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'''Henri Peire''' ([[1778]]-[[1848]]) was the first [[sheriff of Escambia County]].<ref>Other records show a man named [[William Loftin]], a resident of the [[Oyster Bay]]/[[St. Andrews]] area (modern day [[Panama City]]) as being appointed sheriff of "Florida's Western District," another designation for the territory west of the [[Wikipedia:Suwanee River|Suwanee River]]. It is unclear if the "sheriff" title was exclusive to Loftin, but Peire was certainly the effective sheriff of the Pensacola area.</ref>
Born circa [[1778]] in St. Dominique, Haiti, Peire was a privateer and merchant mariner who emigrated to the United States in the early 1800s, joining the army and fighting in the [[War of 1812]]. He was a major (and later a colonel) in the 44th Infantry and accompanied General [[Andrew Jackson]] on his [[1817]]-[[1818]] campaigns through Florida. When Jackson oversaw the transfer of Florida from Spain on [[July 17]], [[1821]], he appointed Peire as "[[Wikipedia:alguazil|alguazil]]," a position analogous to sheriff.
