Alfred L . Pearson Alfred Lawrence Pearson ( December 28 , 1838 – January 6 , 1903 ) was a lawyer and Union Army general in the American Civil War . He was awarded the U . S . military ' s highest decoration , the Medal of Honor , for his actions at the Battle of Lewis ' s Farm . Biography . Born in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , Pearson studied law at Meadville College and Jefferson College . He was admitted to the Allegheny County bar on January 14 , 1862 , but worked in the profession for only a few months before leaving to join the army . He enlisted in the 155th Pennsylvania Infantry on April 2 , 1862 , and was commissioned a captain in Company A later that year , on August 23 . Over the next few years he took part in all of his regiment ' s operations and received a series of promotions : to major on December 31 , 1862 , to lieutenant colonel on July 22 , 1863 , and to colonel on August 31 , 1863 . On December 14 , 1864 , President Abraham Lincoln nominated Pearson for appointment to the brevet grade of brigadier general of volunteers , to rank from September 30 , 1864 , and the U . S . Senate confirmed the appointment on February 14 , 1865 . On March 29 , 1865 , in the last weeks of the war , Pearson participated in the Battle of Lewis ' s Farm in Virginia . When a Union brigade was pushed back by intense Confederate fire , Pearson rallied his regiment and led an attack which successfully regained the lost ground . For these actions , he was awarded the Medal of Honor several decades later , on September 17 , 1897 . In the last months of his military service he commanded the 3rd Brigade and later the 1st Brigade of 1st Division , V Corps . He was mustered out of the Army on June 2 , 1865 . On January 13 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated Pearson for appointment to the brevet grade of major general of volunteers to rank from May 1 , 1865 , and the U . S . Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12 , 1866 . After the war Pearson returned to Pittsburgh and resumed the practice of law . He was elected Allegheny County ' s district attorney in October 1868 and served in that post until health problems forced him to retire from the legal profession . He later worked as a county gas inspector . Pearson was appointed a major general in the Pennsylvania National Guard in 1870 and placed in command of the 6th Division . He served in that capacity during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 , in which dozens of rioters were killed when his troops opened fire . Pearson was active in veterans ' affairs and was for many years a manager of the National Soldiers ' Home . He was one of the organizers of the Grand Army of the Republic and was commander of the group ' s Department of Pennsylvania . He helped organize another veterans ' group , the Union Veteran Legion , and was its first national commander . He was also a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion and the Medal of Honor Legion . Pearson married Elizabeth Harwood Stewart and had a son , Alfred Laurence Pearson , who went on to become a successful businessman . He died on January 6 , 1903 , at age 64 and was buried at Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh . Medal of Honor citation . Pearson ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : Seeing a brigade forced back by the enemy , he seized his regimental color , called on his men to follow him , and advanced upon the enemy under a severe fire . The whole brigade took up the advance , the lost ground was regained , and the enemy was repulsed .