Nicholas Bartlett Pearce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nicholas Bartlett Pearce | |
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| July 20, 1828 – March 8, 1894 | |
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| Place of birth | Caldwell County, Kentucky |
| Place of death | Dallas, Texas |
| Allegiance | Arkansas state militia (Confederate) |
| Years of service | 1861–65 |
| Rank | Brigadier General Arkansas militia / Major Confederacy |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War - Battle of Wilson's Creek |
Nicholas Bartlett Pearce (July 20, 1828 – March 8, 1894) was a brigadier general of the Arkansas state militia during the American Civil War.
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[edit] Early life and career
Nicholas Bartlett Pearce was born in Caldwell County, Kentucky to Allen and Mary (Polly) Morse Pearce. He studied at Cumberland College in Kentucky before appointment to West Point. He graduated from West Point in 1850, twenty-sixth in a class of forty-four. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the 7th United States Infantry and stationed in Arkansas and Oklahoma for most of his United States Army career. In 1858 he resigned to join his father-in-law's mercantile in Osage Mills, Arkansas.
[edit] Civil War
Despite Pearce's vocal opposition to secession, in May of 1861 the Arkansas Secession Convention appointed Pearce brigadier general of the Arkansas state militia's 1st (Western) Division. His brigade joined Ben McCulloch's Confederates and Sterling Price's Missourians to defeat United States Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon's army at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri.
Pearce's brief and controversial command ended shortly after the battle when in August, Arkansas authorities attempted to transfer his brigade to Confederate service. Pearce resisted and furloughed his men to their homes leading to the disbandment of the brigade and the end of his combat command.
From December 13, 1861 to the end of the war, Pearce served as a major in the Confederate Commissary Department in Arkansas, the Indian Territory, and Texas. On June 21, 1865 he was paroled in Houston, Texas. He then went to Washington D.C. and secured a pardon from President Andrew Johnson.
[edit] Post-war career and death
Pearce returned to Osage Mills in 1867 to rebuild his home, mill, and store. In 1872 he left to teach mathematics at the University of Arkansas, resigning this position in 1874 and returning to Osage Mills. From 1870 to 1884 he was employed by a Kansas City wholesale house. Later he moved to Texas for his wife's health and worked as a land examiner. He died in Dallas, Texas on March 8, 1894 at the home of his daughter-in-law and is buried in Whitesboro, Texas.
[edit] References
- Allardice, Bruce S., More Generals in Gray. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 1995.
