Joseph Tew was born around 1830 in Northampton, England. He eventually immigrated to America and settled in Massachusetts. By the early 1860s, he was working as a shoemaker.

 

He was drafted into the Union army, and he mustered in as a private in Company D of the 32^nd Massachusetts Infantry in September 1863. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 4 inches tall, with dark hair and brown eyes. Officials reported him absent without leave in May 1864, and he was discharged for disability on August 4, 1864. His commanding office later noted that he could “say nothing in favor of Private Joseph Tew[‘s] character as a man or soldier, as he has always been a straggler & shirk.” He was initially listed as a deserter, but this charge was later removed.

 

He settled in Boston, Massachusetts, after the war. He applied for a federal pension in August 1864 and eventually secured one. By 1890, he was suffering from “spinal disease” and a “partial paralysis” of his hands and feet. He died sometime after 1890.

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