Thanks Bruce. Ultimately, if he was not known widely prior to the war and if, there was no other N. B. Pearce of note, then I would have to conclude that my wife's gg-grandfather or grandmother, must have crossed paths with the general sometime prior to 1860.

The father and mother of Harry N. B. Pearce Murdoch were Thomas J. Murdoch and Constance Camille Soto. Based on census information that varies, Thomas Murdoch was born about 1828 in Pennsylvania, Ohio or Missouri. Constance Camille Soto was born in Mobile, Alabama about 1830. I would "guess" if Thomas Murdoch came in contact with N. B. Pearce, it would have been while he was stationed in Fort Smith, AR prior to the war. I don't believe Camille Soto ever left the Mobile area, so I don't presume she could have been acquainted with N. B. Pearce.

Jim