Inscription
The son of John Hopper & Celina (Ober) Pearsol, in 1850 he was living with his family and twin sister Ellen in Lancaster, Lancaster County Pennsylvania. He is not found in the 1860 census with any certainty and is also not present in the 1863-65 draft registration for Lancaster County.
A Civil War veteran, he enlisted at the stated age of eighteen in Lancaster June 15, 1863, and mustered into federal service at Philadelphia June 30 as a musician with the six-month organization of Independent Battery I Pennsylvania Light Artillery. On October 12 while stationed at Philadelphia's Camp Couch, he and fellow Lancaster Countian Cpl. George W. Rigg were horsing around as young men often do. Rigg pulled out his pistol in jest. When Pearsol playfully grabbed it, the weapon discharged, sending a bullet tearing into Pearsol's abdomen. He clung to life for what were almost certainly five agonizing weeks before succumbing to his injury.
At the time of the incident, George Rigg was barely twenty years old himself and a veteran of the epic battles at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. While he had seen death first hand and on a grand scale, this was a different matter, one quite personal. His compiled military service records do not mention the tragic incident, and he even re-enlisted, mustering December 31 following the affair with the three-year organization of Independent Battery I. On February 1, he received a furlough but failed to return and thus deemed a deserter. His service records suggest he may have enlisted with a cavalry regiment but are unable to identify the unit. The extent to which Pearsol's death motivated Rigg's departure can only be surmised as nothing concerning his post-war life was found, but it would hard to imagine it did not affect him greatly.
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