. Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1915. Boston, Massachusetts.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Emilio, McKay Roster
2. ↑ regimental descriptive
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} carded military service for 54th and 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Massachusetts marriage record
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} 1850 federal census
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Massachusetts death record
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} 1870 federal census
8. ↑ 1855 state census
9. ↑ Wikipedia: Colored Orphan Asylum
10. ↑ and the first with federal recognition; the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry regiment was against the wishes of the Secretary of War and filled only six companies, but did see action a full year before the 54th
11. ↑ Rendezvous index card
12. ↑ dramatized in the 1989 movie Glory
13. ↑ Massachusetts death record
14. ↑ Find a Grave memorial