Author: Matthew M. Peek, Military Collection Archivist
Pierceon Rose Pope (whose first name is spelled variously as “Piercion,” “Pierson,” “Pearson,” and “Pierce”) was born on November 7, 1896, in the town of Godwin in Cumberland County, N.C., to Duncan and Lovdia Pope. By 1900, the Pope family was living in Black River Township in Cumberland County, and Duncan Pope was working as a farmer on the family’s farm. At the time of his draft registration for World War I, Pierceon Pope was still working for his father on the family farm.
Pierceon Pope was inducted into military service for World War I as part of the late replacement personnel draft late in 1918. He was inducted at Fayetteville, N.C., on August 26, 1918, and sent to basic training at Camp Jackson, S.C. Pope was assigned to Battery F, 9th Regiment Field Artillery Replacement Detachment, in which he served at Camp Jackson through December 6, 1918.
Pope also was attached to the Base Hospital at Camp Jackson for much of his time in service, working as a “horseshoer” with the Battery D, 9th Regiment Field Artillery Replacement Detachment, by November 28, 1918. He was next transferred to Battery D, 58th Field Artillery, U.S. Army, in which unit he served until he was discharged. Pope never served overseas in World War I, and was honorably discharged with the rank of Private on January 23, 1919.
After the war, Pierceon Pope returned home to his family’s farm. Pope remained on the family farm through the 1930s, and was a lifelong bachelor. Later in life, Pope came to live in Harnett County, N.C., but little is known about his life after 1930. Pierceon Pope died on July 13, 1984, in Fayetteville, N.C., and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Dunn, N.C.
To learn more about Pierceon Pope’s WWI service, check out the Pierceon R. Pope Papers (WWI 60) in the WWI Papers of the Military Collection at the State Archives of N.C. in Raleigh, N.C.
This blog post is part of the State Archives of N.C.’s World War I Social Media Project, an effort to bring original WWI archival materials to the public through the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ (NCDNCR) various social media platforms, in order to increase access to the items during the WWI centennial celebration by the state of N.C.
Between February 2017 and June 2019, the State Archives of N.C. will be posting blog articles, Facebook posts, and Twitter posts, featuring WWI archival materials which are posted on the exact 100th anniversary of their creation during the war. Blog posts will feature interpretations of the content of WWI documents, photographs, diary entries, posters, and other records, including scans of the original archival materials, held by the State Archives of N.C., and will be featured in NCDNCR’s WWI centennial blog.