R E S O L U T I O N
 1-1           WHEREAS, Peggy and Charles S. Pearce, Jr., of Corsicana, have
 1-2     made a notable contribution to Navarro College and to historical
 1-3     scholarship through their donation of an impressive collection of
 1-4     Civil War manuscripts, photographs, and memorabilia, and their
 1-5     generosity continues to support the collection's growth; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, Consisting of more than 3,000 significant items, the
 1-7     Pearce Civil War Collection has been praised by a leading historian
 1-8     of the period for its "amazing" balance of Union and Confederate
 1-9     material and for its remarkable scope, covering the spectrum from
1-10     common soldier to national figure; and
1-11           WHEREAS, Contained in the collection are letters by most
1-12     major political and military leaders, among them Abraham Lincoln,
1-13     Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, William Tecumseh Sherman,
1-14     Stonewall Jackson, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and Jefferson
1-15     Davis; other writers include Frederick Douglass, Julia Ward Howe,
1-16     and John Wilkes Booth; and
1-17           WHEREAS, Soldiers' letters and diaries give first-hand
1-18     accounts of major battles, such as Gettysburg, Pea Ridge, and
1-19     Atlanta, and innumerable minor skirmishes; the pages are replete
1-20     with expressions of loneliness and searing passages evoking the
1-21     carnage and horror of war; and
1-22           WHEREAS, Mr. and Mrs. Pearce  began building the collection
1-23     in 1991 and in 1996 gave it to Navarro College, where it is housed
1-24     in the Gaston T. Gooch Library; in recognition of their outstanding
 2-1     generosity and important work in preserving Civil War history, they
 2-2     were honored in 1997 with the Benefactor's Award from the Texas
 2-3     Library Association and in 1999 with the Grady McWhiney Award from
 2-4     the Dallas Civil War Roundtable; and
 2-5           WHEREAS, Natives of Wisconsin and New York, respectively, and
 2-6     graduates of Cornell University, Mr. and Mrs. Pearce moved to Texas
 2-7     in the early 1950s and made their home outside of Kerens on a ranch
 2-8     that had been in the family of Mr. Pearce's mother for three
 2-9     generations; and
2-10           WHEREAS, This public-spirited couple have rendered an
2-11     inestimable service to historians, and indeed to their country, by
2-12     bringing together this trove of material and by ensuring its
2-13     preservation and accessibility, and it is indeed fitting that we
2-14     pay tribute to them for this magnificent collection and for their
2-15     continuing generosity; now, therefore, be it
2-16           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas
2-17     Legislature commend Peggy and Charles S. Pearce, Jr., for their
2-18     signal gift to Navarro College and to Civil War scholarship and
2-19     extend to them deep appreciation for their stewardship of our
2-20     nation's history; and, be it further
2-21           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
2-22     prepared for Mr. and Mrs. Pearce as an expression of high regard by
2-23     the Texas House of Representatives.
                                                                   Alexander
                                             _______________________________
                                                   Speaker of the House
               I certify that H.R. No. 345 was adopted by the House on March
         13, 2001, by a non-record vote.
                                             _______________________________
                                                 Chief Clerk of the House