William Pierce

U.S. Congressperson

1740 – 1789

57

Who was William Pierce?

William Pierce was an army officer during the American Revolutionary War and a member of the United States Constitutional Convention of 1787.

Little is known about Pierce's early life or background. He was born in York County, Virginia in 1753. He served in the Continental Army through most of the War of Independence. He was commissioned a captain in the 1st Continental Artillery Regiment on November 30, 1776. Due to failing health, he left the artillery to serve as an aide-de-camp to General John Sullivan during Sullivan's expedition against the Iroquois in 1779.

He returned to Virginia and attended the College of William and Mary, but in December 1780 he became an aide-de-camp to General Nathanael Greene. He served with Greene throughout the tumultuous southern campaign, and was recognized by Congress for his bravery at the Battle of Eutaw Springs on September 8, 1781. He received brevet promotion to major at the end of the war.

After his military service, Pierce sought to establish himself as a merchant in the Caribbean. He eventually settled in Savannah, Georgia, and partnered with fellow officers Richard Call and Anthony Walton White. In 1783, he married Charlotte Fenwick, the daughter of a wealthy South Carolina planter, with whom he had a son, noted author William Leigh Pierce.

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Born
1740
Georgia
Died
Dec 10, 1789

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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