Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

William Pearce
MSA SC 3520-16798 

Biography:

William Pearce volunteered for service in the Continental Army in January of 1776. He enlisted in the Third Company of the First Maryland Regiment, commanded by Captain Barton Lucas. The company was part of Maryland's first contingent of full-time, professional troops, raised to fulfill the state's quota of soldiers for the Continental Army. It was raised in Bladensburg, in Prince George's County in the winter months of 1776, and in March the men traveled to Annapolis, where they joined most of the other companies of the regiment (the rest were in Baltimore). The soldiers trained with their fellow recruits and helped to guard the city. Pearce was only about seventeen years old when he joined, making him one of the youngest men in the regiment. [1]

In July, the regiment received orders to march to New York to defend the city from an impending British attack. The Marylanders arrived in New York in early August, where they joined with the rest of the Continental Army, commanded by General George Washington. On August 27, 1776, the Americans faced the British Army at the Battle of Brooklyn (sometimes called the Battle of Long Island), the first full-scale engagement of the war. The battle was a rout: the British were able to sneak around the American lines, and the outflanked Americans fled in disarray.

During the retreat, the Maryland troops fought their way towards the American fortifications, but were blocked by the swampy Gowanus Creek. Half the regiment was able to cross the creek, and escape the battle. However, the rest of the men, including the Third Company, were unable to do so before they were attacked by the British. Facing down a much larger, better-trained force, this group of soldiers, today called the "Maryland 400," mounted a series of daring charges, which held the British at bay for some time, at the cost of many lives, before being overrun. They took enormous casualties, with some companies losing nearly 80 percent of their men, but their actions delayed the British long enough for the rest of the Continental Army to escape. In all, the First Maryland lost 256 men, killed or taken prisoner. [2]

Lucas was sick during the battle and unable to fight with his men, and was greatly affected by the high number of casualties they took. One of his soldiers recalled that "Captain Barton Lucas became deranged in consequence of losing his company...Lucas was sent home" later that fall. As a whole, the Third Company suffered greatly, and more than 60 percent of its men were killed or captured. At least twenty one were taken prisoner by the British. [3]

 

That was the fate of William Pearce. In the course of the fighting, he was "severely wounded and taken prisoner." Pearce was held by the British until January 1777, when he was paroled, permitted to return home "upon condition of not taking up arms against [the British] until regularly exchanged." While some of the men Pearce was imprisoned with reenlisted after their release, he was too badly disabled by his wounds, and did not rejoin the army. [4]

 

Hampered by his injuries, Pearce was nevertheless able to support himself and his large family, working "as a tutor in a small Country school" for many years, probably in Hampshire County, Virginia (now West Virginia). He and his wife (her name is not known) had thirteen children, although five died young. [5]

 

Although Pearce did have a steady profession, he and his family nevertheless faced economic hardship. In 1809, when he was about fifty, Pearce petitioned the Maryland General Assembly for financial relief, writing that he had "suffered long and much from his wound. In the decline of life, a cripple and weighted down with infirmity, he finds himself under the necessity of asking support from his country." Maryland did grant pensions to many Revolutionary War veterans around that time, but Pearce did not receive any payments from the state. Not until 1819, when he was in his early sixties, was he awarded any compensation, receiving a Federal veteran's pension of eight dollars per month. [6]

 

Pearce was granted his pension in a period when his life was becoming more difficult. He now lived alone, his wife having died. In 1820 the pension law was changed, and his benefits were suspended until he submitted more proof of service and financial need. That same year, in October 1820, Pearce was "compelled to leave off" teaching because of his "advanced age and bodily infirmities." He moved several times, from Hampshire County to Washington, DC, where five of his children lived, and then to Fairfax County, Virginia in 1820 or 1821. While he could "generally call" on his children "for maintenance, [they] are but little able to do any thing for me." Pearce continued to collect his pension until his death, which was probably around the beginning of 1831, when he was in his early seventies. [7]

Owen Lourie, 2019


Notes:

 

1. Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, 10; Pension of William Pearce. National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land-Warrant Application Files, S 39015, from Fold3.com; Pension of John Hughes. National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land-Warrant Application Files, S 5954, from Fold3.com.

2. Return of the Maryland troops, 13 September 1776, Revolutionary War Rolls, NARA M246, folder 35, 85, from Fold3.com; Mark Andrew Tacyn "'To the End:' The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution" (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), 48-73. For more on the experience of the Marylanders at the Battle of Brooklyn, see "In Their Own Words," on the Maryland State Archives research blog, Finding the Maryland 400.

3. Hughes pension.

 

4. Pearce pension.

 

5. Pearce pension.

 

6. Pearce pension.

 

7. Pearce pension.

 

Return to William Pearce's Introductory Page


 
 
 


This web site is presented for reference purposes under the doctrine of fair use. When this material is used, in whole or in part, proper citation and credit must be attributed to the Maryland State Archives. PLEASE NOTE: The site may contain material from other sources which may be under copyright. Rights assessment, and full originating source citation, is the responsibility of the user.


Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!



© Copyright October 23, 2019 Maryland State Archives