Generals in Stone – Alfred L. Pearson
Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a beautiful rural cemetery patterned after the great garden cemeteries of the 19th century and boasts a number of famous Americans laid to rest there – including brevet Maj. Gen. Alfred Pearson.
A lawyer by trade, Pearson was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area. In 1862 Pearson entered the service as a captain in the 155th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Over the course of two years, Pearson rose steadily through the ranks until President Abraham Lincoln appointed him a brevet brigadier general of volunteers in December 1864.
In March 1865, as the war waned, Pearson won distinction at the battle of Lewis Farm. For this President Andrew Johnson appointed him a brevet major general after the war, and in 1897 Pearson was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Pearson died in 1903 at the age of 64. He spent much of his post war career working in law and served as district attorney for Allegheny County.
For additional information I highly suggest reading UNDER THE MALTESE CROSS, which is a regimental history of the 155 Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, sometimes called “Pearson’s Zouaves”