Pearce, Cromwell, 1771-

Col. Cromwell Pearce (1772-1852) was born to Cromwell and Margaret Boggs Pearce on their farm in Willistown on 13 Aug. 1772. He had a least six brothers; Richard, Edward, John, George, Marmaduke, and Joseph, and a sister, Frances. Col. Pearce was married twice. His first marriage was to Isabella Bull on 23 Apr. 1801, they had one child, Lewis G. Pearce. Isabella died 30 Mar. 1807, at age thirty-one. Cromwell later married the widow Mary Bartholomew; there were no children from this marriage. When Pearce was twenty-one, he was commissioned as captain of the 1st regiment of the Chester County Brigade State militia and six years later, commissioned as first lieutenant in the U.S. Infantry. During a brief hiatus as owner of the Washington Hotel in West Chester, Pearce was appointed the first postmaster of the borough. After being commissioned as a major-general in the state militia, President Madison appointed Pearce colonel of the 16th Regiment U.S. Infantry and he immediately began his service with the beginning of the War of 1812. Col. Pearce served with distinction and was evidently very considerate of the men he led. While other officers took furloughs during the winter months in order to be quartered in nearby Plattsburgh, Pearce stayed with his men and made sure that huts were built for them. He showed concerned for their health and morale. They eventually saw action in several major engagements along the Canadian border. At the Battle of York (Toronto), the men went by ship across Lake Ontario, landed, and then fought the British. General Pike, questioning a British prisoner, was mortally wounded by a magazine explosion, and Col. Pearce, after dragging Gen. Pike away to safety, took command. Discrepancies in the account of the Battle of York have been given by Gen. Dearborn, but there are papers in the collection that verify Col. Pearce and the 16th Regiment's involvement in this battle. After the war, Pearce became involved again in Chester County public life. He was elected sheriff and appointed an associate judge. Chosen as a presidential elector of Pennsylvania in the very contentious race of 1824, he carried the vote to Washington, D.C. In the spring of that year he was invited to become a member of the Board of Visitors at West Point Military Academy. Pearce died on 2 Apr.1852 at his home. He was buried at St. Peter's Church in Great Valley.