Peirce Crosby

Peirce Crosby
Rear Admiral Peirce Crosby, c.1882
Born	(1824-01-16)January 16, 1824 Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Died	June 15, 1899(1899-06-15) (aged 75) Washington, D.C.
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1838–1883
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	Pembina Pinola Sangamon Florida Keystone State Metacomet Shamokin Powhatan South Atlantic Squadron Asiatic Squadron
Battles/wars	Mexican-American War American Civil War

Peirce Crosby (16 January 1824 – 15 June 1899) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, whose active duty career included service in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.

Born in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Crosby was appointed midshipman in June 1838. He reached the rank of Lieutenant in September 1853 after a decade and a half in ships of the Home and Mediterranean Squadrons, plus coast survey duty. He served in the sloop-of-war Decatur and the schooner Petrel in the Mexican-American War, and had shore assignments in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

From late 1853 until the outbreak of the Civil War in the spring of 1861, Lieutenant Crosby served in the sloops of war Germantown, of the Brazil Squadron, and Saratoga, and on board the receiving ship Princeton at Philadelphia.

During April–October 1861, as the Civil War ran through its first half year, Crosby served in the sloop of war Cumberland and briefly commanded the new gunboat Pembina. He went to the Gulf of Mexico as Commanding Officer of the gunboat Pinola at the beginning of 1862. In Pinola, assisted by Itasca, he broke the chain barrier across the Mississippi to make possible the passage upriver of Flag Officer David Farragut's squadron, and the capture of New Orleans.