Brevet Brig. Gen. Robert Newton Pearson

ROBERT NEWTON PEARSON.

Brevet Brigadier General, United States Volunteers. Died at Chicago October 6, 1903.

COMPANION ROBERT NEWTON PEARSON, a member of this Commandery, expired suddenly at his office on October 6th, 1903. He was born of Quaker parents in Fayetteville, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, on the 9th day of January, 1840.

Little information is at hand concerning his early life, and we are unable to say more than that he grew to manhood in his native state, with such educational advantages as were afforded by the common schools of his vicinity. Some time during the year 1860 he removed from Pennsylvania to Illinois. Among other lessons he had learned in his boyhood to esteem the flag of his country as the symbol of all that centers in a strong, wholesome and righteous government, and his fidelity to the union of the states had taken the form of unyielding devotion to the cause of the nation. To him the national government was the supreme power in this republic, and he had an unwavering faith that its undisputed rule was necessary to insure the safety, welfare and happiness of all. Unquestioning fidelity to his country and all its institutions had become a part of his life, and the line of his duty respecting its enemies had, by the time he reached his majority, become a settled and un- changeable conviction.

So it was that Companion Pearson, when war came and the people of the South organized themselves into hostile armies, fired upon the flag and threatened the nation's life, saw but one thing to do, and that was to offer his services and his life, if need be, for the Union. And with that spirit he entered the army as a private soldier.

The story of his career and services in the Union Army are best told in his own words on a scrap of paper written by his own hand and found in his desk immediately after his death. He says:

"I enlisted as a private in the Tenth Illinois Infantry, April 17th, 1861, for three months. After that service I re- enlisted as a private in the Thirty-first Illinois Infantry (John A. Logan's Regiment), September 3d, 1861. I went through the battles of Belmont, Fort Henry and Fort Donelson carrying a musket as a private soldier. May 16th, 1862, I was appointed First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the Regiment. February 24th, 1863, I was elected -Major by the officers of the Regiment, and commissioned as such by the Governor. I was elected and commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel July 2d, 1863. Was elected and commissioned Colonel September 24th, 1864. March 13th, 1865, I was commissioned by the President of the United States Brigadier-General by brevet for meritorious services on the battle field, and was mustered out of the services with the regiment July 31st, 1865."

Thus it is seen that General Pearson in one rank or another served his country for more than four years and three months. The epitome of our Companion's services is a bare recital of individual services rendered by a soldier in the Union Army; but it is all too brief as a narrative of a soldier so distinguished and so well known as Companion Pearson.

He counted it an honor that he carried a musket as a private soldier though the battles of Belmont, Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. No strain of vanity can be discovered by stating what one has done as a private carrying a musket. But here the narrative of our Companion's services as a soldier ends, and he simply adds that soon after he had performed these duties as a private in the ranks he was appointed Adjutant of his regiment, then elected by its officers to be its Major and in the same way was elected and commissioned its Lieutenant-Colonel/ Again by the same preference chosen and appointed its Colonel ; and that in March, 1865, for meritorious services, the President had commissioned him a Brigadier-General by brevet.

This memorandum of General Pearson was written for his children, and it may here be properly said that few of the nearly three million boys and men who enlisted as privates in the Union cause ever reached upon their own merits, and as a reward for services rendered on the battle field such high rank in the army.

Pearson had in him all the elements which go to make up a gallant and accomplished soldier. It is said of him by those who were near him during the whole period of his career as an officer, that the rage of battle and fury of conflict, however great, never caused in the mind of our Companion the least dismay or the slightest hesitation. He never faltered and he never doubted ; and it is said by his superior officers that during the long period of his command of the Thirty-first Illinois Infantry, and through the many engagements in which it participated under him, he never gave a command or issued an order inconsistent with the highest and best military judgment.

The regiment to which General Pearson belonged and which he so gallantly commanded was conspicuous in the history of the Civil War not only by reason of the deeds it performed, the honorable record of its officers, the many and serious battles in which it was engaged, the valor and courage of its men in the thick of the fight, but by the high character and great reputation achieved by the men who organized and led it in triumph to unnumbered victories.

Its first Colonel became one of the great leaders of the Union Army during the more than four years of its existence, and considering the distinguished career of John A. Logan, both in military and civil life, it must be admitted that when Robert Newton Pearson became the Colonel in succession to a man whose civic and military fame were world wide, it was no easy task to maintain the high purposes, splendid discipline and rare courage which had been instilled into the minds and hearts of the officers and men composing the Ihirty-first Illinois by its first Colonel.

How few of us today recall the special honor conferred on the Thirty-first Illinois, under the command of Pearson at Vicksburg on the day of its surrender? From Fort Gibson, through Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills, Black River Bridge, and in the charges on the 19th and 22nd days of May, 1863, it had performed every service required of it with conspicuous gallantry.

During the disastrous charge made on Fort Hill, the flag of this one regiment was pierced by one hundred and fifty-three bullets, and its flag staff was shot asunder in four places.

Its Lieutenant-Colonel Reese was killed in one of the charges on the works of Vicksburg, and the regiment there- after was commanded by Pearson, who was immediately promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and when the gates of Vicksburg were opened, the honor of marching the first infantry regiment within the rebel works was given to our Companion.

The march into Vicksburg through the open gates on July 4th, 1863, was, it may be said, a gala parade, but who shall count the toils and sufferings and measure the pain of the men who made such a parade possible?

To recount all of the battles in which this gallant officer commanded his regiment after the fall of Vicksburg, would be to recall again the Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea, and every event in which the army under the immediate command of General Sherman participated, until the grand review at the Nation's Capital on May 24th, 1865. It is a story of ever deepening interest, but it would be improper in a memorial like this, and we content ourselves by saying that in all the emergencies of camp and field and march from Dalton to Atlanta, from Atlanta to the Sea, and from Savannah northward until the grand army of the republic marched through the streets of Washington, there was in it no officer or soldier of better mettle, better equipped, or more devoted to his duty and the welfare and honor of his country and its flag, than was Robert Newton Pearson.

Like the great host of which the Union Army was composed, when the struggle was over our Companion retired to private life and became identified with the civic welfare and common interests of the people among whom he lived.

During his civic career since the close of the war in 1865, Companion Pearson has been honored by many positions of honor and trust. He was for many years Comp- troller of the City of Springfield, holding that position under different partisan administrations, and quitting it with great credit to himself and with the highest respect of all classes of that city. He subsequently served as head of the Inquiry Division of the Post Office in the City of Chicago, and was subsequently appointed by President Harrison appraiser of customs in this city, the duties of which office he discharged with conspicuous fidelity for more than four years. Besides these positions he was at one time honored with a seat in the General Assembly of this State.

Companion Pearson was a man of unusual capabilities, and brought to whatever work was given him to do "the faith that labors, the hope that endures and the patience that waits," and through all the varied duties which came to him, whether military or civil he displayed the high qualities which mark the good citizen, the gallant soldier and the loyal man.

Companion Pearson was married on September 8th, 1864, to Mary Elizabeth Tuthill, daughter of Daniel B. Tuthill, and sister of the Honorable Richard Stanley Tuthill, now one of the Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

General Pearson left surviving him two children Haynie R. Pearson and Mrs. Mary Logan Kent, of Kent, Ohio, to whom we extend our sincere sympathy, and this expression of our high regard for our old friend and Companion.

FRANCIS A. RIDDLE, ALONZO N. REECE, HORACE H. THOMAS,

Committee.

Bibliographic information:

• Memorials of deceased companions of the Commandery of the state of Illinois, Military order of the loyal legion of the United States ..
• by Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Commandery of the State of Illinois
• Published December 1901
• Topics Illinois -- Biography, United States -- History Civil War, 1861-1865 Biography
• v. 1. From May 8, 1879, when the commandery was instituted, to July 1, 1901.--v. 2. From July 1, 1901 to December 31, 1911
• Volume v.2
• Publisher Chicago
• Pages 692
• Possible copyright status NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
• Language English
• Call number 2290578
• Digitizing sponsor University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Book contributor University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Collection civilwardocuments; americana
• Full catalog record MARCXML
• Page 129
• Identifier-access http://www.archive.org/details/memorialsofdeceav2mili

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Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. Pearson started his professional life as a bricklayer, and when the Civil War broke out he joined the 10th Illinois Infantry as a private. His administrative and leadership skills were recognized by his superiors and he rose through the ranks. In May of 1862 he was made an adjutant in the 31st Illinois Infantry; in April of 1863 he was promoted to major; and in July of that year was promoted again to lieutenant colonel. He participated in the battles of Port Gibson, Champion's Hill, Vicksburg, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, and Bentonville. On March 13, 1865, he was made brevet brigadier general "for gallant and meritorious services." He was made the colonel of the 31st Illinois Infantry in April of 1865. After the war, he was a municipal official and US postal clerk. (bio by: Thomas Fisher)

• Source - https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=51853329

Robert Newton Pearson enlisted in Company A, 10th Illinois Infantry Regiment (3 Month) on 29 Apr 1861. Mustered out on 29 Jul 1861 at Cairo, IL. Enlisted in Company K, 31st Illinois Infantry Regiment on 18 Sep 1861. Promoted to Full 1st Lieutenant on 17 May 1862. Promoted to Full Major on 09 Apr 1863. Promoted to Full Lt Colonel on 15 Aug 1863. Promoted to Brevet Brig-General on 13 Mar 1865. Promoted to Full Colonel on 03 Apr 1865. Mustered out on 19 Jul 1865 at Louisville, KY.

See Also

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Illinois_Volunteer_Infantry_Regi...
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/31st_Illinois_Volunteer_Infantry_Regi...

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