LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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 LIFE 
 
 OP 
 
 GEN. FRANKLIN PIERCE,, 
 
 THE 
 
 ^ DEMOCEATIC CANDIDATE 
 
 X 
 
 FOR 
 
 PRESIDENT. 
 
 X 
 
 03 TRENTON: 
 
 PRINTED BY MORRIS R. UAMJLTON. 
 
 1852. 
 
; '^ 
 
LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE 
 
 The nomination of Gex. Franklix Pierce, of New Hamp- 
 shire, as the Democratic Candidate for President of the United 
 States, has awakened a burst of enthusiasm among the masses 
 of the people, which has never been equalled sicce the days 
 when the immortal Jackson was carried in triumph to the Cap- 
 itol, despite the bitter opposition of those malignant foes, who 
 sougrht to pluck the laurel wreath from the brows of that war- 
 worn veteran, and trample in the dust the records of his great 
 and glorious achievements. And the same people, actuated by 
 the same noble sentiments which urged them forward to battle 
 in behalf of the Hero of New Orleans, when assailed on every 
 hand by the relentless myrmidons of Federalism, have now 
 asjain come forth in defence of the vilified and abused volunteer 
 leader in the Mexican Campaign, and on every hand are rally- 
 ing, to repel the attacks of those domestic guerillas, who worse 
 than their brethren of Mexico, seek to wrest from patriotic 
 worth, the hard earned chaplet of fame which his conspicuous 
 merit has rendered so appropriate, to adorn the brows of the 
 gallant commander, who performed the heroic and successful 
 march from Vera Cruz to Puebla. 
 
 While the Clarion calls of marshalling* ho :ts are sounJinsj 
 the notes of preparation for the conflict, the gathering Legions 
 of Democracy's army, are searching with enthusiastic ardor 
 for incidents and circumstances in the history of their noble 
 leader, which elevated upon their banners, and bound upon 
 1* 
 
their shields, shall nerve the soul to "deeds of high and noble 
 daring," when the clashing of arms give token that the strug- 
 gle of Freedoms' Champions have commenced. And these in- 
 cidents, are neither few nor far between, but are scattered in 
 rich profusion throughout the eventful life of Franklin Pierce ; 
 and whether shining with more subdued lustre in the councils 
 of his state or of the nation, or bursting forth in a blaze of 
 resplendant glory during his b ief, but brilliant military career 
 on the bloody plains of Mexico, in either case they stand em- 
 blazoned on the pages of history in bold relief, and only await 
 the labors of the compiler, to collect them in one compact 
 form, when they will exhibit a picture of modest bearing, dig- 
 nified worth, patriotic public services and gallant and heroic 
 achievements such as can seldom be found recorded in the bi- 
 ography even of departed heroes and statesmen. 
 
 To give in a brief and succinct manner the principal events 
 of his short, but glorious career — to place the history of these 
 events by the cheapness of the work, within reach of the most 
 humble person in the land — to show Frank Pierce as he is, the 
 peoples' candidate, the poor mans' friend, the advocate of equal 
 rights and equal privileges, and the champion of the law and 
 the Constitution — such is the object of this work ; and it is 
 sent forth to fulfil its mission in the hopeful desire that when 
 the victorious army of Democracy, shall have finished the con- 
 flict, and witnessed the consummation of their most fervent de- 
 sires, there among the appliances by which victory was induced 
 to the side of our leader, may be found in some humble place 
 near the gates of the regained Capitol, this unassuming, unpre- 
 tending little volume. 
 
 THE PRIVATE LIFE OF FRANK PIERCE. 
 
 Franklin Pierce was born at Hillsborough, in the State of 
 New Hampshire, on the 23d of Noverber 1804, and is conse- 
 quently in the prime of life, being but 48 years of age. His 
 father, Gov. Benjamin Pierce, enlisted at seventeen years old 
 
in the armies of his country, during the great Revolutionary 
 struggle, when the meagre band of oppressed patriots, were 
 contending for civil and religious liberty, against the trained 
 vassals sent by British power and rapacity to subjugate her 
 struggling colonies. In this army he faithfully served, from 
 the battle of Bunkers Hill until the capitulation at Yorktown, 
 and from the condition of a private, in which capacity he first 
 enlisted, he gradually rose, till at the disbanding of the conti- 
 nental forces, he retired with the commission of Captain, al- 
 though like the most of his gallant comrades with but little of 
 this worlds goods saved, from the general wreck which over- 
 took the business of the country during the long and bloody 
 struggle. Two hundred dollars being all he possessed, he was 
 obliged to forsake the more populous neighborhoods, and in 
 the wilderness, on the outskirts of civilization, where land was 
 more plenty, there he erected his tent, relying upon Providence 
 for a blessing upon his labors, and looking forward with trust- 
 ing hope to a future of comfort and contentment. 
 
 And the God of Battles, who had watched over him during 
 the perilous scenes of many a bloody conflict, did not desert him. 
 Having purchased a small farm with part of his slender means, 
 he applied himself industriously to the duties of his occupation, 
 and gradually was enabled to gather around him, the means of 
 happiness which he was striving to obtain. In 1789, he was 
 elected to the House of Representatives, of the State of New 
 Hampshire, which situation he held, for a period of twelve suc- 
 cessive years. In 1S03. he was elected a member of the Go- 
 vernors Council, and served in this capacity six years, when 
 he was appointed Sheriff of Hillsborough County. This latter 
 office he held for four years, and for many years after he was 
 either Sheritf, or Councillor to the Governor. In 1827 he was 
 himself elected Governor, and although in 1828, in a bitter 
 political contest, he was for the first time in his life defeated, 
 yet in 1S29, he was triumphantly re-elected. After this he 
 retired to the peaceful shades of private life ; where at the 
 
good old age of eighty-one, he died full of years and full of 
 honors, and his remains were deposited, in the burying-ground 
 of his adopted town, and wept over as tears are never 'v\'ept, 
 but when a good man dies. 
 
 This hastj sketch of the father of Frank Pierce, is here 
 given to show, that the virtue and patriotism which so emi- 
 nently distinguish the son, were the inheritance derived from 
 an honest though humble progenitor, and that the blood of the 
 sire, has not degenerated by transfer, to the person of his off- 
 spring. The restricted limits to which this work is necessarily 
 confined, imperatively demand that with such brief notice the 
 history of Gov. Pierce be passed by, and the regular course of 
 the narrative be again resumed. 
 
 The early developments of Frank Pierce's nature and dispo- 
 sition, gave such strong indications of superior intellect, that 
 while extremely young, it was determined at the suggestion of 
 an elder brother, to give him a thorough education. His school- 
 boy days were passed in the towns of Hancock and Frances- 
 town, and while in the latter place, he was domiciled with the 
 mother of the late lamented Judge Woodbury. To the kind 
 attentions of this worthy lady, the youthful Frank was deeply 
 indebted, for the beneficial influence which her superior intel- 
 lect and attainments enabled her to exert over the mind of her 
 ward, and it is one of the brightest spots in the character of 
 Gen. Pierce, that he refers with affection and love to the me- 
 mory of those gentle teachings, which now when arrived at 
 mans' estate have not yet lost their power, nor been forgotten 
 during contact with the world and its contaminations. 
 
 The precocity of Frank's early genius is exemplified by the 
 fact, that at the age of sixteen he entered Bowdoin College. 
 As might naturally be expected, devotion to study was not 
 one of his distinguishing traits, and although never dissipated, 
 his natural flow of spirits made him rather wild, while it did 
 not lessen, but rather increased his popularity among his Class- 
 mates. His frank manners, his generous disposition, endeared 
 
bim to all his associates, and it is a sigaificant &ct, tfcat las 
 juTenile popularity is not diminished by lapse of tirae, but Aat 
 among the many distinguished men of the |HCSC9ft daj, who 
 were members of his class in College, the ties of frjembltip 
 fonned in the classic shades of Alma Mater, faaxe nerer been 
 severed since their separation from those hallowed walk: 
 Among those College associates of Frank, wliose names hare 
 since become celebrated in the land, may be mentioned tluMe 
 of Hon. James Bell, J(^m P. Hale and the ever to be lamfnlfd 
 JcMiathan Cilley, whose violoit death in a dael with Mr. 
 Graves of KeDtncky some years since, struck saeh a thrill of 
 horror to every feeling heart. 
 
 Bat perhaps one of his most intimate friends in Colkge. and 
 the one who everted the most beatthfiil influence over his yoath- 
 fnl mind, was bis classmate Z&as Caldwdl of Maine, and 
 brother of the late Pr^. Merritt CaldweU at Diddnstm College. 
 Zenas Caldwell, who died the year after leaving College, was 
 one of the most devoted of that devout peisnaaan o£ Chris- 
 tians, the Methodists. Notwithstanding the yoothfbl levity of 
 Frank, Zenas soon conceived for the wayward boy a stroag 
 affection, which exhibited itself in earnest oideavois to chedc 
 the follies, and overcome the levity, fitm which, as is natoial 
 to youth. Frank was by no means exempt. Ever, under al* 
 circumstances, not boldly and offensively, but with mild and 
 winning affection, Caldwell clunff to bim as a broth»', and 
 the result of his tender watchmlness was most happy and en- 
 conragmg. Rercc overcome by the gentleness oi has mien- 
 tor, gave up his levity, his carelessness, devoted hmiseif to 
 his books, rose early, sat up late, became an excellent scholar, 
 and to the joy of Zenas Caldwell, became dee^y imjaessed 
 with the truths of Rel^on ; and to this day the labms rtf that 
 zealous Christian produce the fruits of prwnise, for Frank 
 Pierce's sympathies are with the Methodist peisoason and Ae 
 churdi, to which belonged his £uthtul and meek hearted 
 teacher in the ways of r^teousness. The Methodist 
 Church have always been peculiarly blessed io the possesion 
 
8 
 
 of members, whose devotion and personal sacrifices in the 
 cause of Christ have made them conspicuous as bright and 
 shining Hghts, and it is no small reward of their faithfulness 
 that the teachings of a member of their particular sect, still 
 exerts a powerful influence, over one of the brightest minds in 
 America. The sobriety and steadiness exhibited in the life of 
 Frank Pierce, the strict adherence to truth under all circumstan- 
 ces, for which he is so celebrated, may not improperly or untruly 
 be traced to the prayerful exertions of the zealous Methodist 
 tihristian Zenas Caldwell. 
 
 When about half through his College Course, Frank en- 
 gaged in teaching school in the town of Hebron in Maine. He 
 received fourteen dollars a month as wages, which at that time 
 was considered a high price for such services. What a lesson 
 this incident teaches to those arrogant, aristocratic up-starts, 
 who imagine that honors belong only to those upon whom for- 
 tune has showered her goldens favors. How humiliating to the 
 pride of these would-be lords of the land to find their imagined 
 claims passed by in insulting silence and to see the people 
 rallying with one universal demonstration of joy, upon a man 
 for President, whose humble origin and personal exertions for a 
 living should, in the estimation of those purse proud preten- 
 ders put him beyond the possibility of being the recipient of 
 such exalted civic honors. For three months the joung student 
 followed the humble avocation of a country school master, when 
 he bade farewell to his little pupils, and returned again to pur- 
 sue his Collegiate course. 
 
 In 1824 Mr. Pierce took his degree with distinguished 
 honor and left the Institution, regretted by those of his fellow 
 students who remained, and by a large circle of friends whom 
 he liad gathered about him during his sojourn among them. 
 The first year after leaving College was spent in the office of 
 Hon. Edmund Parker at Amherst, N. H. ; the second with 
 Hon. Levi Woodbury at Portsmouth, and the third in the law 
 school of Judge Howe at Noithanipton Mass. In 1827 he 
 was admitted to practice as a Lawyer and opened an office in 
 
Hillsborough. From this time his fame rapidly extended, and 
 there was perhaps no man of his age, in the state, who stood 
 so high in the estimation of his fellow citizens as Franklin 
 Pierce. 
 
 In 1834 Gen. Pierce married Jane Means, the yougest child 
 of Rev. Dr. Appleton late President of Bowdoin College. 
 
 The acquaintance, which afterwards ripened into affection, 
 and resulted in the marriage of the parties, was first formed 
 while he was studying law at Amherst, which place was the 
 residence of her maternal relatives. They have had three 
 children, all of whom were sons. One passed away, ere his 
 childish lips had learned to lisp the name of Father, another 
 was claimed by his maker at five years of age, just when the 
 endearments of childhood had awakened the warmest feelings 
 of paternal love, and the third now lives with his parents at 
 Concord. 
 
 Mrs. Pierce is an accomplished woman, but of late years she 
 has been much aflBicted in consequence of poor health, and her 
 sufferings have been more aggravated by the death of her 
 children. The loss of her second child, was one of those ter- 
 rible bereavements, which only fall with their fullest force upon 
 a mother's heart, and from the effects of this blow, she has 
 never entirely recovered. In the privacy of home, as the 
 centre of the domestic circle Gen. Pierce is' a man who 
 challenges the love, the respect, the admiration of his friends and 
 acquaintances, and though the halo of civic honors may shine 
 with a more vivid light, though the glories of military renown 
 may have sounded his name in louder tones and in a wider 
 sphere, yet despite the prestige of these adventitious circum- 
 stances, it is to the homestead hearth, beside the private fire- 
 side, where man's real and honest character can be most cer- 
 tainly and truly ascertained. 
 
 And if any man in this world will bear the test of such a 
 scrutiny that man is Gen. Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire. 
 The tender affection for the partner of his bosom, for whose 
 sake he has so often put aside the high honors, which have 
 
10 
 
 been offered for his acceptance, the kind consideration, which 
 consulted her comfort, and her happiness, in preference to his 
 own fame and advancement, bespeak him the possessor of a 
 heart, overflowing with kindness and genuine humanity. Nor 
 is he less to be admired, in his intercourse with the fi iends and 
 acquaintances whom his affable manners, and courteous yet 
 dignified demeanor have drawn around hira. His unassuming 
 deportment, his generous and noble impulses, are distinguishing- 
 traits of his character, which among his most intimate com- 
 panions are invariably admitted and admired. No man who 
 knows him, will say, that his ear was ever closed to the cry of 
 distress, that his purse was ever shut against the appeal of suf- 
 fering want, or that his heart refused its sympathies, or his 
 lips failed to utter the words of hope and consolation to the 
 drooping spirit of despondency or grief. 
 
 In all the various situations in which he has been placed, he 
 has invariably received the esteem, and warmest admiration of 
 those, with whom he has come in contact. The influence he 
 acquired over the soldiers who served under him in Mexico has 
 been the theme of general and laudatory remark. A single 
 anecdote of the power of this influence may not be out of place 
 at this time, as an illustration of the acknowledged fact : 
 
 After the close of the Mexican war a soldier of the ninth 
 Regiment wandered up into New Hampshire, and one day en- 
 tered the yard of a fine-looking mansion, to ask for a glass of 
 water. The owner asked him to sit down, saying : 
 
 *' Friend, from what place did you come ?" 
 
 "From Mexico," answered the old soldier. 
 
 "Oh I indeed — you fought in the war then?" 
 
 " Yes," he replied, after satisfying his thirst. 
 
 " And did you know anything of Frank Pierce there?" asked 
 the gentleman." 
 
 " Yes, I fought under him." 
 
 " And a downright coward he was, if report speaks truly," 
 said the gentleman. The old soldier started up as if a thunder- 
 
11 
 
 bolt had fallen at his feet. He eyed the man closely for a 
 minute in astonishment, when the gentleman repeated : 
 
 " He was a coward, I say, was he not ?" In a moment the 
 soldier's ire was roused, and he put himself in an attitude for 
 fighting. 
 
 " Another word of that sort, sir, and I'll pitch you out of 
 the \^'indow 1" 
 
 " Ha I ha I you are rather fast, ray man, this is my house." 
 
 " Devil a bit do I care whose house it is ; if you (or any 
 other man) dare to call Frank Pierce a coward to my face, you 
 will get soundly thrashed for it. Good morning, sir I" 
 
 In his personal appearance Franklin Pierce is a glorious spe- 
 cimen of one of nature's noblemen. Standmg nearly six feet 
 high, his tall and commanding form at once impresses the be- 
 holder with the idea of a great and good man. A bright and 
 flashing eye betokens a soul impelled bv strong though virtu- 
 ous unpulses, his hair sligjhtly sprinkled with grey gives him a 
 dignified and noble appearance, while the open countenance, 
 the frank and familiar expression of his face insensibly attracts 
 and pleases those who may come in contact with him. To all 
 his manners are courteous and kind and none leaves the pres- 
 ence of Frank Pierce without carrvinor with him a ^^vid recol- 
 lection of his unpretending and modest demeanor. It speaks 
 volumes in favor of the man, that amid the bitter and malig- 
 nant falsehoods which hireling prints have hurled against him, 
 during the present campaign, no one has yet been found so 
 debased and dej^iaved as to charge him with being an aristo- 
 crat. In this respect, his friends present him for the suffrages 
 of the American people, in bright and brilliant contrast to the 
 haughty, proud, supercillious candidate of the opposition, re- 
 lying with confidence on the innate abhorrence which Ameri- 
 cans must ever feel towards all that savors of distinctions in 
 society, and certain that the unbiased verdict of the masses 
 will surely be given, against the representative of the aristo- 
 cracy, and in favor of the poor man's friend, the Democratic 
 nominee, Gen. Franklin Pierce. 
 
12 
 
 GEN. Pierce's public life in new Hampshire. 
 
 It has been previously stated, that Gen. Pierce was admitted 
 as a practising lawyer, in 1827. His descent from a Revolu- 
 tionary sire, his early training in pure Republican principles, 
 his associations and connexions, together with the natural im- 
 pulses of his generous and noble mind, all these combined, 
 gave a bias to his political predilections, and induced him, at 
 the outset of his career, openly and warmly to espouse the 
 cause of Democracy. The zeal with which he entered on the 
 course he had chosen, the eloquence and ability he displayed in 
 defending and maintaining the principles of his party, soon 
 gave him a standing and influence in his native state, which 
 has continued to grow^ and increase, from his first entrance into 
 public life, until the present time. 
 
 It has been sneeringly remarked, by the whig press, and 
 whig orators, that Franklin Pierce was unknown to the world, 
 and even unknown to the people of New Hampshire. The re- 
 futation of this silly falsehood cannot more effectually be given, 
 than by the mere mention of the fact, that at twenty-five 
 years of age, he was selected by his friends, and triumphantly 
 elected, to represent the town of Hillsborough, in the state 
 legislature. His mere election as a legislator, for a single term, 
 might not, perhaps, be conclusive evidence of his popularity, 
 but when for three successive years he was re-elected, to fill 
 the same situation, the conclusion is irresistable, that he had 
 performed the duties incumbent upon him, in such manner as 
 to be eminently satisfactory to his constituents, and that they, 
 if not others, placed a high estimation on his talents and worth. 
 
 But it is further susceptible of proof, that the measure of his 
 fame was not confined to the immediate vicinity of his resi- 
 dence, nor to those whom he so ably represented in the coun- 
 cils of, the state. In 1832 and 1833, he was made speaker of 
 the body of w^hich he was a member, and when it is remem- 
 bered that the speakership involved the absolute necessity of a 
 
13 
 
 man possessing talents the most versatile and commanding, it 
 can hardly be supposed that an unknown personage, such as 
 Whigs assert Frank Pierce to be, would have been selected 
 by the assembled representation of New Hampshire, to preside 
 over their deliberations. The very fact of his election by three- 
 fourths of all the votes cast, for two years in succession, to fill 
 that dignified and responsible situation, is evidence conclusive 
 that he was widely known, and his talents and genius highly 
 appreciated by his fellow-citizens all over the state, and is an 
 emphatic answer to the calumnious sneers of his villifiers, which 
 should cause the blush of shame to mantle the cheek of every 
 dastardly wretch who has assailed the untarnished fame of 
 Gen. Pierce. 
 
 While Mr. Pierce was occupying the speaker's chair, a po- 
 litical excitement of unparallelled intensity was agitating the 
 state of New Hampshire, in reference to General Andrew Jack- 
 son. It will hardly be worth while to enter into the causes 
 which created the excitement. The old Democracy who came 
 up to the support of Gen. Jackson, because of the juggling by 
 which he was defrauded of the Presidency, after the majority 
 of the people had cast their votes in his favor, will all remem- 
 ber the stirring times his rejection caused. In the succeeding 
 contest, when justice to the veteran, rallied the country in a 
 perfect torrent of indignation, to show their detestation of 
 fraud and chicanery, Frank Pierce came out with all his heart 
 and soul, and arrayed himself on the side of those who sup- 
 ported that sterling old patriot. To his exertions, and his 
 eloquent appeals to the justice and magnanimity of the people, 
 may in a great measure be attributed the noble position which 
 New Hampshire occupied in the struggle. Benjamin Pierce 
 was elected Governor by a majority of more than two thou- 
 sand, the whole Congressional delegation was composed of ar- 
 dent friends of Jackson's administration, and the Legislature 
 was overwhelmingly Democratic. 
 
 The following year the excitement became still more intense, 
 and in this second contest the banner of Democracy was car- 
 
14 
 
 ried in a blaze of glory to a greater and more brilliant victory 
 over their opponents. The candidate for Governor received 
 four thousand majority, and Isaac Hill was appointed United 
 States Senator. When the trumpet called to arms, Frank 
 Pierce stood forth in the foremost rank, and when the charge 
 was sounded, he was always found where the fight was hard- 
 est, and his voice of encouragement rang loudest and clearest, 
 in the thickest of the fray. And as he stood in his first political 
 battle, so he stands now, so he has always stood. The De- 
 mocracy of New Hampshire have never had a champion whose 
 conduct w'as more firm, whose judgment was more reliable, 
 whose exertions were more freely and wallingly given than 
 those of Franklin Pierce. The character he had established 
 for himself at this early period of his life, is thus briefly but 
 eloquently described by a writer of the day : 
 
 " 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 po- 
 litical principle, eloquence in debate, unquestioned capacity for 
 public business, unvarying courtesy and exbibition of frank- 
 ness and manliness of character. So honorable was his ambi- 
 tion, that, w^hile he w^as ranking his associates, he retained their 
 love and commanded their respect." 
 
 In November, 1850, a Convention assembled in the town of 
 Concord, to revise the State Constitution, and of this Conven- 
 tion, the citizens of Concord had elected General Pierce a 
 member. A more dignified assemblage never met in the State 
 of New Hampshire. It wms composad of men of the most dis- 
 tinguished talents and ability, in both political parties. Over 
 this body, so constituted, Mr. Pierce was chosen to preside, 
 by a vote of 257 to 6, and it would require something beyond 
 the subtle sophistry of Whig orators, to convince a candid 
 mind that an unknown man, such as his opponents falsely rep- 
 resent him to be, could have received so flattering a vote from 
 a Convention composed of such materials. 
 
 Among other matters which came up for discussion in the 
 
15 
 
 convention, was the question in relation to the religious test. 
 As it stood in the Constitution, members of the Catholic Church 
 were excluded from holding any office in the State, and the 
 odious nature of such a provision in the fundamental law, had 
 long engaged the attention of jjublic spirited men of all parties, 
 and induced them to attempt its eradication. This was no 
 easy matter to accomplish. By the requirements of the Con- 
 stitution, no amendment could be made to that instrument, un- 
 less a convention for that purpose was first called by a vote of 
 the people, and the convention so called should agree to adopt 
 the amendments. And after these two preliminary steps had 
 been taken, it required that a two-third vote of the people 
 should be given in favor of the amendments adopted by the 
 convention before they could become a law. 
 
 It would hardly be necessary to refer to this matter at the 
 present time, much less to state the position Gen. Pierce occu- 
 pied on this interesting subject, were it not that he has been 
 so strangely and grossly misrepresented in relation thereto, by 
 his opponents in the present campaign. It has been charged 
 most falsely, and the charge reiterated from almost every op- 
 position press throughout the country, that Gen. Pierce was 
 opposed to the abolition of this test, and that his influence 
 among the Democracy of New Hampshire, has hitherto pre- 
 vented its being expunged from the statute book. Passing by 
 the fact that the immense influence imputed to Mr. Pierce in the 
 latter portion of the charge, is in direct contradiction to the 
 sneering epithet of the " unknown man," so generally applied 
 to him; by those jealous of his fame, it is only considered ne- 
 cessary to give the record of his action in the matter, to ef- 
 fectually controvert the more important falsehood, that he is 
 in favor of the test being retained. 
 
 From Gen. Pierce's first entrance into political life up to the 
 present time, he has been the strenuous and ardent opponent 
 of this odious, anti-republican clause in the Constitution. His 
 opposition has been a matter of principle, founded upon that 
 innate generosity of his composition which invariabl}- leads 
 
16 
 
 him to espouse the cause of the down-trodden and oppressed, 
 no matter to what nation they may belong, or to what persua- 
 sion of Christians their consciences may lead them to attach 
 themselves. In accordance with this principle of his nature, 
 his voice has ever been raised, and his talents always exerted 
 in behalf of the injured and suffering of every sect and clime, 
 and on this particular question of the test, no more emphatic 
 language can be used to illustrate his feelings on the subject, 
 than that uttered by him, when leaving the speaker's chair, he 
 came down upon the floor of the Convention and said, " The 
 religious test in the Constitution had undeniably been a stigma 
 upon the State at home and abroad. ***** 
 He himself had keenly felt the reproach attached to its reten- 
 tion, and he rejoiced that the proper occasion had arrived to do 
 away with the odious clause." 
 
 It has ever been remarked that the slanderer loves a shining 
 mark, and if any thing was wanting to convince thfe people of 
 this country that Frank Pierce was every way worthy of their 
 undivided suffrages, it might well be found in the pure and 
 unscathed condition in which he has emerged from the fiery 
 ordeals of falsehood and detraction to which the malignant arts 
 of bitter enemies have so frequently exposed him. The De- 
 mocracy have cause to be proud of their candidate and the 
 rising shouts of enthusiastic millions, which greet his passage 
 to the Presidential Chair, is but the honest devotion which a free 
 people must ever pay to conspicuous merit and worth. 
 
 GEN. PIERCE's public LIFE AT WASHINGTON. 
 
 In December 1833 Gen. Pierce was elected by the voters of 
 his District, to represent them in the lower House of Con- 
 gress. This compliment was paid to his talents, and abilities 
 by his political friends, in consideration of his eminent public 
 services at home. His selection when only tvventy-nine years 
 of age, to take a seat in the National Councils was a flatter- 
 ing maik of confidence in his discretion which disclosed the 
 
17 
 
 high estimate pLiced upon the man by his fi'iends, and the peo- 
 ple at large. A graceful orator, a gentleman in his manners 
 and conversation, possessed of the faculty to make himself 
 popular and beloved, he soon took a rank in Washington 
 society to which many of his fellow Representatives in vain 
 aspired. 
 
 In the full flush of youthful spirits, fond of the refined en- 
 joyments of social entercourse, it would not have been sur- 
 prising if the seductive temptations of his first winter in Wash- 
 ington should have distracted his attention from the more rio-id 
 duties mcumbent upon him in his official capacity. But his 
 well balanced mind, and strict sense of right, and honesty pre- 
 vented him from listening to the charms of the syren pleasure, • 
 and no member was more regular in his attendance on the de- 
 liberations of the house, no one was more seldom absent when 
 important questions were pending, and important votes taken 
 than Frank Pierce. He acted as though he felt, that an im- 
 portant trust had been committed to his hands, by those whom 
 he represented, and that honor and duty demanded, he should 
 be careful not to betray the confidence placed in his integrity 
 and judgment. A reference to the proceedings of Congress, 
 during the time he was a member, will shov/ that his name was 
 invariably recorded, whenever a matter of public interest was 
 to be decided by the House. 
 
 Another, and a striking mark of his conscientious action, is 
 to be found in the fact that the time of Congress was never 
 occupied, nor the public money wasted by him, in make speech- 
 es for mere effect. The practical nature of all his remarks, 
 the good purpose to be effected -l^y anything he felt called upon 
 to &ay, was a remarkable feature in his Congressional career 
 and no other man has spent so many years at Washington, 
 without on some occasion endeavoring to make some political 
 capital at home. But such conduct was entirely foreign to 
 Gen. Pierce's chai-acter. The native instincts of his heart, 
 despised such paltry acts of a totteiing reputation, and refused 
 
18 
 
 to stoop for favor where his merits were not worthy of sponta- 
 neous support. And well did the Democracy respond to the 
 just expectations formed of them by their worthy representa- 
 tive, and when Frank Pierce was up for their suffrages, a heavy 
 majority was always certain to be polled in his favor. 
 
 The first lengthy and important speech which Gen. Pierce 
 felt called upon to make in the House of Representatives was 
 delivered on the 27th of February 1834. A brief extract is 
 given here to show the sensible and mature views of the youth- 
 ful orator upon the important subject of public expenditures, 
 and his determined opposition to all extravagance in conduct- 
 ing the affairs of the Government. The bill before the House 
 had been reported unanimously, by the committee who had it 
 in charge, and was entitled a bill "To provide for the settle- 
 ment of certain Revolutionary Claims." After thanking the 
 House for their kindness in previously deferring the bill in con- 
 sequence of his indisposition, Mr. Pierce said : 
 
 "He had expressed, the other day, when moving the postpone- 
 ment of the bill, his conviction that it had been passed to a 
 third reading without having received all the consideration due 
 to its importance. That conviction had been strengthened by 
 further examination and subsequent reflection. He should be 
 brief in his remarks, having nothing to say for political effect, 
 or for home consumption ; but with the opinions he entertained 
 of the bill, he should do injustice to himself did he permit it to 
 pass sub silentio, feeble and unavailing as his voice might prove. 
 He had hoped that its importance, and the new order of things 
 to be had under it, would have called up some gentleman 
 whose experience and whose reputation might have insured 
 general attention. He had waited to the last moment, and 
 waited in vain, and now upon its passage, he called upon gen- 
 tlemen to pause before they proceeded to provide, by presump- 
 tion, for satisfying claims of any character, from any quarter. 
 
 " He was not insensible of the advantages with which the bill 
 
 ow under consideration came before the House. It related to 
 ervi e , the very mention of which moved our pride and our 
 
19 
 
 gratitude. They were services beyond all praise, and above 
 all price. But while warm and glowing with the glorious re- 
 collections, which a recurrence to that period never fails to 
 awaken ; while we cherish with affection and reverence the 
 memory of the brave men of that day, now no more ; while 
 we would grant, most cheerfully grant, to their heirs all that 
 is justly due ; while we do extend to those who still survive 
 our grateful thanks, and our treasure also, he trusted we should 
 not, in the full impulse of generous feeling, disregard what was 
 due from the gentlemen composing this 'House, as the descend- 
 ants of such men. The general object of the bill is plainly 
 and briefly stated in the introduction of the committee's re- 
 port. They say : 
 
 " ' Finding many petitions before them, asking the commu- 
 tation of five years of half-pay, promised by the resolution of 
 Congress of the 22d of March, 1783, to certain oflScers of the 
 Revolutionary army, they have been induced, by several con- 
 siderations, to present to the same a bill, the object of which is 
 to remove these and some other similar claims from the action 
 of the committee, and of Congress, and have them settled at 
 the Treasury Department.' 
 
 " Mr. P. would not be disposed at any time, much less was he 
 disposed now, when so much was said as to the tendency ot 
 power, and of patronage, and of responsibility to the Execu- 
 tive, to cast from us any duties which have been performed, or 
 any responsibilities which have been hitherto vested here, un- 
 less the reasons for such transfer shall appear obvious and con- 
 clusive. It was more than fifty years since the passage of the 
 resolution referred to by the committee as the foundation of 
 commutation claims. The subject for making suitable provision 
 for the officers of the army of the revolution, was one of the 
 deepest and most intense interest, not only to the officers them- 
 selves, but to the country generally. 
 
 " Considering the frequency and earnestness with which the 
 subject was urged upon Congress by the Father of his Country, 
 and the anxiety with which it was regarded by the officers 
 2* 
 
20 
 
 themselves, it was not to be presumed that any were so listless 
 as to remain in the dark with regard to their own rights. In 
 his judgment, it was reasonable to suppose that the number of 
 legal and just claims would by this time have been so far di- 
 minished, as to leave little for the action of Congress, or of 
 any other department. Since, however, that which might have 
 been naturally expected to occur, seemed but to have obtained 
 in this particular instance, he knew not that he should have 
 raised any particular objections to sending the claims to the 
 Treasury Department, provided they were to go there relying 
 upon their own merits', and depending for their allowance upon 
 evidence ordinarily required of revolutionary services, and not 
 upon presumptions. He understood that it was not formerly 
 the practice of Congress to allow interest upon these claims, 
 even where they were brought by satisfactory evidence within 
 the provisions of the resolution of 1783 ; and it struck him 
 that a different practice never should have obtained, except in 
 cases where the claimant furnished sufficient reason for his de- 
 lay, showing that it was attributable to no fault or negligence 
 on his part. If correct in this view, it would be clearly wrong 
 to sanction the principles generally, as is provided by the third 
 section of the bill. 
 
 *'In speaking of what he considered to be the most objection- 
 able feature of the bill, Mr. P. said he should confine himself 
 chiefly to its operation upon those who were entitled to half- 
 pay for life, under the resolve of 1780. By the resolution re- 
 ferred to, those who were reduced by the arrangement which 
 then took place, as well as those who served to the close ot 
 the war, were entitled to half-pay for life. This provision was 
 regarded with jealousy and dissatisfaction, both by the sol- 
 diers who had behaved with equal valor, and endured equal 
 ■hardships, and by the citizens generally. They legarded it as 
 anti-republican ; they thought it setting up invidious distinc- 
 tions, and establishing, for that generation at least, a privileged 
 and pensioned class. 
 
 " In March, 1783, a change was made, and what was the 
 
21 
 
 moving cause of that change ? A memorial from the officers 
 themselves. The preamble of . the resolution recites that, 
 ' Whereas, the officers of the several lines under the immedi- 
 ate command of his excellency, General Washington, did by 
 their late memorial, transmitted by their committee, represent 
 to Congress that the half-pay grante-i by sundry resolutions 
 was regarded in an unfavorable light by the citizens of some 
 of these states, who would prefer a compensation for a limited 
 term of years or by a sum in gross, to an establishment for 
 life,' &c. To satisfy the memorialists and the country five 
 years full pay was granted in lieu of half-pay for life, and it is 
 for this commutation that petitions are pouring in upon you, 
 the adjustment of which the bill proposes to transfer to the 
 Treasury Department, v.-ith rules of evidence which might pos- 
 sibly facilitate, as the committee suppose, the allowance of 
 some just claims, but which will at the same time open a wide 
 door for imposition and for the assertion of rights which hajte 
 no legal or equitable foundation. 
 
 *' Speaking of these rules, the committee say : ' It is possible 
 that their universal application may lead to the allowance of 
 some claims which do not come strictly within the original 
 terms, but this will be no new evil ; and it is certain if they 
 are not applied many just claims must be rejected for the want 
 of technical proof.' To the correctness of this last clause he 
 must be excused for withholding his assent. If presumption 
 and not evidence was to be the ground on which claims are to 
 be allowed in any instance, would it not be more wise to re- 
 tain them here, where a spirit of liberality and yet a sound 
 discretion, may be exercised in each particular case, according 
 to its circumstances, than to give them a direction anywhere 
 else, accompanied by instructions which it was admitted might 
 lead, and which in his humble judgment would inevitably lead, 
 to the acknowledgment of many unjust claims ? 
 
 " Before, then, examining more particularly the presumptions 
 which this bill directs the Secretary to assume, let us consider 
 for a moment, what are the natural presumptions in the case. 
 The commutation provided for by the resolutions of 1783, was 
 
22 
 
 originally directed to be adjusted by commissioners or other 
 accounting officers appointed by Congress ; and it was sup- 
 posed that certificates Avere almost unirersally granted in 
 1784. Why should it not haA'e been so ? They were ready, 
 upon application and the production of proper evidence ; and 
 he put it to the House, whether the provisions of that resolu- 
 tion, and the rights accruing under it, considering the circum- 
 stances under which it was pa^^sed, upon the application of the 
 officers themselves, must not have been known to every officer 
 living within the limits of the United States ? Mr. P. thought 
 it utterly incredible that it should have been otherwise. But 
 upon the supposition of their remote situations from the ac- 
 counting officers, some might, by possibility, have been pre- 
 cluded from obtaining their rights, an act was passed on the 
 27th of March, 1792, suspending the operation of the limitation 
 act, for two years, and under this extension, remaining claims, 
 or such as were presented, were adjusted at the Treasury De- 
 pai-tment, by what were then termed ' certificates of registered 
 debt.' 
 
 " Again, he inquired whether it was within the bounds of rea- 
 sonable probability, that any claims were held up after this 
 period, if they were ever intended to be enforced ? Sir, (said 
 Mr. P.,) it is to be remembered that, during all this time, it 
 was not, as it unfortunately now is. There were hosts of liv- 
 ing witnesses among the officers with whom the claimants 
 served, and the soldiers whom they commanded. Nor is the 
 advantage which the officer had, from his position over the 
 private soldier, of proving every particular connected with his 
 service, and its duration, to be overlooked. Men engaged 
 in the same great cause and serving in the same camp, were 
 no strangers to eaeh other. Never, perhaps, was there a 
 band bound together by such ties of affection, intimacy, 
 and confidence. Genius, honor, and unshaken valor, then 
 went hand in hand, and were in exercise, not from low 
 considerations of personal aggrandizement, but to vindicate 
 a nation's rights. The links that bound men together at 
 that day, exist not now. Their intimacies and their Iriendship 
 
23 
 
 were those which, perhaps, from our very natures, can only 
 spring up and flourish amidst the mutual dangers and privations 
 of a camp. At the period of which he spoke, every incident 
 of the exciting and eventful struggle through which they had 
 just passed, must have been fresh and vivid in the recollections 
 of all. Nothing need then have been left to doubt, nothing to 
 presumption. But this is not all. From 1794 down to this 
 hour, there had been the same opportunity to obtain equita- 
 ble rights, by application to Congress, that exists at present. 
 With these facts before us, (said Mr. P.,) if the natural pre- 
 sumption be not that all just claims have been satisfied accord- 
 ing to the provisions of the resolutions of 1783, he confessed 
 that the conclusions at which he had arrived were singularly 
 erroneous. 
 
 "Sir, (continued Mr. P.,) we are told that the evidence of re- 
 cords is exceedingly imperfect ; and I assure the House that 
 such is the fact to a much greater extent than I had supposed, 
 no but pass your presumptions, sir, (said he,) and you will have 
 occasion for evidence. Such were some of the objections which 
 had occured to Mr. P., and thus much he thought it his duty 
 to say. For the committee making the report, he entertained 
 the highest respect ; and he believed that he was no less dis- 
 posed than they were to grant, to the uttermost farthing, all 
 that was due to Revolutionary officers or their heirs. But 
 (said Mr. P.,) pass this bill and you will do great injustice to 
 the country ; you will make a most exhausting draft upon your 
 treasury, to answer, it may be, some equitable claims that may 
 as well be liquidated without it, and you will, it is morally 
 certain, be compelled, under it to acknowledge a vast member 
 which have no foundation in justice — no foundation anywhere, 
 except in lost records and violent presumptions." 
 
 An extract is here given from Gen. Pierce's speech on the 
 Deposite question, delivered in the House of Representatives, 
 April 28th, 1836. After a speech from Mr. Bond, Mr. Pierce 
 rose and said : 
 
 "Mr. Speaker: I do not propose to discuss the deposite 
 
24 
 
 question, though there are few more fruitful subjects, as expe- 
 rience has taught us, and none presenting more ample materials 
 with less of laborious research. What power Congress pos- 
 sesses over the deposite banks — whether they are safe or un- 
 safe — whether they constitute a United States bank to ail in- 
 tents and purposes, as the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
 Calhoun,) alleges — and whether that is to be made an objection 
 to them in a certain quarter, as depositories of public moneys, 
 are questions which will very properly come under our. consi- 
 deration, when the bill upon your table, for which a special 
 day has been assigned, shall be taken up. At present, the 
 question legitimately before the House appears to me to be: 
 What is the appropriate and judicious mode of seeking the in- 
 formation contemplated alike by the original resolution pre- 
 sented by the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. Dromgoole), and 
 the amendment proposed by his honorable colleague, (Mr. 
 Wise.) To this question I should have confined myself exclu- 
 sively, but for certain extraordinary assertions and grave 
 charges which have been preferred against the Secretary of the 
 Treasury ; and to repel even these may be regarded as the 
 work of supererogation; for, in this country, there is, fortu- 
 nately, so much intelligence — the avenues to correct informa- 
 tion, open to all, are so multiplied anil various, that no admin- 
 istration, and no public officer, can suffer long from mere bold, 
 sweeping denunciation. And he who expects to make a suc- 
 cessful attack, with such weapons alone, does great injustice to 
 the character of the yeomanry of this country, in whose hands 
 are its destinies. They are watchful of their public servants, 
 jealous, if you please; but they are at the same time just. 
 They are not convinced, and they cannot be alarmed by mere 
 naked charges. They look beyond the charges to the evidence 
 upon which they are predicated, and so, I trust, will this House 
 do, before they adopt any new and extraordinary course of 
 proceeding. 
 
 " But there are other subjects, as the gentleman from Ohio has 
 justly observed, of the highest importance. For instance, if the 
 
25 
 
 Secretary of the Treasury, or any agent of the Department by 
 his order, or with his approbation, has adopted a new rule, 
 with regard to what money shall be received for public dues, 
 operating injuriously upon any portion of the country, it de- 
 serves prompt consideration ; the cause should be inquired into 
 without delay. This charge the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
 Bond,) has distinctly made. I shall not, in replying, retort the 
 harsh terms the gentleman has thought proper to applyto the 
 Secretary, but I will pronounce his position erroneous, and as- 
 sert that the terms, in this respect, have never been more libe- 
 ral, except during the suspension of specie payments, than since 
 the removal of the deposites from the United States Bank. 
 That the gentleman's complaint in this particular is unreason- 
 able and without foundation, is shown conclusively by a report 
 of the Secretary of the Treasury, lead in the Senate on Tues- 
 day last ; and I will not take up the time of the House by pur- 
 suing a proposition which in that report is clearly demonstrated. 
 I thank the gentleman, Mr. Speaker, for having called the at- 
 tention of the House particularly to the deposite bank of the 
 state which I have the honor in part to represent — the Com- 
 mercial Bank at Portsmouth, which the gentleman denominates, 
 I suppose, by the way of eminence, " the special pei in partic- 
 ular of the Secretary of the Treasury. ^^ Now, a moment's 
 examination will show what constitutes, in the gentlem.an's 
 estimation *'« special pet in particular." On the 18th of the 
 present month, there was on deposite in the Commercial Bank 
 at Portsmouth, one hundred and nineteen thousand seven hun- 
 dred and thirteen dollars ; out of which the pensions of the 
 State, your appropriations for the Navy Yard at that place, 
 and all other expenditures accruing there, are to be paid. At 
 the same date there was on deposite in the city of Cincinnati 
 alone, more than two millions of dollars. There was on depo- 
 site in the State of Ohio at the date before given, two millions 
 four hundred and fifty-five thousand one hundred and thirty- 
 six dollars, which is more than quadruple the amount on de- 
 posite in New Jersey and Delaware, and all the New England 
 
26 
 
 states together, with the exception of Massachusetts. Such, 
 sir, is the evidence of favoritism on the part of the Secretary, 
 of which the gentleman from Ohio complains ; and he is at li- 
 berty to make the most of it. The Secretary, in his annual 
 report, under the head of ' Deposite Banks and the Currency,' 
 says ' The payments to creditors, officers and pensioners, have 
 been punctual and convenient, and the whole fiscal operations 
 through the State Banks have as yet, proved highly satisfac- 
 tory. Incidental to this, the facilities that have been furnished 
 to the commercial community in domestic exchanges, were 
 probably never greater, or at so moderat<^ rates.' This the 
 gentleman does not hesitate to pronounce false. I do not say 
 this of his assertion, but will content myself with opposing to 
 that assertion facts, of which he may dispose at his leisure. 
 The deposite banks are required to state, on the back of their 
 semi-monthly returns, the rates of exchange at the places 
 where they are located, and on the 18th of the present month, 
 those returns show that at the various points where complaints 
 have been made — at New Orleans, Mobile, Cincinnati, Balti- 
 more, Philadelphia, and the Atlantic cities — in no instance has 
 exchange been higher than one per cent., in many a half and a 
 quarter, and others at par. 
 
 ''I do not say that there is a panic-manufacturing spirit 
 abroad, but I feel bound to rely upon official statements from 
 the different points, in reference to the declaration of any in- 
 dividual or newspaper paragraphs. 
 
 '' Decided exception has been taked to one of the articles of 
 agreement entered into between the Government and the de- 
 posit banks. It is in the following words : ' If the Secretary 
 of the Treasury shall think it proper to employ an agent or 
 agents, to examine and report upon the accounts and condi- 
 tion of the banks in the service of the Government, or any of 
 them, the said bank agrees to pay an equitable proportion of 
 his, or their expenses, and compensation according to such ap- 
 portionment as may be made by the said Secretary.' Is it 
 
27 
 
 not the duty of the Secretary, as a faithful public officer, to 
 make every provision that prudence can suggest for the safe 
 keeping of the public moneys ? Should he hold no control 
 over the agents of his own appointment ? While the banks 
 consent to a stipulation of this kind, it is difficult to conceive 
 why the representatives of the people should object. But my 
 object, in referring to this article, which is regarded with so 
 much alarm, is chiefly to state that no agent has ever been ap- 
 pointed by the present Secretary, and that the power has been 
 exercised only on two occasions since the withdrawal of the 
 deposits from the United States Bank ; one of those agencies, 
 which was to examine into the Union Bank at Baltimore, sug- 
 gestions against its solvency having been made during the 
 panic era, consisted of Mr. Reverdy Johnson, then, and I be- 
 lieve now, a decided opponent of the present administration, 
 and Mr. Howard, -pi Baltimore. About the same period, upon 
 similar suggestions. Judge Ellis, of Mississippi, was appointed 
 to inquire into the state of the Planters' Bank; these are the 
 only occasions on which the power has been exercised. Where, 
 Mr. Speaker, is the evidence of inducement on the part of the 
 present Secretary to conceal aught from the publii' eye. as 
 charged by the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. Wise,) or where 
 is the evidence of the more extraordinary charge of the same 
 gentleman, that the Secretary has done it .' It is to be found 
 in the document which I hold in my hand, going fully and 
 minutely into the subject, and showing how and where every 
 dollar of your money was deposited at the time of date ? No 
 sir, no sir I The Secretary has not only given a specific and 
 detailed statement upon the subject, but he has more than once 
 appealed to you to take away his present broad latitude of 
 discretion, under which, without your legislation, he is com- 
 compelled to act, and that request is repeated in this very re- 
 port. The Secretary says : ' The Department is aware that 
 in the present overflowing condition of the Treasury, the re- 
 gulation of these operations, with the selection and superin- 
 
28 
 
 tendence of the deposite banks, is a task of no small difficulty 
 or delicacy, and when governed by a strict and uniform ad- 
 herence to 50und principles, as has been attempted, must ne- 
 cessarily lead to many disappointed applications. But in the 
 absence of that specific legislation on the subject, which has 
 been, and still is earnestly requested, the Department has not 
 hesitated (it is hoped faithfully) to discharge, and frankly to 
 explain, the duties and the high and painful resjjonsibiiity, 
 which so much discretionary power has imposed.' I believe 
 this high responsibility could barely be intrusted to abler or 
 more faithful hands : but I would not have it rest even there. 
 All I say is, let us attend to our own appropriate duties, before 
 we heap grave charges upon co-ordinate departments of the 
 government. If the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr* Wise,) was 
 not misled himself, his remarks in relation to the report of 
 which he complains, as not containing the whole truth, were 
 manifestly calculated to mislead the public. That report was 
 not made by the present Secretary, but by another distinguished 
 individual, who has been recently appointed by the President 
 and his constitutional advisers, to which body of constitutional 
 advisers that report was made, to a situation which, in point 
 of dignity and high responsibility, is hardly inferior to that of 
 the Chief Magistracy itself. I could add nothing, if I were dis- 
 posed, to such a commentary on the report and the gentleman 
 makine; it." 
 
 On the 30th of .June, 1836, a bill was presented asking ap- 
 propriations for the Military Academy at West Point. W^hile 
 the bill was under consideration, Mr. Pierce made a speech on 
 the question of the appropriation, from which the following 
 extracts are taken : 
 
 ''Mr. Chfiirman — An attempt was made during the last 
 Congress, to bring the subject of the re-organization of the 
 Military Academy before the country, through a report of a 
 committee. The same thing has been done during the present 
 session, again and again, but all efforts have proved alike un- 
 successful I Still you do notecase to call for appiopriations ; 
 
29 
 
 you require the people's money foi- the support of the institu- 
 tion, while you refuse them the hght necessary to enable them 
 to judge of the propriety of your annual requisitions. Whether 
 the amount proposed to be appropriated by the bill upon the 
 table is too much, or too small, or precisely sufficient to cover 
 the current expenses of the institution, is a matter into which 
 I will not at present inquire, but I shall feel bound to oppose 
 the bill in every stage of its progress. I cannot vote a single 
 dollar until the resolution of inquiry, presented by my friend 
 from Kentucky, (Mr. Hawes,) at an early day in the session, 
 shall be first taken up and disposed of. 
 
 " Sir, why has this investigation been resisted .' Is it not an 
 institution which has already cost this coimtry more than three 
 millions of dollars, for which you propose, in this very bill, an 
 appropriation of more than one hundred and thirty thousand, 
 and which, at the same time, in the estimation of a large por- 
 tion of the citizens of this Union, has failed, eminently failed, 
 to fulfil the objects for which it was established. 
 
 "I should have expected the resolution of the gentleman from 
 Kentucky, (Mr. Hawes,) merely proposing an inquiry, to pass 
 without opposition, had I not witnessed the strong sensation, 
 nay, excitement, that was produced here at the last session, by 
 the presentation of his yet unpublished report. Sir, if you 
 would have an exhibition of highly excited feeling, it requires 
 little observation to learn that you may produce it at any mo- 
 ment, by attacking such laws as confer exclusive and gratuitous 
 privileges. The adoption of the resolution of inquiry, at the 
 last sesJ.ion of Congress, and the appointment of a select com- 
 mittee under it, were made the occasion of newspaper para- 
 graphs which, in tone of lamentation and direful prediction, 
 rivalled the most highly wrought specimens of the panic era. 
 One of those articles I preserved, and have before me. It 
 commences thus: ^ The architects of ruin.' The article goes 
 on to describe the United States Bank and the Military Aca- 
 demy, as the guards and defences of your country. If it be so, 
 you are indeed feebly protected. One of these guards and de- 
 
30 
 
 fences is already tottering. And who are the architects of ruin 
 that have resolved its downfall 7 Are they the base, the igno- 
 rant, and the unprincipled ? No, sir. The most pure and pa- 
 triotic portion of your community ; the staid, industrious, in- 
 telligent farmers and mechanics, through a public servant, who 
 has met responsibilities, and seconded their wishes with equal 
 intrepidity and success, in the camp and in the cabinet, have 
 accomplished this great work. Mr. Chairman, there is no real 
 danger to be apprehended from the much dreaded levelling 
 principle. 
 
 "From the middling interest you have derived your most able 
 and efficient support in the most gloomy and trying periods of 
 your history. And what have they asked in return ? Nothing 
 but the common advantages and blessingrs of a free grovernment, 
 administered under equal and impartial laws. They are respon- 
 sible for no portion of your legislation, which, through its par- 
 tial and unjust operation, has shaken this Union to its centre. 
 That has had its origin in a different quarter, sustained by- 
 wealth, the wealth of monopolies, and the power and influence 
 which wealth, thus accumulated and disposed, never fails to 
 control. Indeed, sir, while far from demanding at your hands 
 special favors for themselves, they have not, in my judgment, 
 been sufficiently jealous of all legislation conferring exclusive 
 and gratuitous privileges. 
 
 " That the law creating the institution of which I am now 
 speaking, and the practice under it, is strongly marked by both 
 these characteristics, is apparent at a single glance. It is gra- 
 tuitous, because those who are so fortunate as to obtain ad- 
 mission there, receive their education without any obligation, 
 except such as a sense of honor may impose, to return, either 
 by service or otherwise, the slightest equivalent. It is exclu- 
 sive, inasmuch as only one youth out of a population of more' 
 than 47,000 can participate in its advantages at the same time; 
 and those who are successful, are admitted at an age when 
 their characters cannot have become developed, and with very 
 little knowledge of their adaptation, mental or physical, for mili- 
 
31 
 
 tary life, The system disregards one of those sreat principles 
 which, carried into practice, contributed perhaps more than 
 any other, to render the arms of Napoleon invincible for so 
 many years. Who does not perceive that it destroys the very 
 life and spring of military ardor and enthusiasm, by utterly 
 foreclosing all hope of promotion to her soldier and non-com- 
 missioned officer ? However meritorious mav be his services, 
 however pre-eminent may become his queJifications for com- 
 mand, all are unavailing. The portcullis is dropped between 
 him and preferment, the wisdom of your laws havinsr provided 
 another criterion than that of admitted courage and conduct, 
 by which to determine who are worthy of command. They 
 have made an Academy, where a certain number of young 
 gentlemen are educated annually at the public expense, and to 
 which there is, in consequence, a general rush, not so much 
 irom sentiments of patriotism, and a taste for military life, as 
 from motives less worthy — the avenue, and the only avenue, 
 to rank in your army. These are truths, Mr. Chairman, which 
 no man will pretend to deny, and I leave it for this House and 
 the nation to determine, whether they do not exhibit a spirit 
 of exclusiveness, alike at variance with the genius of your 
 Grovernment, and the efficiency and chivalrous character of 
 your military force. 
 
 '• Sir, no man can feel more deeply interested in the army, 
 or entertain a higher regard for it, than myself. Mv earliest 
 recollections connect themselves fondly and gratefully with the 
 names of the brave men who, relinquishing the quiet and secu- 
 rity of civil life, were staking their all upon the defense of 
 their country's rights and honor. I have declared myself a 
 friend of the army. Satisfy me what measures are best calcu- 
 lated to render, it effective, and I go for the proposition with 
 my whole heart. 
 
 *'•' But I cannot believe that the Miiiiarv Academy, as at pre- 
 sent organized, is calculated to accomplish this desirable end. 
 It may, and undoubtedly does, send forth into the country 
 
much military knowledge; but the advantage which your array, 
 or that w^hich will constitute your army in time of need, de- 
 rives from it, is by no means commensurate with the expense 
 you incur. Here, Mr. Chairman, permit me to say, that I de- 
 ny utterly the expediency and the right to educate at the pub- 
 lic expense, any number of young men who, on the completion 
 of their education, are not to form a portion of your military 
 force, but to return to the walks of private life. 
 
 " Follow out the principle, and where will it lead you '? You 
 confer upon the National Government the absolute guardian- 
 ship of literature and science, military and civil ; you need 
 not stop at mihtary sciences — any one in the wide range of 
 sciences, becomes at once a legitimate and constitutional ob- 
 ject of your patronage ; you are confined by no limit but your 
 discretion ; you have no check but your own good pleasure. 
 But I did not propose at this time to discuss the abstract ques- 
 tion of constitutional rights. I will regard the expediency 
 alone ; and w^hether the former exists or not, its exercise in 
 an institution like this, is subversive of the only principle upon 
 w^hich a school, conducted at the public expense, can be made 
 profitable to the public service — that of making an admission 
 into your school and an education there secondary to an ap- 
 pointment in the army. 
 
 " I may as well notice here, as at any time, an answer which 
 has always been ready when objections have been raised to 
 this institution — an answer which, if it has not proved quite 
 satisfactory to minds that yield their assent more readily to 
 strong reasons than to the authority of great names, has yet 
 unquestionably exercised a powerful influence upon the public 
 mind. It is this — that the institution has received at different 
 times the sanction of such names as Washington, Adams and 
 Jefferson ; and this has been claimed with such boldness, and 
 in a form so imposing, as almost to forbid any question of its 
 accuracy. If this were correct in point of fact, it would be 
 entitled to the most profound respect and consideration, and 
 
33 
 
 no change should be urged against the weight of such author- 
 ity, without mature deliberation and thorough conviction of 
 expediency. Unfortunately for the advocates of the institution, 
 and fortunately for the interests of the country, this claim 
 cannot be sustained by reference to executive documents, from 
 the first report of General Knox, in 1790, to the close of Mr. 
 Jefferson's administration. 
 
 " The report of Secretary Knox referred to is characterized 
 by this distinctive feature — that the corps proposed to be or- 
 ganized were " to serve as an actual defence to .the commu- 
 nity," and to constitute a part of the active force of the coun- 
 try, " to serve in the field, or on the frontier, or in the fortifi- 
 cations of the sea-coast, as the commander-in-chief may di- 
 rect." At a later period, the report of the Secretary of War 
 communicated to Congress in 1800 retained the distinctive fea- 
 ture just named as characterizing the report of Gen. Knox. 
 
 " I am far from desiring to see this country destitute of a 
 Military Academy ; but I would have it a school of practice, 
 and instruction, for officers actually in the service of the United 
 States : not an institution for educating, gratuitously, young 
 gentlemen, who, on the completion of their term, or after a 
 few months' leave of absence, resign their commissions, and 
 return to the pursuits of civil life. 
 
 " If any one doubts that this is the practical operation of 
 your present system, I refer him to the annual list of resigna- 
 tions, to be found in the Adjutant General's office. 
 
 "By the report of the Secretary of War, dated January 18, 
 1831, we are informed that, '* by an estimate of the last five 
 years, (preceding the date,) it appears that the supply of the 
 army from the corps of graduated cadets has averaged about 
 twenty-two annually, while those who graduate are about forty, 
 making, in each year, an excess of eighteen. 
 
 Inpassing the law of 1812, both Congress and the President 
 acted for the occasion; and they expected those, who should 
 succeed them to act in a similar manner. Their feelings of pa- 
 triotism and resentment were aroused, by beholding the privi 
 
34 
 
 leges of freemen wantonly invaded, our glorious stars and stripes 
 disregarded, and national and individual rights trampled in the 
 dust. 
 
 *' The war was pending. The necessity of increasing the 
 military force of the country was obvious and pressing, and the 
 urgent occasion for increased facilities for military instruction, 
 equally apparent. 
 
 '' Sir, it was under circumstances like these, when we had 
 not only enemies abroad, but, I blush to say, enemies at home* 
 that the institution, as at present organized, had its origin. It 
 will hardly be pretended that it was the original design of the 
 law to augment the number of persons instructed, beyond the 
 wants of public service. The difficulty is, that the institution 
 has outlived both the occasion that called it into existence, and 
 its original design. 
 
 The magazine of facts, to prove, at the same glance, the ex- 
 travagance and unfruitfulness of the institution, is not easily 
 exhausted ; but I am admonished by the lateness of the hour, 
 to omit many considerations which I regard as both interesting 
 and important. I will only detain the committee to make a 
 single statement, placing side by side some aggregat-:; results. 
 There has already been expended upon the institution more 
 than three millions, three hundred thousand dollars. Between 
 1815 and 1821, thirteen hundred and eighteen students were 
 admitted into the Academy ; and of all the cadets who were 
 ever there, only two hundred and sixty-five remained in the 
 service at the end of 1830. Here are the expenses you have 
 incurred, and the products you have realized. 
 
 I leave them to be balanced by the people. But, for myself, 
 believing as I do, that the Academy stands forth as an anomaly 
 among the institutions of this country ; that it is at variance 
 with the spirit, if not the letter of the Constitution under 
 which we live ; so long as this House shall deny investigation 
 into its principles and practical operation, I, as an individual 
 member, will refuse to appropriate the first dollar for its sup- 
 port. 
 
In 1837, the distinguished position Gen. Pierce had attained 
 by the brilliancy of his talents, and the straight-forv/ard honesty 
 of his public course, induced the New Hampshire Legislature, 
 by a large majority, to elect him to the Senate of the United 
 States:. This complimentary token of admiration and esteem, 
 betrayed the exalted station he occupied in the hearts of his 
 fellow citizens, and at once singled him out and recognized 
 him by the endearing and honorable title of New Hampshire's 
 favorite son. He took his seat as a Senator on the 4th of 
 March, the day on which Martin Van Buren was inaugurated 
 as President. An extra session had been called for the purpose 
 of endeavoring to give some legislative relief to the prostrate 
 commercial interests of the comitry. The wn'eck and ruin 
 Avhich followed the extravagant and headlong speculations of 
 the few years previous to '37 was but a natural consequence of 
 the wild and reckless transactions induced by an inflated paper 
 currency. Any action of Congress capable of affording per- 
 manent or even temporary efficient relief, could only be predi- 
 cated upon a grossly perverted view of public duty, and every 
 unconstitutional measure proposed, to effect this object of mis- 
 taken sympathy, met with determined and uncompromising op- 
 position from Gen. Pierce. 
 
 In the debates upon those various methods which were pro- 
 posed to rescue bankrupt speculators from the effects of their 
 own folly, Mr. Pierce found himself engaged against such men 
 as Clay and Webster and Choate. To the eloquent and inge- 
 nious sophistry of their arguments, the erroneous and illegal 
 tendencies of their stirring appeals, he opposed the sound and 
 solid arguments of reason and truth, and his speeches upon 
 these questions left an impression upon the minds of his audi- 
 ences which redounded to his own credit, and elevated him in 
 the scale of intellectual greatness. His arguments were con- 
 clusive against the hazardous experiment of connecting the 
 government funds with overgrown and dangerous banking in- 
 stitutions, and the full powers of his genius and talents were 
 
36 
 
 devoted to bring about an entire separation of the national 
 treasure from the business transactions of offices of discount and 
 deposit. If his efforts on behalf of correct and entirely consti- 
 tutional principles, were not as successful as they ought rightly 
 to have been, the failure is to be attributed not to the lack of 
 zeal or ability on his part, but solely to the unfortunate cir- 
 cumstances which gave evanescent effect to the exertions of his 
 opponents. 
 
 While Mr. Pierce was Senator, among other important mat- 
 ters which engaged the attention of that honorable body, was 
 the establishment of the independent treasury. When many 
 of its present ardent supporters were doubtful and hesitating 
 about the expediency of its adoption, he, from the first moment 
 of its proposal, spoke and voted in its favor, and the after ex- 
 perience of its practicability and usefulness speaks volumes for 
 the sagacity and foresight of the grasping mind which, amid 
 the faltering fearfulness of professed friends, could steadily 
 pursue and correctly predict the final result. It is a matter 
 for regret that space will not permit the insertion of his re- 
 marks on this interesting question of public policy ; and fear of 
 marring the beauty of the whole, by meagre quotations, alone 
 prevents the extraction of some of its parts. The same reason 
 will account for the absence of his speeches on the " Defences 
 of the Country," and on the " Florida War." 
 
 But no consideration of consequences can operate with suf- 
 ficient force to prevent the publication of a portion of the mas- 
 terly rebuke, which, in 1842, he gave to the universal appli- 
 cation of the political guillotine, which so conspicuously dis- 
 tinguished the administration of that period. The speech, from 
 which extracts are here given, abounds in beautiful and classic 
 illustration, and while the most of his efforts were in strict 
 conformity to the rigid rules of practical usefulness, this last 
 display of his powers stamps him as an orator of the most bril- 
 liant and versatile genius. Among other remarks pertinent to 
 the occasion Mr. Pierce said : 
 
 " Democratic administrations have turned out some — many 
 
37 
 
 if you please — political opponents, to give place to political 
 friends, and on the single ground that they had the right to 
 prefer their friends to their opponents. But whatever was done 
 by the late administration was not done under false pretences. 
 We put forth no canting hypocritical circulars ; we stood be- 
 fore the nation and the world on the naked unqualified ground 
 that we preferred our friends to our opponents ; that to confer 
 place was our privilege, which we chose, to exercise. 
 
 " But that removals have occurred is not the thing of which 
 I complain. I coinplain of your hypocrisy. I charge that 
 your press and your leading orators made promises to the na- 
 tion which they did not intend to redeem, and which they now 
 vainly attempt to cover up by cobwebs. The Senator from 
 South Carolina, near me, (Mr. Calhoun,) remarked yesterday, 
 that he had no language to express the infamy which, in his 
 judgment, must attach to that man who had been before the 
 people raising his voice in the general shout that proscription 
 was to be proscribed, and was, in the face of such action, now 
 here begging for place at the footstool of power. If my heart 
 ever responded fully, unqualifiedly, to any sentiment, it was to 
 that. Fortunately, before the keen scrutiny of our countrymen, 
 disguises are vain, masks unavailing. The practice of the pre- 
 sent administration has already fixed upon its professions one 
 of two things — the stamp either of truth or falsehood; the 
 people will judge which. 
 
 "One word more and I leave this subject^ — a painful one for 
 me, from the beginning to the end. The Senator from North 
 Carolina, in the course of his remarks the other day, asked, * Do 
 gentlemen expect that their friends are to be retained in oflfice 
 against the will of the nation '? Are they so unreasonable as to 
 elcpect what the circumstances and the necessity of the case 
 forbid ?' What our expectations were, is not the question now; 
 but what were your pledges and promises before the people. 
 On a previous occasion, the distinguished Senator from Ken- 
 tucky, (Mr. Clay,) made a similar remark: 'An imgracious 
 task, but the nation demands it.' Sir, this demand of the na- 
 tion — this plea of ^ state necessity,' let me tell gentlemen, is as 
 
38 
 
 old as the history of wrong and oppression. It has been the 
 standing plea — the never-failing resort of despotism. 
 
 " The great Julius found it convenient, when he restored the 
 dignity of the Roman Senate, but destroyed its indeijendence. 
 It gave countenance to, and justified, all the atrocities of the 
 Inquisition in Spain. It gave utterence to the stifled groans 
 from the black hole of Calcutta. It was written in tears upon 
 ' the Bridge of Sighs' in Venice : and pointed to those dark 
 recesses, upon whose gloomy portals there was never seen a 
 returning footstep. 
 
 "It was the plea of the austere and ambitious Stafford, in 
 the days ol Charles the First. It filled the Bastile of France, 
 and lent its sanction to the terrible atrocities perpetrated there. 
 It was the plea that snatched the mild, eloquent, and patriotic 
 Caraile Desmoulins from his young and beautiful wife, and 
 hurried him upon the hurdle to the guillotine, with thousands 
 of others equally unoffending and innocent. It was upon this 
 plea that the greatest of generals, if not of men — abjured that 
 noble wife, who threw around his humble days light and glad- 
 ness, and by her own lofty energies and high intellect, encour- 
 aged his aspirations. It was upon this plea that he committed 
 that worst and most fatal act of his eventful life. Upon this, 
 too, he drew around his person the imperial purple. It has in 
 all times, and in every age, been the foe of liberty, and the 
 indispensable stay of usurpation. 
 
 " Where were the chains of despotism ever thrown around 
 the freedom of speech and of the press, but on this plea cf 
 ' State necessity ?' Let the spirit of Charles the Tenth and of 
 his ministers answer. 
 
 "It is cold, selfish, heartless ; and has always been regard- 
 less of age, sex, condition, services, or any of the incidents of 
 life that appeal to patriotism or humanity. Wherever its au- 
 thority has been acknowledged, it has assailed men who stood 
 by their country when she needed strong arms and bold hearts; 
 and has assailed them when, maimed and disabled in her ser- 
 vice, they could no longer brandish a w^eapon in her defence. 
 
39 
 
 " It has afflicted the feeble and dependent wife for the ima- 
 ginary faults of her husband. It has stricken down innocence 
 in its beauty, youth in its freshness, manhood in its vigor, and 
 old age in its feebleness and decrepitude. Whatever other 
 plea of apology may be set up for the sweeping, ruthless ex- 
 ercise of this civil guillotine at the present day — in the name 
 of Liberty, let us be spared this fearful one of ' state necessity' 
 in this early age of the republic, upon the floor of the Ameri 
 can Senate, in the face of a people yet free." 
 
 In February 1842, to the regret of his constituents and 
 friends Mr. Pierce resigned his seat in the Senate. Causes of 
 a personal and domestic nature prompted him to this course. 
 The continued poor health of his wife, together with her na- 
 turally retiring and modest disposition made the bustle and ex- 
 citement of a life at the Capitol peculiarly unpleasant and un- 
 congenial. Partial to the quiet pleasures of private life she 
 pined for the pure air and bracing breezes of her native hills, 
 and her affectionate partner felt it a duty to accede to her 
 wishes and with her retire to his mountain home. He accord- 
 ingly addressed a letter containing his resignation, to the Pre- 
 sident of the Senate, and severed his connexion with that body. 
 Thus when only thirty-seven years of age, with talents and 
 manners which had made him respected abroad and popular at 
 home, Frank Pierce, at affections call, put aside the brilliant 
 prospects which illumined his future, and without a murmur 
 sacrificed the emotions of ambition on the altar of domestic 
 affection. The history of statesmen in this country, dees not 
 show a parallel to this magnanimous and noble act of deference 
 to the happiness of others, and in this one single instance of 
 the native goodness of his heart may be found the key to his 
 power over the minds of his fellow men. 
 
 From 1842 to 1845 Mr. Pierce mixed but little publicl} in 
 party politics, though he was considered to be the most influ- 
 ential man in the Democratic party of New Hampshire. In 
 1845 he was selected by the Governor to fill a vacancy in the 
 
40 
 
 United States Senate occasioned by the appointment of Judge 
 Woodbury to the Supreme bench. The selection was made 
 without his knowledge or solicitation in obedience to the unan- 
 imous wishes of the people as expressed through the public 
 press. This nomination so delicately and flatteringly tendered 
 Gen. Pierce respectfully but firmly declined. In his letter to 
 the Governor, containing his declination, he says, " the situa- 
 tion of my business, professional and otherwise, is such that it 
 would be impossible to leave the state suddenly, as I should be 
 called upon to do, and be absent for months, without sacrificing 
 to a certain extent the intere'sts, and disregarding the reasona- 
 ble expectations of those who rely upon my services." It is 
 not often that the refusal of honorable office, is predicated 
 upon the ground of duty to others' interests, and as an isolated 
 fact it sounds strange and uncommon. But knowing the hon- 
 esty of principle which ever actuated the heart of Frank 
 Pierce, it seems so natural, and entirely in keeping with his 
 character, that it is ilivested of its singularity and looked upon 
 as a thing of course — from him. 
 
 About this time the office of District Attorney was tendered 
 to Mr. Pierce by the President of the United States. This of- 
 fice he accepted, as the duties belonging to its fulfillment came 
 properly in the line of his profession. This office he held 
 about two years. In 1S45 the nomination for Governor was 
 tendered him, but this he refused for various reasons to accept. 
 In 1846 President Polk offered him a seat in his cabinet, and 
 pressed the offer upon his acceptance with many flattering 
 compliments to his worth and ability. But again he thrust 
 aside the proffered honor, and contented himself with the 
 more humble position it was his fortune to occupy. From 
 then till the present year, with the exception of the time spent 
 in Mexico, he has lived a retired and domestic life, and it 
 was from this retirement that the voice of the people, a sum- 
 mons he has never refused to obey, has called him to become 
 their candidate for the Piesidency If the signs of the times 
 are not grossly misunderstood this candidate of the Democratic 
 
masses is about ejitering upon a course where he will not only 
 become knoivn but more widely and better appreciated. 
 
 This rapid sketch, and brief outline of the public career of 
 Franklin Pierce at Washington, cannot fail to have impressed 
 the candid reader with a conviction of his commanding talents, 
 his patriotic worth, his strict and unfaltering obedience to the 
 dictates of conscience and duty. While his numerous speeches 
 emphatically prove that he could not have been so unknown, 
 as his detractors, against conclusive evidence to the contrary 
 assert, it is giving them a standing and position to which they 
 are by no means entitled by going into an elaborate argument 
 to exhibit them as convicted slanderers and calumniators. At 
 the bar of public opinion, without a doubt of its complete vin- 
 dication, the character of Frank Pierce, is cheerfully presented 
 for judgment. On the testimony of the Public Record, and 
 against every quibbling falsehood and petty artifice of malig- 
 nant villainy he asks a verdict only from the hands of justice, 
 with no fear of the result, and pledged willingly to abide by 
 the decision. His reliance on the generous kindness of the 
 American people, his belief that the principles of freemen \vill 
 never permit them, quietly to stand aloof during the perpetra- 
 tion of a wrong, his conviction that his name and his fame are 
 safe in the hands of his countrymen, make him await their 
 decision on his merits with a calm and patient confidence that 
 no wrong will be done him at their hands. The ides of No- 
 vember will show that his confidence was not misplaced and 
 that his estimate of American character was perfect and cor- 
 rect. 
 
 GEN. PIEKCE IN MEXICO. 
 
 When Gen. Pierce declined the position offered him in Presi- 
 dent Polk's Cabinet, he expressed his determination never 
 again to separate himself from his family, unless in time of war 
 his country should need his services. Under the pledge thus 
 given, the war with Mexico found him ready to abide by the 
 
4^2 
 
 terms of his voluntary agreement ; and when New Hampshire 
 was called upon for a battalion of volunteers, he was among 
 the first to respond to the call. In the spirit of true patriotism, 
 he did not wait for the tender of a commission, before he en- 
 rolled himself among his country's defenders, but with unam- 
 bitious valor, he enlisted as a private soldier in the ranks. 
 As a private he went through all the exercises of the drill with 
 the rest of his comrades, and shared the fatigues and hardships 
 to w^hich they were necessarily subject. 
 
 On the passage of the Ten Regiment Bill, he was tendered 
 the Colonelcy of the Ninth, and he accepted the command. 
 When the law of organization, for these regiments was passed, 
 Mr. Polk made Mr. Pierce Brigadier General. No appoint- 
 ment could have been more satisfactory to the men of his di- 
 vision, and none reflected more credit on the sagacity of the 
 President than did the selection of Mr. Pierce to fill the im- 
 portant and responsible station. Col. Ransom, a most gallant 
 officer, belonged to the Regiment of Mr. Pierce, and with a 
 generosity rarely equalled, Mr. Pierce wrote to the President 
 asking that his commission as Brigadier General, might be 
 transferred to Col. Ransom. His request was not complied 
 with, the President being unwilling to dispense with the ser- 
 vices of Mr. Pierce. 
 
 The feelings with which Gen. Pierce entered upon his new 
 duties cannot be better described than in his reply to General 
 Low of Concord, when asked by that gentleman if it was true 
 that he had decided to engfaore in the war with Mexico. Gen. 
 Pierce said, " I have accepted of the commission. I could not 
 do otherwise. I was pledged to do it. When I left the Senate, 
 it was with a fixed purpose of devoting myself exclusively to 
 my profession, with the single reservation, that if my country 
 should become engaged in war, I would ever hold myself in 
 readiness to serve her in the field, if called upon to defend her 
 honor and maintain her rights. War has come, and my plighted 
 word must and shall be redeemed." To another, friend he 
 said, at the moment of his departure, " I will come back with 
 honor, or I will not come back." 
 
43 
 
 Gen. Pierce sailed from Newport and on the 28th of June he 
 arrived at Vera Cruz. Pestilence and death met him here in 
 all their horrid forms. He himself was not exempted from 
 the general visitation. But while suffering in his own person 
 his watchful care of those under his command never slumbered 
 or slept. By his judicious precaution and management, his 
 division were in a condition to leave Vera Cruz by the middle 
 of July and take up their line of march, to foim a junction 
 with Gen. Scott. His brigade was composed of the Ninth, 
 Twelfth and Fifteenth Regiments, and consisted of 2,400 men. 
 It might almost be said that the whole distance from Vera 
 Cruz to Puebla, where he joined the main army, was one con- 
 tinuous field of battle. The flippant orators who have pre- 
 tended to criticise the conduct of Gen. Pierce in Mexico, and 
 brand him with the disgraceful epithet of coward, can only 
 relieve themselves from the charge of deliberate falsification, 
 by pleading ignorance of the facts as an excuse for their con- 
 duct. Could he have been a coward, who only fifteen miles 
 march in his first campaign defeated a superior force of the 
 enemy sent purposely to prevent his passage through the 
 country. Could he have been a coward, who when the bullets 
 of the foe were whistling about his person, and tearing a pas- 
 sage through the very garments which clothed him, rallied the 
 army himself to the charge and led them on to victory. Could 
 he have been a coward, who at the National Bridge dashed 
 through the barricades of chapparel at the head of his men 
 and scattered and dispersed the enemy from his path. Could 
 he have been a coward — nay, must he not have been a brave 
 and a great General, who in a strange country, in the sickly 
 season, surrounded by active and implacable foes, safely 
 carried his division over hundreds of miles of an enemies 
 territory and deliverd his entire command to the General of 
 the invading army. 
 
 When Gen. Pierce left Vera Cruz the most able and ex- 
 perienced officers of the regular army considered it almost an 
 
44 
 
 impossibility that he should escape capture or destruction. 
 The importance of the reinforcement, which his safe arrival 
 would give to the army under Scott, made the calculation of 
 the chances in his favor, a matter of great interest to these offi- 
 cers, and the unanimous testimony of all who have expressed 
 themselves on the subject, is, that the most probable conclu- 
 sions were against his being able to form a junction. So great 
 was the anxiety of Scott to receive the aid of Pierce's divi- 
 sion that when it was ascertained he was approaching, a strong- 
 force was sent out to aid him if necessary and secure his safe 
 arrival. This force was despatched in consequence of infor- 
 mation received that the enemy had strongly entrenched the 
 passes of La Hoga, and it was feared that Pierce's division 
 would not be able to overcome this formidable obstacle. The 
 command of the troops sent to assist Gen. Pierce, was assigned 
 to Gen. Smith who rapidly marched as far as Ojo Agua, when 
 he received intelligence that Pierce had brushed away the force 
 entrenched at La Hoga and was moving in safety and triumph 
 down the western slope towards Puebla. 
 
 On the 6th of August, Gen. Pierce joined Gen. Scott, with 
 nearly his whole original force of 2400 men, and was received 
 with open arms by the Commander-in-Chief and the officers 
 under him. His entrance into Puebla was made amid the rap- 
 turous joy and enthusiastic congratulations of the entire army, 
 and his command were found to be in such fine condition that 
 the movements upon Mexico were commenced the day after 
 his arrival. When it is remembered that on his road from Ve- 
 ra Cruz to Mexico, he had sustained and successfully repelled 
 six attacks from the enemy, that the army with which this was 
 done consisted of raw recruits, untrained and undisciplined, his 
 arrival at Puebla without the loss of a single wagon from a train 
 two miles long, was looked upon as a miracle. 
 
 The first battle in which Gen. Pierce took part after joining 
 the army of Scott was at Contreras. Gen. Scott, in describing 
 the details of this engagement, says that Gen. Pierce was "more 
 than three hours under a heavy fire of artillery and musketry," 
 
45 
 
 and it was after passing through this murderous ordeal that his 
 horse fell and injured him. Gen. Wynkoop states that a distin- 
 guished officer informs him "that he was standing beside Ma- 
 jor General Twiggs at the time of Pierce's advance upon Va- 
 lencia's camp at Contreras, watching their approach, and as 
 they came up under a withering fire led by an officer on a black 
 horse, Gen. Twiggs exclaimed, " By heavens, it is the gallant 
 old third — see how steadily they move up." It was the ninth 
 regiment, and Pierce leading. 
 
 The day after this was the battle of Churubusco. It was in 
 this battle that Gen. Pierce fainted from pain and exhaustion, 
 and this circumstance has furnished the foundation for all the 
 gross misrepresentations in relation to his gallantry and cou- 
 rage, which have been so industriously circulated by his polit- 
 ical enemies. To show with how little reason and truth any 
 interpretation of such nature can be put upon this transaction, 
 an extract from the report of Scott will be given, to show that 
 he imputed no wrong motive to the misfortune of Gen. Pierce. 
 He says, " that he sent Gen. Pierce, hardly able to keep his 
 saddle, to attack the enemy's right and rear, and cut off the 
 retreat to the capitol." It was while performing this duty that 
 Gen. Pierce fell from his horse, and if the testimony of Major 
 Winship is to be relied on, the spot where he fell was within 
 the range of the enemy's musketry on the one side, and his 
 cavalry escopetas on the other. Major Winship further remarks 
 that "if the object in falling was to avoid the dangers of the 
 field, it was a most unfortunate selection of a hiding place ; the 
 ground was a perfectly dead level, incapable of affording the 
 least shelter, and raked by a cross fire over nearly every foot 
 of its surface. It certainly requires a most malignant disposition 
 to conceive, and a gross and unpardonable want of principle to 
 utter, in the face of such testimony as this, any insinuations 
 against the courage or bravery of Gen. Pierce ; and it can be 
 attributable to no other cause than the despair induced by the 
 prospect of impending defeat, that the Whig party are reckless 
 and debased enough to give currency to so vile a slander. 
 
46 
 
 After the battle of Churubusco an armistice was agreed 
 upon between the commanders of the opposing armies and the 
 Americans remained quiet and inactive in their camp during 
 the period of its continuance. 
 
 Much blame has been attached to Gen. Scott for advising 
 the entering into an armistice at this time. It is asserted that 
 after the battle of Churubusco the city of Mexico was com- 
 pletely in the power of the American forces and that it would 
 have been obliged to surrender at the first demand. These ad- 
 vantages were thrown away and time given to reinforce and 
 collect supplies. How well this privilege was employed by 
 the enemy can be learned from the bloody conflicts of Molina 
 del Rey and Chapultepec and the sacrifice of 1600 American 
 lives which it required to recover the ground lost by this act 
 of erroneous judgment. In the engagement at Molino del 
 Rey, says Maj. Winship, "Gen. Pierce rendered good service 
 in relieving Worth's division after the long and sanguinary 
 conflict maintained by that gallant corps. Gen. Pierce's bri- 
 gade took the place of Worth's troops and brought off their 
 killed and wounded from under the guns of Chapultepec, 
 and the fire of the enemy's musketry posted in the v/oods be- 
 hind the mills. 
 
 The last great battle of the campaign was the storming of 
 Chapultepec, and although on the day of this action General 
 Pierce was confined by illness to his bed, yet the meiT of his 
 •command, the soldiers trained under his eye and management, 
 -were those selected to compose the advance of the storming 
 party. It is hardly within the range of probability to suppose 
 that men selected for a service which more than any other re- 
 quired the disciplined steadiness of veterans would have been 
 taken from the command of a leader, so cowardly as Whigs 
 would have the public believe Gen. Pierce to be. It affords 
 the strongest rebutting testimony against all such calunmious 
 detraction, that the example and teachings of Gen. Pierce had 
 so imbued his men with the spirit of valor and endurance that 
 
47 
 
 they were singled out from the whole army to perform the 
 most dangerous and darmg service of the whole campaign. 
 
 After the capture of the city of Mexico, which immediately 
 followed the storming of Chapultepec, the war being effectually 
 over, and his services no longer required. Gen. Pierce resigned 
 his commission and returned to his home. On his way he was 
 greeted by the press and the people with the most flattering 
 'demonstrations of respect and appreciation, and in his own 
 state, the ovation offered to him on his return almost equalled 
 those paid to the conquerors of ancient days. No lip gave 
 utterance to expressions of dissatisfaction, no murmur of dis- 
 approval w^as heard, and never until the recent xmprincipled 
 assaults of the Whig party, has the shining lustre of his fame 
 been tarnished by a doubt in reference to its brightness. Every 
 assault upon his character must contribute to raise him higher 
 in the estimation of rightly constituted minds, until the measure 
 of his greatness is filled by the highest token of approbation 
 which the American people can bestow upon those whom they 
 delight to honor. 
 
 GEX. PIERCE AS A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT. 
 
 A convention of the Democratic party has nominated Gen. 
 Franklin Pierce, as the candidate of that party, for President 
 of the United States. This nomination having been fairly made, 
 by legally appointed delegates, the Democracy of the Union 
 have a right to expect that he will receive the unanimous sup- 
 port of the party. The character of the man is so well known, 
 his modest worth and eminent public services in " the Senate and 
 the field," are of such a nature that all who love their country 
 and desire to see it ably and properly governed, can rally with 
 confidence under the banner of Frank Pierce. The nomination 
 has not been of his seeking, and the intrigues and manoeuvering 
 of hackneyed politicians is foreign and antagonistic to his feelings. 
 If elected he promises that his acts shall be of a character to 
 advance and perpetuate the blessings of civil and religious 
 
48 
 
 liberty and he points to the history of his past life as an 
 earnest of his fiiture course. He stands before the people in 
 the mdependent attitude of one who feels that he is incapable 
 of doing- aught that can bring disgrace upon his own name, or 
 discredit to those who assist in his elevation. He is honest, he is 
 faithful, he is true. The constitution of his country is 
 the guide of his public life, the law of the land is the land- 
 mark by which his course is directed. Knowing no North, no 
 South, no East, no West, he recognizes in this Union but 
 a common brother-hood of states. People of the United 
 States I Democracy of the Country ! can such a man fail to 
 receive your suffrages, your hearty and zealous support. Can 
 worth so great, talents so eminent, services so nobly and gene- 
 rously given, fail to inspire you with love, with devotion, in his 
 cause. Are your hearts so cold, your sensibilities so blunted 
 that you are incapable of appreciating and honoring the posses- 
 sor of such qualifications. Would you see the country pros- 
 perous, the people happy, the avenues to honorable distinction 
 throwTi open alike to the humble tenant of the cottage as to 
 the lordly occupant of the palace, then vote for Franklin Pierce- 
 Vote for him as the poor man's friend. Vote for him as the 
 tried advocate of equal rights. Vote for him as the opponent 
 of Aristocratic distinctions, the foe of every special privilege. 
 Rally in his cause as though you were fighting for a brother. 
 Strike in his behalf as you would to defend your own honor. 
 Come out I To the rescue I Pierce and the Constitution, 
 Democracy and the Union, one and inseparable, now and for- 
 ever. 
 
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