In 1845, Edward Day Cohota was found abandoned aboard an American merchant ship returning from Shanghai, China. He was raised by the ship's captain and lived in Massachusetts as part of his family, and became a respected member of the community. In the darkest days of the Civil War, Cohota enlisted enlisted in the Union army to preserve the United States and fought against treason and slavery with exceptional courage and honor. He saw action in some of the bloodiest battles of the war and was wounded in action. After the fighting ended, Cohota reenlisted in the army and went on to serve with honor and distinction for a further thirty years, but because of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, this brave patriot was denied citizenship in the nation for which his risked so much. An effort to right this terrible wrong is long overdue. We are hereby petitioning the United States Senate to grant Mr. Cohota, who spent over thirty years of his life serving this country, posthumous citizenship in the United States of America.