The Life of Gen. Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, President of the United States

Front matter

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Chapter II

Birth of Franklin Pierce — Preparation for College — Anecdote — His religions Friend, Zen as Caldwell — Solving a Problem — Military and Civil Law in Conflict — Takes his Degree — Studies Law- Elected to House of Representatives — Made Speaker 22

CHAPTER HI.

Elected to Congress — Character as an Orator — Speech on Revolutionary Claims

Chapter VII

Mr. Pierce as a Soldier and General — The breaking out of the Mexican War — Mr. Pierce enlists as a Private — Appointed

. Brigadier-General — Sails for Vera Crus — Attacked at National Bridge — Joins Gen. Scott at Puebla — His Coarse through the War — His Return — Reception at Concord — His Speech 135

CHAPTER VHI.

General Pierce on the Religious Test Question — His Speech — Letter to the Stark Monument Committee 191

The National Convention— Letter of the Committee— Gen. Pierce's Reply— Remarks .' 248

Chapter XII

Reception of the News of the Nomination of Gen. Pierce In New- Hampshire — Meeting of the State Legislature — Mr. Sargent's Speech— Mr. Wells' Speech — Mass Meeting of the People at Concord — Meetings at Boston, at Washington, at New- York, Hartford, Ac. Ac. — Letters of Mr. Buchanan, Ex-President Van Buren, Messrs. Cass, Houston, Douglass, Ac. Ac.— Concluding Remarks. .. 261

LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE.

Chapter I

Benjamin Pierce, Father of Gen. Pierce — His Early History— Anecdote of him — Hie Family — Political Career — Personal Appearanoa —His Generosity — Anecdote.

Franklin Pierce is the fourth son of the late Got. Benjamin Pierce, of Hillsborough, New- Hampshire. His ancestors were all plain, honest and intelligent Democrats, fond of serving their country in time of war on the field of battle — in time of peace as loyal citizens. Benjamin Pierce, the father of the subject of this volume, was a very extraordinary man. He was a native of Chelmsford, Massachusetts. He never received a liberal education ; in fact, he was almost entirely a self* educated man, gaining his knowledge more from men than books. At the early age of seventeen he bade farewell to his plough, and enlisted as a common soldier in the great war of the American [Revolution. On the 19th of April, 1775, the revolutionary committee sent couriers out in every direction ; one of them drove up before the farmhouse of the father of Benjamin Pierce, and told hit brief tale of the newB of the battle of Lraagrai,

14 LOT OT FBAHXLQr FURCH. I

The simple account of the courier was all that was needed to fire the brave heart of the young farmer, and he shouldered his musket, and with the blessings of his parents, started on foot for the seat of war. He soon arrived in Boston, where he enlisted as a private in the regiment commanded by Colonel Brooks. He was in .the great battle of Bunker Hill, the 17th of June following, and there distinguished himself by his bravery. In one of the many important actions in which he was subsequently engaged, during the hottest of the battle, when the leaden rain was fiercest, young Pierce saw the flag of his regiment wave to and fro, and as if the bearer were unable longer to uphold it. Although the act was accompanied with the greatest danger, he rushed forward, and grasping it, held it proudly in its proper place, while the old bearer dropped dead at his feet And until the action was finished and the victory complete, he continued to uphold it. The brave action was noticed, and the next morning the young farmer was rewarded with an ensigncy. His superior bravery, and his military talents, attracted attention, and when the .Revolutionary war was brought to a termination, he quitted the army with the rank of captain. Such was the wretched pecuniary condition of the treasury, that the soldiers were paid off for their services in a depreciated currency, and Benjamin Pierce found that he possessed only about two hundred dollars.

He was necessitated, therefore, to retire to the vinqai of t&axkub ttxbck. 15

wilderness, where lands were cheap, and purchase him a farm. "Wandering one day in the region of what is now the town of Hillsborough, N. H., he stopped by a pleasant stream, which contained a plenty of the finest tront. This was An excellent recommendation of the spot in the eyes of the cap tain, and spying a log-hut in the distance, lie sought its proprietor, and put to him the question :

" "Will yon sell your farm ?" The reply was " Yes."

" How large is it ?" asked the captain. " One hundred and fifty acres, with a half-dozen of it cultivated."

"I will give yon just one hundred and fifty dollars for it," said Captain Pierce, " and that is all the money I have to spare." After a little thought, the man accepted the offer, and Captain Pierce settled down in the wilderness as a farmer.

In the fall of the year 1786, General Sullivan, who was then a resident of New-Hampshire, determined upon forming the militia of Hillsborough county into a brigade, and appointed Benjamin Pierce a brigade-major. His services were of great value to the militia of New-Hampshire, and he finally rose to be brigadier-general.

Hie first wife of Benjamin Pierce, Elizabeth Andrews, of Hillsborough, died at the early age of * twenty-one, leaving a daughter, who is now the widow of the late distinguished General John McNeil. He again married Anna Kendrick, of Amherst, N. H., by whom he had three daughter*

and five sons. She was a woman of excellent chaiv acter, and died just two months before her husband One of the daughters died before attaining the age of womanhood, and the remaining two became accomplished women. The eldest married General Solomon McNeil, of New-Hampshire ; the youngest became the wife of Hugh Lawrence, Esq., of Boston. They both died in the year 1837, leaving behind them families to mourn their loss. The only sister, therefore, living of Gen. Frank Pierce, is the widow of Gen. John McNeil, and the daughter of Gov. Benjamin Pierce by Elizabeth Andrews, his first wife. Mrs. MoNeil is a very accomplished, affable, witty woman, and is loved and admired by a large circle of friends.

The sons of Benjamin Pierce were, in the order of their ages, Benjamin U., J. Sullivan, Charles S., Franklin, and Henry D. Sullivan and Charles died young ; the eldest, Benjamin TJ., entered Dartmouth College, and commenced reading law, but when the war of 1812 opened, his enthusiasm was so great that he forsook his situation for the army, where he Boon rose to the rank of brevet-colonel. He was- a brave and accomplished officer and gentleman. He was married three times, and left three daughters at hk death in 1 850, to mourn his loss. He gained considerable renown in the Florida War, and was in many respects like his brother, Franklin Pierce. He was exceedingly amiable and kind, was graceful in his manners, and everywhere he was known was loved.

The youngest son of Governor Benjamin Pierce,

Col. Henry D. Pierce, is now scarcely forty years of age, and is a drover and farmer. He is wealthy, intelligent, and has been elected to the Legislature of his native State for several terms.

But to return to the sketch of old Governor Pierce's life : In 1789, he was elected from Hillsborough to sit in the House of Representatives at Concord, and continued to represent that town in the House for twelve consecutive years. In 1803, he was elected a member of the Governor's Council, in which office he continued until 1809, when he was appointed Sheriff of Hillsborough county. This office he occupied for four years. For many yean following he was either Sheriff of the county which was his residence, or he was a member of the Governor's Council.

In 1827, Benjamin Pierce was elected Governor of the State of New-Hampshire ; in 1828, in times of great political agitation, he was for once defeated in his election, but he was triumphantly re-elected again in 1829. After this he lived in retirement to a good old age. He died April 1st, 1839, at the age of eighty-one years, and his remains were deposited in the town burying ground.

Benjamin Pierce, as we have before remarked, was an extraordinary man, and from him the present distinguished Franklin Pierce has derived many of his best qualities. Without the advantages of early education — without opulent and powerful friends, Benjamin Pierce grew to be the most influ

18 LIFE OF FRANKTJN FZSBCOB.

ential man in New-Hampshire. His influence in the county of Hillsborough was overwhelming, and indeed, throughout the State. He was, in fact, a man of great native talent. Shrewd, good-natured, and possessed of common-sense, he soon took his position as a leader of men. In personal appearance he was striking. He was rather short, and thick-set, had a rigid, honest-looking face, resembling, to a degree, the best portraits of Gen. Jackson. His eyes were bright and merry, his nose was prom inent, his lips expressive of firmness, while his hair, during the latter portion of his life, was as white as snow. He had always a full flow of animal spirits, and was lively in temperament. He was a universal favorite — fearless, frank-hearted — entirely devoid of all aristocratical pride — he was well calculated to please the great body of the people. He was exceedingly fond of hunting and fishing, and as soon as he had brought his farm in Hillsborough under cultivation, he constructed a pond, in the centre of the lawn in front of his house, which he at all times kept well stocked with trout. He was a man of the most humane disposition. He was constantly engaged in some kind and generous work, and he gave to the poor and deserving a portion of his wealth. In 1818, there was considerable excitement in reference to the oppressive laws which obtained in reference to debtors. Under the laws then in force in the State of New-Hampshire, (and indeed the majority of all the States of the Union)

FATHEB OF FRANKLIN PIERCE, 10

an unfortunate, though strictly honest man, was liable to be thrown into the most foul of all dun geons, where he must remain till death should come to release him. There were cases of the imprisonment of the noblest of men — of men who had fought and bled in the wars of their country — and who, for misfortune alone, were doomed to rot their lives out in the confined dungeons of a prison.

In the jail at Amherst, New-Hampshire, there were, in 1818, three aged prisoners ; one of them had remained there for four years, in the closest confinement. When Benjamin Pierce was elected Sheriff of the county, one of his first acts was to appoint a day for the releasement of these prisoners. The people thought the occasion worthy of a public meeting, and when the day arrived, the 20th of November, 1818, they all assembled in front of the prison, when Sheriff Pierce, after having opened the door of the prison, addressed them as follows :

• "Moses Brewer, Isaac Lawrence, and George L&ncy — By the return made me by Israel W. Kelly, Esq., my predecessor in the office of sheriff for the county of Hillsborough, it appears that you, Moses Brewer, was committed, December 13, 1814:; and you, Isaac Lawrence, was committed December 27, 1815 ; and you, George Lancy, July 2, 1817 :

" My unfortunate Fellow-Citizens : The feelings excited by a view of your situation are inexpressible. That those heads, silvered by age and

SO LOT OF VRANKLDS PXERGB.

hardship, and those hearts, throbbing with kindly emotions, should be held for this long period of time by their fellow-citizens, without the imputation of a crime, in a captivity unparalleled even in the annals of the French Bastile, or Algerine slavery, always viewed by us with sentiments of inexpressible horror, is more than my nature is able to endure. To be immured in a dungeon, standing on the very soil of liberty, and in the midst of men boasting its high privileges, is, in my mind, with which the ideas and the value of freedom are closely interwoven, infinitely worse than to be enslaved in a foreign land, by enemies and barbarians, from whom nothing better could be expected. But as an officer of the county, I have a duty to perform. I must either be governed by the law, and suffer you still to remain, the devoted victims of unavoidable misfortune and honest poverty, shut out from the genial light of heaven and the vital air, God's equal gift to all ; to endure, perhaps perish under the privations incident to your situation, and the stern ravages of approaching winter; forlorn and destitute, with no friend to comfort, no society to cheer, no companion to console you— or, I must be directed by the powerful impulse of humanity, pay the debt myself, and. bid you leave this dreary and gloomy abode.

" My unfortunate fellow-citizens : My duty to myself will not suffer longer to remain here an old companion in arms, who fought for the liberty of which he is deprived, for no crime but that of being

FATHER OF FRANKLIN FIERCE. 21

poor. My duty to my country, whoso honor is deeply implicated by your sufferings — and it is one of my first wishes that it should be untarnished — and my duty to my God,, who has put into my power to relieve, irresistibly urge me to the latter course. This, I am sensible, takes from me a large gum of money ; however the liberal and generous people, among whom it is my happy lot to reside, may participate ; if not, none but my children will have any right to reproach me ; and I am confident they will do no more than say their father was generous to a fault. In this view, go ; receive the uncontaminated air which is diffused abroad for the comfort of man ; go to your families and friends, if you have any. Be correct in your habits. Be industrious — and if your tottering and emaciated frames are so far exhausted as to prevent your getting a comfortable support, apply to the good people for relief — and may the best of heaven's blessings accompany you the remainder of your days."

This act was one of the noblest ever performed in this selfish world of ours, and we venture to say has scarcely eVer had its equal among the acts of the public men of the country.

In almost every town in New-Hampshire, there are persons who well remember old Governor Pierce, and remember him with the liveliest affection too. His grave is in a pleasant spot, and is surmounted by a plain monument, which is in good taste, for Gov. Fierce was of all men plain and unaffected,

Chapter II. "7

Birth of Franklin Pierce — Preparation for College — Anecdote — Bis religious friend, Zenas Caldwell — Solving a Problem — Military and Civil Law in Conflict — Takes his Degree — Studies Law — Elected to House of Representatives — Made Speaker.

We now come, after a very hasty and bri^f sketch of his father's family, to the present General Frank- \ lin Pierce. He was born at Hillsborough, the 23d 1 day of November, 1804. Being a child of strong promise, at an early age Gov. Pierce sent him out of town to obtain his education. An elder brother, then in the army, had the sagacity to perceive the powers of his mind, and was exceedingly anxious that he should receive a thorough education. For several years he attended school in the neighboring towns of Hancock and Francestown. While a reei* dent of the latter town, he lived with the mother of the late lamented Judge Woodbury, who was a lady of superior mind and attractions. Over Frank she had a most beneficial influence, as he very often ! acknowledged. He left Francestown for Exeter Academy, where he completed his preparatory stud- J ies, and entered Bowdoin College at the precocious i age of sixteen, in the year 1820. During his first two years in College, Frank Pierce was not distinguished for his devotion to his studies. He was not

HIS EDUCATION. 25

dissipated, bat having naturally a fall flow of spirits, he was a little wild. Bat among all his classmates, ne was extremely popular. Possessing frank manners and a generous disposition, it could not well be otherwise. Some of the members of his class have since become highly distinguished. A few of the names we will mention : Calvin E. Stowe (since Rev. Dr. Stowe), was its brightest scholar. Among his intimate collegiate friends, were the Hon. James Bell, John P. Hale, the Free Soil Senator, and who, up to 1845, was one of his warmest friends, Jonathan Cilley, and that most beautiful of all American prose writers, Nathaniel Hawthorne. We have said that Frank Pierce was not, during his first two years, a brilliant scholar, owing t» his fondness for society and his high spirits. While pursuing the study of Algebra, he one morning, in hastily running over his lesson for the day, came to an abstruse problem, which could not be solved without time and patience. Unfortunately he was not just then in possession of those valuable articles, and being in the room of his classmate, Stowe, and casting a glance at his slate, he saw the problem worked out most charmingly ! It was the work only of a few minutes, and the copy on his own slate was complete. It was barely completed before the hour of recitation arrived. The tutor commenced with Pierce, half expecting that he would have failed in solving the problem, when, to his surprise, he saw the proper result upon the slate of the young coll*-

M LIFE OF FRANKLIN PTKBQB.

gian. He took the slate, looked at it, and said in his wonderment :

" Well, Pierce ! where did you get this ?"

Now Frank Pierce could no more tell a lie than he could be guilty of any other wicked and mean action, and supposing that the tutor was soberly asking him a question he wished answered, he replied:

" Where did I get it ? Why, from Stowed slate, to he &wre!" The reply came with such a perfect ecwigfroid, that the class burst into merry laughter, while the tutor, if he was displeased with Pierce's want of study, became thoroughly convinced of his honesty of character. And this has ever been one of the finest traits in his character. He has never so much as tergiversated. He can never lie — is never inconsistent.

He soon became acquainted in college with his class-mate, Zenas Caldwell, of Maine, brother of the late Prof. Meritt Caldwell, of Dickinson College. Zenas Caldwell died the year after leaving college, and was a most devoted Christian of the Methodist persuasion. He soon conceived a strong affection for Frank Pierce, notwithstanding his levity and youthfulness. It seems as though he must have had a presentiment that Pierce was destined to a life of extended influence and power, for he was exceedingly anxious to win him over to the paths of piety. It was in vain that Pierce tried to shake him off; lie clung to him as a brother, not boldly and offen-

HIS FROND, ZENJLS CALDWELL. 8$

tively, but in a mild, affectionate, yet determined manner. The result was most happy indeed : Pierce gave np his levity, his carelessness, became devoted to his books, got np early and sat np late, became truly an excellent scholar, and, what was more pleasing to Zenas Caldwell than all the rest, became deeply impressed with the truths of religion, and to this day, his sympathies are with the Methodists. Long since the devoted young Christian gave up his spirit to his Maker, but his gentle, winning, religious conduct in college, still has its powerful influence over one of the brightest minds in America. It is not speaking beyond the truth to say that it has added a steadiness and sobriety to the life of Franklin Pierce to this day, and will to the day of his death. In a recent conversation with General Pierce, he alluded to his old class-mate in the most feeling manner. When his collegiate course was about half finished, young Caldwell persuaded him to accompany him home, to Hebron, in Maine. It was in the winter, and the common district school in Hebron was without a teacher, and the brother? Caldwell influenced him to assume the dignities of a teacher's life. He was paid fourteen dollars pet month for his services, at that time and place reckoned very high wages. Look at the future President of the United States the teacher of a district school ! And in our humble opinion, the one office is as noble a one to fill as the other. Entering the school-house, he found nine different B

26 UFB OF FRANKLDf PIERCE.

kinds of arithmetic in use ! His first act was to send down to Portland for a copy of each. At last* in the course of the winter, he came upon a very blind problem, which, amid all the cares which pressed upon him, he could not solve. He took the book containing the problem home to his boardinghouse, and walked the floor incessantly. It was in vain that he thought. He went back to his schoolroom the next morning, dejected, and delivered a long lecture to his scholars upon the propriety of their solving their own problems, as it would do them but little good were he to show them the process. The same night in his room, he again worked painfully at the incorrigible problem ; and when about to give up in despair, while walking the room, he chanced to cast his eye upon a little recess in the chimney. Turning a button and opening the door, without any particular object in view, he saw a sheet 4)f paper covered with figures, and looking carefully upon it, what was his astonishment to discover the very problem over which he had so long puzzled his brains, wrought out carefully to a correct result. In a moment he saw the principle which be had overlooked, and which was a key to the answer sought.

After three months within the walls of a country school-house, Frank Pierce bade them farewell without much sorrow, that he might again pursue his collegiate course.

While in college, his young friends formed a mil-

MnJTABT AND CIVIL LAW EST CONFLICT. 2f

itary company and elected him its captain. In marching to and fro between two given points, he found it very convenient to march across a portion of the green near the mansion of the President of the college. After doing so once or twice, the President gave ont his orders to Captain Pierce, that in future he must desist from marching so near his house. When the next parade-day came on, the young captain, as before, marched his company across the aforesaid green, whereupon the President, who was a small and thickset man, came out, and in a furious manner, thus accosted young Pierce :

44 Did you not hear, sir, the orders which I gave you recently in reference to crossing this green ?"

44 1 did, sir," he replied calmly.

44 And why did you not obey them ?" asked the President, still angrier than before.

" Because it was an unjust order. It puts us to great inconvenience to obey juo, while it certainly does you no harm for us to go past your house."

44 1 ,wifl have you to know," said the President, "that here civil law is superior to military !" And he retired to his house. He made a violent attempt to expel Pierce from college, but through the interference of friends, desisted from further action upon the matter.

Mr. Pierce took his degree in the year 1824, with high honors, and left Bowdoin College and his numerous circle of friends there with regret, for among them he had spent some of the happiest portions of

28 LIFE OF VBAWDJS

his life. Here he bade farewell to his devoted friend, Zenas Caldwell, who had taken such a deep interest in his welfare, who died two years later, at the age of twenty-six.

The three following years were spent successively in the office of Hon. Edmund Parker, at Amherst, N. H., Hon. Levi Woodbury, at Portsmouth, and in the law school of Judge Howe at Northampton, Massachusetts.

In 1827 Mr. Pierce was admitted to the bar, and opened an office opposite to his father's mansion in Hillsborough. At this time Gov. Benjamin Pierce, enjoyed a commanding influence in New Hampshire. His popularity was such as is not often witnessed in the world of politics. As a matter of course, the success of Franklin Pierce was almost instantaneous. Under common circumstances a youDg lawyer is obliged to make his abilities known to the world before uks can hope for success. But in this case the high position and popularity of Gov. Pierce gained for his son immediate practice. But had he lacked eminent abilities, it would soon have been discovered, and he would have lost that patronage which he secured from the reputation of his father. He needed not only great abilities but severe and constant labor, to maintain the position which it was on all hands conceded he must take. We need not say that he not only met the highest expectations of his friends, but far exceeded them. He rose daily in their esteem and admiration.

ELECTED TO TH8 UEQIBLATDBE. 80

Mr. Pierce at once espoused the cause of Democra- ( cy with unbounded zeal, and such was the confidence reposed in him by his fellow-townsmen that in the second year of his practice, at the age of twenty-five, he was elected to represent the town of Hillsborough in the State Legislature at Concord. The three successive years he was also elected to that body, and such was their opinion of his abilities, that in 1832 and 1833 he was made Speaker of the House of Representatives. At this time there was great agitation throughout New-Hampshire in reference to General Jackson. The State, in the year 1829, came out boldly and grandly in favor of the hero of New Orleans. Benjamin Pierce was elected Governor by more than two thousand majority, and an entire Congressional delegation in favor of Jackson's administration was chosen, and a legislature returned strongly Democratic. The following year the agitation became greater, and the Democracy achieved a still more brilliant victory over their opponents. Their candidate for the Governorship was elected by four thousand majority, and Isaac Hill was elected to the United States Senate. Through all these exciting scenes Mr. Pierce, though a young man, took an important part. On the 15th of June, 1830, a convention of the Democratic party was convened at Concord. An address and resolutions were adopted, which at that time were of great significance. They clearly define the nature of the Constitution; show how the extravagant system of ap-

80 LIFE 07 FRANKLIN TtEROB.

propriations by the general government lead "tc wide-spread, general corruption, tending directly to consolidation or disunion of the States, the destruction of democratic principles, and the extinction of liberty;" they also endorsed the re-nomination of Andrew Jackson as the Democratic candidate for the next Presidential term. In 1831, as we have said, the Democrats of New-Hampshire elected their candidates for the State, and for Congressional offices. The House of Representatives consisted of two hundred and twenty members. Franklin Pierce was put in nomination by the Democrats for the Speakership, and he was elected as follows: for Frank Pierce 155 : all other votes 58.

The following year, 1832, he was again elected to the Speakership. Thus, in a very few years, Frank Pierce had raised himself to a commanding position in his native State. In his own party, among his own adherents, his position was most amiable and indeed, he was beloved and admired by his political enemies. Although young, yet he continued to conduct himself in so modest yet able a manner as to raise the admiration of the older leaders among the Granite Democracy of New-Hampshire.

A political critic, in noticing his career at this portion of his life, remarks :

" Thus, in five years, he attained an enviable position among his associates; and won it, not by undermining rivals, or by adroitness in political intrigue, but by a firm adherence to political prin-

LEGISLATIVE OABEEB. 81

ciple, eloquence in debate, unquestioned capacity for public business, unvarying courtesy and exhibition of frankness and manliness of character. So honorable was his ambition, that, while he was ranking his associates, he retained their love and commanded their respect."