Franklin Pierce's Life

Franklin Pierce was born on November 23, 1804 in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. He attended a local school. His father was a general in the Revolutionary War and served two terms as Governor. In 1820 Pierce enrolled in Bowdoin University in Brunswick, Maine, where he met a life long friend, Nathaniel Hawthorne. He went on to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1827. Pierce was elected to the state legislature where he served for five years. Franklin Pierce married Jane Means Appleton, they had three children. Two children died in infancy and only Benjamin survived. Pierce was elected to two terms in Congress and then to the United States Senate in 1832. He only served four years; he resigned his post because his wife did not like life in Washington, D.C. They returned to Concord, New Hampshire where he practiced law. In 1847 Pierce enlisted as a private in the Concord Light Infantry in the Mexican War; he rose to brigadier general of volunteers commanding 2,500 men in Mexico. He could no longer fight after he suffered a leg wound from a fall from his horse. Pierce returned to practice law in Concord. The Democrats nominated Pierce to run for President and won the election easily. On January 6, The Pierces were in a train wreck that killed their son Benjamin who was 11. Mrs. Pierce who was brokenhearted lived in seclusion in the White House the entire term. During his administration, Pierce bought parts of Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico. The Pierces toured after his term was over and returned to live in Concord, New Hampshire where he died on October 8, 1869. Note: Franklin Pierce was President from 1853 through 1857 and the Vice President was William Rufus De Vane King, but he died six weeks and three days later.