THE LIFE 
 
 GEN. FRANK. PIERCE, 
 
 OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE, 
 
 THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE 
 
 FOR 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 BY D. W. ^AKTLETT. 
 
 AUBURN: 
 
 DERBY & MILLER. 
 BUFFALO: GEO. H. DERBY & CO. 
 
 GENEVA: DERBY, OKTON & co. 
 1852. 
 
E4- 
 
 JB3 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1852, by 
 
 DERBY AND MILLER, 
 In the Qerk s Office fbr the Northern District of New- York. 
 

 e 
 
 TO TITE 
 
 DEMOCRACY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES, 
 
 fflljta Volume 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE nomination of General FKANKLIK PIERCE to 
 the Presidency by the National Democratic Con 
 vention at Baltimore sudden and unexpected to a 
 large portion of the people of the Union has 
 created a strong and natural desire to obtain a re 
 liable record of his life. This volume has been pre 
 pared to meet that desire. Friends in whose judg 
 ment we have been accustomed to confide, advised 
 to the undertaking ; and we have endeavored to 
 throw aside all personal or political preferences, and 
 prepare a candid and impartial life of General 
 PIEECE. The fact that no complete life of the can 
 didate of the Democracy had been published, was 
 in itself, a strong argument in favor of the project. 
 General PIEECE has ever been a retiring man, never 
 courting popularity and fame, and, therefore, he is 
 less known to the people at large than other person 
 ages whom we might mention, yet who are far infe- 
 
TI PREFACE. 
 
 rior to him in intellect, statesmanship, and all the 
 attributes which are to be found in the character of 
 a perfect man. We have written the book for the 
 million, who desire to know all that can be known 
 of "the coming man" the man whose destiny it 
 is to occupy the Presidential Chair. 
 
 The candid reader will discover General PIERCE, 
 as a man and private citizen, to be generous, gen 
 tlemanly, and exceedingly attractive in all his qual 
 ities of mind and manner. As a soldier, he will 
 appear able, courageous and sagacious. 
 
 Of all the base inventions of political party presses, 
 the charge of cowardice on the part of General 
 PIEECE, while in Mexico, as preferred by certain 
 Whig journals, is the basest. The most respectable 
 journals of that party, however, have refused to 
 propagate so infamous a libel upon the character of 
 One of our bravest generals. 
 
 As a statesman, General PIERCE will be found 
 able, intelligent and honest. His course and views 
 upon the subject of Slavery, we present without any 
 remark either of approval or dissent, for the public 
 wishes not our opinions, but the facts of General 
 
PREFACE. VII 
 
 PIEKCE S private, professional and political career. 
 These we have endeavored faithfully to present. 
 "We feel confident that all our statements may be 
 implicitly relied upon, yet we wish to say here, dis 
 tinctly, that General PIERCE is not responsible for 
 a line in this volume. Certain leading facts we ob 
 tained from him or distinguished Democrats in New- 
 Hampshire, and we have received valuable advice 
 from prominent Democrats in other parts of the 
 Union ; but for this volume, we stand alone respon 
 sible. 
 
 It is but just to remark that circumstances have 
 compelled us to prepare the volume with great haste, 
 so that the reader who is expecting a volume of el 
 egant writing, stands in a fair way to be disappoint 
 ed ; but he who desires a candid, unpretending, yet 
 reliable record of the public career of FKAKKLIN 
 PIEKCE, may we trust we may say it without ego 
 tism consult our pages with safety. D. w. B. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Benjamin Pierre, Father of Gen. Pierce His Early History 
 Anecdute of him His Family Political Career Personal 
 Appea; ancc His Generosity Anecdote, 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Birth of Franklin Pierce Preparation for College Anecdote 
 His religious friend, Zenn.s Caldwell Solving a Problem 
 Military and Civil La\v in conflict Takes his Degree Studies 
 Law Elected to House of Representatives Made Speaker,.. 22 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Elected to Congress Character as an Ora or Speech on Rev 
 olutionary Claims, 32 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Speech on the Deposit Question Speech on the West Point 
 Academy, 50 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Election to the U. S. Senate Correspondence Speech on the 
 Defences of the Country Speech on the Armed Occupation of 
 Florida Speech on Removals from Office, 81 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 His Congressional Career Subject of Slavery Resigns his Seat 
 Again appointed to the Senate, but will not accept Correspond 
 ence Offered a seat in the Cabinet of Mr. Polk, ,.. 121 
 
X CONTEXTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Mr. Pierce a a Soldier and General The Breaking out of the 
 Mexican War Mr. Pierce Enlists as a Private Appointed 
 Brigadier-General Sails for Vera Cruz Attacked at National 
 Bridge Joins Gen. Scott at Puebla His Course through the 
 War His Return Reception at Concord lib Speech 135 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 General Pierce on the Religious Test Question His Speech 
 Letter to the Stark Monument Committee, 191 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Gen. Pierce ns an Orator His success in Examining Witnesses 
 His power as a Pleader His Plea in the Wentworth Case, 210 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 General Pierce at Home His Family His Popularity Anecdote 
 His Generosity Personal Appearance The Compromise 
 Question Nominated to the Presidency by the N. H. Democ 
 racy Declines Letter to Colonel Lally 238 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The National Convention Letter of the Committee Gen. Pierce * 
 Reply Renr.arks, 248 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Reception of the News of the Nomination of General Pierce in 
 New-Hampshire Meeting of the State Legislature Mr. 
 Sargent s" Speech Mr. Wells Speech Mass Meeting of 
 the People at Concord Meeting at Bo4on, at Washington, 
 at New-York, Hartford, etc. etc. Letters of Mr. Buchanan, 
 Ex-President VanBuren, Messrs. Cass, Houston, Douglass, 
 etc etc. Concluding Remarks 2(J3 
 
LIEE OE FEANK. PIERCE. 
 
FATHER F F 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Benjamin Pierce, Father of Gen. Pierce^-His Early History Anec 
 dote of him Hii Family Political Career Personal Appear 
 ance His Generosity Anecdote. 
 
 FRANKLIN PIERCE is the fourth son of the late 
 Gov. BENJAMIN PIERCE, of Hillsborough, ISTew- 
 Hampshire. His ancestors were all plain, honest 
 and intelligent Democrats, fond of serving their 
 country in time of war on the field of battle in 
 time of peace as loyal citizens. Benjamin Pierce, 
 the father of the subject of this volume, was a very 
 extraordinary man. He was a native of Chelms- 
 ford, Massachusetts. He never received a liberal 
 education; in fact, he was almost entirely a self- 
 educated man, gaining his knowledge more from 
 men than books. At the early age of seventeen he 
 bade farewell to his plough, and enlisted as a 
 common soldier in the great war of the American 
 Revolution. On the 19th of April, 1T75, the revo 
 lutionary committee sent couriers out in every 
 direction ; one of them drove up before the farm 
 house of the father of Benjamin Pierce, and told 
 his brief tale of the news of the battle of Lexington. 
 The simple account of the courier was all that was 
 needed to fire the brave heart of the young farmer, 
 and he shouldered hig musket, and with the bless- 
 
OF FRANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 ings of his parents, started on foot for the seat of 
 war. lie soon arrived in Boston, where he enlisted 
 as a private in the regiment commanded by Colonel 
 Brooks.. He was in the great battle of Bunker Hill, 
 the 17th of June following, and there distinguished 
 himself by his bravery. In one of the many im 
 portant actions in which he was subsequently 
 engaged, during the hottest of the battle, when the 
 leaden rain was fiercest, young Pierce saw the flag of 
 his regiment wave to and fro, and as if the bearer 
 were unable longer to uphold it. Although the act 
 was accompanied with the greatest danger, he rushed 
 forward, and grasping it, held it proudly in its proper 
 place, while the old bearer dropped dead at his feet. 
 And until the action was finished and the victory 
 complete, he continued to uphold it. The brave ac 
 tion was noticed, and the next morning the young 
 farmer was rewarded with an ensigncy. His supe 
 rior bravery, and his military talents, attracted 
 attention, and when the Revolutionary "War was 
 brought to a termination, he quitted the army with 
 the rank of captain. Such was the wretched pecu 
 niary condition of the treasury, that the soldiers 
 were paid off for their services in a depreciated 
 currency, and Benjamin Pierce found that he pos 
 sessed only about two hundred dollars. 
 
 He was necessitated, therefore, to retire to the 
 wilderness, where lands were cheap, and purchase 
 him a farm. Wandering one day in the region of 
 what is now the town of Hillsborough> IS". H., he 
 
FATHER OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 15 
 
 stopped by a pleasant stream, which contained a 
 plenty of the finest trout. This was an excellent 
 recommendation of the spot in the eyes of the cap 
 tain, and spying a log-hut in the distance, he sought 
 its proprietor, and put to him the question: 
 
 "Will you sell your farm?" The reply was 
 " Yes." 
 
 " How large is it ?" asked the captain. " One 
 hundred and fifty acres, with a half-dozen of it 
 cultivated." 
 
 "I will give you just one hundred and fifty 
 dollars for it," said Captain Pierce, " and that is all 
 the money I have to spare." After a little thought, 
 the man accepted the offer, and Captain Pierce 
 settled down in the wilderness as a farmer. 
 
 In the fall of the year 1786, General Sullivan, 
 who was then a resident of New-Hampshire, deter 
 mined upon forming the militia of Hillsborough 
 county into a brigade, and appointed Benjamin 
 Pierce a brigade-major. His services werje of great 
 value to the militia of New-Hampshire, and he 
 finally rose to be brigadier-general. 
 
 The first wife of Benjamin Pierce, Elizabeth 
 Andrews, of Hillsborough, died at the early age of 
 twenty-one, leaving a daughter, who is now the 
 widow of the late distinguished General John 
 McNeil. He again married Anna Kendrick, of 
 Amherst, N. II., by whom he had three daughters 
 and five sons. She was a woman of excellent char 
 acter, and died just two months before her husband. 
 
1(5 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEKCE. 
 
 One of the daughters died before attaining the age 
 of womanhood, and the remaining two became ac 
 complished women. The eldest married General 
 Solomon McNeil, of New-Hampshire ; the youngest 
 became the wife of Hugh Lawrence, Esq., of Bos 
 ton. They both died in the year 183T, leaving 
 behind them families to mourn their loss. The only 
 sister, therefore, living, of Gen. Frank Pierce, is the 
 widow of Gen. John McNeil, and the daughter of 
 Gov. Benjamin Pierce by Elizabeth Andrews, his 
 first wife. Mrs. McNeil is a very accomplished,, 
 affable, witty woman, and is loved and admired by 
 a large circle of friends. 
 
 The sons of Benjamin Pierce were, in the order of 
 their ages, Benjamin U., J. Sullivan, Charles S., 
 Franklin, and Henry D. Sullivan and Charles died 
 young ; the eldest, Benjamin U., entered Dartmouth 
 College, and commenced reading law, but when the 
 war of 1812 opened, his enthusiasm was so great 
 that he forsook his situation for the army, where he 
 soon rose to the rank of brevet-colonel. He was a 
 brave and accomplished officer and gentleman. He 
 was married three times, and left three daughters 
 at his death in 1850, to mourn his loss. He gained 
 considerable renown in the Florida War, and was 
 in many respects like his brother, Franklin Pierce. 
 He was exceedingly amiable and kind, was graceful 
 in his manners, and everywhere he was known was 
 loved. 
 
 The youngest son of Governor Benjamin Pierce, 
 
FATHEB OF FKANKLIN PIERCE. IT 
 
 Col. Henr y D. Pierce, is now scarcely forty years of 
 affe, and is a drover and farmer. He is wealthy, 
 
 v * 
 
 intelligent, and lias "been elected to the Legislature 
 of his native State for several terms. 
 
 But to return to the sketch of old Governor 
 Pierce s life : In 1789, he was elected from Hills- 
 borough to sit in the House of Representatives at 
 Concord, and continued to represent that town in 
 the House for twelve consecutive years. In 1803, 
 he was elected a member of the Governor s Council, 
 in which office he continued until 1809, when he 
 was appointed Sheriff of Hillsborough county. This 
 office he occupied for four years. For many years 
 following he was either Sheriff of the county which 
 was his residence, or he was a member of the Gov 
 ernor s Council. 
 
 In 1827, Benjamin Pierce was elected Governor 
 of the State of New-Hampshire ; in 1828, in times 
 of great political agitation, he was for once defeated 
 in his election, but he was triumphantly re-elected 
 again in 1829. After this he lived in retirement to 
 a good old age. He died April 1st, 1839, at the 
 age of eighty-one years, and his remains were de 
 posited in the town burying ground. 
 
 Benjamin Pierce, as we have before remarked, 
 was an extraordinary man, and from him the pres 
 ent distinguished Franklin Pierce has derived many 
 of his best qualities. "Without the advantages of 
 early education without opulent and powerful 
 friends, Benjamin Pierce grew to be the most influ- 
 
1$ LIFE OF FKA1STKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 ential man in New-Hampshire. His influence in 
 the county ef Hillsborongh was overwhelming, and 
 indeed, throughout the State. He was, in fact, a 
 man of great native talent. Shrewd, good-natnred, 
 and possessed of common-sense, he soon took his 
 position as a leader of men. In personal appear 
 ance he was striking. He was rather short, and 
 think-set, had a rigid, honest-looking face, resem 
 bling, to a degree, the best portraits of Gen. Jackson. 
 His eyes were bright and merry, his nose was prom 
 inent, his lips expressive of firmness, while his hair, 
 during the latter portion of his life, was as white as 
 snow. He had always a full flow of animal spirits, 
 and was lively in temperament. He was a uni 
 versal favorite fearless, frank-hearted entirely 
 devoid of all aristocratical pride he was well calcu 
 lated to please the great body of the people. He 
 was exceedingly fond of hunting and fishing, and as 
 soon as he had brought his farm in Hillsborough 
 under cultivation, he constructed a pond, in the cen 
 tre of the lawn in front of his house, which he at all 
 times kept well stocked with trout. He was a man 
 of the most humane disposition. He was constantly 
 engaged in some kind and generous work, and ho 
 gave to the poor and deserving a portion of his 
 wealth. In 1818, there was considerable excite 
 ment in reference to the oppressive laws which ob 
 tained in reference to debtors. Under the laws then 
 in force in the State of New-Hampshire, (and 
 indeed the majority of all the States of the Union) 
 
FATHER OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 19 
 
 an unfortunate, though strictly honest man, was 
 liable to be thrown into the most foul of all dun 
 geons, where he must remain till death should come 
 to release him. There were cases of the imprison 
 ment of the noblest of men of men who had fought 
 and bled in the wars of their country and who, for 
 misfortune alone, were doomed to rot their lives out 
 in the confined dungeons of a prison. 
 
 In the jail at Amherst, New-Hampshire, there 
 were, in 1818, three aged prisoners ; one of them had 
 remained there for four years, in the closest confine 
 ment. "When Benjamin Pierce was elected Sheriff 
 of the county, one of his first acts was to appoint a 
 day for the releasement of these prisoners. The 
 people thought the occasion worthy of a public 
 meeting, and when the day arrived, the 20th of No 
 vember, 1818, they all assembled in front of the 
 prison, when Sheriff Pierce, after having opened the 
 door of the prison, addressed them as follows : 
 
 "Moses Brewer, Isaac Lawrence, and George 
 Lancy By the return made me by Israel "W. Kelly, 
 Esq., my predecessor in the office of sheriff for the 
 county of Hillsborough, it appears that you, Moses 
 Brewer, was committed, December 13, 1814 ; and 
 you, Isaac Lawrence, was committed December 27, 
 1815 ; and you, George Lancy, July 2, 1817 : 
 
 U Ml r UNFORTUNATE FELLOW-ClTIZENS I The feel- 
 
 ings excited by a view of your situation are inex 
 pressible. That those heads, silvered by age and 
 
20 LIFE OF FJEAKKLIN FIERCE. 
 
 hardship, and those hearts, throbbing with kindly 
 emotions, should be held for this long period of time 
 by their fellow-citizens, without the imputation of a 
 crime, in a captivity unparalleled even in the an 
 nals of the French Bastile, or Algerine slavery, 
 always viewed by us with sentiments of inexpressi 
 ble horror, is more than my nature is able to endure. 
 To be immured in a dungeon, standing on the very 
 soil of liberty, and in the midst of men boasting its 
 high privileges^ is, in my mind, with which the 
 ideas and the value of freedom are closely interwo 
 ven, infinitely worse than to be enslaved in a foreign 
 land, by enemies and barbarians, from whom nothing 
 better could be expected. But as an officer of the 
 county, I have a duty to perform. I must either be 
 governed by the law, and suffer you still to remain, 
 the devoted victims of unavoidable misfortune and 
 honest poverty, shut out from the genial light of 
 heaven and the vital air, God s equal gift to all ; to 
 endure, perhaps perish under the privations inci 
 dent to our situation, and the stern ravages of ap 
 proaching winter; forlorn and destitute, with no 
 friend to comfort, no society to cheer, no companion 
 to console you or, must be directed by the pow 
 erful impulse of humanity, pay the debt myself, and 
 bid you leave this dreary and gloomy abode. 
 
 " My unfortunate fellow-citizens : My duty to 
 myself will not suffer longer to remain here an old 
 companion in arms, who fought for the liberty of 
 which he is deprived, for no crime but that of being 
 
FATHER OF FRAXELDT PIERCE. 21 
 
 poor. My duty to my country, whose honor is 
 deeply implicated by your sufferings and it is one 
 of my first wishes that it should be untarnished 
 and my duty to my God, who has put into my 
 power to relieve, irresistibly urge me to the latter 
 course. This, I am sensible, takes from me a large 
 sum of money ; however the liberal and generous 
 people, among whom it is my happy lot to reside, 
 may participate ; if not, none but my children will 
 have any right to reproach me ; and I am confident 
 they will do no more than say their father was gen 
 erous to a fault. In this view, go ; receive the un- 
 contaminated air which is diffused abroad for the 
 comfort of man ; go to your families and friends, if 
 you have any. Be correct in your habits. Be in 
 dustrious and if your tottering and emaciated 
 frames are so far exhausted as to prevent your get 
 ting a comfortable support, apply to the good people 
 for relief and may the best of heaven s blessings 
 accompany you the remainder of your days." 
 
 This act was one of the noblest ever performed in 
 this selfish world of ours, and we venture to say has 
 scarcely ever had its equal among the acts of the 
 public men of the country. 
 
 In almost every town in New-Hampshire, there 
 are persons who well remember old Governor Pierce, 
 and remember him with the liveliest affection too. 
 His grave is in a pleasant spot, and is surmounted 
 by a plain monument, which is in good taste, for 
 Gov. Pierce was of all men plain and unaffected. 
 2* 
 
22 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Birth of Franklin Pierce Preparation for College Anecdote His 
 religious friend, Zenas Caldwell Solving a Problem Military and 
 Civil Law in conflict Takes his Degree Studies Law Elected 
 to House of Representatives Made Speaker. 
 
 "We now come, after a very hasty and brief sketch 
 of his father s family, to the present General FRANK 
 LIN PIERCE. He was born at Hillsborough, the 23d 
 day of November, 1804. Being a child of strong 
 promise, at an early age Gov. Pierce sent him out 
 of town to obtain his education. An elder brother, 
 then in the army, had the sagacity to perceive the 
 powers of his mind, and was exceedingly anxious 
 that he should receive a thorough education. For 
 several years he attended school in the neighboring 
 towns of Hancock and Francestown. While a resi 
 dent of the latter town, he lived with the mother of 
 the late lamented Judge Woodbury, who was a lady 
 of superior mind and attractions. Over Frank she 
 had a most beneficial influence, as he very often 
 acknowledged. He left Francestown for Exeter 
 Academy where he completed his preparatory stud 
 ies, and entered Bowdoin College at the precocious 
 age of sixteen, in the year 1820. During his first 
 two years in college, Frank Pierce was not distin 
 guished for his devotion to his studies. He was not 
 
HIS EDUCATION. 23 
 
 dissipated, but having naturally a full flow of spir 
 its, lie was a little wiJd. But among all his class 
 mates he was extremely popular. Possessing frank 
 manners and a generous disposition, it could not 
 well be otherwise. Some of the members of his 
 class have since become highly distinguished. A 
 few of the names we will mention ; Calvin E. Stowe 
 (since Rev. Dr. Stowe,) was its brightest scholar. 
 Among his intimate collegiate friends, were the 
 Hon. James Bell, John P. Hale, the Free Soil Sen 
 ator, and who, up to 1845, was one of his warmest 
 friends, Jonathan Cilley, and that most beautiful of 
 all American prose writers, ]STathamel Hawthorne. 
 We have said that Frank Pierce was not, during his 
 first two years, a brilliant scholar, owing to his fond 
 ness for society and his high spirits. While pursu 
 ing the study of Algebra, he one morning, in hastily 
 running over his lesson for the day, came to an ab 
 struse problem, which could not be solved without 
 time and patience. Unfortunately he was not just 
 then in possession of those valuable articles, and be 
 ing in the room of his classmate, Stowe, and casting 
 a glance at his slate, he saw the problem worked 
 out most charmingly 1 It was the work only of a 
 few minutes, and the oopy on his own slate was 
 complete. It was barely completed before the hour 
 of recitation arrived. The tutor commenced with 
 Pierce, half expecting that he would have failed in 
 solving the problem, when, to his surprise, he saw 
 the proper result upon the slate of the young colle- 
 
24 LIFE OF FBANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 gian. He took the slate, looked at it, and said in 
 his wonderment : 
 
 " "Well, Pierce ! where did you get this ?" 
 
 Now Frank Pierce could no more tell a lie than 
 he could be guilty of any other v/icked and mean 
 action, and supposing that the tutor was soberly 
 asking him a question he wished answered, he re 
 plied : 
 
 " Where did I get it ? Why, from Stowed slate, 
 to le sure /" The reply came with such a perfect 
 sang froid, that the class burst into merry laughter, 
 while* the tutor, if he was displeased with Pierce s 
 want of study, became thoroughly convinced of his 
 honesty of character. And this has ever been one 
 of the finest traits in his character. He has never 
 so much as tergiversated. He can never lie is 
 never inconsistent. 
 
 He soon became acquainted in college with his 
 class-mate, Zenas Caldwell, of Maine, brother of the 
 late Prof. Meritt Caldwell, of Dickinson College. 
 Zenas Caldwell died the year after leaving college, 
 and was a most devoted Christian of the Methodist 
 persuasion. He soon eonceived a strong affection 
 for Frank Pierce, notwithstanding his levity and 
 youthfuiness. It seems as though he must have had 
 a presentiment that Pierce was destined to a life of 
 extended influence and power, for he was exceed 
 ingly anxious to win him over to the paths of piety. 
 It was in vain that Pierce tried to shake him off; 
 lie clung to him as a brother, not boldly and offen- 
 
HIS FRIEIXD, ZE2s T A9 CALDWELL, 25 
 
 sively, but in a mild, affectionate, yet determined 
 manner. The result was most happy indeed : Pierce 
 gave up his levity, his carelessness, became devoted 
 to his books, got up early and sat up late, became 
 truly an excellent scholar, and, what was more 
 pleasing to Zenas Caldwell than all the rest, became 
 deeply impressed with the truths of religion, and 
 to this day, his sympathies are with the Methodists. 
 Long since the devoted young Christian gave up 
 his spirit to his Maker, but his gentle, winning, re 
 ligious conduct in college, still has its powerful in 
 fluence over one of the brightest minds in America. 
 It is not speaking beyond the truth to say that it 
 has added a steadiness and sobriety to the life of 
 Franklin Pierce to this day, and will to the day of his 
 death. In a recent conversation with General 
 Pierce, he alluded to his old class-mate in the most 
 feeling manner. When his collegiate course was 
 about half finished, young Caldwell persuaded him 
 to accompany him home, to Hebron, in Maine. It 
 was in the winter, and the common district school 
 in Hebron was without a teacher, and the brothers 
 Caidwell influenced him to assume the dignities of 
 a teacher s life. He was paid fourteen dollars per 
 month for his services, at that time and place reck 
 oned very high wages. Look at the future Presi 
 dent of the United States the teacher of a district 
 school ! And in our humble opinion, the one office 
 is as noble a one to fill as the other. 
 
 Entering the school house, he found nine different 
 
26 LIFE OF FRANKLIN" PIERCE. 
 
 kinds of arithmetic in use ! His first act was to 
 send down to Portland for a copy of each. At last, 
 in the course of the winter, he came upon a very- 
 blind problem, which, amid all the cares which 
 pressed upon him, he could not solve. He took tho 
 book containing the problem home to his boarding- 
 house, and walked the floor incessantly. It was in 
 vain that he thought. He went back to his school 
 room the next morning, dejected, and delivered a 
 long lecture to his scholars upon the propriety of 
 their solving their own problems, as it would do 
 them but little good were he to show them the pro 
 cess. The same night in his room, he again wwk- 
 ed painfully at the incorrigible problem ; and when 
 about to give up in despair, while walking the room, 
 he chanced to cast his eye upon a little recess in the 
 chimney. Turning a button and opening the door, 
 without any particular object in view, he saw a 
 sheet of paper covered with figures, and looking 
 carefully upon it, what was his astonishment to dis 
 cover the very problem over which he had so long 
 puzzled his brains, wrought out carefully to a cor 
 rect result. In a moment he saw the principle 
 which he had overlooked, and which was a key to 
 the answer sought. 
 
 After three months within the walls of a country 
 school-house, Frank Pierce bade them farewell 
 without much sorrow, that he might again pursue 
 his collegiate course. 
 
 While in college, his young friends formed a mil- 
 
MILITARY AND CIVIL LAW IN CONFLICT. 27 
 
 itaiy company and elected him its captain. In 
 marching to and fro between two given points, he 
 found it very convenient to march across a portion 
 of the green near the mansion of the President of 
 the college. After doing so once or twice, the Pres 
 ident gave out his orders to Captain Pierce, that in 
 future he must desist from marching so near his 
 house. When the next parade-day came on, the 
 young captain, as before, marched his company 
 across the aforesaid green, whereupon the President, 
 who was a small and thick-set man, came out, and 
 in a furious manner, thus accosted young Pierce : 
 
 " Did you not hear, sir, the orders which I gave 
 you recently in reference to crossing this green ?" 
 
 " I did sir," he replied calmly. 
 
 "And why did you not obey them?" asked the 
 President, still angrier than before. 
 
 " Because it was an unjust order. It puts us to 
 great inconvenience to obey you, w r hile it certainly 
 does you no harm for us to go past your house." 
 
 " I will have you to know," said the President 
 " that here civil law is superior to military !" And 
 he retired to his house. He made a violent attempt 
 to expel Pierce from college, but through the inter 
 ference of friends, desisted from further action upon 
 the matter. 
 
 Mr. Pierce took his degree in the year 1824, with 
 high honors, and left Bow T doin College and his nu 
 merous circle of friends there with regret, for among 
 them he had spent some of the happiest portions of 
 
28 LIFE OF FEAKKLIN PIERCE, 
 
 his life. Here lie bade farewell to his devoted 
 friend, Zenas Caldwell, who had taken such a deep 
 interest in his welfare, who died two years later, at 
 the age of twenty-six. 
 
 The three following years were spent successively 
 in the office of Hon. Edmund Parker, at Amherst, 
 1ST. 1L, Hon. Levi Woodbury, at Portsmouth, and in 
 the law school of Judge Howe at Northampton, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 In 182T Mr. Pierce was admitted to the bar, and 
 opened an office opposite to his father s mansion in 
 Ilillsborough. At this time Gov. Benjamin Pierce 
 enjoyed a commanding influence in New Hamp 
 shire. .His popularity was such as is not often wit 
 nessed in the world of politics. As a matter of 
 course, the success of Franklin Pierce was almost 
 instantaneous. Under common circumstances a 
 young lawyer is obliged to make his abilities known 
 to the world before he can hope for success. But 
 in this case the high position and popularity of Gov. 
 Pierce gained for his son immediate practice. But 
 had he lacked eminent abilities, it would soon have 
 been discovered, and he would have lost that pat 
 ronage which he secured from the reputation of his 
 father. He needed not only great abilities but se 
 vere and constant labor, to maintain the position 
 which it was on all heads conceded he must take. 
 "We need not say that he not only met the highest 
 expectation of his friends, but far exceeded them. 
 He rose daily in their esteem and admiration. 
 
ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE. 29 
 
 Mr. Pierce at once espoused the cause of Democra 
 cy with unbounded zeal, and such was the confidence 
 reposed in him by his fellow-townsmen that in the sec 
 ond year of his practice, at the age of twenty-five, he 
 was elected to represent the town of Hillsborough in 
 the State Legislature at Concord. The three succes 
 sive years he was also elected to that body, and such 
 was their opinion of his abilities, that in 1832 and 
 1833 he was made Speaker of the House of Bep- 
 resentatives. At this time there was great agitation 
 throughout New-Hampshire in reference to Gener 
 al Jackson. The State, in the year 1829, came out 
 boldly and grandly in favor of the hero of New-Or 
 leans. Benjamin Pierce was elected Governor by 
 more than two thousand majority, and an entire 
 Congressional delegation in favor of Jackson s ad 
 ministration was ctiosen, and a legislature returned 
 strongly .Democratic. The following year the agi 
 tation became <>re, ter, and the Lemocracy achieved 
 a still more "brilliant victory over their opponents. 
 Their candidate for the Governorship was elected by 
 four thousand majority, and Isaac Hill was elected 
 to the United States Senate. Through all these ex 
 citing scenes Mr. Pierce, though a young man, took 
 an important part. On the 15th of June, 1830, a 
 convention of the Democratic party was convened 
 at Concord. An address and resolutions were 
 adopted, which at that time were of great signifi 
 cance. They clearly define the nature of the Con 
 stitution ; show how the e^travagent system of ap- 
 
30 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 propriations by the general government lead " to 
 wide-spread, general corruption, tending directly to 
 consolidation or disunion of the States, the destruc 
 tion of democratic principles, and the extinction of 
 liberty ; " they also endorsed the re-nomination 
 of Andrew Jackson as the Democratic candidate for 
 the next Presidential term. In 1831, as we have 
 said, the Democrats of New Hampshire elected their 
 candidates forthe State, and for Congressional offices. 
 The House of Representatives consisted of two hun 
 dred and twenty members . Franklin Pierce w r as put 
 in nomination by the Democrats, and he was elected 
 as follows : for Frank Pierce 155 : all other votes 58. 
 
 The following year, 1832, he was again elect 
 ed to the Speakership. Thus in a very few years, 
 Frank Pierce had raised himself to a commanding 
 position in his native State. In his own party, 
 among his own adherents, his position was most ami 
 able and indeed he was beloved and admired by his 
 political enemies. Although young, yet he contin 
 ued to conduct himself in so modest yet able a man 
 ner as to raise the admiration of the older leaders 
 among the Granite Democracy of New Hampshire. 
 
 A political critic, in noticing his career at this por 
 tion of his life, remarks : 
 
 " Thus, in five years, he attained an enviable po 
 sition among his associates; and won it, not by 
 undermining rivals, or by adroitness in political 
 intrigue, but by a firm adherence to political prin 
 ciple, eloquence in debate, unquestioned capacity 
 
LEGISLATIVE OAEEEE. 31 
 
 for public business, unvarying courtesy and exhibi 
 tion of frankness and manliness of character. So 
 honorable was his ambition, that, while he was 
 ranking his associates, he retained their love and 
 commanded their respect." 
 
32 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Elected to Congress Character as an Orator Speech on Rcvolu 
 tionary Claims. 
 
 IN the summer of 1833, Mr. Pierce was elected 
 from his native district to the lower House of Con 
 gress, for the term of two years, and took his seat 
 in that body in December of the same year. He 
 was at this time a graceful orator and gentleman, 
 but twenty-nine years of age, popular at home 
 among his constituents, and as may well be suppo 
 sed, soon became a favorite in the best circles of 
 "Washington society. Young, fond of society, and 
 of a genial nature, it would not have been strange, 
 had the temptations which were scattered thickly 
 about him, seduced him, to a degree, from a rigid at 
 tention upon the transactions of the House. But 
 such was not the case. At all times, he was to be 
 seen in his seat. When any important vote was ta 
 ken, the name of Franklin Pierce, of New-Hamp 
 shire, is invariably to be found on the records of 
 Congress. He never interrupted the proceedings of 
 either House with what are vulgarly denominated 
 " speeches made for Buncombe." We have been 
 indeed surprised, in our search among the Congres 
 sional records for his speeches, to discover the prac- 
 
ELECTED TO COSTGKESS. S3 
 
 tical nature of every speech ever delivered by him 
 in Congress, either in the House of Representatives 
 or the Senate. Scarcely another man is living who 
 has spent as many years in Congress, without speak 
 ing, occasionally to say the least, for the sake of po 
 litical capital at home. There are several reasons 
 why Mr. Pierce never pursued such a course. In 
 the first place, his modesty of character, and his 
 love of the practical, extinguished in his heart all 
 desire for popular displays ; and in the second place, 
 he has always been so popular among the people of 
 New-Hampshire, that there was never at any time 
 any need of his resorting to the ordinary methods 
 of keeping alive a half-expiring reputation, viz : by 
 franking thousands of his speeches to his constitu 
 ents by making a violent ado about nothing, in 
 Congress, for the purpose of preserving his name 
 fresh in the memories of his political supporters and 
 friends. The Democratic party has generally a very 
 handsome majority in New-Hampshire, and Frank 
 Pierce was always sure of a heavy majority, when 
 ever nominated for any office. 
 
 The first speech of any importance and length 
 made by Mr. Pierce in the House of Representa 
 tives, was delivered February 27, 1834, and was 
 upon the subject of Revolutionary Claims. We 
 present it here, not because it is, in the ordinary 
 acceptation of the term, a brilliant performance, but 
 because it shows the excellent sense of the young 
 orator, and his conscientious desire to oppose all ex- 
 
34: LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 travagance in the public expenditures. Through 
 all his speeches there runs the same vein of econo 
 my. Though personally extremely liberal far too 
 much so for the good of his purse he has always 
 strongly opposed extravagance in the public expen 
 ditures. It is this fact, disclosed by the speeches of 
 Mr. Pierce, which constitutes him a safe statesman 
 and an exceedingly fit man for the Presidency of 
 this nation. It is not every passionate orator, it 
 is not every stump-speech-maker, who can properly 
 fill the august Presidential chair. But a man who 
 is opposed to extravagance and to corruption, and 
 w r ho is religiously honest and consistent in his char 
 acter, though inferior to Daniel Webster in his in 
 tellectual acquirements, may be a far safer Presi 
 dent than any mere orator, or intellectual personage 
 of however magnificent talents. General Pierce is 
 an honest man a consistent man ; and the people 
 never will be deceived in him or by him. But we 
 will proceed with his speech on a bill reported by a 
 committee of the House, " To provide for the settle 
 ment of certain Revolutionary Claims :" 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 ON U A BILL TO PROVIDE FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF CER 
 TAIN REVOLUTIONARY CLAIMS." 
 
 " Mr. Pierce, of New-Hampshire, thanked the 
 House for having kindly deferred, on the suggestion 
 of his indisposition, the consideration of the bill 
 -which had just been read ; and he felt under par- 
 
SPEECH IN CONGRESS. 35 
 
 ticular obligations for the generous courtesy mani 
 fested on that occasion by the gentleman from Vir 
 ginia, a friend of the bill, [Mr. Mason,] upon his 
 right. He had expressed, the other day, when mo 
 ving the postponement of the bill, his conviction 
 that it had been passed to a third reading without 
 having received all the consideration due to its im 
 portance. That conviction had been strengthened 
 by further examination and subsequent reflection. 
 Nothing, however, but a sense of what he conceived 
 to be his duty, as an humble member of that body, 
 could have induced him to arrest its progress then, 
 or now to ask, for a few moments, the indulgence of 
 the House. He should be brief in his remarks, hav 
 ing nothing to say for political effect, or for home con 
 sumption ; 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 impor 
 tance, and the new order of things to be had under 
 it, would have called up some gentleman whose ex 
 perience and whose reputation might have insured 
 general attention. He had waited to the last mo 
 ment, and waited in vain, and now, upon its pas 
 sage, he called upon gentlemen to pause before they 
 proceeded to provide, by presumption, for satisfying 
 claims of any character, from any quarter. 
 
 "Mr. P. said he was not insensible of the advan 
 tages with which the bill now under consideration 
 came before the House. It came, as he understood, 
 
36 LIFE OF FEANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 with the unanimous approbation of a committee en 
 titled to the most entire respect ; and it related to 
 services, the very mention of which moved our pride 
 and our gratitude. They were services beyond all 
 praise, and above all price. He spoke of the Rev 
 olutionary services generally. But while warm and 
 glowing with the glorious recollections, which a 
 recurrence to that period never fails to awa 
 ken ; 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, and which 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, disre 
 gard what was due from the gentlemen composing 
 this House, as the descendants of such men. What, 
 then, sir, (said Mr. P.) are the objects to be answer 
 ed by the bill, and what are its provisions ? The 
 general object is plainly and briefly stated in the in 
 troduction of the committee s report. They say : 
 
 " Finding many petitions before them, asking 
 the commutation of five years of half-pay, promised 
 by the resolution of Congress of the 22d of March, 
 1T83, to certain officers of the Revolutionary army, 
 they have been induced, by several considerations, 
 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. 
 
SPEECH ON REVOLUTIONARY CLAIMS. 37 
 
 Mr P. would not be disposed at any time, much 
 less was he disposed now, when so much was said 
 as to the tendency of power, and of patronage, and 
 of responsibility to the Executive, to cast from us 
 any duties which have been performed, or any re 
 sponsibilities which have been hitherto vested here, 
 unless the reasons for such transfer shall appear 
 obvious and conclusive. It was more than fifty 
 years since the passage of the resolution refered to 
 by the committee as the foundation of commutation 
 claims. The subject for making suitable provis 
 ion for the officers of the army of the Revolution, 
 was one of the deepest and intense interest, not 
 only to the officers, themselves but to the country gen 
 erally, from 1778 down to the passage of the commu 
 tation resolve of 1783. Mr. P. apprehended that 
 individuals having substantial claims against the 
 government did not often remain ignorant of the 
 fact, and he was curious to know how it happened 
 that these claims had slumbered during the whole 
 of this period. 
 
 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 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 diminished, as to leave little 
 3 
 
88 LITE OF FKANKLIN- TIEEOE. 
 
 for the action of Congress, or of any other depart 
 ment. Since, however, that which might have been 
 naturally expected to occur seemed but to have ob 
 tained in this particular instance, he knew not that 
 lie should have raised any particular objections to 
 sending the claims to the Treasury Department, pro 
 viding they were to go there relying upon their own 
 merits, and depending for their allowance upon evi 
 dence ordinarily required of revolutionary services, 
 and not upon presumptions. If the bill did not em 
 brace the rules that are to be required as fixed 
 principles, and to which he trusted he should be 
 able to satify the House there were strong if not 
 insurmountable objections, it would still be excep 
 tionable. He understood that it was not formerly 
 the practice of Congress to allow interest upon 
 these claims, even where they were brought by sat 
 isfactory evidence within the provisions of the res 
 olution of 1783 ; and it struck him that a different 
 practice never should have obtained, except in ca 
 ses where the claimant furnished sufficient reason 
 for his delay, showing that it w r as 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 objectionable feature of the bill, Mr. P. 
 eaid he should confine himself chiefly to its ope 
 ration upon those who were entitled to half-pay 
 
SPEECH ON KEVOLUTIONARY CLAIMS. 39 
 
 for life, under the resolve of 1780, at the sec 
 ond important change in the arrangement of the 
 army after its establishment, and to some portion 
 or the history of the subsequent action of Congress 
 upon the subject, it might be proper for him to call 
 the attention of the House. By the resolution just 
 referred to, those who were reduced by the arrange 
 ment which then took place, as well as those who 
 served to the close of the war, were entitled to half 
 pay for life. That this provision was made under 
 very peculiar circumstances, was matter of histo 
 ry ; and it was well known to all within the reach 
 of his voice, that it was regarded with jealousy and 
 dissatisfaction, both by the soldiers who have behaved 
 with equal valor, and endured equal hardships, and 
 by the citizens generally. They regarded it as anti- 
 republican ; they thought it setting up, in the then 
 young republic, invidious distinctions, and estab 
 lishing, for that generation at least, a privileged and 
 pensioned class, inconsistent with the equal rights 
 for which they had been contending, and at va 
 riance with the genius and spirit of such a govern 
 ment as they hoped to see established and main 
 tained. 
 
 In March, 1783, a change was made and what 
 was the moving cause of that charge? A me 
 morial from the officers themselves. The preamble 
 of the resolution recites that, " Whereas, the officers 
 of the several lines under the immediate command 
 of his excellency, General "Washington, did by their 
 
40 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 late memorial, transmitted by their committee, rep 
 resent to Congress that the half pay granted 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 w^as granted in lieu of half pay 
 for life, and it is for this commutation that petitions are 
 pouring in upon you, and claims, arising under the 
 resolution just referred to, and those, the adjustment 
 of which the bill proposes to transfer to the Treasury 
 Department with rules of evidence which might pos 
 sibly facilitate, as the committee suppose, the allow 
 ance of some just claims, but which will at the 
 same time open a wide door for imposition and for 
 the assertion of rights which have no legal or equi 
 table foundation, and which may still be honestly 
 urged by the heirs of deceased officers. Sir, (said 
 Mr. P. ) is it not admitted by the report that this 
 will be the operation to some extent ? 
 
 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 evil has heretofore arisen or is liable to arise, 
 
SPEECH ON REVOLUTIONARY CLAIMS. 41 
 
 from application of the said rules of evidence, is that 
 now to be used as an argument in favor of transfer 
 ring duties from the House to one of the Departments 
 and transferring them with instructions binding the 
 Secretary, and making certain the continuance of the 
 evil? He trusted not. 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 retain 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, accom 
 panied by instructions which it was admited might 
 lead, and which in his humble judgment would in 
 evitably lead, to the acknowledgment of many un 
 just claims ? 
 
 Again, the committee say, "If there is any ap 
 prehension that the principles here declared are too 
 liberal, it must be recollected that the tendency of 
 legislation for individual claims is constantly to en 
 large the basis of right; while the effect of trans-, 
 ferring them to another tribunal, more judicial in 
 its character, will probably be to retain that basis 
 essentially within the limits fixed at the moment of 
 transfer. If, therefore, it should be supposed, or 
 even admitted, that the principles asserted in the bill 
 are more liberal than the present practice of Congress, 
 it may be considered certain that in its continued 
 action, they would soon be surpassed in liberality." 
 That is, if we are acting upon too liberal principles 
 
42 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 too much upon presumption we had better at once 
 send out these presumptions to be the guide of oth 
 ers, than longer to trust ourselves. Why? Be 
 cause " The tendency of legislation for individual 
 claims is constantly to enlarge the basis of right," 
 and we are in danger of being further from those 
 principles which should govern prudent legislators, 
 watchful of the interests of those whom they repre 
 sent, as they wxmld be of their own, than we now 
 are. Mr. P. said, however just this might be in 
 point of fact, he was not yet prepared to admit it as 
 a principle of action ; and, while no one would lend 
 his support more readily to any claim that might 
 come here sustained by proper evidence, he trusted 
 the correctness of such a proposition might never 
 find support in any vote of his. 
 
 Speaking of the operation of the limitation acts, 
 the committee say further : " Driven from the or 
 dinary means of redress, individual claimants, from 
 time to time, resorted to Congress for relief. At 
 first, it may have been matter of consideration 
 and of serious question, whether relief should be 
 afforded after the limitation had expired, and the 
 party was at least held to account for his delay, 
 but in process of time it became, as it now is, a 
 matter of course to grant relief in every case in 
 which the claimant brings himself by proof within 
 the terms of the resolution on which the claim is 
 founded, and has not been already paid." Mr. P. 
 trusted that wrong practice and precedent, founded 
 
SPEECH ON REVOLUTIONARY CLAIMS. 43 
 
 in error, were not to be regarded as a guide here. 
 He solemnly believed that if precedent and prac 
 tice were to be relied upon, gentlemen might readily 
 find justification for going almost any length in. 
 any direction. In the case before the House, 
 it was so exceedingly probable, that all claims found 
 ed in right were adjusted, and so fallible and uncer 
 tain was human testimony, after a lapse of fifty 
 years, that he had no hesitation in declaring it as 
 iiis firm conviction, that the former course was the 
 proper one ; and that applicants who came in after 
 the extension act 1792, should always have been 
 held to account for their delay. It was not, of 
 course, intended to give commutation to those, or the 
 heirs of those, who received certificates in 1784, or 
 who have, at any time since, under any circumstan 
 ces, received commutation. 
 
 Before, then, examining more particularly the pre 
 sumptions which this bill directs the Secretary to 
 assume, let us consider, for a moment, what are the 
 natural presumptions in the case. The commuta 
 tion provided for by the resolutions of 1783, was ori 
 ginally directed to be adjusted by commissioners or 
 other accounting officers, appointed by Congress; 
 and it was supposed that certificates were almost 
 universally granted in 1784. Why should it not 
 have been so ? They were ready, upon application 
 and the production of the proper evidence ; and he put 
 it to the House, whether the provisions of that reso 
 lution, and the rights accruing under it, considering 
 
44 LIFE OF FEANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 the circumstances under which it was passed, 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 ut 
 terly incredible that it should have been otherwise. 
 "Whenever there had been any action upon the sub 
 ject of pensions in latter times, what period had 
 elapsed before that action, whether favorable or un 
 favorable, and almost every particular attending it, 
 had, through one channel or another, reached the 
 humble dwelling of every survivor of that noble 
 band. But upon the supposition of their remote 
 situation from the accounting officers, some might, 
 by possibility, have been precluded from obtain 
 ing 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 exten 
 sion, remaining claims, or such as were presented, 
 were adjusted at the Treasury Department, by what 
 were then termed certificates of registered debt. 
 
 Again, he inquired whether it was within the 
 bounds of reasonable propability, that any claims 
 were held up after this period, if they were ever in 
 tended 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 living witnesses among the officers with whom 
 the claimants served, and the soldiers whom they 
 commanded. Nor is the advantage which the offi 
 cer had, from his position over the private soldier, of 
 
SPEECH ON REVOLUTIONARY CLAIMS. 45 
 
 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 each other. Never, per 
 haps, was there a band bound together by such 
 ties of affection, intimacy, and confidence. Ge 
 nius, honor, and unshaken valor, then went hand in 
 hand, and were in exercise, not from low consider 
 ations of personal aggrandizement, but to vindicate 
 a nation s rights. The links that bound men to 
 gether at that day, exist not now. Their intima 
 cies and their friendship were those which, perhaps, 
 from our very natures, can only spring up and flour 
 ish amidst the mutual dangers and privations of a 
 camp. At the period of which he spoke, every in 
 cident 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 presump 
 tion. But this is not all. From 1794 down to this 
 hour, there had been the same opportunity to obtain 
 equitable rights, by application to Congress, that 
 exists at present. "With these facts before us, (said 
 Mr. P.,) if the natural presumption be not that all 
 just claims have been satisfied according to the pro 
 visions of the resolutions of 1783, he confessed that 
 the conclusions at which he had arrived were singu 
 larly erroneous. 
 
 The House had nothing to do with the question 
 f the value of the certificates ; they were, without 
 3* 
 
46 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 doubt, nearly valueless in the hands of a large por 
 tion of the original holders. This subject was most 
 satisfactorily discussed in the able and elaborate 
 reports made to both Houses at the first session of 
 the 21st Congress, when the act was passed provi 
 ding for the officers who were entitled to half pay 
 by the resolve of 1T80, and for the non-commissioned 
 officers and soldiers who enlisted for and served to 
 the close of the war. 
 
 The views taken in these reports were interest 
 ing and instructive upon this subject. But he was 
 considering what was the natural presumption as 
 to commutation rights still existing ; and, if his 
 views were in any tolerable degree correct, it was 
 diametrically opposed to the legal presumption to 
 be established by the passage of this bill. 
 
 Sir, (continued Mr. P.,) we are told that the evi 
 dence of records is exceedingly imperfect ; and I 
 assure the House that such is the fact to a much 
 greater extent than I had supposed, before applying 
 to the Department for information. The muster 
 rolls had been almost entirely destroyed by fire, and 
 all the records, from various casualties, were bro 
 ken, but this deficiency of record evidence was, in 
 his estimation, much more the misfortune of the 
 Government than of the claimants who came here 
 after the lapse of fifty years. But pass your pre 
 sumptions, sir, (said he,) and you will have little oc 
 casion for evidence. It is said that the rules which 
 are to be regarded as fixed principles by the Depart- 
 
SPEECH ON EEVOLUTIONAEY CLAIMS. 47 
 
 ment, provided this bill pass, are the same as those 
 which the committee have adopted in the investiga 
 tion of claims coming before them. If so, and they 
 accorded with the sentiments of the House, he con 
 fessed it was a matter of very little consequence 
 whether they were applied here or elsewhere ; and 
 lie was happy that the bill had been reported, that 
 the opinion of the House might be deliberately and 
 understandingly expressed upon the propriety of 
 their adoption. Sir, (said Mr. P.,) will not their 
 operation be that of a new law upon the subject of 
 commutation ? Look at the first presumption of the 
 bill. It has the advantage of being plain ; there is 
 no ambiguity about it " It being established that 
 an officer of the continental Ime was in service, ds 
 such, on the 21st of October, 1780, and until the 
 new arrangement of the army, provided for by the 
 resolution of that date, was .effected, he shall be pre 
 sumed, unless it appear that he was then retain 
 ed in service, to have been reduced by that ar 
 rangement, and therefore entitled to half-pay for life, 
 or the commutation in lieu of it." The onus pro- 
 bandi was shifted ; the burded of proof was not 
 left where it was intended it should rest with the 
 claimant but it was thrown upon Government. 
 He presumed it was not expected that the Govern 
 ment would send agents abroad to obtain negative 
 evidence from living witnesses. How, then, was it 
 to be shown, in the present imperfect state of the 
 records, that an officer was not reduced, and did 
 
43 LIFE OF FEANKLTN FTEECE. 
 
 voluntarily leave the service ? The effect of such 
 instructions would virtually be to give commutation 
 to all those who were in service on the 21st of Oc 
 tober, 1T80, and until the new arrangement was ef 
 fected, instead of to those only who were actually 
 reduced, as was originally contemplated. 
 
 He called the attention of the House to the sec 
 ond presumption : " 2d. A continental officer, proved 
 to have remained in service after the arrangement 
 of the army under said resolution of October, 1780, 
 shall be presumed to have served to the end of the 
 war, or to have retired, entitled to half-pay for life, 
 unless it appear that he died in the service, or re 
 signed, or was dismissed, or voluntarily abandoned an 
 actual command in the service of the United States." 
 This, also, manifestly made new provision, granting 
 commutation to those who were in service after the 
 new arrangement in 1780, instead of to those who 
 actually served to the close of the war ; for, in the 
 state of record evidence, as declared by the com 
 mittee, how was it possible for the Government to 
 prove, in very many instances, that the claimant, or 
 the ancestor of the present claimant, " died in the 
 service, or resigned, or was dismissed, or voluntarily 
 abandoned a command in the service of the United 
 States ? There was no possible means of doing it. 
 
 Mr. P. w r ould pursue the subject no farther. If 
 there was no fallacy in these premises, and the con 
 clusions were legitimate, they were sufficient for his 
 purpose. The House would not think of passing 
 
SPEECH ON REVOLUTIONARY CLAIMS. 49 
 
 the bill in its present shape. He ought not longer 
 to ask the attention of gentlemen, for which he was 
 already nnder great obligation. Such were some of 
 the objections to the bill that had occurred to Mr. 
 P., and thus much he thought it his duty to say. 
 For the committee making the report he entertain 
 ed the highest respect ; and he believed that he was 
 no less disposed than they were to grant, to the ut 
 termost 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 number which have 
 no foundation in justice no foundation anywhere, 
 except in lost records and violent presumptions. 
 
LITE OF FKANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SPEECH ON THE DEPOSITE QUESTION. 
 
 On the 28th of April, 1836, in the House of Rep 
 resentatives, Mr. Pierce, of New-Hampshire, rose 
 and remarked that, not seeing the gentleman from 
 Virginia, (Mr. Dromgoole) in his seat, he would 
 move to take up the resolution submitted by that 
 gentleman, calling on the Treasury Department for 
 certain information in reference to the deposite of 
 the public moneys, and the amendment thereto of 
 fered by another gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. 
 Wise.) Mr. P. thought it was due to the Secretary 
 of the Treasury and to themselves, that the resolu 
 tion should be taken up and disposed of. 
 
 Objection being made, Mr. Pierce moved to sus 
 pend the rules, which was agreed to, ayes 103, noes 
 not counted. The resolution was then read, the 
 question pending being the amendment of Mr. Wise, 
 as modified at the suggestion of Mr. Calhoun, of 
 Massachusetts, proposing also to raise a select com 
 mittee to inquire into the various subjects connect 
 ed with the deposites of the public moneys in certain 
 local banks, Mr. Bond, who had spoken on two for 
 mer days, addressed the House for the third time 
 on the subjects embraced in the resolutions. The 
 nation found itself in possession of about thirty- 
 
SPEECH ON THE DEPOSITE QUESTION. 51 
 
 seven millions of dollars, all of which was in the 
 hands of the deposite banks, which moneys were 
 unsafe, he contended, in those institutions, because 
 the banks were not sufficiently responsible to the 
 Government for those moneys, and because of the 
 small capital of those banks. He alluded to the 
 communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, 
 about the time the deposites were removed, in which 
 it was stated that the domestic exchanges would be 
 improved by that removal, and to the circular of the 
 Clinton Bank of Columbus, a young institution, with 
 a smaller capital than many others in that part of the 
 country, which refused to take the notes of specie 
 paying banks in its own neighborhood, and received 
 those of distant banks, which, he argued, would 
 have the tendency of deranging the exchanges. 
 This system, he said, would have the effect of com 
 pelling those who had money to pay for public lands 
 to get their moneys shaved by brokers, for the pur 
 pose of getting moneys which this bank would re 
 ceive. These deposite banks might transfer moneys 
 to those brokers, which could be used for the pur 
 pose of shaving. When our moneys were in this 
 uncertain state, he did not think gentlemen ought 
 to sit and fold their arms, and not go into an exam 
 ination of the condition of those moneys. If the 
 investigation was not now gone into, it would give 
 the guaranty to those banks that an investigation 
 would never be had, and, as a consequence of this, 
 they would go on in their speculations, and he fear- 
 
52 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 ed that, by the next December, they should have an 
 account of empty boxes. He asserted, without fear 
 of contradiction, that many of the deposite banks 
 were not able to repay the money to the Govern 
 ment which they were entrusted with, and pay the 
 debts due to other creditors. It was, to be sure, as 
 serted that the banks had four dollars to one to pay 
 their Government deposites with. But it must be 
 recollected there were other creditors to be paid be 
 sides the Government. He alluded to the agent of 
 the deposite banks, and asked if he was not an agent 
 of the Government, why it was that he had a 
 room in the building occupied by the Treasury De 
 partment ? This he did not consider proper, and 
 contended that no individual should be allowed to 
 have an office in the same building with the Treasury 
 Department, w r ho was not connected with it, and 
 responsible to the head of that Department. He 
 went into an examination to show the amount of mon 
 eys the Government had lost by local banks, and 
 argued that the same result might again be expect 
 ed. 
 
 Mr. Pierce of !N"ew-Hampshire, followed. Mr. 
 Speaker : I do not propose to discuss the deposite 
 question, though there are few more fruitful sub 
 jects, as experience has taught us, and none pre 
 senting more ample materials with less of laborious 
 research. "What power Congress possesses over the 
 deposit banks -whether they are safe or unsafe 
 whether they constitute a United States bank to all 
 
SPEECH ON THE DEPOSITS QUESTION. 53 
 
 intents and purposes, as the gentleman from Massa 
 chusetts (Mr. Calhoun) alleges and whether that 
 is to be made an objection to them in a certain 
 quarter, as depositories of public moneys, are ques 
 tions which will very properly come under our con 
 sideration, 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 appropri 
 ate and judicious mode of seeking the information 
 contemplated alike by the original resolution pre 
 sented by the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. Drom- 
 goole,) and the amendment proposed by his honor 
 able colleague, (Mr. Wise.) To this question I 
 should have confined myself, exclusively, 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 re 
 garded as the work of supererogation ; for, in this 
 country, there is, fortunately, so much intelligence 
 
 the avenues to correct information, open to all, are 
 
 so multiplied and various, that no administration, 
 and no public officer, can suffer long from mere bold, 
 sweeping denunciation. And he who expects to 
 make a successful attack, with such weapons alone, 
 does great injustice to the character of the yeoman 
 ry of this county, 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 alarm, 
 
54: LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIEKCE. 
 
 ed by mere naked charges. They look beyond the 
 charges to the evidence upon which they are predi 
 cated, and so, I trust, will this House do, before 
 they adopt any new and extraordinary course of 
 proceeding. Whether Mr. Whitney, whose name 
 has been so often introduced in the course of this 
 debate, is the agent of a corporation, or any number 
 of corporations the agent of individuals, or no 
 agent at all, is to me an affair of perfect indiffer 
 ence. If he is not a public officer, or in pay of the 
 Government (and I understand that neither is the 
 fact,) the nature of his agencies, if such he have, and 
 the compensation he may receive for his services, 
 are matters into which I have as little curiosity as 
 right to inquire. Whether he occupies a room in 
 the block of buildings, a portion of which is rented 
 for the accommodation of the Treasury Department, 
 or a room on the opposite side of the avenue, are 
 questions in w r hich the House can feel no possible 
 interest, however much gentlemen may attempt to 
 make of it in debate. 
 
 But there are other subjects, as the gentleman 
 from Ohio has justly observed, of the highest 
 importance. For instance, if the Secretary of the 
 Treasury, or any agent of the Department by his or 
 der, or with his approbation, has adopted a new rule, 
 with regard to what money shall be received for pub 
 lic dues, operating injuriously upon any portion of 
 the country, it deserves prompt consideration; the 
 cause should be inquired into without delay. This 
 
SPEECH ON THE DEPOSITS QUESTION. 55 
 
 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 
 apply to the Secretary, but I will pronounce his po 
 sition erroneous, and assert that the terms, in this re 
 spect, have never been more liberal, except during 
 the suspension of specie payments, than since the 
 removal of the deposites from the United States 
 Bank. The same construction has been given to the 
 laws relating to this subject from the days of Mr. 
 Hamilton s administration to the present time. 
 That the gentleman s complaint in this particular is 
 unreasonable and without foundation, is shown con 
 clusively by a report of the Secretary of the Treas 
 ury, read in the Senate on Tuesday last ; and I will 
 not take up the time of the House by pursuing a 
 proposition which, in that report is clearly demon 
 strated. I thank the gentleman, Mr. Speaker, for 
 having called the attention of the House, particular 
 ly to the deposite bank of the State which I have 
 the honor in part to represent the Commercial 
 Bank at Portsmouth, which the gentleman denom 
 inates, I suppose, by the way of eminence, " the 
 special pet in particular of the Secretary of the 
 Treasury" Now, a moment s examinaton will show 
 what constitutes, in the gentleman s estimation " a 
 special pet in particular." On the 18th of the pres 
 ent month, there was on deposite in the Commer 
 cial Bank at Porthsmouth, one hundred and nine 
 teen thousand seven hundred and thirteen dollars ; 
 
LIFE OF FKANKLrN 1 PIEECE. 
 
 out of which the pensions of the State, your appro 
 priations 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 dol 
 lars. 
 
 Mr. Bond : The Commercial Bank at Cincinnati, 
 by what authority I know not, has established an 
 agency at St. Louis, Missouri, and much the greater 
 part of the public deposite held by that bank is at 
 this agency, and not in the State of Ohio. 
 
 Mr Pierce resumed : It is quite immaterial ; 
 the bank at Cincinnati is responsible for it. There 
 was on deposite in the State of Ohio at the date be 
 fore given, two millions four hundred and fifty-five 
 thousand one hundred and thirty-six dollars, which 
 is more than quadruple the amount on deposite in 
 New Jersey and Delaware, and all the New Eng 
 land States together, with the exception of Massa 
 chusetts. Such, sir, is the evidence of favoritism on 
 the part of the Secretary, of which the gentleman 
 from Ohio complains ; and he is at liberty to make 
 the most of it. The Secretary, in his annual report, 
 under the head of c Deposite Banks and the Curren 
 cy, 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 satisfactory. Incidental 
 to this, the facilities that have been furnished to 
 the commercial community in domestic exchanges, 
 
SPEECH OK THE DEPOSITE QUESTION. 57 
 
 were probably never greater, or at so moderate 
 rates. 1 This the gentleman does not hesitate to pro 
 nounce 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, Bal 
 timore, 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. 
 
 Mr. Bond : I said it was stated in a newspa 
 per, received yesterday from Cincinnatti, that the 
 notes of all the Ohio banks out of the city were at 
 a discount of four per cent.; and that a friend of 
 mine now here (but who resides in Cincinnati) had 
 just informed me that exchange could not be had 
 there on Philadelphia or New York, for less than 
 one to one and a half per cent., and that no consid 
 erable amount could be had at either of these rates. 
 
 Mr. P. resumed. Undoubtedly, and the gentleman s 
 friend has been no more unfortunate in finding high 
 rates of exchange than individuals and the teeming 
 press in other places. I do not say that there is a 
 panic-manufacturing spirit abroad, but I feel bound 
 to rely upon official statements from the different 
 
58 LIFE OF FKANKLDT FIERCE. 
 
 points, in preference to the declaration of any indi 
 vidual or newspaper paragraphs. 
 
 Decided exception has been taken to one of the 
 articles of agreement entered into between the Gov 
 ernment and the deposite banks. It is in the fol 
 lowing 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 equi 
 table proportion of his, or their expenses, and com 
 pensation according to such apportionment as may be 
 made by the said Secretary." Is it 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 representa 
 tives 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 appointed by the present Secretary, and 
 that the power has been exercised only on two oc 
 casions since the withdrawal of the deposites from 
 the United States Bank, with neither of which has 
 the mysterious Whitney had any connection ; one 
 of those agencies, which was to examine into the 
 condition of the Union Bank at Baltimore, sugges 
 tions against its solvency having been made during 
 
SPEECH ON THE DEPOSITS QUESTION. 59 
 
 the panic era, consisted of Mr. Reverdy Johnson, 
 then, and I believe now, a decided opponent of the 
 present administration, and Mr. Howard, of Balti 
 more. About the same period, upon similar sug 
 gestions, 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 evi 
 dence of inducement on the part of the present 
 Secretary to conceal aught from the public eye, as 
 charged by the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. 
 Wise) or where is the evidence of the more extraor 
 dinary charge of the same gentleman, that the Sec 
 retary has done it? Is it 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 ! The Secretary 
 has not only given a specific and detailed statement 
 upon the subject, but he has more than once ap 
 pealed to you, to take away his present broad lati 
 tude of discretion, under which, without your 
 legislation, he is compelled to act, and that request 
 is repeated in this very report. The Secretary 
 says : " The Department is aware that in the pres 
 ent overflowing condition of the Treasury, the regu 
 lation of these operations, with the selection and 
 superintendence of the deposit banks, is a task of 
 no small difficulty or delicacy, and when governed 
 by a strict and uniform adherence to sound princi- 
 
60 LIFE OF FKANKLISr PIERCE. 
 
 pies, as lias been attempted, must necessarily lead 
 to many disappointed applications. But in the ab 
 sence 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 responsibility, which so much 
 discretionary power has imposed." I believe this 
 high responsibility could barely be entrusted 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 Gov 
 ernment. If the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. 
 Wise) was not misled himself, his remarks in rela 
 tion to the report of which he complains, as not con 
 taining the whole truth, were manifestly calculated 
 to mislead the public. That report was not made 
 by the present Secretary, but by another distin 
 guished 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 disposed, to such a commentary on the 
 report, and the gentleman making it. 
 
SPEECH ON THE WEST POINT ACADEMY. 61 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 ON THE WEST POINT ACADEMY. 
 
 THE following speech was delivered by Mr. Pierce 
 June 30, 1836, upon a Bill making appropriations 
 for the Military Academy of the United States for 
 the year 1836. It will be found by the reader to be 
 able and statesmanlike : 
 
 Mr. Pierce, of New-Hampshire, rose and ad 
 dressed the chair as follows : " Mr. CHAIRMAN 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 unsuccessful ! Still you do not 
 cease to call for appropriations ; you require the 
 people s money for the support of the -institution, 
 while you refuse them the light necessary to enable 
 them to judge of the propriety of your annual requi 
 sitions. Whether the amount proposed to be ap 
 propriated by the bill upon the table is too great, 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 
 
63 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 be first taken up and disposed of. I am aware, sir, 
 that it will be said, because I have heard the same 
 declaration on a former occasion, that this is not a 
 proper time to discuss the merits of the institution ; 
 that the bill is to make provision for the expenses 
 already incurred in part, and whatever opinions may 
 be entertained upon the necessity of a re-organiza 
 tion, the appropriation must be made. I say to 
 gentlemen who are opposed to the principles of the 
 institution, and those who believe that abuses exist, 
 which ought to be exposed and corrected, that now 
 is their only time, and this the only opportunity, 
 during the present session, to attain their object, 
 and I trust they will steadily resist the bill, until 
 its friends shall find it necessary to take up the res 
 olution of inquiry, and give it its proper reference. 
 Sir, why has this investigation been resisted ? Is 
 it not an institution which has already cost this 
 country more than three millions of dollars, for 
 which you propose, in this very bill, an appropria 
 tion of more than one hundred and thirty thousand, 
 aiid which at the same time, in the estimation of 
 a large portion of the citizens of this Union, has 
 failed, eminently failed, to fulfill the objects for 
 which it was established, of- sufficient interest and 
 importance to claim the consideration of a commit 
 tee of this House, and of the House itself? 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 
 
SPEECH ON THE WEST POINT ACADEMY. 63 
 
 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 
 moment, by attacking such laws as confer exclusive 
 
 1 J O 
 
 and gratuitous privileges. The adoption of the res 
 olution of inquiry, at the last session of Congress, 
 and the appointment of a select committee under it, 
 were made the occasion of newspaper paragraphs 
 which, in tone of lamentation and direful predic 
 tion, rivaled 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. This name has been appropri 
 ately given to those who are leading on the base, 
 the ignorant, and the unprincipled, in a remorseless 
 war upon all the guards and defences of society." 
 
 I introduce it here merely to show what are, in 
 certain quarters, considered the guards and defen 
 ces of society. After various compliments, similar 
 to that just cited, the article proceeds : " All this 
 is dangerous as novel, and the ultimate results can 
 not be contemplated without anxiety. If this spirit 
 extends, who can check it ? Down with the bank ; 
 down with the Military Academy ; down with 
 the judiciary ; down with the Senate ; will be fol 
 lowed by watch-words of a worse character." Here, 
 Mr. Chairman, you have the United States Bank 
 
64: LIFE OF FRAXTTTJrc PIEKCB. 
 
 first, and then the Military Academy, as the guards 
 and defences of your country. If it be so, you are 
 indeed feebly protected. One of these guards and 
 defences is already tottering. And who are the 
 architects of ruin that have resolved its downfall ? 
 Are they the base, the ignorant, and the unprinci 
 pled ? No, sir. The most pure and patriotic por 
 tion of your community ; the staid, industrious, 
 intelligent 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 this much dreaded level 
 ling principle. 
 
 From the midling 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 blessings of a free Government, ad 
 ministered under equal and impartial laws. They 
 are responsible for no portion of your legislation, 
 which, through its partial and unjust operation, has 
 shaken this Union to its centre. Tkat has had its 
 origin in a different quarter, sustained by wealth, 
 the wealth of monopolies, and the power and influ 
 ence which wealth, thus accumulated and disposed, 
 never fails to control. Indeed, sir, while far from 
 demanding at your hands special favors for them- 
 
SPEECH ON THE WEST POINT ACADEMY. 65 
 
 selves, they have not, in my judgment, been suffi 
 ciently 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 ap 
 parent at a single glance. It is gratuitous, because 
 those who are so fortunate as to obtain admission 
 there, receive their education without any obliga 
 tion, except such as a sense of honor may impose, 
 to return, either by service or otherwise, the slight 
 est equivalent. It is exclusive, 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 
 w T hen their characters cannot have become devel 
 oped, and with very little knowledge of their adap 
 tation, mental or physical, for military life. The 
 system disregards one of those great principles 
 which, carried into practice, contributed perhaps, 
 more than any other, to render the arms of Napo 
 leon 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 may be 
 his services, however pre-eminent may become his 
 qualifications for command, all are unavailing. 
 The portcullis is dropped between him and prefer 
 ment, the wisdom of your laws having provided 
 
66 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 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 from 
 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 Government, and the efficiency and chival 
 rous 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. My earliest recollections connect them 
 selves 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 
 defence of their country s rights and honor. One 
 of the most distinguished among their noble band 
 now occupies and honors a seat upon this floor. It 
 is not fit that I should indulge in expressions of 
 personal respect and admiration, which I am sure 
 would find a hearty response in the bosom of every 
 member upon this committee. I allude to him 
 merely to express the hope, that on some occasion 
 we may have, upon this subject, the benefit of his 
 
6PEECH ON THE WEST FOIST ACADEMY. 67 
 
 experience and observation. And if his opinions 
 shall differ from my own, I promise carefully to 
 review every step by which I have been led to my 
 present conclusions. You cannot mistake me, sir. 
 I refer to the hero of Erie. I have declared myself 
 a friend of the army. Satisfy me, then, what meas 
 ures are best calculated to render it effective, and 
 what all desire it to be, and I go for the proposition 
 with my whole heart. 
 
 But I cannot believe that the Military Academy, 
 as at present organized, is calculated to accomplish 
 this desirable end. It may, and undoubtedly does, 
 send forth into the country much military knowl 
 edge ; but the advantage which your army, or that 
 which will constitute your army in time of need, 
 derives from it, is by no means commensurate with 
 the expense you incur. Here, Mr. Chairman, per 
 mit me to say that I deny utterly the expediency 
 and the right to educate at the public 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. Such was never the operation of the Military 
 Academy until after the law of 1812 ; and the doc 
 trine, so far as I have been able to ascertain, was 
 first formally announced by a distinguished indi 
 vidual, at this time sufficiently jealous of the exer 
 cise of executive patronage, and greatly alarmed by 
 what he conceives to be the tendencies of this Gov 
 ernment to centralism and consolidation. It may 
 
68 LIFE OF FEA^KLIN PIEECE. 
 
 be found in the report of the Secretary of War, 
 communicated to Congress in 1819. 
 
 If it shall, upon due consideration, receive the 
 sanction of Congress and the country, I can see no 
 limit to the exercise of power and Government pat 
 ronage. Follow out the principle, and where will 
 it lead you ? You confer upon the National Gov 
 ernment the absolute guardianship of literature and 
 science, military and civil; you need not stop at 
 military sciences any one in the wide range of sci 
 ences, becomes at once a legitimate and constitu 
 tional object of your patronage ; you are confined 
 by no limit but your discretion ; you have no check 
 but your own good pleasure. If you may afford in 
 struction at the public expense, in the languages, in 
 philosophy, in chemistry and in the exact sciences, 
 to young gentlemen who are under no obligation 
 to enter the service of their country, but are in fact, 
 destined for civil life, why may you not by parity 
 of reasoning provide the means of a legal, or theo 
 logical, or medical education, on the ground that 
 the recipients of your bounty will carry forth a fund 
 of useful knowledge that may at some time, under 
 some circumstances, produce a beneficial influence, 
 and promote "the general welfare 2" Sir, I fear 
 that even some of us may live to see the day, when 
 the "general welfare" of your constitution will leave 
 us little ground to boast of a government of limited 
 powers. Eut I did not propose at this time to dis 
 cuss the abstract question of constitutional rights. 
 
SPEECH OU THE WEST POINT ACADEMY. 69 
 
 I will regard the expediency alone ; and whether 
 the former exists or not, its exercise in an institu 
 tion like this, is subversive of the only principle 
 upon which a school, conducted at the public ex 
 pense, can be made profitable to the public ser 
 vice that of making an admission into your school 
 and an education there secondary to an appointment 
 in the army. Sir, this distinctive feature charac 
 terized all your legislation and all executive recom 
 mendations down to 1810. 
 
 I may as well notice here, as at any time, an 
 answer which has always been ready when objec 
 tions 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 influ 
 ence upon the public mind. It has not gone forth 
 upon the authority of an individual merely, but has 
 been published to the world with the approbation of 
 a committee of a former Congress. 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 no 
 change should be urged against the weight of such 
 authority, without mature deliberation, and thor- 
 4* 
 
TO LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 ough 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 error has, undoubtedly, innocently occurred, 
 by confounding the Military Academy at West Point 
 as it was, with the Military Academy at "West Point 
 as it is. The report of Secretary Knox just refered 
 to is characterized by this distinctive feature that 
 the corps proposed to be organized were " to serve 
 as an actual defence to the community," and to con 
 stitute a part of the active force of the country, "to 
 serve in the field, or on the frontire, or in the fortifi 
 cations of the sea coast, as the commander-in-chief 
 may direct." At a later period, the report of the 
 Secretary of War, Mr. McIIenry, communicated to 
 Congress in 1800, although it proposed a plan for 
 military schools, differing in many essential partic 
 ulars from those which had preceded it, still retained 
 the distinctive feature just named as characterizing 
 the report of Gen. Knox. 
 
 With regard to educating young men gratuitous 
 ly, which, whatever may have been the design, I 
 am prepared to show is the practical operation of 
 the Academy, as at present organized, I cannot per 
 haps, exhibit more clearly the sentiments of the Ex 
 ecutive, urgent as was the occasion, and strong as 
 must har6 been the desire to give strength and efi- 
 
SPEECH ON THE WEST POINT ACADEMY. 71 
 
 eiency to the military force, than by reading one or 
 two paragraphs from a supplementary report of Sec 
 retary McIIenry, addressed to the chairman of the 
 Committee of Defence, on the 31st of January, 1800. 
 The Secretary says: 
 
 " Agreeably to the plan of the military Acade 
 my, the directors thereof are to be officers taken 
 from the army ; consequently no expense will be 
 incurred by such appointment. The plan also con 
 templates, that officers of the army, cadets and non 
 commissioned officers shall receive instructions in 
 the Academy. As the ration and fuel which they 
 are entitled to in the army will suffice for them in 
 the Academy, no additional expense will be required 
 for their maintenance while there. 
 
 " The expenses of servants, and certain incidental 
 expenses relative to the police and administra 
 tion, may be defrayed by those who shall be admit 
 ted, out of their pay and emoluments." 
 
 You will observe, Mr. Chairman, from the phra_ 
 seology of the report, that all were to constitute a 
 part of your actual military force; and that what 
 ever additional charges should be incurred were to 
 be defrayed by those who might receive the advan 
 tages of instruction. These provisions, just, as 
 they are important. Let me call your attention 
 for a moment to a report of Colonel Williams, which 
 was made the subject of a special message commu 
 nicated to Congress by Mr. Jefferson, on the 18th of 
 March, 1808. 
 
72 LIFE OF FllAJSKLIK PIERCE. 
 
 The extract I propose to read, as sustaining fully 
 the views of Mr. Mcllenry, upon this point, is in the 
 following words : 
 
 " It might be well to make the plan upon such a 
 scale as not only to take in the minor officers of the 
 ISTavy ; but also any youth from any of the States 
 who might wish for such an education, whether de 
 signed for the Army or Navy, or neither, and 
 let them be assessed to the value of their education, 
 which might form a fund for extra or contingent ex 
 penses." 
 
 Sir, these are the true doctrines upon this subject ; 
 doctrines worthy of the administration under which 
 they were promulgated, and in accordance with the 
 views of statesmen in the earlier and purer days of 
 the Republic. 
 
 Give to the officers of your army the hightes ad 
 vantages for perfection in all the branches of mili 
 tary science, and let those advantages be open to all 
 in rotation, and under such terms and regulations 
 shall be at once impartial toward the officers, and 
 advantageous to the service ; but let all young gen 
 tlemen who have a taste for military life, and desire 
 to adopt arms as a profession, prepare themselves 
 for subordinate situations at their own expense, or 
 at the expense of their parents or guardians, in the 
 same manner that the youth of our country are 
 qualified for the professions of civil life. Sir, while 
 upon this subject of gratuitous education, I will read 
 an extract from " Dupin s Military Force of Great 
 
SPEECH ON THB WEST POINT ACADEOT. 73 
 
 Britain," to show what favor it finds in another 
 country, from the practice and experience of which 
 we may derive some advantages, however far from 
 approving of its institutions generally. The extract 
 is from the 2nd vol., 71st page, and relates to the 
 terms on which young gentlemen are admitted to 
 the junior departments of the Royal Military Col 
 lege at Sandhurst. 
 
 " First ; the sons of officers of all ranks, whether 
 of the land or sea forces, who have died in the ser 
 vice, leaving their families in pecuniary distress ; 
 this class are instructed, boarded and habited, gra- 
 tuitiously by the State ; being required only to pro 
 vide their equipments on admission, and to main 
 tain themselves in linen. 
 
 " Secondly : The sons of all officers of the army 
 above the rank of subalterns, actually in the service 
 and who pay a sum proportioned to their ranks, 
 according to a scale per annum regulated by the su 
 preme board. The sons of living naval officers of 
 rank not below that of master and commander, are 
 also admitted on payment of annual stipends, simi 
 lar to those of corresponding ranks in the army. 
 The orphan sons of officers, who have not left their 
 families in pecuniary difficulties, are admitted into 
 this class, on paying the stipends required of officers 
 of the rank held by their parents at the time of their 
 decease. 
 
 "Thirdly: The sons of noblemen, and private 
 gentlemen who pay a yearly sum equivalent to the 
 
74: LIFE OF FRANKLIN" PIERCE. 
 
 expenses of their education, board and clothing, ac 
 cording to a rate regulated from time to time by the 
 commissioners." 
 
 Sir, let it be remembered that these are the regu 
 lations of a government which, with all its wealth 
 and power, is, from its structure and practice, groan 
 ing under the accumulated weight of pensions, sin 
 ecures, and gratuities ; and yet you observe that 
 only one class, " the sons of officers of all ranks, 
 whether of the land or sea forces, who have died in 
 the service, leaving their families in pecuniary dis 
 tress," are educated gratuitously. I do not approve 
 even of this ; but I hold it up in contrast with your 
 own principles and practice. 
 
 If the patience of the committee would warrant 
 me, Mr. Chairman, I could show, by reference to 
 executive communications, and the current legisla 
 tion of Congress, in 1794, 1796, 1802, and 1808, 
 that, prior to the last mentioned date, such an insti 
 tution as we now have was neither recommended 
 nor contemplated. Upon this point I will not de 
 tain you longer; but when hereafter confronted 
 fey the authority of great names, I trust we shall be 
 told where the expressions of approbation are to be 
 found. We may then judge of their applicability 
 to the Military Academy as now organized. 
 
 I am far from desiring to see this country desti 
 tute of a Military Academy ; but I would have it a 
 school of practice, and instruction, for officers actu 
 ally in the service of the United States : not an 
 
SPEECH ON THE WEST POINT ACADEMY. 75 
 
 institution for educating, gratuitously, young gentle 
 men, who, on the completion of their term, or after 
 a few months leave of absence, resign their com 
 missions, and return to the pursuits of civil life. 
 
 If any one doubts that this is the practical opera 
 tion of your present system, I refer him to the 
 annual list of resignations, to be found in the Adju 
 tant General s office. 
 
 Firmly as I am convinced of the necessity of a 
 re-organization, I would take no step to create an 
 unjust prejudice against the institution. All that I 
 ask, and so far as I know, all that any of the oppo 
 nents of the institution ask, is, that after a full and 
 impartial investigation, it should stand or fall 
 upon its merits. I know that there are graduates 
 of the institution who are oraments to the army, and 
 an honor to their country, but they, and not the sem 
 inary, are entitled to the credit. Here I would re 
 mark, once for all, that I do not reflect upon the offi 
 cers or pupils of the Academy ; it is to the princi 
 ples of the institution itself, as at present organized, 
 that I object. It is often said, that the graduates 
 leave the institution with sentiments that but ill ac 
 cord with the feelings and opinions of the great mass 
 of the people of that Government from which they 
 derive the means of education, and that many who 
 take commissions possess few qualifications for the 
 command of men, either in war or in peace. Most 
 of the members of this House have had more or 
 less intercourse with these young gentlemen ; and I 
 
76 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 leave it for each individual to form his own opinion 
 of the correctness of the charges. Thus much I 
 will say for myself, that I believe that these, and 
 greater evils, are the natural, if not the inevitable 
 result of the principles in which this institution is 
 founded ; and any system of education established 
 upon similar principles, on Government patronage 
 alone, will produce like results, now and for ever. 
 Sir, what are some of these results ? By the Re 
 port of the Secretary of "War, dated January, 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. The number 
 received annually into the Academy, averages one 
 hundred, of which, only the number stated, to wit, 
 forty, pass through the prescribed course of educa 
 tion at schools, and become supernumerary lieuten 
 ants in the army." By the report of the Secretary 
 of War, December, 1830, we are informed that 
 " the number of promotions to the army from this 
 corps for the last five years, has averaged about 
 twenty-two, annually, while the number of gradu 
 ates has been at an average of forty. This excess, 
 which is annually increasing, has placed eighty-sev 
 en in waiting until vacancies shall take place, and 
 show that, in the next year, probably, and in the 
 succeeding one, certainly, there will be an excess 
 
SPEECH ON THE WEST POINT ACADEMY. 77 
 
 beyond what the existing law authorizes to be com 
 missioned. There will then be one hundred and 
 six supernumerary brevet second lieutenants, ap 
 purtenant to the army, at an average annual ex 
 pense of $80,000." Sir, that results here disclosed 
 were not unticipated by Mr. Madison, is apparent 
 from a recurrence to his messages of 1810, 1811. 
 
 In passing 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 patriotism and resent 
 ment were aroused, by beholding the privileges 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 increas 
 ing 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. Itwili hardly be pretend 
 ed that it was the original design of the law to aug 
 ment the number of persons instructed, beyond the 
 wants of public service. 
 
 Well, the report of the Secretary shows that for 
 five years prior to 1831, the Academy had furnished 
 eighteen supernumeraries annually. A practical 
 operation of this character has no sanction in the 
 
78 LIFE OF FEANKLIN PIEEOE. 
 
 recommendation of Mr. Madison. The report dem 
 onstrates, further, the fruitfulness and utility of this 
 institution, by showing the fact that but two-fifths of 
 all those that enter the Academy, graduate, and that 
 but a fraction more than one-fifth enter the public 
 service. 
 
 This is not the fault of the administration of the 
 Academy ; it is not the fault of young gentlemen 
 who are sent tliere. On your present peace estab 
 lishment, there can be but little to stimulate them, 
 particularly in the acquisition of military science. 
 There can hardly be but one object in the mind of 
 the student, and that would be to obtain an educa 
 tion for the purposes of civil life. The difficulty is, 
 that the institution has outlived both the occasion 
 that called it into existence, and its original design. 
 
 I have before remarked, that the Academy was 
 manifestly enlarged to correspond with the army 
 and militia actually to be called into service. Look, 
 then, for a moment, at facts, and observe with how 
 much wisdom, justice, and sound policy, you retain 
 the provisions of the law of 1812. The total au 
 thorized force of 1813, after the declaration of war, 
 was 58,254; and in October, 1814, the military es 
 tablishment amounted to 62,428. By the act of 
 March, 1815, the peace establishment was limited 
 to 10,000, and now hardly exceeds that number. 
 Thus you make a reduction of more than 50,000 in 
 your actual military force, to accommodate the ex 
 penses of the Government to its wants. And why 
 
SPEECH ON THE WEST POINT ACADEMY. 79 
 
 do you refuse to do the same with your grand sys 
 tem of public education? "Why does that remain 
 unchanged ? Why not reduce it at once, at least to 
 the actual wants of the service, and dispense with 
 your corps of supernumerary lieutenants? Sir, 
 there is, there can be but one answer to the ques 
 tion, and that may be found in the war report of 
 1819, to which I have before had occasion to allude. 
 The Secretary says, " The cadets who cannot be pro 
 vided for in the army, will return to private life, but 
 in the event of war, their knowledge will not be 
 lost to the country." 
 
 Indeed, sir, these young gentlemen, if they could 
 be induced to take the field, would, after a lapse of 
 ten or fifteen years, come up from the bar, or, it may 
 be, the pulpit, fresh in military science, and admi 
 rably qualified for command in the face of an en 
 emy. 
 
 The magazine of facts, to prove, at the same 
 glance, the extravagance and unfruitfulness of the 
 institution, is not easily exhausted ; but I am ad 
 monished, 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 aggregate results. There has already been, 
 expended upon the institution more than three mill 
 ions, three hundred thousand dollars. Between. 
 1815 and 1821, thirteen hundred and eighteen stu 
 dents were admitted into the Academy ;< and of all 
 
80 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 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 investi 
 gation into its principles and practical operation, I, 
 as an individual member, will refuse to appropriate 
 the first dollar for its support. 
 
ELECTION TO THE IT. 8. SENATE. 81 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Election to the U. S. Senate Correspondence Speech op the Defen 
 ces of the Country Speech on the Armed Occupation of Florida- 
 Speech on Removals from Office. 
 
 IN 1837, Mr. Pierce was elected by a large ma 
 jority of the New-Hampshire Legislature to take 
 his seat in the United States Senate. He took his 
 seat in that body the 4th of March, 1837, the day 
 on which Mr. Van Buren was inaugurated as Pres 
 ident. The session was an extra one, called for the 
 purpose of legislating for the commercial relief of 
 the then prostrate country. During the terrible 
 depression of that and following years, there was a 
 strong disposition on the part of Congress to stimu 
 late trade by vicious methods, and Mr. Pierce op 
 posed all such schemes. Eanged against him in 
 debate often were such men as Choate, and Clay, 
 and Webster, but his speeches were of the kind 
 which tell upon an audience of thinking men. He 
 boldly opposed the plan of using Government funds 
 as a basis for discount, and advocated, with all his 
 powers, the separation of all Government monies 
 from the concerns of the banks. 
 . During his course in the Senate, the Independent 
 Treasury Bill come up for discussion, and at that 
 time many of its present warmest supporters were 
 
82 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 doubtful of the expediency of adopting it. But Mr. 
 Pierce, from the very first, spoke and voted for it, 
 and experience proves the sagacity of his mind in 
 thus discovering its excellencies before it had been 
 put into operation. 
 
 "While in the Senate, Mr. Pierce served on some 
 of the most important of the Committees on the 
 Judiciary, on Military Affairs, on Pensions, etc., etc. 
 He was emphatically a working member ; he was 
 not afraid to be called such. Indeed, his ambition 
 was not to be known as a fine orator, but as a 
 worker, and one who had served his constituents and 
 the country at large, faithfully and with ability. 
 And he won not only the reputation of being an 
 orator, but the reputation of being a very honest 
 and useful man. 
 
 In June 1838, one year after his election to the 
 U. S. Senate, Mr. Pierce changed his residence from 
 his native town of Hillsborough to Concord, his 
 present place of residence. His large circle of 
 friends in Hillsborough could not allow the occasion 
 to pass without a testimonial of their affection for 
 Mr. Pierce, and consequently invited him to a public 
 dinner. The following is the correspondence which 
 took place in reference to it : 
 
 Hillsborough^ August 25, 1838. - 
 Hon. FRANKLIN PIERCE : 
 
 Sir The Democratic Republicans of Hillsbor 
 ough embrace the opportunity your short stay fur 
 nishes, to tender to you an invitation to partake 
 
TENDERED A PUBLIC DINNER. 83 
 
 with them of a public dinner, at such time as may 
 be most convenient to you, before you take your 
 leave of Hillsborough. 
 
 In discharging the duty imposed upon them, the 
 committee beg leave to assure you, that the tender 
 they make is no unmeaning compliment. 
 
 Your childhood was with them, and so has been 
 your riper years. Educated in their midst, one of 
 themselves, the ties that have so long bound you to 
 them cannot be easily sundered ; and it would be 
 doing violence to their feelings, to suffer the present 
 occasion to pass without an opportunity of calling 
 up those recollections that will ever be to them a 
 source of the highest satisfaction. 
 
 You have stood by them at all times. You have 
 been to them even as a son and a brother. Their 
 interests have been your interests, their feelings 
 your feelings. And it is with the sincerest pleas 
 ure that they offer you this testimonial, however 
 small, of the estimate they place upon your charac 
 ter, public and private. 
 
 The committee cannot but express their regret at 
 the necessity which is about to separate you from 
 the republican citizens of Hillsborough. Long and 
 intimately have you been known to them ; and 
 wherever you may go, they beg leave to assure you 
 that you will carry with you their kindest wishes 
 for your welfare. 
 
 "With esteem and respect we have the honor to 
 be yours, &ic. TIMOTHY WYMAET, &c. 
 
84 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 Hillsborough, Sept. 15, 1838. 
 
 GENTLEMEN : Your letter in behalf of the Demo 
 cratic Republicans of Hillsborough, inviting me to 
 partake of a public dinner at such time as might 
 suit my convenience, was duly received. 
 
 Sincerely desirous of exchanging salutations with 
 all my friends, before those relations which have so 
 long subsisted between us should be severed, I have 
 delayed giving an answer, with the hope that my 
 other engagements would allow me this pleasure. 
 In this expectation, I am sorry to say, I find myself 
 disappointed. I have received too many substan 
 tial evidences of the kind regard and true friend 
 ship of the citizens of Hillsborough to need any 
 new assurance of their partiality, and yet, I would 
 not disguise the fact that your testimony in parting, 
 as to the manner in which, my duties in public and 
 private life have been discharged, is nattering to my 
 feelings, especially so, as coining from those who 
 have known me longest and most intimately. 
 
 I shall leave Hillsborough with no ordinary re 
 gret. There are a thousand reasons why it can 
 not be otherwise ! have hitherto -known no other 
 home. 
 
 Here may have passed away many of the hap 
 piest days and months of my life. With these 
 streams and mountains are associated most of the 
 delightful recollections of buoyant and happy boy 
 hood and in my early intercourse with the gener- 
 j independent and intelligent yeom amy of Hills- 
 
TENDERED A PUBLIC DINNER. 85 
 
 borough, I became attached to, and learned how 
 highly to appreciate that class of the community 
 which constitutes the true nobility of this country. 
 I need hardly say that I shall never cease to remem 
 ber my birth-place with pride as well as affection, 
 and with still more pride shall I recollect the steady, 
 unqualified and generous confidence which has been 
 reposed in me by its inhabitants. With unfeigned 
 regret, gentlemen, that I am unable to accept the 
 invitation you have communicated in such kind and 
 flattering terms, please to accept for yourselves 
 and to communicate to my fellow-citizens, whose or 
 gans you are on this occasion, the assurance of my 
 warm thanks and sincerest interest in whatever re 
 lates to their prosperity and happiness, individually 
 and collectively. 
 
 I am, gentlemen, with the highest respect, your 
 friend and obedient servant, 
 
 FRANKLIN" PIEECE. 
 
 TIMOTHY WYMAN, Esq. 
 
 The course of Mr. Pierce in the Senate was such 
 that he won encomiums from all quarters. Said 
 the Boston Post of June 19th 1849 : 
 
 " New Hampshire has just cause of pride in her 
 youthful Senator. To a grace and modesty of man 
 ner, which always attract when he addresses the 
 Senate, he has added severe application to busi 
 ness, and a thorough knowledge of his subject, in 
 all its relations, and henceit is, though one of the 
 5 
 
86 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEKCE. 
 
 youngest, he is one of the most influential in the 
 distinguished body of which he is a member. "With 
 out seeking popularity as a debater, Mr. Pierce, in 
 the quiet and untiring pursuit of public duty, and 
 the conscientious discharge of private responsibility, 
 has acquired a permanent reputation, which places 
 him among the most useful and efficient public men 
 in the country." 
 
 Said the editor of the !New England Puritan, a 
 religious journal : 
 
 " Of Franklin Pierce, I cannot do otherwise than 
 speak well ; for it happened to me, during a short 
 term of official service in Bowdoin College, during 
 the Presidency of Dr. Allen, to know him as a schol 
 ar there, and while resident in this region, to know 
 him as a Senator. A very frank, gentlemanly, un 
 obtrusive man is he, strongly devoted to his politi 
 cal principles, kind and constant in his friendship, 
 venerating the institutions of religion, and while 
 living here attending upon the most evangelical 
 preaching in the city." 
 
 Mr. Pierce was known in the Senate as an advocate 
 of an economical administration of the Government, 
 a strict construction of the constitution in fact he 
 was a thorough republican of the old Jefferson 
 school. 
 
 The following speech was delivered by him in the 
 U. S. Senate, July 14th, 1840, upon the subject of 
 the National Defences : 
 
SPEECH ON THE DEFENCES, &C. 87 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 ON THE DEFENCES OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 Mr. Pierce, in behalf of the committee on Mili 
 tary Affairs, asked to be discharged from the further 
 consideration of " the memorial of Gen. Edmund 
 P. Gaines, proposing a system of national defence, 
 and praying its adoption by Congress." And also 
 from "the memorial of the Military Convention, 
 holden at Norwich, Yermont, praying for the re 
 vision and alteration of the system of military 
 defences of the United States." 
 
 Mr. P. said the inquiry had been repeatedly 
 made, " What are the views of the committee upon 
 this subject ?" and before the question was taken 
 upon the motion just submitted, he would briefly 
 respond to that interrogatory, presuming, however, 
 to speak for no member but himself. 
 
 The present session, it was well known, had for 
 several reasons, not been propitious for the discus 
 sion and adoption of any improvements in the plan 
 of our national defences. This had been sufficiently 
 manifested by the character of the debate that took 
 place some days since upon one branch of the gen 
 eral question the re-organization and discipline of 
 the militia. But, although the committee had not 
 deemed it expedient at this time to present a report, 
 it had been deferred from no want of a deep con 
 viction of its importance. He would rejoice if the 
 
88 LIFE OF FBAXKLUST PIEKCE. 
 
 public mind could be effectually directed to the 
 subject ; and he hoped that he might at least be able 
 to call the attention of Senators to the memorials, 
 which (although parts of each would doubtless be 
 regarded extravagant) contained, nevertheless, prac 
 tical views and suggestions well worthy of consider 
 ation, in connection with the very important meas 
 ures of which they respectively treated measures, 
 he would take occasion to remark, that had been 
 discussed with great ability in the report of a board 
 of officers, communicated to the Senate by the Presi 
 dent, in April last. He hoped the subject would be 
 taken up at an early day in the next session, and 
 be so deliberately and definitely acted upon, as to 
 give our mode and means of defense, efficiency, uni 
 formity, and the advantage of a settled system. 
 "We could now do it with the light of enlarged expe 
 rience, and the benefit of many experiments made 
 at the expense of others. In this age of progress, 
 and in this land of invention, and almost boundless 
 resources, we were not the people to stand still. 
 "We had not stood still. But while individual and 
 private enterprise had kept pace, in all the various 
 pursuits of life, with the best improvements of the 
 day, it must be admitted, that considering our posi 
 tion upon the globe the immense extent of our 
 maritime frontier the mode in which we must be 
 assailed, if ever successfully assailed, by a foreign 
 foe the easy .access to our most commanding har 
 bors the vast importance and exposed condition 
 
SPEECH ON" THE DEFENCES, AC. 89 
 
 of our great commercial cities, especially since the 
 successful application of steam power to ocean navi 
 gation that we had been singularly regardless of 
 the advances and improvements which, in other 
 countries, especially in France and England, had, 
 within the last few years, materially changed, and 
 were now rapidly changing the character of defen 
 sive and offensive operations, both on the land and 
 the sea. We should not shut our eyes to these 
 things. We should not remain unmindful of 
 changes in the art and practice of war, exceeded in 
 importance only by those which followed the dis 
 covery of gunpowder in the fourteenth century. 
 
 There were some things about the military defen 
 ces of this country, which might be considered as 
 settled, in relation to which there could be little if 
 any difference of opinion. For instance he re 
 garded it as certain, that no large standing army 
 was ever to be maintained here in time of peace, 
 while our free institutions remain unshaken. In 
 this we differed entirely from those nations with 
 whom, from our position and political relations, we 
 were in the greatest danger of being drawn into col 
 lision. It was equally certain, in his j;idgment, 
 that the stationary fortifications, in the best condi 
 tion, with abundance of materiel, and well manned, 
 would prove w r holly inadequate to the defense even 
 of our large commercial cities. It must be regarded 
 as not less clear, that no foreign power could ever 
 embark in the Quixotic enterprise of conquering 
 
90 
 
 LITE OF FKANKLEST PIEECE. 
 
 this country, unless its Constitution should be first 
 trampled in the dust by its own children. Such a 
 project could never be soberly contemplated, he 
 might safely assert, while we were a united people. 
 During the Eevolution in the weakness of our 
 infancy the invaders could scarcely command 
 more territory than they were able immediately to 
 occupy. The possession of any particular place, 
 however important in itself, would be of little conse 
 quence, as bearing upon the ultimate result of a con 
 flict. We had no great metropolis like Paris, which, 
 in possession of one power or another, could control 
 the country. And from the nature of our institu 
 tions, and the extent of our territory, we never could 
 have. The leading purposes of an enemy, there 
 fore, would be, by the celerity and boldness of his 
 movements on our coast, to keep up a constant 
 alarm ; to harass and cut off our commerce ; to de 
 stroy our naval depots and public works ; and if 
 possible, to lay our great commercial cities under 
 contribution or in ashes. It was against prompt 
 movements and vigorous exertions for objects like 
 these, for which we should prepare and provide. 
 Our fortresses were not to be invested and made the 
 objects of long, regular siege ; they were not, fur 
 reasons to which he had before adverted, of suf 
 ficient consequence in this country, whatever might 
 be the case in others, possessing limited territory 
 and different situation. In the nature of things this 
 would not take place, and it need not be contem- 
 
SPEECH ON THE DEFENCES, &C. 91 
 
 plated in their construction. France and England 
 had, and always must maintain, large and well ap 
 pointed standing armies : they were the indispen 
 sable appendages of regal power and dominion, 
 without which no monarch in Europe could retain 
 his crown a single year. They had not only them, 
 but they had the means of planting them upon our 
 shores ; nay, of quartering them in the heart of our 
 cities, before we could set in order our insufficient, 
 and now deserted fortresses, or. call into the field any 
 effective force, organized as our militia at present 
 was ; indeed, in some of the States there was no or 
 ganization whatever; it was wholly disbanded, and 
 men whose thoughts were never elevated above the 
 contemplation of loss and gain, were out in the 
 newspapers with their calculations to show exactly 
 how many dollars and cents would be saved annu 
 ally by the " disbandment" of this safe and sure 
 auxiliary in our defence. 
 
 Sir, said Mr. P., can anything be more deplora 
 bly characteristic of the prevailing spirit and pas 
 sion of the age? 
 
 If he was right on these points, we were not in 
 a condition to warrant the folding of our arms in 
 security. We were at peace, but we might be 
 involved in war, we knew not Low soon. This we 
 did know, that tho only sure v ay to keep it far off 
 was to provide for its approach . 
 
 He was not disposed to give color to any unneces 
 sary alarm, but he felt bound to say that the indi- 
 
92 LIFE OF 
 
 PIEKCE. 
 
 cations of a speedy and pacific termination of the 
 difficulties growing out of the North-eastern boun 
 dary question, which seemed to have strongly 
 impressed other minds, had wholly failed to impart 
 any fresh confidence to his. He feared that they 
 would prove specious rather than substantial. He 
 could not help feeling strongly upon this subject of 
 national defences, because he had witnessed the 
 lethargy in which the spirit of the nation, easily 
 roused to every thing else, had seemed to slumber 
 here. Within the last five years war clouds had 
 lowered most portentiously upon our horizon, and 
 on one or two occasions seemed ready to burst, and 
 scatter far and wide the calamities of that dreadful 
 scourge. "What was the effect upon the Govern 
 ment and the country, when, upon a question of 
 money, we were upon the eve of a war with one of 
 the most powerful and gallant nations upon the face 
 of the earth. Did we manifest a willingness to 
 apply our money in preparation for the contest? 
 ]STo. He would be ashamed to state, there in his 
 place, the total want of any thing like adequate 
 means of defense. In Congress there was, as usual, 
 no want of patriotic demonstration in the way of 
 speeches, but they were followed by nothing like 
 decisive action. Through the country there ap 
 peared to be a profound repose, and blind trusting 
 to luck in the face of admitted imminent danger. 
 In the beneficent ordination of Providence, and 
 through the energy and wisdom of that very extra- 
 
SPEECH ON THE DEFENCES, &C. 93 
 
 ordinary man, who always proved equal to great 
 occasions, the impending danger w r as happily 
 averted. How had it been more recently, when, 
 for a long time, there had been a quasi war along 
 our whole border, from St. Johns to the lakes ? In 
 what condition did the evening of the 2nd of March, 
 1839, find the country? In what state did it find 
 us in our places here ? Like the nation generally 
 calm and undisturbed. Senators then present would 
 not soon forget the scene that followed the arrival 
 of the Eastern mail that night. The stirring report 
 soon passed around the chamber, " there has been 
 a battle upon the Eastern frontier ; the blood of our 
 citizens has been shed upon our own soil." 
 
 A change came over the spirit of our dream. 
 Every countenance was lighted up with high ex 
 citement. We were, at last, when the strange spell 
 of fancied security could no longer bind us, roused 
 as from the delusion of a charm we woke as 
 from the trace of years as from a dream we open 
 ed our eyes upon a full view of the nearness and 
 magnitude of our danger. He would never forget 
 the bearing on that occasion, nor the burning words 
 of an honorable Senator on the other side of the 
 chamber, not now in his place. That Senator seem 
 ed to feel that by our culpable neglect to provide 
 the means of defence, we had almost invited ag 
 gression, and that we ought ourselves to take our 
 places in the fiercest of the eddying storm, which it 
 was then supposed had already burst upon our bor- 
 5* 
 
94 LIFE OF FRANKLIN" PIERCE. 
 
 der brethren. Every word, as lie then understood, 
 he believed was heartily responded to. What was 
 done ? All that could be, under the circumstances 
 in which we were placed. The Constitutional term 
 of one branch of Congress had but a few more hours 
 to run. There was but a little time for deliberation, 
 but we showed that there was one contingency in 
 which we could merge every thing like party, and 
 present an unbroken front. We passed a bill, pla 
 cing at the disposal of the President, the whole mi 
 litia of the United States, to be compelled to serve 
 for a term not exceeding six months to raise 
 5Q,000 volunteers " to equip, man, and employ in 
 active service, all the naval force of the United States 
 and to build, purchase, or charter, arm, equip and 
 man, such vessels and steamboats on the northern 
 lakes and rivers, whose waters communicate with 
 the United States and Great Britain, as he shall 
 deem necessary." This fearful responsibility was 
 cast upon one individual. This vast command, with 
 ten millions of dollars, to make it effectual, was 
 committed to the sole discretion and patriotism of 
 the President. "No man, who loved his country, 
 could but deprecate the necessity of placing such 
 tremendous and fearful powers in the hands of one 
 man, however wise and disinterested. 
 
 He warned the people against such another crisis. 
 Sooner or later, it would come, and perhaps unat 
 tended by that good fortune which had borne us 
 thus far on in peace. At all events, it was the most 
 
SPEECH ON THE DEFENCES, &C. 95 
 
 fatal temerity to depend upon it, and neglect the 
 necessary preparation. What should be done? 
 Where lies the most obvious, the most unquestion 
 able, and cheapest means of defence to the coun 
 try ? These are questions to which the memorial 
 ists undertook respectively to respond. He did not, 
 of course, propose at this time particularly to ex 
 amine the report of the board of officers, to which 
 he had before adverted, but he would take the lib 
 erty to remark, that the positions assumed were 
 much more questionable than the ability with which 
 they were discussed and defended. There was at 
 least one point of agreement between the memori 
 alists, and one in which he thought both were right. 
 It was as to the entire insufficiency of land or sta 
 tionary defences to protect our harbors, and secure 
 the approaches to them. That this had been fully 
 illustrated in more than one instance, even when 
 wind and sails had been relied upon, he might 
 safely assert, without intending to discuss the rela 
 tive power of floating and stationary batteries. 
 How much less the security now, with the general 
 and free application of the propelling power of 
 steam, it required no particular science, or military 
 knowledge to judge. He referred particularly to 
 the passing of the castle of Crohenburgh, and the 
 successful attack of Lord Nelson upon Copenhagen 
 in 1801, to the attack upon Gibraltar by the French 
 and Spanish in 1782, and the assault upon Yera 
 Cruz, and the reduction of the strong castle of San 
 
96 LIFE OF FBANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 Juan de Ulloa, a year ago last November, all of which 
 had been cited on both sides in the controversy be 
 tween floating and stationary defences. Gentlemen 
 would be more safe in reading the official and au 
 thentic accounts, and drawing their own conclusions, 
 than in trusting to the statements of the supporters of 
 the one system or the other. Mr. P. said he would 
 by no means dispense with the stationary fortifica 
 tions, upon which he had so much relied ; in many 
 positions they were indispensable, but, in his judg 
 ment, the system, with us, had already been carried 
 too far in respect to the number of works, and in 
 some instances, as to the vast expense incurred upon 
 individual works. Our country was too broad 
 too immense in its sweep, to rely upon such works. 
 No man would be so visionary as to indulge the 
 chimerical scheme of making a sea coast of more 
 than 3,000 miles impervious to attack. There were 
 not only a great number of harbors and road-steads 
 along the coast that could not be thus defended, but 
 almost innumerable indentations, affording safe an 
 chorage, from which a superior naval force might 
 land any number of troops, notwithstanding the 
 entire completion of the most extensive plan of sta 
 tionary fortifications ever yet dreamed of. They 
 could not be compelled to land under the guns of a 
 battery, or to place themselves within its range. 
 Unless they should be met successfully upon their 
 chosen element, they would take their own time, 
 and pretty much their own place, to disembark. 
 
SPEECH ON THE DEFENCES, <feC. 97 
 
 The contest then would be in the open field, between 
 our armies and theirs generally between the stead 
 iness and thorough discipline of their veteran, but 
 mercenary regiments upon a foreign soil ; and the 
 valor and desperate energy of ours, fighting, it might 
 be, within sight of their own homes. 
 
 That we were now sadly deficient in the means of 
 defence, was a fact admitted by all. In that con 
 dition we ought not to remain. We should provide 
 our harbors, that hold out the greatest temptation 
 to an invading foe, in addition to the stationary for 
 tifications, with the best floating defences known to 
 the world. "We should make, as soon as it can be 
 done consistently with other demands upon the reve 
 nue, our navy equal at least to one-sixth of that of 
 Great Britain. We should never go for conquest, 
 We had, in territory, in climate, and resources, 
 all that any people should desire, and the armament 
 alluded to was believed to be as large a proportion, 
 as England would ever be able to spare from other 
 points, and detach to our seas. Consistently with 
 the demands upon the revenue ! He would not say 
 that. He held that, with the wealth and great re 
 sources of the country, we should make our reve 
 nue equal to this demand. Want of funds should 
 hereafter be regarded as no good excuse for neglect 
 ing defences, universally admitted to be indispensa 
 ble for the honor and safety of our country. If the 
 current revenue was not sufficient for these and oth 
 er objects of like magnitude and necessity, let arti- 
 
93 LIFE OF FEANEXUT PIERCE. 
 
 cles of luxury and ornament, such as wines and 
 silks, which, are annually imported and consumed 
 in the country, be taxed to raise the means. The 
 navy of Great Britain consists at present of five 
 hundred and fifteen ships and twenty-three steam 
 ers, and mounted more than twenty-two thousand 
 guns ; France, two hundred and thirty ships ; Amer 
 ica, fifty-two in all, and thirty-eight effective, moun 
 ting only three thousand guns. Now the least with 
 which we should be satisfied in our naval armament, 
 was an increase at the lowest of fifty per cent. In 
 the mean time, we should provide for an organiza 
 tion of the militia, to be efficient and uniform 
 throughout the United States. 
 
 Thus prepared, with our large cities in a suitable 
 state of defence, and with six hundred thousand 
 disciplined citizen soldiers, so enrolled and organ 
 ized as to admit of being promptly mustered and 
 called into the field, we should be ready for that 
 which, under such circumstances, would hardly be 
 pressed upon us. 
 
 He would not be understood as admitting, for a 
 moment, that he would not, even unprepared as we 
 now were, expel in a little time any invader that 
 should venture to set foot upon our soil. He enter 
 tained not a doubt of it, because the same spirit 
 that in 1793 prompted the celebrated decree of the 
 French convention, which proclaimed that 
 
 " From the present moment, till that when all the 
 enemies shall have been driven from the territory of 
 
SPEECH ON THE DEFENCES, &C. 99 
 
 the Republic, all Frenchmen shall be in permanent 
 readiness for the service of the armies ; the young 
 men shall march to the contest ; the married men 
 forge arms and transport the provisions ; the women 
 shall make tents and clothes, and wait in the hospi 
 tals ; the children shall make lint of old linen ; the 
 old men shall cause themselves to be carried to the 
 public squares to excite the courage of the warriors, 
 and preach hatred against the enemies of the Re 
 public ; the battalions, which shall be organized in 
 every district shall be ranged under a banner with 
 this inscription : The French nation risen against 
 tyrants. " 
 
 The spirit which rendered that people invincible, 
 and crowned their arms with such a succession of 
 splendid victories over the veteran troops of the 
 ollied powers, as astounded the civilized world would 
 animate our Countrymen from one extremity of the 
 Union to the other; but let every man consider 
 what dreadful sacrifices must precede the final re 
 sult, if war come upon us in our present defenceless 
 state. "While our citizens were taking their places 
 under the fold of the banner which the Republic 
 would throw over them a slow process at least for 
 want of organization our gallant little army, to 
 which the country looked with pride and confidence, 
 would be sacrificed ; the blood of our most valuable 
 citizens would perhaps stain the pavements of their 
 own streets ; and more property be destroyed in one 
 commercial city than would now defray the entire 
 
100 LIFE OF FEANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 expenses of prfeect protection and security. This, 
 Mr. P. said, was what might happen ; and was that 
 against which moderate patriotism and ordinary 
 prudence should provide. He urged the hope that 
 when this storm of politics should have passed away, 
 the Senate would take the subject up in the spirit 
 and with the enlarged views of statesmen, acting 
 for the common interest of their common country. 
 
 The following speech was delivered by Mr. Pierce 
 in the Senate, Jan. 9th, 1840. 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 ON THE ARMED OCCUPATION OF FLORIDA. 
 
 Mr. Pierce said : Having determined to support 
 this bill, not without some hesitation, it was my in 
 tention, after the full and minute exposition made 
 by the Chairman of the Committee on Military Af- 
 iairs, (Mr. Benton,) to give a silent vote ; and I 
 should have done so but for the extraordinary course 
 of argument pursued on the other side, and the 
 sweeping denunciations of the Executive, in which 
 gentlemen have chosen to indulge denunciations 
 which I cannot but regard as wholly unwarranted 
 and unjust. If Senators will withdraw their thoughts 
 from these general charges of a want of zeal, fore 
 cast, and energy on the part of the Executive lay 
 aside all prejudices which such charges may be cal- 
 
SPEECH ON THE FLORIDA WAK. 101 
 
 culated to engender and consider, for a moment, 
 the nature of the territory in which our troops have 
 operated, and must continue to operate the char 
 acter of the foe our present means, and the condi 
 tion of that country they will be more likely to 
 do justice to the distinguished individual now at 
 the head of the "War Department, whose conduct 
 in relation to the operations on that ill-fated penin 
 sula, I have, during this debate, heard censured 
 for the first time, and much more likely to adopt 
 those legislative measures, which the exigencies of 
 the case, with a full view of all the difficulties and 
 embarrassments with which it is surrounded, may 
 require. There is much truth in the remark of Gen. 
 St. Clair, in the introduction to the history of his 
 own disastrous Indian campaign. He says : "In 
 military affairs, blame is almost always attached to 
 misfortune ; for the greatest part of those who judge, 
 (and all will judge,) have no rule to guide them but 
 the event." Now, sir, in this country, there has 
 never been a case where the event of military opera 
 tions was so much calculated to lead the mind to 
 erroneous, unjust, and uncharitable conclusions, as 
 those which we are now considering. That the 
 Florida war has, in all its aspects, been most disas 
 trous and melancholy, many of us feel ^all are 
 ready to admit. The blood of our patriotic citizens 
 has been poured out there like water, the lives of 
 many of our most able officers and faithful soldiers 
 have been sacrificed, and the resources of the nation 
 
LIFF, OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 have been drained in a hitherto fruitless attempt to 
 remove cruel, artful, and treacherous bands of sav 
 ages, whom no treaty obligations can bind, and 
 whose tender mercies are manifested in the delib 
 erate and indiscriminate murder of helpless infants 
 and defenceless mothers. Now that portions of our 
 army, varying from four to ten thousand men, 
 should have been, during the last five years, within 
 our own territory, in a conflict with remnants of 
 savage tribes, not embracing at any time, it is be 
 lieved, more than twelve or fifteen hundred war 
 riors ; and that, with the exception of the roads and 
 improvements which have been made, the geopraph- 
 ical knowledge that has been acquired, and the ex 
 perience gained, which, I trust, we shall not be 
 disposed to disregard, we are in a condition barely 
 better than that which called our troops there in the 
 first instance, is certainly very extraordinary upon 
 the face of it ; and yet, if gentlemen, here and else 
 where, will carefully examine this map, make 
 themselves acquainted with the topography of the 
 country, and notice the fact that, below a line drawn 
 from Tampa Bay to a point near New Smyrna, 
 nothing was known to any white man of this im 
 mense territory ; that it was wholly unexplored 
 except by the savage, who was familiar with all its 
 recesses and fastnesses ; that in almost e^ ery direc 
 tion it was impassable for troops, and especially for 
 baggage trains ; that for long distances together a 
 column could not advance, without constructing cor- 
 
SPEECH ON THE FLOEIDA WAK. 103 
 
 duroy roads ; that, in consequence of the deadly 
 climate, the active campaigns could only be contin 
 ued from October to April ; that the foe would show 
 himself but at places where he could not be reached, 
 except at the greatest disadvantage ; and that his 
 force has always been divided and scattered over 
 this extent of 45,000 square miles, their wonder at 
 this want of success will cease. They will see that 
 it has arisen from natural causes, from causes which 
 no human sagacity could foresee, turn aside, or 
 overcome. 
 
 The Senators on the other side, I have been 
 pleased to notice, have done justice to the officers 
 and soldiers who have served in those campaigns. 
 Never was commendation better merited. Never 
 were men sent into such a deadly climate upon such 
 disheartening, thankless service. There is, and has 
 been, nothing to stimulate individual ambition, and 
 the dangers of the climate alone have equaled all 
 the dangers of active campaigns under ordinary 
 circumstances. Still, the spirit of our countrymen 
 has not been wanting even there. A single instance 
 of shrinking from duty or from danger; a single 
 instance where the fight has not been sought when 
 there was a prospect of bringing on an engagement ; 
 a single instance, in a word, where a soldier s duty 
 has not been performed in a manner becoming a sol 
 dier of the Republic, has not come to my know 
 ledge. No, sir. Surrounded by disadvantages, and 
 environed by circumstances chilling to military ar- 
 
104: LIFE OF FKANKXm PIERCE. 
 
 dor, there has been on all occasions, an exhibition 
 of bravery, of cool, determined courage, and patient 
 endurance, not surpassed in the history of any war 
 fare. Here, at least, we concur in ascribing no 
 fault, in passing no censure. 
 
 It would have been gratifying to me, if Senators 
 could have regarded the conduct of the Secretary 
 of War in a similar spirit, because, to any generous 
 mind, it is painful to be forced upon subjects of 
 censure ; and in this instance, I believe the founda 
 tions of the charges to be entirely imaginary. If 
 the Secretary is to be held accountable for the dis 
 asters of that war, it is important to him and to the 
 country, that these denunciations assume a form 
 somewhat more specific ; that the charges be made 
 so definite as to admit of a definite answer. Now, 
 sir, I call upon the Senators from South Carolina 
 and Kentucky, (Messrs. Preston and Crittenden,) to 
 inform us where they find the evidence of the Sec 
 retary s impotence and want of energy ; where and 
 on what particular occasions it has been manifested. 
 From the date of his first official letter to General 
 Jessup, in March, 183T, to the present time, do gen 
 tlemen find any thing to censure in the instructions 
 given to the different commanding officers in Flor 
 ida ? If so, what instructions ? Do they object to 
 the suggestions of the Secretary in his various re 
 ports, except that in relation to the measures now 
 und-er consideration ? If so, let them be indicated. 
 "We shall then have something to direct our inqui- 
 
SPEECH ON THE FLORIDA WAK. 105 
 
 ries, some thing upon which the judgment can rest. 
 But now we can only meet these general charges 
 by as broad and general denials, and support such 
 denials by calling the attention of the Senate to 
 what the Secretary has done. To this, without 
 reading copious extracts from the documents on 
 your files, I shall briefly advert. 
 
 Soon after he entered upon the duties of his office, 
 he received from Gen. Jessup intelligence that the 
 war in Florida was over, unless renewed by the im 
 prudence of the inhabitants. This hope proved like 
 similar hopes previously indulged illusory. In 
 the August following, propositions were again made 
 by several of the chiefs for peace ; but the Secre 
 tary, as the correspondence and public documents 
 abundantly show, was not turned aside for a mo 
 ment from his purpose of terminating the war in 
 the campaign of 1837-38, if a strong force, abun 
 dant supplies, munitions promptly furnished, and 
 all the facilities for prosecuting the campaign with 
 vigor and effect, could accomplish the object. As 
 early as September, arrangements had been made 
 for six hundred volunteers from Tennessee, six hun 
 dred from Louisiana, six hundred from Missouri, 
 with three hundred riflemen, spies, and an Indian 
 force, to co-operate with the Florida militia, and 
 the strong regular corps of artillery, infantry, and 
 dragoons, already at the disposal of the command 
 ing General. 
 
 Although the Secretary had always manifested 
 
106 LIFE OF FEANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 the strongest desire to spare the further effusion of 
 blood, and to save that deluded, faithless and cruel 
 people from extermination, he still declared, from 
 the first, that his only hope was in an active and 
 vigorous prosecution of the war. When the Chero 
 kee delegation went to Florida, with the avowed 
 purpose of persuading the Seminoles to the treaty 
 terms, General Jessup was expressly advised that 
 the mission was not to delay for a moment military 
 operations. There \vas, on the part of the Secre 
 tary, no procrastination, no delay. Munitions of 
 war w r ere transmitted in season ; supplies were 
 forwarded in abundance, and the troops were in the 
 field, ready for active operations, at the time pro 
 posed. General Jessup was at the head of about 
 ten thousand men, and his force w T as certainly suf 
 ficiently diversified in character. There were regu 
 lars and militia, artillery, infantry, dragoons, ma 
 rines, and riflemen, spies, and Indians ; and with 
 this strong, and as was at that time supposed, well- 
 appointed force, the General commenced his cam 
 paign, to the event of which the country looked with 
 hope and confidence. He attempted, as the Sena 
 tor from South Carolina would express it, to drag 
 the territory as with a net ; and with what success? 
 Our hopes withered, and our hearts sickened at the 
 result. The commanding General, I believe, put 
 forth all his energies, and his troops furnished to 
 him no ground of complaint ; but he shared the fate 
 of his predecessors. The foe was neither caught. 
 
SPEECH ON THE FLORIDA WAE. 107 
 
 conquered, nor killed. I institute no comparisons 
 between the different Generals who have commanded 
 in Florida. They have been alike triumphant when 
 ever they have met the foe, and alike unsuccessful 
 in expelling him from the country. These failures 
 are, and will continue to be, attributed to different 
 causes. I iind the paramount obstacles in the cli 
 mate, the nature of the country and the character 
 of the enemy ; and my belief is that unless you 
 make Florida passable in every direction, and can 
 march a column extend in <j from the gulf on the one 
 
 O O 
 
 side, to the ocean on the other, this process of sweep 
 ing the Territory, as with a net, must prove fruit 
 less. It is a very easy thing to discourse here of 
 sweeping a country, embracing forty-five thousand 
 square miles, situated in the tropical regions, with 
 a climate genial to the savage, but deadly to the 
 white man portions of it, still unexplored, abound 
 ing in provisions suited to the habits of the Indian, 
 and furnishing secure retreats, known and accessi 
 ble to him alone but to do it is an impossibility* 
 Experience proves it to be so ; it has been tried 
 again and again, with regular troops, and militia, 
 with infantry, with mounted men, with Indians, and 
 with one uniform result. Twenty thousand men, 
 for such a purpose, in the then state of the Terri 
 tory, would have been no more effectual than five 
 hundred. But gentlemen will perceive, by glanc 
 ing at the face of the country, as delineated on this 
 map, that although all has not been accomplished. 
 
108 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIEKCE. 
 
 much has been done to make the provisions of the 
 bill tinder consideration operative and effectual. 
 You will observe that our troops, at different times, 
 under the different Generals, in various columns, 
 and in almost every direction, have marched the 
 entire length of the peninsula, from Okeefenokee 
 Swamp to the Big-water, at the head of the Ever 
 glades ; but while they were passing down, the In 
 dian was stealthily threading his way up ; and 
 while they were beating up the marshes, and search 
 ing for his trail in the region of Kissimmee river, 
 murder and rapine announced his presence in the 
 fertile and settled Alachua country. At the close 
 of 1838, such had been the results. The Secretary 
 of War had tested the inefficiency of mounted 
 men they could not operate in that country; the 
 enormous expense of the militia had been abun 
 dantly demonstrated, and the total failure of the 
 whole was painfully obvious. Under these circum 
 stances, what were the duties of the head of the De 
 partment ? This is a question which I shall answer 
 only by stating, further, what was his action, and 
 leave the country to judge of its propriety. "When 
 Gen. Jessup was permitted to return to his appro 
 priate staff duties in this city, all the troops which 
 could be spared from our exposed and unsettled 
 frontiers in other quarters, were left in the Territory 
 under the command of that vigilant, energetic, and 
 able officer, General Taylor. 
 
 In prosecuting any campaign, it is well known 
 
SPEECH ON THE FLORIDA WAK. 109 
 
 that much must, of necessity, be left to the judg 
 ment and military genius of the commander, to be 
 exercised on the spot. In October, 1838, the Secre 
 tary gave Gen. Taylor general instructions as to the 
 manner in which the succeeding campaign should 
 be conducted. In those instructions the protection 
 of Middle Florida against the incursions of the 
 Seminoles was made the first object. To attain this, 
 the establishment of an interior and exterior line of 
 posts, to extend across the peninsula, from the Gulf 
 to the Ocean, was recommended. These and va 
 rious other suggestions contained in the letter of the 
 Secretary, of October 8th, 1838, formed the basis 
 of Gen. Taylor s instructions for that campaign. 
 Unfortunately, the great and first object of the Sec 
 retary was not secured, and the exposure encoun 
 tered, and the immense labor performed by the 
 columns of the army, under the direction of Gen. Tay 
 lor and Col. Davenport, were crowned with no bet 
 ter success than that which had attended similar 
 attempts before. In the mean time the wisdom of 
 Congress interposed. Military operations were sus 
 pended, and negotiations substituted in their place ; 
 not upon any suggestions of the Secretary, be it re 
 membered, but against his known and expressed 
 opinions. The result of the negotiation is written 
 in blood. The obligations of the treaty were not re 
 garded for a moment ; they were not intended to be 
 observed on the part of the Indians at the time of 
 its execution, as is proved by the burnings, robbe- 
 6 
 
110 LIFE OF FRANKLIN FIERCE. 
 
 ries, and murders that immediately followed some 
 of them within four miles of one of the oldest, if 
 not the oldest town within the limits of the United 
 States. 
 
 " Such is the very brief and imperfect outline of 
 what the Secretary of War has done, and for his 
 full, complete and triumphant vindication against the 
 general charges preferred I refer to the public docu 
 ments and correspondence upon your files, embracing 
 the details of the history to which I have thus cursorily 
 adverted. The eye of the Secretary could not be 
 expected to reach where it is not given to mortal 
 vision to penetrate. He could not be expected to 
 accomplish that which it is not given to man to 
 achieve. I believe, with all the difficulties of the 
 case, he has made the best of the means in his pow 
 er. In considering the measure now proposed, it is 
 material to remember not only the failure of the 
 large armies, with the immense expense incurred, 
 and the disastrous terminations of every attempt at 
 negotiation, but also to bear in mind the very im 
 portant fact, that there is no war in the Territory, 
 and has been none for a long time, in the proper ac 
 ceptation of the term. There has been no fighting 
 for more than two years. The Indian force now re 
 maining does not probably exceed from three to five 
 hundred men, scattered in small bands over this 
 extended area. That they should be expelled as 
 soon as practicable, by all reasonable means, is uni 
 versally conceded ; but the Secretary who would 
 
SPEECH OIT THE FLORIDA WAE. Ill 
 
 sanction a recommendation to saddle this country 
 with the expenses of an army of twenty, fifteen, or 
 ten thousand men, as has been suggested, to hunt 
 these three hundred savages, would not only find little 
 support for his recommendation here, but less be 
 fore the people, who are wisely and justly jealous 
 of large standing armies. To expel the last ves 
 tige of these banditti, and to give peace and securi 
 ty to the whole of that peninsula, must be the 
 work of time.. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the settler in his home, and 
 the shipwrecked mariner upon the coast, must find 
 protection in our arms, and feel that there is secu 
 rity from Indian barbarity. To attain these objects, 
 the instructions already given for the disposition 
 and employment of the force now there, and the 
 legislative measures we are considering, are well 
 adapted, and, in my judgment, sanctioned by sound 
 policy, drawn from past experience and present 
 knowledge. Troops are now stationed along the 
 Atlantic coast for the protection of commerce at 
 New-Smyrna, St. Lucie s Sound, at Jupiter Inlet, 
 and other convenient and commanding points. Pro 
 tection, too, is afforded on the Gulf. By the exer 
 tions of General Taylor s force, now actively em 
 ployed, as I notice by a letter of the llth ult., the 
 settled portions of the Territory will soon be reliev 
 ed from every individual of this murderous race. 
 What more, then, is proposed to be done ? For the 
 protection of the coast, as we have seen, provision 
 
112 LIFE Of FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 has already been made. That the settler may cul 
 tivate his fields by day, and repose in peace with 
 his family at night, a cordon of posts, at short dis 
 tances from each other, is to be established from the 
 mouth of the "Withlacoochee, by Fort King, to a 
 point near New-Smyrna, connected by good roads, 
 when necessary, and the intermediate spaces guard- 
 el by constant patrols. In addition to this, the 
 Secretary, in his report, asks that the Executive may 
 be empowered to raise one thousand men, w r ho are 
 to be armed, drilled, and equipped, Expressly for 
 this service, and to serve during the war. Judging 
 from the spirit of liberality recently manifested on 
 the other side, I anticipate no objection to this rec 
 ommendation. "With the regular army stationed on 
 the coast, and at the cordon of posts before indica 
 ted, such a body of men can hardly fail to prove in 
 the highest degree serviceable in their active ope 
 rations between Fort King and Cape Sable. They 
 will, undoubtedly, in conjunction with such regular 
 troops as can be spared from the posts, be able to 
 keep some of the small bands of marauders in con 
 stant motion, and so to harass them, by pursuing 
 their trails, and disturbing them in their places of 
 retreat, as to make emigration, which they so much 
 dread, preferable to such a life. The Indians will 
 soon learn that, while they are effectually shut out 
 from the coasts and the white settlements, this is a 
 force which is to be permanent to remain there as 
 long as they remain, and to be constantly in motion, 
 
SPEECH ON THE FLORIDA WAK. 113 
 
 To cany out, to a certain extent, Gen. Taylor s idea 
 of " covering the whole country," this bill proposes 
 ten thousand armed settlers instead of the armed 
 force of mere soldiers, which has been tried and 
 failed. As was intimated at the opening of my 
 remarks, I cannot indulge the sanguine hopes with 
 which some of the most ardent friends of the bill 
 seem to be inspired; but there are, undeniably, 
 many strong considerations by which it is recom 
 mended. The expulsion of the savage must, at best, 
 be the work of time. The establishment of ten 
 thousand hardy settlers, considering the geographi 
 cal position of the peninsula, and its vast import 
 ance in any future war to all the southern country, 
 as a point of attack and defence, would, in itself, 
 be an object richly worth the 3,200,000 acres of 
 land provided for the whole number, should so many 
 settlers be obtained. The bill is well guarded, both 
 for the Government and the settler. An important 
 provision is, that the pay is to depend upon the 
 success of the project. The bounty is not to be 
 granted until the work is performed. 
 
 Now, sir, I take our own experience in this war 
 as my guide. It is idle to go abroad for illustra 
 tions to enforce our peculiar views. The Senator 
 from South Carolina, (Mr. Preston,) to show what 
 may be done wth a competent force in Florida, call 
 ed the attention of the Senate to the expulsion of 
 the formidable banditti from Italy by the energetic 
 measures of Napoleon ; but the gentleman should 
 
114 LIFE OF FKANKLIK PIERCE. 
 
 recollect that the arms of the conqueror, which 
 could easily and effectually beat up the narrow 
 Pontine marshes, could have done nothing in the un 
 explored, impenetrable hammocks and deep moras 
 ses of our broad peninsula. I might ask the Sena 
 tor what was the success of the French arms in their 
 own district, La Yendee ? Were they equally tri 
 umphant there? No, sir. Notwithstanding that 
 peculiar country of yet more peculiar people pre 
 sented a most terrible and sanguinary theatre of 
 war, literally covered with fire and blood, they 
 rose, as it were, from every conquered field, with 
 new energy and fresh power of resistance ; and al 
 though, in December, 1793, the Yendeans were 
 apparently left to perish in a body between Savenai, 
 the Loire, and the marshes, by the bayonets of the 
 French soldiers, the war was not terminated, but 
 broke out afresh in the following spring. It became 
 merely a war of devastation. The whole insurgent 
 country was enclosed by the camps of the Repub 
 lican armies, under the command of General Tur- 
 reau, from which incendiary columns were sent forth 
 to burn the woods, the hedges, the copses, and fre 
 quently the villages themselves ; they seized the 
 crops, and drove away the cattle. And yet we are 
 informed that the Yendeans resisted this kind of 
 warfare in a manner to render it everlasting. Now, 
 sir, where was the secret spring of power on the 
 part of these people, to resist this vastly superior 
 numerical force I It was in the country, in its con- 
 
BPEECH Otf TH$ FLORIDA WAR, 115 
 
 figuration, and in their skill and courage to profit 
 
 by it. 
 
 Look at the interesting country of Circassia, the 
 fervid patriotism and wild gallantry of whose peo 
 ple are now attracting the attention and wonder of 
 the world. It presents at this moment the aston 
 ishing spectacle of a free population which has pre 
 served its independence and its individuality in an 
 almost barbarous state, though surrounded by more 
 civilized nations. 
 
 Kussia has exerted its enormous military power 
 to reduce these tribes, inhabiting the borders of the 
 Black Sea, and the strong defiles and fastnesses of the 
 Caucasian mountains, without ever gaining any con 
 siderable advantage. The war upon the Circassians, 
 cannot have been sustained by the Eussian Govern 
 ment at an expense of less than from five to ten thou 
 sand men annually since 1805 ; and yet they not only 
 defy the Eussian power, but, if recent reports are 
 true, are signally victorious over the Eussian armies. 
 Sir, to what do you attribute the success of the 
 wild people upon this isthmus in maintaining their 
 independence ? Not, surely, to their means of war 
 fare, nor yet to their numbers, but undoubtedly to 
 the singular topography of the country, and the 
 daring bravery and indomitable ^ortitude of its hardy 
 : md fierce population. I make these references in re 
 ply to the Senator from South Carolina, remarking 
 at the same time, that 1 place no reliance whatever 
 upon the historical authorities, introduced in the 
 
116 LIFE OF FEANELLN FIERCE. 
 
 course of this debate, either for or against this bill. 
 The cases are not parallel. If you will determine 
 what a given military force can accomplish, you 
 must take into the calculation the circumstances by 
 which they are to be surrounded, and the obstacles 
 they are to encounter, the topography of the coun 
 try in which they are to operate, its climate and 
 productions, and the character of the enemy to be 
 subdued. In all these particulars Florida stands by 
 itself, and a large force having proved unavailing, 
 I ani disposed to try a smaller one, to be raised ex 
 pressly for this service, and the armed settlers. 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 ON REMOVALS FROM OFFICE. 
 
 We give below a few extracts from an able speech 
 delivered in the U. S. Senate in 1842, by Gen. Pierce, 
 on the question of Removals from Office, immedi 
 ately after the inauguration of Gen. Harrison : 
 
 " Democratic administrations have turned out 
 some many 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 on this point let me ob 
 serve, that no man can say, from his individual 
 knowledge, how it is over the whole country ; but 
 here we can know, and here we do know, the fact 
 that a majority of the subordinate officers in the 
 
SPEECH OX EEMOYALS FKOM OFFICE. 117 
 
 Executive departments have, during the last twelve 
 years, been opposed to General Jackson s and Mr. 
 Yan Buren s administration. 
 
 " They were faithful and competent officers, I be 
 lieve ; at all events they were not reached by the 
 spirit of proscription. Where, for the last twelve 
 years, your political friends have enjoyed a major 
 ity of the places, how have our friends been treated 
 now that the tables are turned? They have not 
 escaped your sharper and broader axe, wielded 
 against your open and universal professions. 
 
 " But whatever was done by the late administra 
 tions 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 unqual 
 ified ground that we preferred our friends to our 
 opponents ; that to confer place was our privilege 
 which we chose to exercise. I ought not to say we 
 chose, sir; for I will say what those friends best 
 acquainted with me know that there was nothing 
 in the administration of General Jackson which I 
 so uniformly failed to justify, as the removal of one. 
 worthy officer to give place to another. 
 
 "But that removals have occurred is not the 
 thing of which I complain. I complain of your 
 hypocrisy. I charge that your press and your lead 
 ing orators made promises to the nation 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 
 6* 
 
118 LIFE OF FBANKLDT PIEKCE. 
 
 yesterday, that lie 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 pres 
 ent administration has already fixed upon its profes 
 sions 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 office 
 against the will of the nation ? Are they so unrea 
 sonable as to expect what the circumstances and 
 the necessity of the case forbid ? What our expec 
 tations were, is not the question now; but what 
 were your pledges and promises before the people. 
 On a previous occasion, the distinguished Senator 
 from Kentucky (Mr. Clay) made a similar remark : 
 An ungracious task, but the .nation demands it. 
 Sir, this demand of the nation this plea of state 
 necessity, let me tell gentlemen, is as old as the his 
 tory of wrong and oppression. It has been the 
 standing plea the never-failing resort of despotism. 
 
SPEECH ON REMOVALS FROM OFFICE. 119 
 
 " The great Julius found it convenient, when he 
 restored the dignity of the Roman Senate, but de 
 stroyed its independence. It gave countenance to, 
 and justified, all the atrocities of the Inquisition in 
 Spain. It gave utterance to the stifled groans from 
 the black hole of Calcutta. It was written in tears 
 upon c the Bridge of Sighs in Yenice ; 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 of 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 
 Camile Desmoulins from his young and beautiful 
 wife, and hurried him upon the hurdle to the guillo 
 tine, with thousands of others equally unoffending 
 and innocent. It was upon this plea that the great 
 est of generals, if not of men you cannot mistake 
 me I mean him, the presence of whose very ashes 
 within the last few months was sufficient to stir the 
 hearts of a continent it was upon this plea that he 
 abjured that noble wife, who threw around his hum 
 ble days light and gladness, and by her own lofty 
 energies and high intellect encouraged his aspira 
 tions. 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 
 
120 LIFE OF FKAOTLIX PIEKCE. 
 
 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 of i State necessity T Let the spirit of 
 Charles the Tenth and of his ministers answer. 
 
 "It is cold, selfish, heartless; and has always 
 "been regardless of age, sex, condition, services, or 
 any of the incidents of life that appeal to patriotism 
 or humanity. 
 
 " Wherever its authority 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 service, they could no longer brandish a weapon 
 in her defence. 
 
 " It has afflicted the feeble and dependent wife 
 for the imaginary 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 sweep 
 ing, ruthless exercise 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 
 American Senate, in the face of a people yet free." 
 
HIS CONGEESSIONAL CAEEEE. 121 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 His Congressional Career Subject of Slavery Resigns his Seat 
 Again appointed to the Senate, but will not accept Correspondence 
 Offered a seat in the Cabinet of Mr. Polk. 
 
 have now given to the reader some of the 
 most important of General Pierce s congressional 
 speeches. They are all, it will be evident, at once 
 of an eminently practical nature. Th ey were not de 
 livered upon subjects calculated to elicit enthusias 
 tic eloquence, but upon vital questions of political 
 economy upon questions which deeply concerned 
 the well-being of the nation. Upon such questions 
 Mr. Pierce in Congress adopted a style of speech 
 at once striking and simple. That he is the master 
 of remarkable eloquence no man will deny who has 
 ever heard him in one of his best efforts at the bar. 
 But he preferred a working life and a plain, unvar 
 nished style. His speeches resemble closely those of 
 Cobden and Peel and Eussell, and many others of 
 England s most renowned parliamentery debaters. 
 There is none of the clap-trap of popular eloquence, 
 but clear convincing logic, which carries conviction 
 straight to the heart. lie was not noted in the 
 House or Senate for speech-making, for he scarcely 
 ever took part in debate ; but his votes are on every 
 page of the Congressional journals. WQ might pro- 
 
122 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 ceed to give his votes upon the important questions 
 which were before Congress during his participation 
 in its proceedings, but it is hardly necessary to do 
 so, as he always voted strictly with the Democratic 
 party. He was a Democrat of the Jefferson stamp, 
 clear-sighted, warm-hearted, and with strong sym 
 pathies for popular rights, and his votes were in ac 
 cordance with his principles. 
 
 Upon the embarrassing question of slavery, he 
 pursued a straight-forward course. He voted to 
 sustain the right of petition, when that simple ques 
 tion of right was presented in 1837, but he was 
 invaribly opposed to all agitation upon the sub 
 ject and gave his votes to that end. In May, 1836, 
 Mr. Pinckney, from a select committee on the sub 
 ject Mr. Pierce being a member of said Commit 
 tee made a report concerning the disposition of 
 all memorials in regard to negro slavery, conclu 
 ding with the following resolutions : 
 
 " Resolved, That Congress possesses no constitu 
 tional authority to interfere in any way with the 
 institution of slavery in any of the States of this 
 confederacy. 
 
 " Resolved, That Congress ought not to interfere 
 in any way with slavery in the District of Colum 
 bia. 
 
 " And whereas it is extremely important and desi 
 rable that the agitation of this subject should be 
 finally arrested, for the purpose of restoring tranqil- 
 ity to the public mind, your committee respectfully 
 
SUBJECT OF SLAVERY. 123 
 
 recommend the adoption of the following addition 
 al resolution, viz : 
 
 "Eesolved, That all petitions, memorials, resolu 
 tions, propositions or papers, relating in any way or 
 to any extent whatever, to the subject of slavery," 
 or the abolition of slavery, shall, without being print 
 ed or referred, be laid upon the table, and no fur 
 ther action shall be had thereon." 
 
 Mr. Pierce voted in favor of the passage of the 
 above resolutions, and they were passed by the 
 House of Eepresentatives. Still later, upon the 
 pure question of the right to petitionnot the ex 
 pediency of entertaining petitions Mr. Pierce was 
 in favor of affirming said right, though at all times, 
 as at present, entirely opposed to all agitation upon 
 the subject of slavery. To the people of the South 
 he is therefore unobjectionable, touching this point, 
 and that portion of the people of the North which 
 is anti-slavery in feeling, can at least admire the 
 consistency of Franklin Pierce, and his unswerving 
 honesty of character. What he was ten years ago 
 he is to-day. He came not into the support of the 
 Compromise measures for the sake of office but sim 
 ply because he had always favored any such meas 
 ures whose object was the defeat of all agitation 
 upon the subject. 
 
 When Franklin Pierce entered the lower House 
 of Congress, he at once became the ardent friend 
 and supporter of General Jackson. The almost 
 sublime character of the hero of New-Orleans was 
 
124: LIFE OF FEANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 fully appreciated by him. His sternness of will, 
 his fearless courage, his integrity of heart, constitu 
 ted him a hero indeed, and Franklin Pierce revered 
 those qualities in him, and loved and respected the 
 man. At that time Andrew Jackson had a host of 
 inveterate and unscrupulous enemies, who pursued 
 him with a ferocity of purpose and an intensity of 
 hate scarcely ever before witnessed in political life. 
 Mr. Pierce, from this cause alone would have been 
 inclined to become his friend, but he also believed, 
 indeed knew, that Jackson was persecuted because 
 he had dared to become the open enemy of the 
 most gigantic of frauds and monopolies because 
 he had dared to speak out manfully, and act for the 
 best interests of the whole people, instead of a small 
 class of great capitalists. Mr. Pierce spoke out 
 boldly in defence of the brave old hero, justifying 
 his course, his policy, and his sincere desire to act 
 not only constitutionally, but also to act for the pros 
 perity, the lasting prosperity, of the nation. 
 
 In many respects Mr. Pierce resembles General 
 Jackson. He has the same iron will, the same hon 
 esty of character, and the same strong sympathies 
 for the masses. But he possesses certain qualities 
 which were never Jackson s. General Pierce is a 
 graceful, polished man. There are few public men 
 in the country who have such a power to make 
 friends as he ; therefore, during his residence in 
 "Washington he made a wide circle of warm person 
 al friends. Clay, Webster, and many others of 
 
BESIGNS HIS SEAT IN THE SENATE. 125 
 
 those opposed to him in their political views, were 
 his sincere friends. His manners are so winning 
 and easy, his good nature so great, that he has very 
 few personal enemies in the land. 
 
 In February, 1842, Mr. Pierce resigned his seat 
 in the U. S. Senate to the great sorrow, not only his 
 constituents, but of his friends in Washington. 
 The causes for this step were mainly of a personal 
 nature. His wife was always of a retiring disposi 
 tion, and was ill-suited with the excitement of Wash 
 ington life, and when to this was added the misfor 
 tune of poor health, she was compelled to leave 
 Washington, and Mr. Pierce felt it to be his duty 
 to accompany her to Concord, and therefore resigned 
 his seat in the Senate. 
 
 The following is a copy of the letter which he ad 
 dressed to the President of the Senate : 
 
 Washington, June 28, 1842, 
 Sm: Having informed the governor of ]N"ew- 
 Hampshire that on this day my seat in the Senate 
 of the United States would become vacant by resig 
 nation, I have thought proper to communicate the 
 fact to you and the Senate. 
 
 In severing the relations that have so long sub 
 sisted between the gentlemen with whom I have 
 been associated, my feelings of pain and regret will 
 readily be appreciated by those who know ^ that, in 
 all my intercourse during the time I have been a 
 member of the body, no unpleasant occurrence has 
 
126 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIEECE, 
 
 ever taken place to disturb for a moment my agree 
 able relations with any individual Senator. 
 
 With a desire for the peace and happiness of you 
 all, for which now, in the fullness of my heart, I 
 find no forms of expression, I have the honor to be, 
 with the highest consideration, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 FKANKLEST PIEKCE. 
 Hon. SAMUEL L. SOUTHARD, 
 
 President of the Senate. 
 
 At this time Mr. Pierce was only thirty-seven 
 years of age, possessed of fine talents, and manners 
 which won for him universal popularity, and his 
 political prospects were never brighter at any period 
 of his public career. He was just at an age, too, 
 when the fires of political ambition are apt to burn 
 hottest in the hearts of men. He had friends every 
 where. He could reasonably hope for any promo 
 tion, yet he quietly, calmly resigned his exalted 
 office, his ambition, and retired with his wife to the 
 pleasant shades of Concord, upon the banks of the 
 romantic Merrimack. The act was not only stri 
 king and singular, but it was heroic. Amid the vi 
 olent competition after office and place which char 
 acterizes these " latter days," it is refreshing to be 
 able to look at one, who, for the sake of some good 
 and noble purpose, coolly relinquishes the most fas 
 cinating prospects of fame and power ! Mr. Pierce 
 now devoted himself exclusively to his profession, 
 and soon came into a practice worth seven or eight 
 
DECLINES APPOINTMENT TO U. S. SENATE. 127 
 
 thousand dollars per annum. In another portion 
 of the work, we shall speak more at length in ref 
 erence to General Pierce s abilities as a lawyer and 
 pleader at the bar. The fact of his income is suf 
 ficient here to prove that his talents were held in 
 high esteem by the people of New-Hampshire. 
 
 For three successive years, Mr. Pierce had little 
 visible connection with politics, though he was the 
 most influential man in the Democratic party of 
 New-Hampshire. 
 
 In 1845, Mr. Pierce was appointed, by the Gov 
 ernor, to fill the vacancy in the U. S. Senate, occa 
 sioned by the resignation of Judge Woodbury. 
 Mr. Woodbury was in the Seriate, it will be remem 
 bered when he was appointed to the Superior Bench 
 by Mr. Polk. He accepted the appointment, and at 
 once resigned his seat in the Senate. It became the 
 duty of the Governor of New-Hampshire to appoint 
 a successor. Such was Mr. Pierce s popularity, that 
 at once all the presses in the state pointed him out as 
 the most suitable man to fill the vacant seat. He 
 was urged with vehemence by the most influential 
 men in the State to accept the position. 
 
 The following is the correspondence between him 
 and Governor Steele : 
 
 " STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIKE, | 
 Concord, Oct. 9, 1845. j 
 :c Hon. FRANKLIN PIEKCE : 
 
 " Dear Sir : It has become my duty to appoint 
 a Senator to the Senate of the United States, to fill 
 
128 LITE OF FKANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Hon. 
 Levi Woodbury. And as I know of no one whose 
 appointment would give more general satisfaction 
 to the citizens of this State than that of yourself, I 
 therefore tender to you, Sir, the office of Senator to 
 the Senate of the United States, from the date of 
 these presents until the pleasure of the Legislature 
 of this State shall be made known at their next ses 
 sion. Truly yours, 
 
 "JOHJST H. STEELE, 
 "Governor of the State of New-Hampshire." 
 
 "Concord, October 11, 1845. 
 "His EXCELLENCY, JOHN Ii. STEELE: * 
 
 "Sir : On my return to town last night, I found 
 your official letter of the 9th inst. I acknowledge, 
 with unfeigned gratitude, this evidence of your con 
 fidence, and regret, on many accounts, that I cannot 
 accept the appointment. 
 
 " It would be pleasant again to meet many with 
 whom I was for years associated pleasant to ac 
 cede to your wishes and the wishes of other true 
 and long-tried friends pleasant to maintain, as 
 well as I might be able, the interests and honor of 
 our State, in the exalted station you have been 
 pleased to assign me. But, with all these consider 
 ations urging an acceptance, I find others, which, 
 fairly weighed, constrain me to decline. My per 
 sonal wishes and purposes, in 1842, when I resigned 
 a seat in the Senate, were, as I supposed, so per- 
 
APPOINTED IT. S. DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 129 
 
 fectly understood, that I have not, for a moment, 
 contemplated a return to public life. "Without ad 
 verting to other grounds, which would have much 
 influence in forming my decision, the situation of 
 my business, professional and otherwise, is such 
 that it would be impossible for me 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 interests, and disregarding the reasona 
 ble expectations, of those who rely upon my ser 
 
 vices. 
 
 " That my interest in the honor of New-Hamp 
 shire, and my devotion to the great principles, the 
 firm maintenance of which has secured to her a 
 proud position, and an enviable name in all parts of 
 the Union, suffers no diminution in retirement, I 
 trust may be made sufficiently apparent in every 
 contest through which we may be called to pass in 
 support of those principles, and in vindication of 
 that honor. 
 
 "I am, with the highest consideration, your excel 
 lency s obliged friend and servant, 
 
 "FRANK PIERCE." 
 
 About this time the President of the United 
 States offered him the office of District- Attorney of 
 New-Hampshire, which he accepted, as the duties 
 which belonged properly to it came in the line of 
 his profession. He continued to hold this office 
 until 1847. 
 
130 LIFE OF FRANKLIN FIERCE. 
 
 In 1845, a convention of the Democracy of the 
 State nominated Mr. Pierce to the office of Govern 
 or, but in a most eloquent speech, he declined this 
 honor. 
 
 In 1846, his old friend, President Polk, with 
 whom he had served in Congress before offered 
 him a seat in his Cabinet. He was well aware of 
 the great abilities and thorough devotion to princi 
 ple which characterized Mr. Pierce, and was anx- 
 , ious to secure his services at Washington. In his 
 letter to Mr. Pierce, the President says : 
 
 " It gives me sincere pleasure to invite you to ac 
 cept a place in my Cabinet, by tendering to you 
 the office of Attorney-General of the United States. 
 I have selected you for this important office from 
 my personal knowtedge of you, and without the so 
 licitation or suggestion of any one. I have done so 
 because I have no doubt your personal association 
 with me w^ould be pleasant: and from the consider 
 ation that, in the discharge of the duties of the of 
 fice, you could render me important aid in conducting 
 my administration. In this instance, at least, the 
 office has sought the man, and not the man the of 
 fice, and I hope you may accept it." 
 
 The following reply of Mr. Pierce will bear a care 
 ful examination: 
 
 "Concord, N. IL, Sept. 6, 1846. 
 My Dear Sir : Your letter of the 27th ult. was 
 received a week since. Nothing could have been 
 
DECLINES A SEAT IN THE CABINET. 131 
 
 more unexpected ; and, considering the importance 
 of the proposition in a great variety of aspects, I 
 trust you will not think there has been an unrea 
 sonable delay in arriving at a decision. "With my 
 pursuits, for the last few years, and my present 
 tastes, no position, if I were in a situation, on the 
 whole, to desire public employment, could be so ac 
 ceptable as the one which your partiality has prof 
 fered. 
 
 " I ought not, perhaps, in justice to the high mo 
 tives by which I know you are governed, to attrib 
 ute your selection to personal friendship ; but I can 
 not doubt that your judgment in the matter has been 
 somewhat warped by your feelings. When I saw 
 the manner in which you had cast your Cabinet, I 
 was struck by the fact that from the entire range of 
 my acquaintance formed at Washington, you could 
 not have called around you men with whom it was 
 my fortune to be better acquainted, or of whom I 
 entertained a more delightful recollection, than Mr. 
 Buchanan, Mr. Walker, Mr. Mason and Mr. John 
 son. A place in your cabinet, therefore, so far au 
 personal association is concerned, could not be more 
 agreeable, had the whole been the subject of my 
 own choice. 
 
 " When I add, your important measures in the 
 foreign and home administration of the Govern 
 ment have commanded not merely the approbation 
 of my judgment, but my grateful acknowledge 
 ments, as an American citizen, you will see how de- 
 
132 LIFE OF FKANKLEST PIERCE. 
 
 sirable, on every ground connected with your ad 
 ministration, the office tendered would be to me ; 
 and yet, after mature consideration, I am constrain 
 ed to decline. Although the early years of my 
 manhood were devoted to public life, it was never 
 really suited to my taste. I longed, as I am sure 
 you must often have done, for the quiet and inde 
 pendence that belongs only to the private citizen, and 
 now, at forty, I feel that desire stronger than ever. 
 
 " Coming unexpectedly, as this offer does, it would 
 be difficult, if not impossible, to arrange the busi 
 ness of an extensive practice, between this and the 
 first of November, in a manner at all satisfactory to 
 myself, or to those who have committed their inter 
 ests to my care, and who rely on my services. Be 
 sides, you know that Mrs. Pierce s health, while at 
 Washington, was very delicate it is, I fear, even 
 more so now, and the responsibilities which the pro 
 posed change would necessarily impose upon her, 
 ought, probably, in themselves, to constitute an in 
 surmountable objection to leaving our quiet home 
 for a public station at Washington. 
 
 "When I resigned my seat in the Senate in 1842, 
 I did it with the fixed purpose never again to be 
 voluntarily separated from my family, for any con 
 siderable length of time, except at the call of my 
 country, in time of war, and yet this consequence, 
 for the reason before stated, and on account of cli 
 mate, would be very likely to result from my ac 
 ceptance. 
 
DECLINES A SEAT IN THE CABINET. 133 
 
 "These are some of the considerations which 
 have influenced my decision. You will, I am sure, 
 appreciate my motives. You will not believe that 
 I have weighed my personal convenience and ease 
 against the public interest, especially as the office 
 is one which, if not sought, would be readily ac 
 cepted by gentlemen who could bring to your aid 
 attainments and qualifications vastly superior to 
 mine. 
 
 "Accept my grateful acknowledgments, and be 
 lieve me, truly and faithfully, your friend. 
 
 " FRANK PIERCE." 
 
 The good taste, the modesty, and the beauty of 
 this letter must be apparent to every reader. It also 
 must be evident to every unprejudiced mind, that 
 General Pierce has, during his whole political 
 life, been a modest, retiring man. We see him 
 resigning his seat in the most august legislative 
 body in the Union at the call of affection. "We see 
 him refusing the highest office within the gift of his 
 native State ; refusing to accept an appointment to 
 the United States Senate and finally refusing a seat 
 in the Cabinet of the President, when invited in the 
 most flattering, in the most pressing manner. Truly, 
 this is not an ordinary political character, and in 
 looking at his life and acts, one is carried back to 
 the earlier days of our republic, when offices sought 
 men not men offices. 
 
 While the great mass of politicians have been 
 7 
 
134: LIFE OF FEANKLDT PIERCE. 
 
 straining every nerve, pulling every wire, courting 
 every popular breeze, that they might obtain place 
 and power, Frank Pierce has shunned the avenues 
 to great distinction, has refused the most inviting 
 and flattering offices of preferment, that he might 
 live in the bosom of life family, at Concord. It is 
 just such men who deserve the highest places within 
 the gift of the people. Not your designing, ambi 
 tious politician, but the capable, modest statesman, 
 who prefers the quiet and retirement of his home, 
 but who, for the sake of his country, consents to 
 take office is the character fit for office ! And in 
 the great contest, now soon to occur, which shall 
 decide who shall fill the Presidential chair, it will 
 not be forgotten that Frank Pierce never sought the 
 nomination that it was rather forced upon him 
 and that, therefore, he the more deserves a most tri 
 umphant election ! 
 
ENLISTS AS A SOLDIER. 135 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 * - Pierce as a Soldier and General The Breaking out of the 
 Mexican War Mr. Pierce Enlists as a Private Appointed Brig 
 adier-General Sails for Vera Cruz Attacked at National Bridge 
 Joins Gfn. Scott at Puebla His Course through the War His 
 Return Reception at Concord His Speech. 
 
 AT the time that Mr. Pierce declined the brilliant 
 appointment, tendered him by the President of the 
 United States, he remarked that he could never 
 again consent to leave his family, except at the call 
 of his country, in time of war. When, therefore, 
 the Mexican war broke out, it found him pledged 
 to the service of his country. A requisition was 
 made upon the State of New-Hampshire, for a bat 
 talion of volunteers, and Mr. Pierce was among the 
 first to put down his name, as a private soldier. 
 The company was raised in Concord, and Frank 
 Pierce went through all the drill exercises, as a 
 private. The Ten Kegiment Bill was passed by Con 
 gress, and the President tendered to him the ap 
 pointment of Colonel of the Ninth, which appoint 
 ment he accepted. When the law for the organiza 
 tion of the new ten regiments was passed, President 
 Polk appointed Mr. Pierce Brigadier-General. The 
 appointment was everywhere received with enthu- 
 si^sm. Mr. Pierce was the son of an old and heroic 
 
186 LIFE OF FRANKLIN" PIERCE. 
 
 soldier, who had fought in the battles of the Revo 
 lution. In his youth he had listened to tales of the 
 camp, and early learned to admire the patriotism 
 and courage of the heroes of the Eevolution. Col. 
 Ransom was of this regiment. He was a brave 
 officer, and Mr. Pierce wrote to the President, ask 
 ing that he, Colonel Ransom, be appointed Briga 
 dier-General ; but the President needed the abilities 
 of Mr. Pierce, and insisted upon his accepting the 
 appointment. His commission, as Brigadier-Gene 
 ral, is dated March 3, 1847. At this time, General 
 Low, of Concord, asked Mr. Pierce if it was true 
 that he had decided to leave his home, and all its 
 endearments, for the plains of Mexico. General 
 Pierce s reply was : 
 
 " 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 devo 
 ting myself exclusively to my profession, with the 
 single reservation, that if my country should become 
 engaged in war, I would ever hold myself in readi 
 ness 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." 
 
 General Pierce and Col. Ransom at once pro 
 ceeded to Boston, making the Tremont House their 
 head quarters until the work of preparation was 
 completed. It is told of General Pierce, that, in 
 bidding farewell to his many friends, one of them 
 
GEN. PIERCE SAILS FOR MEXICO. 137 
 
 expressed the hope that he would return in safety 
 and honor. 
 
 " I will come back w^ith honor, or I will not come 
 Lack." was his reply. 
 
 General Pierce sailed from Newport, in the bark 
 Kepler. Large numbers of the troops on board 
 were sick, and suffered from the want of water, be 
 ing upon a short allowance. Under these circum 
 stances, Gen. Pierce shared his own allowance with 
 his men, and mingled with them to encourage them. 
 It was characteristic of the man, for kindness is 
 his nature. On the 28th of June, he arrived at 
 Yera Cruz. Here he encountered pestilence and 
 disease, and was himself taken very ill. But amid 
 disease and death, he had constant and careful 
 thought of the men under his charge. His benev 
 olence was never weary. He spent his money freely, 
 and soon became exceedingly popular. He soon 
 recovered from disease, and with but a small loss, 
 left Yera Cruz in the middle of the terrible month 
 of July, for the interior of Mexico. His brigade 
 was made up as follows : the ninth regiment, New- 
 England men ; the twelfth, from Texas, Missouri, 
 Arkansas, Northern Mississippi and Louisiana ; and 
 the fifteenth, raised in Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Mich 
 igan, and the eastern part of Missouri, and the 
 western part of Indiana. The whole force consist 
 ed of 2,500 men. His line of march was a most 
 harassing one, beset on all sides by Mexicans and 
 guerilla bands, whose object was to intercept all 
 
138 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 recruits, on their march to succor General Scott, in 
 the interior, and whose main work was to plunder and 
 massacre. The great object of General Pierce, on 
 the other hand, was, not to give battle, but to avoid 
 it to present General Scott with the greatest pos 
 sible number of healthy soldiers, within the small 
 est space of time. 
 
 Fifteen miles from Yera Cruz, the courage and 
 decision of Gen. Pierce were put to trial. He was 
 there attacked by a fierce guerilla party, and gave 
 an order to charge upon the chapparal. His Colo 
 nel, " the brave Eansom," disputed the propriety of 
 the movement, but Pierce replied, firmly and bold 
 ly : "I have given the order !" The enemy was com 
 pletely routed after some severe fighting. At the 
 National Bridge he was again attacked by the guer 
 illas, who barricaded the bridge with chapparal. 
 He ordered Captain Dupreau to dash over the barri 
 cade and charge the enemy. The order was prompt 
 ly executed, and with success. In this skirmish 
 Gen. Pierce received two bullets through his hat. 
 
 On the 1st of August, Gen. Pierce was at Perote, 
 and advised Gen. Scott of the state of his com 
 mand, as follows : 
 
 " I shall bring to your command about twenty- 
 four hundred, of all arms. To-morrow morning at 
 four o clock I shall leave here for Puebla, and shall 
 make the march in four days." 
 
 The men under his care were principally northern 
 recruits ; they had suffered much by disease ; had 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 139 
 
 been attacked five times by guerilla parties, and yet 
 General Pierce had lost scarcely a man, though in 
 the heart of an enemy s country. 
 
 On the 6th of August he joined General Scott at 
 Puebla, with his command in excellent condition. 
 
 General Scott received him with open arms, and 
 with the warmest encomiums. Military critics 
 were agreed in the opinion that this feat alone that 
 of marching a large army through an enemy s coun 
 try without loss would have established his repu 
 tation as a military man. The skill, patience, judg 
 ment and vigilance he exhibited are not at once 
 appreciated by the masses, but it is well known to 
 men used to the field, that greater generalship is of 
 ten required for such a feat than for one of the most 
 brilliant actions in battle. 
 
 "VVe cannot do better than give the further ac 
 count of General Pierce s Campaign, in Mexico, in 
 the words of an eye witness, one of his friends, a 
 most reliable man, and at present a citizen of Wash 
 ington. The account was furnished for the columns 
 of the Boston Post : 
 
 " In accordance with my promise to you in Wash 
 ington, I will state what I know of General Pierce s 
 military services and character in Mexico. I shall 
 only have to state what I havo repeatedly said to 
 mutual friends the last four yoars. I had no per 
 sonal acquaintance with General Pierce till I met 
 him in Mexico. Our acquaintance has its date 
 
140 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 from the battle field of Contreras, where I was as 
 sociated on duty with, his command, and where it 
 was particularly my good fortune to make the ac 
 quaintance of our own gallant Xew-England regi 
 ment, the 9th infantry, commanded by the interpid 
 Ransom. From that day to this the fame of that 
 regiment has been dear to me, and particularly the 
 fame of General Pierce, the brigade commander of 
 the regiment, its first colonel, and one who, by voice 
 and hand, contributed, so largely to raising it, and 
 sending it to the field. 
 
 " What I shall say of General Pierce will not rest 
 upon my individual testimony, but will simply ex 
 press the" convictions of every man, in that gallant 
 army, who knew General Pierce, from General Scott 
 down to the private soldiers, who found in their 
 commander, Pierce, a counsellor and friend, one who 
 smoothed the"pillow of disease, and poured oil up 
 on the deep wounds of the battle. General Scott, 
 in all his dispatches, refers to General Pierce in 
 terms of the warmest commendation and in appoint 
 ing him one of the commissioners to arrange the 
 armistice, gave his emphatic testimony to his char 
 acter and services. 
 
 " Well do I know, that if an insane and wicked 
 party press shall slander his good name in connec 
 tion with his military services, it will carry unspeak 
 able sorrow and disgust to the heart of our common, 
 renowned commander, Gen. Scott. The mutual 
 friendship and confidence which sprung up between 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 
 
 these two men, in Mexico, has continued to this 
 day. Each has delighted on all proper occasions to 
 do justice to the other. Should Gen. Scott be the 
 Whig candidate for the Presidency, the country 
 will be gratified with the spectacle of two of its no 
 ble sons, themselves devoted friends, being the 
 respective standard bearers of the two great parties. 
 It will, indeed, under such circumstances, be a con 
 test of honor, in which, on both sides, nothing but 
 laurels will be won. 
 
 " I well remember Gen. Pierce s arrival at Puebla 
 with our last reinforcements, 2,500 men. Our eyes 
 were fixed on Mexico. The order had been given 
 for the march. "We had already heard how well 
 that command had been conducted from the tierre 
 caliente to the plain of Perote, through a country 
 swarming with enemies. The bridge of the Plan 
 del Rio had been broken down, and Bodfish, of 
 Maine, was already know r n to the whole army as 
 having suggested and executed a simple expedient, 
 which enabled the command to cross the stream 
 without loss. At the National Bridge it was known 
 that Pierce, at the head of his command, cool and 
 collected under a shower of bullets, had forced the 
 enemy s stronghold, with but little loss to his com 
 mand. His attention to the various wants of his 
 men, his vigilance by day and by night, his skill in 
 availing himself of the experience of his staff, his 
 uniform good sense, and his unobtrusive modesty, 
 went before him, and had already won golden opin- 
 7* 
 
142 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 ions for him. Indeed, we were told that frequently 
 at night he came into camp on foot, his horse hav 
 ing been yielded to some feeble soldiers. He seemed 
 to have but one desire, and that was entirely to do 
 his duty to his country, and the individual men of 
 his command. 
 
 " Thus, on his arrival at Puebla, after a rapid and 
 successful march, during the hot season, and under 
 untoward circumstances, he was warmly greeted, 
 and drew the highest encomiums from the general- 
 in-chief, and the command was in such good condi 
 tion that the next morning the advance, under the 
 veteran Twiggs, commenced the movement upon 
 the capital. 
 
 " We entered the valley, moved round Chalco, 
 forced the entrenched camp at Contreras, won the 
 splendid victory of Churubusco, and had Mexico at 
 our feet. From the first movement against Con 
 treras, in some thirty-two hours, the enemies force 
 was scattered, and, as we then hoped, the great ob 
 ject of the campaign gained. 
 
 " In these operations the brigade of Pierce shared 
 in the flank movements upon Contreras, and nobly 
 did its duty. The operations of the 19th have been 
 much misunderstood. 
 
 " The plan from the outset of the battle was to 
 amuse the enemy in front by a bold demonstration, 
 and under cover of it to despatch a force against 
 their left flank, which, occupying strong villages 
 and the roads to the city, would cut them off from 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 143 
 
 all reinforcements, and thus place them entirely at 
 our mercy. This plan was pursued, though the 
 movement upon the road and villages was not prose 
 cuted, with all the disposable force, with the prompt 
 ness that could have been desired. The staff officers 
 in the front fully appreciating the necessity of vig 
 orous measures to drive back the skirmishers to the 
 camp, and to completely deceive the enemy, recom 
 mended a very bold course. Guns and men were 
 pushed forward with all the fierceness and unninch- . 
 ing constancy of a real attack. The almost imprac 
 ticable character of the ground is well known. The 
 whole field was a volcanic rock of honey-comb pro 
 jection, rising into sharp points at every turn, and 
 making it very difficult for strong men to make their 
 way. Our troops were delayed but not deterred by 
 these difficulties. First Smith and then Pierce were 
 sent to the front simultaneously, with Riley and 
 Cadwallader to the flank and rear. Both Smith and 
 Pierce brought up their commands in admirable 
 order. The skirmishers were in great force in the 
 pedregal, and resisted our advance with great vigor 
 and confidence. The splendid pieces of Valencia 
 from the entrenched camp, were sending balls and 
 shells through our ranks. Well do I remember 
 their harsh and hissing accents, of all things calcu 
 lated to terrify and dismay new troops. 
 
 " At this moment, in face of the skirmishers, and 
 in view of the camp, with its well served artillery, 
 Pierce brought up his brigade, the New England 
 
144 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 regiment, led by Hansom, in the advance. It was 
 their first essay in the valley. As a ~New England 
 man I rejoiced in their noble conduct as they rushed 
 through the storm of fire, passing near the position 
 of the batteries and driving the enemy s skirmishers 
 before them. Without a pause in the attack, they 
 forced the enemy from point to point, drove him 
 into his camp, crossed themselves, the stream flow 
 ing near its front, and took a position within three 
 hundred yards of the main force of the enemy. 
 This bold, unflinching, and most gallant movement 
 did much to cause the enemy to concentrate all his 
 troops in the camp, fixed his attention upon the 
 front attack, and was a vital element in the success 
 of the great flank movement and real attack against 
 the rear of the enemy. 
 
 " Pierce led his command most gallantly ; but 
 pressing eagerly to the front, still mounted, his horse 
 became restive under the heavy fire, plunged vio 
 lently, and threw him heavily to tbe ground upon 
 the sharp rocks, and injured him so severely as to 
 disable him for a time to continue with his com 
 mand, lie refers to it in his official report, and it 
 was simply one of the many numerous accidents on 
 that field. Many strong men fainted from sheer 
 exhaustion." 
 
 " Two other general officers, Pillow and Twiggs, 
 were unable to follow their commands. Twiggs was 
 badly hurt by falling into one of the holes in the 
 rocks whilst making his way on foot, and neither of 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 145 
 
 them were able to join their commands till after the 
 crowning victory of the next morning. Pierce s 
 command, however, passed the night on the field, in 
 front of the camp, and Pierce passed the night 
 with it. 
 
 " At nightfall, on the nineteenth, although the 
 enemy had not been driven from his camp, he had 
 gained positions surely placing the victory in our 
 hands. Amid the pelting storms of the afternoon 
 and night, with loss of food and sleep, our men did 
 look forward with some anxiety to the day. But 
 no stain of misconduct rested on a single officer or 
 man, and each had made the firm resolve to do all 
 and dare all for his country. 
 
 " Pierce, though badly injured and in great suf 
 fering, was in front in the midst of his command, 
 and the brigades of Riley, Shields, Smith and Cad- 
 wallader were in the villages, and on the road 
 leading to the city of Mexico. From this strong 
 position, Smith, to whom the command had been 
 most magnanimously yielded by his senior, Shields, 
 in consequence of his having preceded him on the 
 ground, and knowing from personal observation 
 more of the field, determined to attack the en 
 trenched camp before daylight in the morning, and 
 break the whole of Valencia s command into pieces, 
 before succor could be brought. The camp was to 
 be reconnoitred," the paths thereto marked, and the 
 troops led out in the night. The rain was still fall 
 ing in torrents. Scarcely a man had had food or 
 
146 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 sleep. The officers of engineers and of the staff 
 groped their way with their hands, the path so slip 
 pery that they were constantly thrown upon the 
 ground, and they marked the route by cutting down 
 the maguey plant which lined the w^ayside. They 
 conducted the troops by feeling their way along the 
 cut magueys with their hands. Such were the diffi 
 culties in organizing the a f tack in the village. On 
 the front, orders were received from General Scott 
 soon after midnight w r ho, knowing the facts of the 
 whole field, the meditated attack of Smith, and the 
 resolution of his troops, the good spirits of the 
 men in front under Pierce, and who, in conse 
 quence, looked forward with calm confidence to a 
 glorious victory to organize the command, and be 
 ready to eo operate in the attack on the camp. 
 
 " Pierce had, after nightfall, withdrawn his troops 
 from their advanced position on the rivulet, and in 
 the pedregal, where they were necessarily much 
 scattered, to near the base of the hill, where they 
 were brought together and put in order to pass the 
 night, and be ready for the duties of the morrow. 
 
 "These troops, the 9th and 12th infantry, scat 
 tered bodies of the rifles and other commands, were 
 conducted back slowly and painfully over the ped 
 regal to the stream occupied by them the previous 
 day, and were at dawn in readiness for the attack. 
 
 "This movement was personally conducted by 
 Kansom, Pierce not having the physical strength, 
 from the injuries of the previous day, to make his 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 147 
 
 way through the rocks. It must be remembered 
 that this movement was made in the dark, in the 
 midst of rain, over sharp and slippery rocks, and 
 one like that accomplished by Smith, deemed by the 
 enemy to be utterly impracticable. 
 
 " Thus at daylight, and struggling with such diffi 
 culties, our troops reached their positions, and the 
 attack was made. In seventeen short minutes the 
 entrenched camp and large numbers of prisoners 
 were in our hands. The whole command of Va 
 lencia was entirely broken into pieces. Riley in 
 the fierce storm of the camp, Cadwallader and Dim- 
 ick (temporarily commanding Smith s brigade) in 
 support, Shields holding the villages, and Pierce in 
 front, first holding the attention of the enemy, thus 
 carrying out the ideas of the previous day, and af 
 terwards participating in the fight, all gloriously 
 did their duty, and are entitled to the gratitude of 
 their country. 
 
 " The spirit and enthusiasm of the army now rose 
 to the culminating point; fatigue was no longer 
 felt ; the sick and feeble man became for the time 
 well and strong ; the anxious bivouac and the toils 
 of the pedregal were forgotten. All eyes were 
 turned towards the city of Mexico ; all hearts burned 
 to pursue the enemy and strike the great blow of 
 the war. The spontaneous and irresistible impulse 
 of ten thousand men in arms was promptly availed 
 of by the commander-in-chief, and by commanders 
 of all grades. Shields, Twiggs, Pillow, Smith, 
 
148 LIFE OF FEA^KLm PIERCE. 
 
 Pierce, Cadwallader and Kiley, all at the head of 
 their respective commands, urged on our troops. 
 "Worth, also put his division in movement in front of 
 San Antonio, and after dispersing its retreating 
 garrison, 3,000 strong, pressed forward on the high 
 road to Mexico. It was no time for groping recon- 
 noisances, or nice calculations as to the circumstances 
 of the ground. The victory of Contreras drove the 
 enemy through San Angel and Cuoycan, and the 
 advance under Twiggs, uniting with Worth, at 
 tacked with such terrible energy the enemy retreat 
 ing through the strong position of Churubusco, that 
 there the enemy was compelled to make his final 
 stand, some miles from the city. In a few moments, 
 the roar of cannon and the incessant rattling of mus 
 ketry developed the whole field, and immediately 
 the general-in-chief threw his reserves into the ac 
 tion. First Pierce and then Shields was sent to 
 attack and cut off the enemy s retreat upon the cap 
 ital. It was the grand strategic movement of the 
 field. Pierce, just able to keep the saddle, in 
 suffering and anguish from the accident of the pre 
 vious day, and only fit for a sick bed, at the head 
 of his command, steadily pursued his way. 
 
 " It was through thick corn, over wide ditches, 
 filled with water and marshy ground. The day was 
 oppressively hot. No actor in that field will ever 
 forget the desperation with which it was contested, 
 or the awful and incessant thunders of the fight. 
 
 O 
 
 On the front the shouts of the assailants and defen- 
 
CAMPAIGN" IN MEXICO. 149 
 
 ders mingled in hoarse tones of defiance. For two 
 hours the contest was maintained with equal hand, 
 and no serious impression was made upon the en 
 emy s line, till the decisive and splendid flank move 
 ment of Pierce and Shields distracted his attention 
 and compelled him to change his order of battle. 
 
 " It is not my design to go into details. Suffice 
 it to say that after extraordinary exertions and ex 
 periencing great loss, the whole reserve, under the 
 command of Shields, drove back the overwhelming 
 force of the enemy, and relieved all parts of the 
 field. Worth joined his victorious troops with 
 Shields, the convent soon held out the white flag, 
 and the city and valley of Mexico lay at our feet/ 
 
 The foregoing narrative will show the important 
 part assigned to Pierce, at the head of the reserve, 
 to decide the fortunes of the day. It is surprising 
 that in his feeble condition he should have underta 
 ken to lead his troops and struggle with the difficul 
 ties of the ground. He, however, boldly led them 
 into the presence of the enemy, and endeavoring to 
 make his way on foot, fell, faint and exhausted, under 
 the heavy fire of that field. But his friends rejoiced 
 that he had strength enough to do a noble, gallant 
 and important part. The impression which he made 
 upon the army at this time, will best be shown by 
 the following quotations from the official reports : 
 
 " General Scott says, in his report of the battle of 
 CliuTubusco : 
 " Accordingly, the two advanced divisions, and 
 
150 LITE OF FRANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 Shields "brigade, marched from Contreras, under 
 the immediate orders of Major General Pillow, who 
 was now joined by the gallant Brigadier General 
 Pierce, of his division, personally thrown out of ac 
 tivity, late the evening before, by a severe hurt 
 received from the fall of his horse. 5 
 
 " c Next, (but all in ten minutes) I sent Pierce, 
 (just able to keep the saddle) with his brigade, 
 (Pillow s division) conducted by Capt. Lee, engineer, 
 by a third road, a little farther to our left, to attack 
 the enemy s right and rear, in order to favor the 
 movement upon the convent, and cut off the retreat 
 towards the capital. And, finally, Shields, senior 
 brigadier to Pierce, with the !N"ew-York and South 
 Carolina volunteers, (Quitman s division) was or 
 dered to follow Pierce closely, and to take command 
 of our left wing. 
 
 " c All these movements were made with the ut 
 most alacrity by our gallant troops and commanders. 
 
 " ; It has been stated that some two hours and a 
 half before, Pierce, followed closely by the volun 
 teer brigade both under the command of Briga 
 dier General Shields had been detached to our 
 left to turn the enemy s w r orks ; to prevent the es 
 cape of the garrisons, and to oppose the extension of 
 the enemy s numerous corps from the rear, upon 
 and around our left. 
 
 " Considering the inferior numbers of the two 
 brigades, the objects of the movement were difficult 
 to accomplish. 
 
CAMPAIGN 1ST MEXICO. 151 
 
 " The battle was long, hot and varied ; but ulti 
 mately success crowned the seal and gallantry of 
 our troops. &c 
 
 " Brigadier General Pierce, from the hurt of 
 the evening before under pain and exhaustion- 
 fainted in tli e action. 
 
 " 4 Several other changes of command occurred 
 on this field. 
 
 " General Worth, in his report, says : 
 " The division commander cannot forego the 
 opportunity presented, to acknowledge his pbliga- 
 tions and express his admiration of the gallant bear 
 ing of Major General Pillow and Brigadier Generals 
 Shields, Cadwallader and Pierce, with whom he 
 had the gratification of concert and co-operation at 
 various critical periods of the conflict. 
 
 "General Pillow, in his report of this battle, 
 says : 
 
 " 4 During this movement, I met with Colonels 
 Eansom s and Morgan s regiments, 12th infantry, 
 under Capt. Wood, and the howitzer battery, under 
 Lieut. Eeno, parts of my division, forming General 
 Piercers brigade, which had been moved by order 
 of the general-in-chief, under command of General 
 Pierce, against a large body of the enemy to the 
 right and rear of the main work, when they had 
 been in conjunction with Shields brigade, engaged 
 in a fierce, open field fight with a large force. 
 
152 LITE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 u c General Pierce, though still suffering severely 
 from his injury of the preceding day, had neverthe 
 less been on duty, and in command of his brigade 
 during the day, and until a few moments before, 
 when he had fainted from pain and exhaustion, and 
 been carried from the field. 
 
 " 6 1 cannot withhold the expression of my sense 
 of the deep obligations I am under for the success 
 and honor due to my command, to my two brigadier 
 generals, (Shields and Pierce) whose promptitude, 
 skill and daring, were equal to every emergency, 
 and who, in the absence of discipline in their com 
 mands, met and overcame every obstacle, and led 
 on their commands to honor and distinction} . . . 
 
 " The above extracts show clearly General Pierce s 
 standing in the army at that time. Great regret 
 was expressed at his unfortunate accident, but great 
 admiration for the noble manner in which he bore 
 himself under it. His appointment as one of the 
 commissioners to arrange the armistice, was con 
 sidered as exceedingly judicious and highly merited. 
 It gave universal satisfaction. 
 
 " The armistice failed, and resort w r as again had 
 to arms. The bloody field of Molino, and the pro 
 tracted struggle for the city attested how rapidly the 
 enemy had rallied from his defeat and the prowess 
 and constancy of American troops. At Molino 3,000 
 Americans, under the gallant and lamented Worth, 
 drove 14,000 Mexicans from their chosen position 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 153 
 
 into and under cover at Chepultepec. "What by 
 General Scott was expected to have been a slight 
 brush proved to be the most terrible conflict of the 
 war, and the brigades of Pierce and Riley were or 
 dered up to support it. Thus General Scott, in his 
 reports states, " But the battle was won just as 
 Brigadier Gen. Pierce interposed his corps between 
 Garland s brigade (Worth s division) and the retreat 
 ing enemy. 
 
 " This gave offence to "Worth, as intimating that 
 without Pierce his own command would not have 
 maintained the field. Whereas the particular ex 
 pression grew out of the gallant manner in which 
 Pierce brough this command to its assigned position, 
 and which was observed by Scott from a command 
 ing position, where he overlooked the whole field. 
 Within three days, officers in this city, of the old 
 army, have spoken of it with great admiration. 
 Two who accompanied Pierce to his position, speak 
 of his extraordinary coolness and composure as a 
 shell came streaming from Chepultepec through the 
 ranks of his command. From its direction, every 
 one feared that it would strike Pierce and kill both 
 him and his horse. Happily no one was injured. 
 
 " In the final operations about Chepultepec, it 
 was necessary, as a preliminary step, to re-occupy 
 the field of Molino, and in that position to plant bat 
 teries against Chepultepec. Our troops had been 
 withdrawn from the position since the battle of the 
 Sth. Pillow s division, Cadwallader s and Pierce s 
 
LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEKCE. 
 
 brigades, were ordered to drive the enemy from it, 
 and hold it against whatever force might be brought 
 against them. The order was gallantly executed ; 
 but the enemy had been previously withdrawn. 
 Pierce marched out with his company early in the 
 morning of the 12th September, and though scarcely 
 able to move a step, from his enfeebled condition, 
 growing out of his great exertions in bringing up 
 his command at Puebla, arid from fatigue and expo 
 sure at Contreras and Churubusco, he remained in 
 the field till mid-day, when the batteries were play 
 ing upon Chepultepec, and when it was certain that 
 no farther active operations would be prosecuted 
 during the day. He then reluctantly returned to 
 the quarters of General Worth, in the village of Ta- 
 cubaya, a short distance only from the field, so pros 
 trated that he was not able to leave his bed for some 
 thirty-six hours. It is one of the saddest experien 
 ces to a gallant and patriotic soldier to be prevented 
 by sickness, wounds or infirmity from sharing the 
 glories and dangers of the battle field with his com 
 panions in arms. 
 
 " Twiggs was thus thrown out of the earlier ope 
 rations at Monterey ; Persifer F. Smith, at Cerro 
 Gordo ; the gallant Colonel C. F. Smith, perhaps the 
 model soldier of the old army, from Molino. So 
 with Pierce. I have often conversed with Worth s 
 officers in relation to Pierce. Attracted by his frank 
 and cordial manner, they esteemed him for his man 
 ly and disinterested character, and had unbounded 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 155 
 
 confidence in his prudence, judgment and gallantry. 
 They speak of his despondency at not being able to 
 lead his men in the last great battle of the valley. 
 But he felt in a measure consoled from the reflection 
 that his own gallant staff officers were in the field, 
 and that his intreped friend Ransom, his first choice 
 to command the New England Regiment, was to 
 lead them. Alas, poor Ransom ! Not only a bright 
 ornament to his own New England, but to the whole 
 country one of the noblest and best soldiers of 
 that memorable campaign. Leading his regiment 
 with consummate skill, and pressing forward with 
 his usual order, he was shot through the head, and 
 fell a willing sacrifice to his country. 
 
 " This is not the place to describe how Chepulte- 
 pec yielded to the firm, unyielding and enthusiactic 
 assault of our troops under Pillow and Quitman, or 
 how Worth, on the two great causeways of approach, 
 drove the enemy into the city, and took possession 
 of the gates of Belen and of Cosnu. The resistance 
 at both points was stern and protracted. Santa 
 Anna was in the front ranks, cheering on and lead 
 ing his men at every point of danger. It is due to 
 his extraordinary gallantry and exertion, that at 
 night-fall, he retained possession of the city. Quit- 
 man, after securing the Belen gate at half-past one 
 o clock, was abliged to cover his troops the remain 
 der of the day. He could not move a step under the 
 pitiless and terrible fire of the citadel. Worth occu- 
 
156 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 pied one square within the Cosnu gate, strong and 
 easily defensible buildings being still in the hand of 
 the enemy to repel his further progress. 
 
 " In these positions our troops passed the night. 
 Both Quitman and Worth made preparations to 
 storm the city in the morning. Quitman strength 
 ened and enlarged his batteries with the determina 
 tion to batter and storm the citadel. Pierce, at his 
 solitary quarters towards dark, learned from Captain 
 Hardcastle, just from Worth, whose room he occu 
 pied, how affairs stood, and that the final struggle 
 for the mastery in the valley would take place the 
 next morning. < The city will be stormed and the 
 final victory of the war will be achieved to-morrow, 5 
 says Hardcastle. c I will then join my command 
 immediately, replied Pierce, and he got up and at 
 tempted to dress himself. Hardcastle, however, re 
 monstrated, and urged him to remain in bed till mor 
 ning to save his strength, saying to him that his 
 services would not be needed till then. He acqui 
 esced, and learned from Hardcastle the further par 
 ticulars of the field. 
 
 " The greater portion of his own brigade was with 
 Quitman, and a portion with Worth. Quitman s 
 position, under the fire of the citadel, was one of 
 vastly more danger and difficulty than Worth s. 
 The square within the garita, occupied by Worth, 
 led at once into the heart of the city, and his ad 
 vance by the slow process of the miner was certain. 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 157 
 
 Quitman could only assault the citadel by passing 
 over an open space, and the citadel itself was sepa 
 rated from the adjacent suburb of the city. 
 
 " Pierce, in the course of the night, joined Quit 
 man, in readiness for the morn. It is true that com 
 missioners passed through Worth s command in the 
 night, and announced to General Scott, at Tacuba- 
 ya, that the city was evacuated. But this was 
 known to very few persons in the army, and as 
 General Scott refused to listen to the terms proposed 
 by the commissioners, these few feared the army 
 would return and do battle for the city. 
 
 " At dawn, therefore, Quitman made his arrange 
 ments to commence the attack, and it was not till 
 broad daylight that, by personal observation, he dis 
 covered that the citadel had been abandoned. He 
 pushed on with his command, and soon seized the 
 National Palace, and hoisted thereon our own glo 
 rious stars and stripes. 
 
 " During the day, a desultory street fight was 
 kept up ; many officers and men were killed and 
 wounded, and not till the night of the 14th was the 
 city completely in our hands. 
 
 " In these final operations, therefore, Pierce led 
 his command to the field of Molino, where a severe 
 contest was expected, and remained on the ground 
 till it was certain the attack would not be made 
 till the following day ; and, after confinement from 
 utter prostration, to his sick bed for thirty-sixJiours, 
 he joined, in the night, his command at the point 
 8 
 
* 
 158 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 of greatest difficulty and danger, when, on all sides, 
 the final battle was expected to come off. It re 
 dounds especially to his credit, and shows his gal 
 lantry and resolution, his assuming the command 
 of his brigade at these two critical junctures." 
 
 Another writer, who was a witness to General 
 Pierce s gallantry in the battles of the Mexican 
 war, thus sums up his recital of the General s mili 
 tary career : 
 
 " 1. General Pierce was at Yera Cruz with 2,500 
 men, in June, 184V, where, contrary to his expecta 
 tions, he was obliged to remain more than three 
 weeks, in consequence of a want of requisite pro 
 visions, while he was, for more than four weeks, in 
 Terra Calienti, the vomito region. At length he 
 marched for Vera Cruz, with a train which, when 
 closed up, extended two miles. He went through 
 a country, and over a road, strong in natural defen 
 ces, swarming with guerillas, dogged at every step 
 by a wily enemy, with constant alarms and reports 
 of attacks, and was assaulted six times on his road, 
 yet he reached Puebla without the loss of a single 
 wagon, and with his command in fine order. The 
 conduct of the General, in this march his energy, 
 his sleepless vigilance, coolness in difficulty, good 
 judgment and skill in availing himself of the servi 
 ces of his staff won the highest encomiums from 
 military men of the old line, and elicited the warm 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 159 
 
 commendations of General Scott. This march alone 
 proved him to possess the qualities of an able and 
 successful commander. 
 
 " 2. General Pierce was in action at the National 
 Bridge. Here the Mexicans were strongly posted. 
 The place furnished strong natural advantages. 
 Across the main bridge they had thrown a barri 
 cade, and on a high bluff which commanded it, they 
 had added breastworks. There was no way in which 
 this position could be turned, and the General s ar 
 tillery would have been ineffective for the most 
 commanding point in which it could be placed. He 
 determined to cross under the fire of the enemy s 
 escopetes. His order to storm these works was ad 
 mirably executed. Lieutenant Colonel Bonham s 
 battalion rushed forward with a shout, under a 
 heavy fire from the enemy, that struck down many 
 of his men. But they pressed forward and leaped the 
 barricade, followed by Capt. Dupreau s company of 
 cavalry. In ten minutes, the enemy were in flight 
 in every direction. General Pierce was by the 
 side of Colonel Bonham in this attack. Both had 
 narrow escapes. The Colonel s horse was shot, and 
 a ball passed through the rim of the General s hat. 
 This was a well devised and gallant affair, and the 
 fame of it went before General Pierce, and he was 
 handsomely spoken of in the army. This was the 
 first action of much account in which he was en 
 gaged. 
 
 " 3. General Pierce was again in action at Contre- 
 
160 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIEKCE. 
 
 ras, on the 19th of August. His brigade was or 
 dered to attack the enemy in front. He came in 
 sight of the Mexicans at 2 o clock in the afternoon, 
 and led his men in the attack. He was under a 
 galling fire of the enemy three hours. As he was 
 leading his brigade through a perfect shower of round 
 shot and shells from the strong entrenchments in 
 front, and the musketry of the infantry, his horse, 
 being at full speed, fell under him upon a ledge of 
 rocks. He sustained severe injury by the shock and 
 bruises, but especially by a severe sprain in his 
 left knee, which came under him. At first, he was 
 not conscious of being much hurt, but soon became 
 exceedingly faint. Dr. Richie, a surgeon in his com 
 mand, assisted him, and administered to him. In a 
 few moments, he was able, with difficulty, to walk, 
 when he pressed forward to Captain Magruder s 
 battery. Here he found the horse of Lieutenant 
 Johnson, who had just received a mortal wound. 
 He was permitted to take this horse, was assisted 
 into the saddle, and continued in it until 11 o clock 
 that night. At 9 o clock he was the senior officer 
 on the field, when he ordered his command to a new 
 position. The night was dark, the rain poured in 
 torrents, and the ground was difficult, yet the General 
 still kept on duty. At one o clock, in his bivouac, 
 he received orders from General Scott by General 
 Twiggs and Captain Lee, when, at the head of his 
 command, he moved to take another position, to be 
 in readiness to aid in the operations of the next 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 161 
 
 Such was General Pierce s service in the 
 afternoon and night of August 19th. 
 
 " 4. At daylight, on the morning of the 20th, his 
 command assailed the enemy with great intrepidity, 
 and contributed much to the consummation of 
 the work begun on the previous day. That morn 
 ing, Valencia, with seven thousand troops, was de 
 feated. Gen. Pierce still kept the saddle, and was 
 at the head of his brigade. He was ordered to pur 
 sue the flying enemy, and as he passed the enemy s 
 works the scene was awful. The road, he says, and 
 adjacent fields were everywhere strewed with the 
 mangled bodies of the dead and dying. "We con 
 tinued the pursuit, he says, until 1 o clock, when 
 our front came up with the enemy s strong works at 
 Churubusco and San Antonio. Then, (after 1 
 o clock,) this great conflict commenced. 
 
 "At San Angel dispositions had been made to 
 attack in reverse, the enemy s works on the San Au 
 gustine road. General Scott ordered him to march 
 his brigade, in concert with that of the intrepid 
 General Shields, across the open country between 
 Santa Catarina and the above road, in order to 
 cut off the retreat of the enemy. This position was 
 promptly reached. The enemy s line was found in 
 perfect order, extending as far in either direction as 
 the eye could reach, and presenting a splendid 
 show. He was vigorously and successfully attack 
 ed. At the head of his command, General Pierce 
 arrived at a ditch, which it was impossible for his 
 
162 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 horse to leap. He dismounted, and, without 
 thinking of his injury, he hurried forward at the 
 head of his brigade, for about three hundred yards, 
 into the midst of the enemy s fire. Turning sud 
 denly upon his knee, the cartilage of which had 
 been badly injured, he fainted and fell upon a bank 
 in direct range and within perfect reach of the Mex 
 ican shot. The rout of the Mexican force was soon 
 complete. Colonel O Hara, who saw him, and 
 served with him in this battle, says c he was found 
 in the foremost rank of battle, and through most of 
 that bloody day, he was the spirit of the wing in 
 which he was placed. 
 
 " 5. General Pierce s next service was his connec 
 tion with the armistice, which the enemy asked, it 
 was supposed, with a view to peace. He had not 
 taken off his spurs, nor slept an hour for two nights, 
 in consequence of the pain of his knee and his en 
 gagements in the field. It was after he had been 
 borne insensible from the battle, and had just re 
 covered from his faintness, that he received notice 
 of the honorable distinction that had been conferred 
 upon him, in being appointed one of the commis 
 sioners to arrange the terms of an armistice. He 
 obeyed the summons, was helped into his saddle, 
 rode two and a half miles to Tacubaya, and met the 
 commissioners at the house of Mr. Mclntosh, the 
 British consul-general. The conference commenced 
 late in the afternoon, and at four the next morning 
 the articles were signed. 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 163 
 
 "6. General Pierce s next service was in connec 
 tion with the battle of Molino del Key, September 8th. 
 His brigade was ordered into action by Gen. Scott, 
 who commended the zeal and rapidity of its move 
 ment. Though the battle had been decided before 
 it reached the field, yet General Pierce brought his 
 command under fire in such fine order as to win 
 praise from the old officers. Here he was for some 
 time engaged in the honorable service of covering 
 the removal of killed and wounded, and the captured 
 ammunition, from the field. While so occupied 
 Col. Riley in his official report writes the 2d 
 infantry temporarily under the orders of Brigadier 
 General Pierce became engaged with the enemy s 
 skirmishes at the foot of Chepultepec. It was in 
 these skirmishes that he exhibited the gallantry that 
 called forth the encomiums of his brother officers, and 
 excited the enthusiasm of the men. It was at this 
 time that he led a portion of his command, to repel 
 the enemy s attacks, with a chivalric courage that 
 caused him to be spoken of with admiration. The 
 duty assigned to him was worthily performed. 
 
 " 7. General Pierce s next service was in connec 
 tion with the battle of Chepultepec. His brigade 
 was assigned an important position on the 12th 
 the evening previous to the battle which it was 
 prompt to take. E ufc the G anerai had been for thirty 
 six hours previous confine! to his bed, and was not 
 with his brigade. And it was owing to this illness 
 that he was not, on the 13th, by the side of tho 
 
LIFE OF FBANKLOf PIEECE. 
 
 brave Bansom and Seymour, storming the heights 
 of Chepultepec. Ill as he was, however, to the sur 
 prise of his brother officers, he left his bed on the 
 night of the 13th for the purpose of sharing in the 
 contemplated storming of the Mexican capital on 
 the following morning. It was a most eventful 
 night. The brave General Quitman had literally 
 fought his way by the gate Belen to a point within 
 Mexico, where, under cover of darkness, he was 
 raising defences in the position he had won to shel 
 ter his corps. At this time he was under the guns 
 of a most formidable citadel, which had yet to be 
 conquered. It was such times that called forth the 
 indefatigable energy of the accomplished engineers. 
 Sand bags were procured. Parapets were comple 
 ted ; formidable batteries were constructed ; a 2i 
 pounder, and 18 inch pounder, and an 8 inch howit 
 zer, were placed in position such heavy labor 
 being cheerfully done by the men under the very 
 guns of the great Mexican citadel. Now, one of the 
 gallant regiments in this post of real danger and 
 glory, was the New-England ninth part of Pierce s 
 command. And during the night, while the vigi 
 lant Quitman was overseeing these trenches, Gen 
 eral Pierce reported to him in person, received 
 orders to protect Steptoe s light battery, and received 
 General Quitman s thanks for his prompt execution 
 of the orders. At that time there was not an officer 
 in the army who did not expect an assault at day 
 light. But in the morning a white flag came from 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 165 
 
 this very citadel, and gave the first joyful news that 
 Santa Anna had evacuated Mexico ! 
 
 " 8. "While such was the specific service of General 
 Pierce, his general bearing, as to his relations with 
 his command, from the time he landed in Mexico 
 to the hour of his departure, was such as to win 
 golden opinions from all. From the time he left 
 Yera Cruz until he reached the valley of Mexico, 
 he was every rod either in the saddle or on foot. 
 This could be said of but few officers, for in conse 
 quence of change of climate, or of the water, or of 
 exposure, many were obliged to take an ambulance. 
 Thus did he share the fatigues of his troops. He 
 attended to their wants in sickness, he was by their 
 side when wounded or dying ; he received their last 
 requests. Hence, because he had a heart to sym 
 pathize with them was he idolized by his men. His 
 gentlemanly bearing and republican manners made 
 him a great favorite with all. Hence the universal 
 testimony was, that he had conducted as a general 
 officer, with great honor and eminent usefulness. 
 Old Army written by one who was an eye 
 witness of the career of General Pierce, and who 
 says he has reason to believe that every officer of 
 the old army would sustain him in what he writes"* 
 says, that in his service in Mexico he did his duty 
 as a son of the Eepublic ; that he was eminently 
 patriotic, disinterested, and gallant ; and that it has 
 added a laurel to his beautiful civic wreath. As a 
 citizen, he has been ready to make sacrifice for his 
 8* 
 
166 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 country. As a soldier and commander, he has 
 shown gallantry before the enemy, and was emi 
 nently the friend and father of his command. 
 
 " Such is a plain and simply just record of General 
 Pierce s military services in Mexico. At the call 
 of the law he was prompt, as a citizen-soldier, to 
 rally to the standard of the law, and to expose his 
 life freely for his country. He did this gallantly. 
 But war is not his profession. He becomes a sol 
 dier only when his country has battles to fight; 
 and when these are over, he throws by his sword 
 and mingles in the quiet duties of private life. Such 
 was the spirit and principle of the men of the revo 
 lution ; and General Pierce went on to the battle 
 fields of Mexico with the same idea with which his 
 father before him went to Bunker Hill. Those who 
 can present such a record, establish a valid claim on 
 the candor of their countrymen ; and the latter will 
 not unmoved see wanton aspersions cast on their 
 fair fame." 
 
 The following letter from Colonel Smith, of New- 
 Hampshire, a gentleman distinguished by his ser 
 vices to American8.in Mexico, during the invasion 
 of that country by our army, contains valuable tes 
 timony in reference to the conduct of General 
 Pierce, on the 19th and 20th of August, and 8th of 
 September : 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 167 
 
 " Gilmanton, N. JL, June 24, 1852. 
 "You are probably aware that at the commence 
 ment of the war with Mexico, I had been more than 
 fifteen years a resident of the city of the Aztecs. 
 During the war I was twice expelled from the city, 
 the suspicions of the government having been awa 
 kened, and its displeasure incurred in consequence 
 of the manner in which I treated Major Gaines, 
 Major Borland and the other Encarnacion prisoners. 
 Immediately after the second order for my expul 
 sion, desiring to control my own movements, I made 
 my escape, passed the mountains in two nights, 
 on horseback, having bribed a famous guerilla chief, 
 Colin, who accompanied me with five of his despe 
 rate associates. I carried despatches from to 
 
 General Scott, then at Puebla, which I delivered at 
 four o clock in the morning, and afterwards contin 
 ued with the noble commander, he availing himself 
 of my minute knowledge of the country, until I 
 again entered the city with the American army. I 
 arrived at Puebla two days before General Pierce s 
 brigade arrived there, and was never prouder of my 
 country, and never so proud of my native state, as 
 when that fine command marched into the city. 
 All balconies were crowded, and such a reinforce 
 ment spread general joy through the army. The 
 circumstances of the march the energetic, prudent 
 and skillful manner in which it had been per 
 formed the daring courage manifested by the 
 commander, particularly in crossing the National 
 
168 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 Bridge, when his hat was shot from his head were 
 of course the subjects of much conversation, and se 
 cured for General Pierce high admiration and entire 
 confidence. And these, I may safely say, were 
 never abated during the campaign. 
 
 "I do not propose to give you details of that cam 
 paign, but to state some facts within my own 
 knowledge in relation to the operations of the 19th 
 and 20th of August, and the 8th of September. On 
 the 19th August I was at St. Augustine, about 
 seven miles, from Contreras. Pierce s brigade 
 marched out early to open the road across the 
 mountain for the artillery, which followed that 
 afternoon. I did not see General Pierce again till 
 near noon the next day. I had been with General 
 Scott s staff all the morning of the 20th, and had 
 heard of the dangerous injury General Pierce had 
 sustained by the fall of his horse on the pedregal, 
 the afternoon before. The horse was supposed to 
 have caught his fore foot in the cleft of a rock, being 
 at a hard gallop. The preservation of the life of the 
 General, seems here, as at the National Bridge, to 
 have been providential. Although the bones of the 
 horse were broken, so that he was left upon the spot, 
 the tenacity with which the rider held to his com 
 mand during that day and the next, was the wonder 
 of all. He rode, during the residue of that evening, 
 the horse of the gallant Lieutenant Johnson, who 
 had just been shot in his saddle. 
 
 v I met General Pierce on the 20th, near Cova- 
 
CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. 169 
 
 can ; General Twigg s division had advanced on 
 the road towards the church at Churubusco, and 
 when I met Pierce, the heavy firing of the batteries 
 had opened. I shall never forget his appearance, as 
 he rode at the head of that noble brigade, destined 
 to suffer so terribly in the afternoon. He was ex 
 ceedingly thin, worn down by the fatigue and pain 
 of the day and night before, and then evidently suf 
 fering severely. Still there was a glow in his eye 
 as the cannon boomed, that showed within him a 
 spirit ready for the conflict. 
 
 " The brigade was soon formed on the west side of 
 the plaza of Coyacan, opposite the church. I was 
 familiar with all the roads and paths in that neigh 
 borhood, and informed General Scott, who was in 
 his saddle, under a tree, near the church, from which 
 he was issuing orders to different members of his 
 staff, that I knew a route by which the enemy could 
 be attacked in rear. Having decided at once to 
 send Pierce s brigade, and to support it by other 
 troops that might be at his command, he despatched 
 me to call General Pierce. I did so ; and when he 
 rode up, a conversation, in substance, and as near 
 as I can recollect, in the following words took 
 place : 
 
 " General Scott said : c Pierce, my dear fellow, 
 you are badly injured you are not fit to be in your 
 saddle. Yes, I am, said Pierce, in a case like 
 this. General Scott said: It is temerity; we 
 shall lose you, and cannot spare you. I ought to 
 
170 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 order you back to St. Augustine. You cannot touch 
 your foot to the stirrup. I can, one of them, 
 said Pierce, and that is enough for to-day. This 
 will be the last great fight, and I must lead my 
 brigade. The order was then given, I acting as 
 guide, by the direction of General Scott, Major Lee, 
 of the engineer corps, accompanying the command. 
 The brigade moved rapidly forward for about a mile, 
 when we came to a -ditch, as I recollect, ten or twelve 
 feet wide, and six or eight deep. Pierce was lifted 
 from his saddle, and as if to tread upon impossibili 
 ties, he lead the brigade, then under lire, in his 
 crippled condition, for a considerable distance on 
 foot, when he fell from exhaustion and suffering, 
 too great even for his energies. He refused to be 
 carried from the field, and remained until the final 
 rout of the enemy. More inflexible determination 
 and daring courage, I do not believe was ever ex 
 hibited upon a battle field. 
 
 " On the night before the battle of Molino del Key, 
 General Pierce s brigade was at the hacienda of 
 San Borjia, about one mile from Tacubaya, where 
 it had been held from the earliest dawn under arms. 
 You know how General Worth s most gallant divis 
 ion suffered. The carnage on the field was dread 
 ful. General Scott despatched me to accompany 
 my friend, Major Gaines, with an order for General 
 Pierce to advance. They were ready on an instant, 
 and moved rapidly forward. I was upon the field 
 and witnessed Pierce s fine movement upon the 
 
CAMPAIGN m MEXICO. 171 
 
 King s Mill, to relieve Colonel Garland, who had 
 been fighting to that hour. He advanced with the 
 ninth infantry, (and, as I recollect, second artillery, 
 not of his brigade proper.) The enemy whose fire 
 had nearly ceased, upon the movement of these new 
 regiments, re-opened with round shot and shell from 
 Chepultepec. I well remember that the bay horse 
 which the General took from the States, became, 
 under fire, difficult to manage, and was well nigh 
 plunging over a precipice close by the King s Mill, 
 at the bridge, in consequence of the bursting of a 
 shell, but a few feet from him. Nothing could have 
 been more cool and admirable, than this whole 
 movement. 
 
 "I made the acquaintance of General Pierce, 
 thousands of miles from our native land, under cir 
 cumstances that tried men s souls. 5 I found him 
 there, what all know him to be here, and I 
 cannot withhold this act of justice from one who 
 has as brave a heart, and as self-sacrificing a spirit, 
 as ever warmed a true man s bosom. 1 know Gen 
 eral Pierce needs no vindication of his military 
 conduct. His merit in this respect is proclaimed 
 by the united voice officers and men those w r ho 
 participated and who know. But at the same time 
 he may not be displeased with these hasty reminis 
 cences from me. I have been so long from the 
 country, that I feel but little interest in mere party 
 conflicts. Your obedient servant, 
 
 NOAH E. SMITH." 
 
LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 In closing our brief sketch of General Pierce s 
 military career in Mexico, we will adduce a few of 
 the many testimonials, from the pens of distinguish 
 ed personages, in his favor. We do this partly be 
 cause of the base attempt, on the part of some of his 
 political enemies, to traduce his military character. 
 
 Here is an extract from the letter of an officer in 
 the ninth regiment, to his friends at home : 
 
 " I am sorry he is going, as I don t know of a man 
 who would do better for the men under his com 
 mand, or one that the soldiers would like so well. 
 Bravery goes a great way toward making a man res 
 pected in the army and Gen. Pierce has as good a rep 
 utation for that, as even his immediate commander, 
 General Pillow. I imagine I can see him now up 
 on that black horse at Contreras. He gave us a 
 word or two as we filed past, in a shower of shot and 
 shells, in return for which we gave him a cheer. I 
 saw him too, at Cherubusco, notwithstanding he 
 was hardly able to sit on his horse, with the bullets 
 flying round him." 
 
 Extract of a letter from C. F. Low, dated Mexico, 
 Dec., 184T: 
 
 " To my great surprise I find that General Pierce 
 will leave to-morrow, with the train for Yera Cruz. 
 He has borne himself with great honor and useful 
 ness as a general officer. It is said of him here, 
 that after the terrible battles of the valley of Mex 
 ico, he visited the wounded and dying soldier, and 
 
HIS RETURN FR@M MEXICO. 173 
 
 with an untiring vigilance and open hand administer 
 ed, without stint or measure, to the alleviation of 
 their sufferings. We all regret, especially those of 
 us from New-England, his purpose to retire from 
 the service." 
 
 A letter in the Boston Courier, dated Mexico, 
 Dec., 13th, 1847, says : 
 
 " General Pierce has only been in the army du 
 ring the present campaign, but in the course of that 
 time has deservedly become one of the most popu 
 lar men in Mexico." 
 
 The New- Orleans Picayune, (whig) thus speaks 
 of him: 
 
 " GEN. PIERCE. This gentleman arrived here yes 
 terday in the New-Orleans, and we see it announced 
 with regret in the papers from Mexico, that he in 
 tends resigning his commission. During the short 
 time he has been in the service no officer has more 
 distinguished himself by his promptitude, energy, 
 and courage, and we hope that the report may prove 
 unfounded." 
 
 From the New-Orleans Delta : 
 
 " To enumerate all the gallant officers who came 
 over in the New-Orleans, and to notice in proper 
 terms their several claims to the praise and honor 
 of their countrymen, would fill up an entire paper. 
 We cannot, however, omit to notice some of this 
 gallant delegation from our invincible army, whose 
 names and history are most familiar to us. Among 
 
174: LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 those we regret to perceive the name of General 
 Pierce. We say regret, because we are informed 
 that his return here is in fulfillment of a determina 
 tion to resign his command in the army. He has 
 been forced to this determination by considerations 
 of a private nature. The commander-in-chief, and 
 the whole army, and especially his own brigade, 
 deeply regret his resignation, and parted from him 
 with great sorrow." 
 
 The American Star, published in the city of Mex 
 ico, gives the following just notice of his character 
 and services : 
 
 " BRIGADIER-GENERAL PIERCE. Among the distin 
 guished officers of the American army, who return 
 to the United States, with the train which leaves 
 the city to-day, is Brigadier-General Franklin Pierce, 
 of New-Hampshire. The Americans in the city 
 will deeply regret the departure of this accomplish 
 ed gentleman and officer, and certain we are that 
 their best wishes for his future happiness will go 
 with him. It is General Pierce s gentlemanly bear 
 ing, his urbane and republican manners, which have 
 made him so great a favorite with both officers and 
 men. It is his purpose, we believe, to resign the 
 place which he now occupies in the ariny, immedi 
 ately upon his return to his residence. Like others 
 of different grades attached to the army, he left the 
 endearments of home at the call of the Govern 
 ment, to participate in the battles of his country. 
 
_ 
 
 HIS BETUKN FROM MEXICO. 175 
 
 He left, also, a lucrative profession, which none oth 
 er than a patriotic motive could have induced him to 
 relinquish. The sacrifice, however, was most cheer 
 fully met. General Pierce has won a high reputa- 
 ;tion in the United States for his courage and brave 
 ry, as every paper that reaches us bears evidence. 
 He left Vera Cruz in the middle of July, with one 
 of the largest reinforcements for General Scott, and 
 the most extensive trains that have left that city 
 since its bombardment. 
 
 " In the several battles before the city, General 
 Pierce s brigade behaved most nobly, as all our 
 readers are well aware, and the General conducted 
 himself most gallantly at Contreras, Churubusco and 
 Molino del Rey, though, in the first named action, 
 he sustained a severe injury, by a plunge and fall 
 of his horse among the rocks of Padierna. During 
 the storm of Chepultepec, he was confined to his 
 room by indisposition, or he would have been charg 
 ing with his men over the precipitous heights where 
 his gallant friend, the lamented Ransom, fell. But 
 though General Pierce has thus honorably distin 
 guished himself, he is not ambitious of retaining his 
 high position in the service, and thus acquiring 
 distinction in the army. He prefers the quieter and 
 gentler pursuits of professional life, and we know 
 that he will be welcomed to his pleasant home in 
 New-England with hearts as warm as ever beat in 
 the human bosom. He will return to his native 
 hills with new laurels, and with the prayers of all that 
 
176 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 he may long live to enjoy the company and society 
 of those who are dear to him. Many fears, since 
 his departure from New-England, have been ex 
 pressed in the public papers and private letters, that 
 General Pierce had either fallen a vitcim to the cli 
 mate of the tierre caliente, or under the guns of the 
 enemy. His friends and relatives, however, are 
 now assured of his safety and health, and they will 
 greet him with as w T arm a welcome as an honored 
 son of New-England ever received. Happiness go 
 with him." 
 
 The following letter to the Editors of the Louis 
 ville Democrat, from Cassius M. Clay, we doubt 
 not, speaks the sentiments of every man in the 
 army who was acquainted with General Pierce. 
 Mr. Clay could surely have no other motive but to 
 do him justice : 
 
 " White Hull P. O., July 18, 1848. 
 " Eds. Democrat : In your paper of the 5th inst., 
 your correspondent C. represented the Hon. Gar 
 ret Davis as naming General Pierce as one of the 
 4 bad appointments of President Polk. I know 
 that in the heat of debate, party expressions are fre 
 quently used, not intended to have the effect which 
 they necessarily have when put in print. And from 
 the Hon. G. Davis usual character of fairness, I am 
 willing to award to him no desire to injure the char 
 acter of any gallant officer for political ends. But 
 whatever may be the designs of others, I take 
 
HIS KETHRN FROM MEXICO. ITT 
 
 pleasure, in addition to the official reports in regard 
 to General Pierce, to say that there was but one 
 opinion of General Pierce, so far as I learned, among 
 the officers of all parties in Mexico. There was 
 complaint of c bad appointments by the President 
 bad, not only by putting civilians over old sol 
 diers of the regular army, but bad per sd but of 
 these. General Pierce was not one. No considera 
 tions ought ever to cause injustice to be done any 
 one. As a political opponent, though personal 
 friend, of General Pierce, my humble testimony to 
 his high worth, intelligence and gallantry, can only 
 be of the least consideration, because here in Ken 
 tucky, he is not well known, and therefore less hon 
 ored. Your obedient servant, 
 
 C. M. CLAY. 
 
 In December of this year, after it was fully ascer 
 tained that there would be no more fighting, Gen 
 eral Pierce returned home, and on resigning his 
 commission at Washington, left for Concord. His 
 reception by the people of Concord was most enthu 
 siastic. The people, though the day was a rainy 
 one, came out by thousands. A committee was ap 
 pointed to conduct General Pierce into the Town 
 Hall, where Gen. Low presided. He was accom 
 panied by his aid, Lieut. T. P. Pierce. When he 
 had entered the hall, Gen. Low arose and spoke as 
 follows : 
 
ITS LIFE OP FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 GEN. LOW S SPEECH. 
 
 " FELLOW CITIZENS : You have not come here to 
 day to hear me speak, but to listen to the tones of 
 him whom you have so often heard with pleasure 
 and delight. You have come to unite in a patriotic 
 and grateful service ; not to discuss any of the great 
 political subject of the day, or the fitness of this or 
 that man for public office. Ours is the more agree 
 able duty of paying the tribute of respect and grat 
 itude to the gallant soldier who has fought the bat 
 tles of our country upon the blood-stained fields of 
 Mexico, and to tender to him our thanks for his ser 
 vices, also to express our thanks for the servi 
 ces of the brave men whom he has led in those 
 actions. Of the high motives, of the profound 
 sense of honor from which he acted, I can bear 
 witness. After I had been informed that he had 
 accepted a commission as colonel of the New- 
 England regiment, I took the liberty of asking him if 
 it was true that he had decided to sunder the tender 
 ties of husband, father, and give up the peaceful en 
 joyments and comforts ot home, which he possessed 
 in such an eminent degree. He replied I have ac 
 cepted of the commission. I could do no otherwise. 
 I was pledged to do it. When I left the Senate, it 
 was with a fixed purpose of devoting myself exclu 
 sively 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 
 
RECEPTION ON HIS RETUKN. 179 
 
 the field, if called upon to defend her honor and 
 maintain her rights. War has come, and m y plight 
 ed word must and shall be redeemed. He did re 
 deem his pledge. His commission of colonel was 
 superseded by that of brigadier general, and he went 
 forth with the sons of New England. Well we re 
 member how we followed him and his command in 
 our minds, through the pestilential camp at Yera 
 Cruz ; then step -by step to the National Bridge and 
 Jalapa, where a curtain, as it were, was shut down 
 upon him and his brave band, and cut them off from 
 our view. Every breeze, every whisper, every report 
 which the po\v er of lightning could waft to us, was 
 sought with avidity. Great was the anxiety from 
 the uncertainty that rested on the fate of our friends. 
 But the curtain was lifted. The black cloujj. roll 
 ed away, and the battle field lay revealed to us. 
 Then what admiration and astonishment did we 
 feel ! There we beheld nine thousand troops driv 
 ing before them thirty thousand of the best appoint 
 ed army ever raised in Mexico. They are pursued 
 over ravines and artificial trenches, cut by the la 
 bors of a hundred thousand peons, by one small but 
 gallant army, rushing online upon line, hill upon hill 
 overwhelming redoubts, storming fortifications, cap 
 turing the capital of the enemy, and planting the 
 flag of our country upon the principal palace. 
 Here we see our friend triumphantly leading on his 
 command. But this is not all we see of him. We 
 behold the camp after the hour of battle has passed 
 
180 LIFE OF FRANKLnr PIERCE. 
 
 away. We behold it wrapped in the silence of 
 night. We see the killed and the wounded, and 
 we look for our friend. We find him passing unat 
 tended through the long line of tents, in which were 
 to be seen the palid cheek and exhausted frame of 
 the dying soldier. To minister to them is the busi 
 ness of his lonely rounds. He visits the tents ; he 
 hears their last words, and receives their last mor 
 tal request, and expends upon them his last shil 
 ling to procure for them necessaries .which they 
 could not, in such a place, otherwise obtain. Is not 
 such a son worthy of the State that gave him birth ? 
 (Cheers) Turning to General Pierce, he continued : 
 I can say no more sir. Your services are under 
 stood here ; and now, in the name of this meeting, 
 and in my own behalf likewise, I bid you a hearty 
 welcome home to your adopted town. And in the 
 name of all the people in every town in this State, I 
 congratulate you, upon your safe return to the cap 
 ital of your native State." 
 
 GEN. PIEKCE S REPLY. 
 
 General Pierce now advanced to the front of the 
 platform to reply. He was evidently laboring with 
 deep emotions, the nature of which could be well 
 gathered from the tone and topics of his remarks. 
 Although one of the most forcible and fluent speak 
 ers in the country, he on this occasion avoided every 
 thing in the shape of speaking for effect. He talk 
 ed right out on matters which intensely interested 
 his audience, 
 
SPEECH ON HIS RECEPTION. 181 
 
 " He said, whatever had been his portion of the 
 danger encountered or exposure endured, or the 
 long sad days and sleepless nights of those he had 
 left behind, none of which would have occurred to 
 him but for the remarks of the President, he had 
 been more than compensated by the reception he 
 had met, setting aside the consciousness of duty 
 performed. He felt an embarrassment in addressing 
 the meeting that he could hardly account for. He 
 felt profoundly grateful to that Being, who not only 
 watches over the nations of the earth, but over the 
 welfare of the humblest individual. He did not 
 take to himself the honor of attracting such a nu 
 merous and excited assembly as stood before and 
 around him. The gathering was on account of the 
 great number of their gallant sons, brothers, and 
 friends, that had jformed a part of his command. 
 They had come to hear not only of those who live, 
 but of those who, having displayed their devotion 
 to their country, now repose on a foreign soil. A 
 set speech to an audience actuated by the feelings 
 which he perceived, would be altogether out of 
 place. It would be a sort of desecration to attempt 
 any display on such occasions. Upon the main topic 
 which they must be anxious to hear about, he could 
 not frame a set speech. They wanted to hear of the 
 Ninth regiment, the glorious New-England regi 
 ment, which was assembled in such hot haste,, and 
 in such hot haste met the enemy. There was not a 
 generous or just man in the State who had not pro- 
 9 
 
182 LIFE OF FKAlTKLrNT PIERCE. 
 
 nonnced in favor of their motives. Laving aside 
 all the ties of home, and the fair promises of youth 
 and its enjoyments, and suffering the partings which 
 press the life-blood from out young hearts, they re 
 sponded to their country s call, with a high moral 
 purpose that could not be exceeded. During the 
 three weeks at Vera Cruz, caused by a want of 
 mules and wagons for transportation a delay ag 
 gravated by wide-spread sickness he never heard a 
 murmur from a soldier under his command. A more 
 cheerful set of lads they could not have been if they 
 had been at home by their own happy firesides. 
 Their subsequent exploits had been read in the offi 
 cial reports. He would not detail them. On the 
 march, in the fight, everywhere, one predominant 
 feeling animated them. The question was not, who 
 should be ordered forward ; but which corps should 
 be allowed to go forward first. The only dispute 
 was upon claims to be first led against the enemy. 
 At night they were cheerful in their tents, and 
 longing for the morning, which should bring with 
 it the order to move forward to battle. New-Hamp 
 shire had no occasion for any other feeling than that 
 of pride in regard to her sons who belonged to the 
 command. They had proved themselves brave, de 
 voted, self-sacrificing spirits. And Concord, too, 
 was well represented among them. There was 
 Henry Caldwell, one of the bravest and most deter 
 mined soldiers in the army. There was sergeant 
 Stowell, who was shot, plump through the heart, at 
 
SPEECH ON HIS KECEPTIOtf. 183 
 
 Churubusco. As his last breath flowed he whispered 
 to me Do the boys say I behaved well? if I 
 have, write home to my people. Then there was 
 sergeant Pike, who had his leg shot off in advancing 
 along on a causeway swept by three batteries. Two 
 amputations, which did not answer the purpose, 
 were performed, and a third was deemed hopeless. 
 Die he must, it was thought. I know better than 
 they do, he said. I ll try another ; and when they 
 cut it again I hope they will cut it so that it will 
 stay cut. A third amputation was performed, and 
 he lived through it. He and the others named were 
 printers. In the new levies, the printers exceed by 
 twenty per cent, those of any other vocation ; and 
 on account of their intelligence and high spirit they 
 have proved the most efficient soldiers in the field. 
 " General Pierce also named Brown and Swett, of 
 Concord, as particularly distinguished ; and Cap 
 tain Cady and Lieuts. Potter and Dana, of the old 
 line. JSTor did he forget sergeant West, of Man 
 chester, who fell at the head of his column ; and 
 was always there when there was any fighting to be 
 done. But in mentioning the men of New-Hamp 
 shire, or of New-England, he would claim for them 
 no superiority over others. The present army was 
 made up of artillery, cavalry, the old army, and the 
 new levies, representing every State of the Union, 
 and it was not in the power of man to say which 
 had done the best service. To many it had been 
 matter of great surprise that the new levies had 
 
184: LLFE OF FRANKLIN" PIERCE. 
 
 fought as they had done. But it is in the race. He 
 would take from the audience before him a regi 
 ment who would do the same. In executing ma 
 noeuvres and in forming combinations in front of an 
 enemy, by wheeling, countermarching, &c., old 
 soldiers are undoubtedly better; but when it came 
 to close fighting, as in storming or charging, it was 
 the man that did the work, arid not the manoeuver- 
 ing ; and in such work, the men who had never be 
 fore been under fire or handled a bayonet, stood 
 well side by side with the long trained soldiers. 
 Another cause of the success of our troops, new and 
 old, was the conduct of the officers, who, from the 
 highest to the lowest, led and cheered on their col 
 umns. Hence the disproportion in the loss of offi 
 cers and men. Hence the loss of that most brave 
 and accomplished of officers of the ten new regi 
 ments Colonel Hansom. He kept pressing up 
 pressing up till he w r as shot dead at the head of 
 his column. The same was true of Colonel Martin 
 Scott, the first shot in the army a son of New- 
 Hampshire. He raised himself above the protection 
 of a wall. A brother officer begged him not to ex 
 pose himself unnecessarily. He replied Martin 
 Scott has never yet stooped. The next moment a 
 shot passed through his heart. He fell upon his 
 back, deliberately placed his cap upon his breast 
 and died. Colonel Graham, after receiving six se 
 vere wounds, continued at the head of his men, and 
 upon receiving, a seventh through the heart,, slowly 
 
SPEECH ON HIS RECEPTION. 185 
 
 dropped from his horse, and as he fell upon the 
 ground, said Forward, my men! my word is 
 always forward ! And so saying, he died. 
 
 "Having referred to Lieutenants Foster and Dan 
 iels, and to several officers of the old army, General 
 Pieice proceeded to say, he had to retract opinions 
 he had formerly entertained and expressed, in rela 
 tion to the Military Academy, at West Point. He 
 was now of the opinion that the city of Mexico 
 could not have been entered in the way it was, 
 but for the intelligence and science in Military 
 Affairs, of the officers of the old army, mostly from 
 "West Point. Services were rendered by the officers 
 of the topographical engineers and ordnance, which 
 could not have been rendered, but by men who had 
 received the most complete military education. 
 The force of the Americans had been overrated. 
 Only 7,500 effective men left Puebla to attack a 
 city of 250,000 inhabitants, defended by 35,000 of 
 the best troops ever raised in Mexico, 100 pieces of 
 cannon, and the iinest fortifications ever raised, in 
 addition to the natural defences of marshes and 
 lakes. 
 
 " In conclusion, he said he was not here to dis 
 cuss any matters of controversy, but to meet his 
 friends. Yet the subject of war was necessarily 
 presented to their consideration by the occasion. 
 Before entering Li it, it was his belief that the war 
 had been irresistibly pressed upon us. If he had 
 doubted before, conversations he had had with the 
 
186 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 most intelligent Mexicans, would have confirmed 
 him in the opinion that the war was unavoidable 
 on our part. Four of the Mexican commissioners 
 were in favor of the propositions submitted by Mr. 
 Trist, but they were overawed by threats and dem 
 onstrations of the mob in Mexico, stimulated by 
 opponents to the then existing government. Even 
 now the puros will go to the last extremity against 
 a peace. They say it is the first time within the 
 last twenty years, that they have been under any 
 protection. They are in favor of merging the na 
 tionality of Mexico in that of the United States. 
 They say they care nothing for a nationality which 
 has afforded them no protection in either civil or 
 political rights. Their rights are protected by 
 American arms. 
 
 " Again, the course a very large number of the 
 public presses in the United States has pursued, has 
 created obstacles to peace. Mexican papers are 
 filled with articles and speeches from the United 
 States, denouncing the war on our part, and justify 
 ing Mexico. The Mexican editors publish them 
 with the remark that nothing remains to be added 
 by them, to make out the justice of their course 
 towards the United States. On the same day that 
 he saw in a Jalapa paper a whole page of extracts 
 from American papers, he saw stuck up on the trees, 
 the proclamation of General Salas to the guerillas, 
 ending with the watchword Death to the Yan 
 kees, without mercy. Thus was furnished from 
 
GEN. PIEECE AND GEN. SCOTT. 187 
 
 our own country, the food which fed the ferocity 
 that pure-lied the army at every turn, and caused 
 the butchering of every soldier who fell into their 
 hands. In the office of the Secretary in Mexico, 
 extracts from American papers were found filed 
 away in their pigeon holes. They had been used 
 in framing their proclamations. 
 
 " Should the Mexicans find the Americans stand 
 ing together on the question of the war, peace would 
 follow almost instantaneously. An opportunity is 
 now presented to make peace by strengthening the 
 hands of President lien-era, and the peace party, 
 who have obtained a majority in Congress." 
 
 Having renewed his expressions of gratitude for 
 his reception, General Pierce now sat down. 
 
 To show the friendship which General Pierce has 
 ever entertained for General Scott, we subjoin the 
 fallowing letter of his, to Colonel Greene, editor of 
 the Boston Post. 
 
 " GEN. SCOTT. It is now certain that Gen. Scott 
 has been deprived of his command in Mexico. This 
 is said to have been done on the recommendation 
 of Gen. Pierce, who, doubtless, thinks Scott did r not 
 do him justice in his official reports. If the signs of 
 the times are to be trusted, the people will deprive 
 the men who have involved the country in the pres 
 ent infamous war, of their ill-used power, quite as 
 summarily as James K. Polk, at the suggestion of 
 Franklin Pierce, has deprived Gen. Scott of his 
 command in Mexico." 
 
LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 "Lowell, Feb. 1, 1848. 
 
 " DEAR SIR : The above paragraph was sent to 
 me under cover of a blank envelop, without any 
 indication of the paper from which it was clipped. 
 If the article referred to myself alone, I should have 
 allowed it to pass, as I have in other instances, with 
 out any notice from me. But having observed sim 
 ilar suggestions in other papers, it is perhaps due to 
 the administration, and to the distinguished General 
 from whom I am now widely separated, but to 
 whom I hope ever to be united by sentiments of 
 respect and personal friendship, that I furnish a cor 
 rection. The paragraph has not the slightest foun 
 dation in truth. I was never consulted by the 
 national Executive in relation to the matter to which 
 it refers. From the day my command joined the 
 main army at Puebla, to the hour I left the city of 
 Mexico, there was never a moment when the kind 
 est relations did not exist between the general-in- 
 chief and myself; and I trust I am not likely soon 
 to forget, or lightly appreciate the confidence and 
 friendship which, under all circumstances, he was 
 pleased to extend to me. I need not say, that noth 
 ing-can be more unpleasant, than for officers who 
 have just returned from the seat of war, to find im 
 posed upon them, the necessity of contradicting 
 statements so untruthful and indelicate. 
 Your friend and servant, 
 
 EBAXK PIEECE. . 
 Col. C. G. GREENE, Editor of the Boston Post." 
 
HE IS PRESENTED WITH A SWORD. 189 
 
 During this year, the State Legislature voted to 
 General Pierce a splendid sword, as a token of their 
 esteem of him as a man, r.nd of his gallantry as a 
 soldier. We give a few extracts from his reply to 
 the committee, who were delegated by the Legisla 
 ture, to present it to the General : 
 
 u I accept this splendid weapon from the people 
 of New-Hampshire, with an abiding sense of the 
 personal regard which has never seemed to grow 
 cold. May I not be permitted to say, without ref 
 erence to my political associations, that I receive it 
 as one among multiplied evidences, so far as the 
 men of my own time of life are concerned, of some 
 thing like a fraternal esteem and confidence, which 
 it has been my highest purpose to merit, and is my 
 firmest never to lose. In the mean time, I am not 
 unmindful of another and higher consideration, 
 which actuated the Legistatuje. The sword, though 
 given to me, was designed and received as a token 
 of the estimation in which you hold the services 
 and sacrifices of the officers and soldiers of the brig 
 ade, which it was my good fortune to command ; 
 and to them I would have the grateful thoughts of 
 my friends turned to-day ; to the noble dead ; to 
 the men who, with their life-blood, sealed their devo 
 tion to the rights and honor of the Republic ; to the 
 gallant living, who, having fulfilled their mission 
 amid the untried scenes of an eventful campaign on 
 a foreign soil, are now unobtrusively and usefully 
 pursuing the avocations of civil life at home. 
 9* 
 
190 LIFE OF FRANKLIN" PIERCE. 
 
 " Your thoughts and purposes in this matter are 
 not circumscribed by the limits of New-Hampshire 
 or New-England. You embrace the 12th and 15th 
 regiments, no less warmly than the 9th. It will 
 ever be a matter of gratification to me, that the three 
 regiments of my brigade were composed of men 
 from the extreme south, north and west of the 
 Union, because it illustrated, in an hour of trial and 
 danger, that unity which is our strength. The 
 question never arose, during the varied scenes of 
 that summer, on what side of a geographical line a 
 man was born or reared ; he stood upon the field by 
 your s de, an American officer or an American sol 
 dier, with an American heart and that was enough 
 for any of us to know. It was a glorious brother 
 hood. The highest hope of patriotism looks to the 
 permanence and all-pervading power of that feeling. 
 It is the panoply under which, whatever is dear and 
 precious in our institutions, will repose in security. 
 Over it may the stars and stripes float forever !" 
 
THE RELIGIOUS TEST QUESTION. 191 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 General Pierce on the Religious Test Question-*- His Speech Let 
 ter to the Stark Monument Committee. 
 
 GENERAL PIERCE now devoted himself to the du 
 ties of his legal profession. About this time a State 
 Constitutional Convention was held in New-Hamp- 
 shire, to revise the Constitution, and General Pierce 
 allowed himself to be elected a member of that 
 body, by the citizens of Concord. The Convention 
 met at Concord in [November, 1850, and among its 
 members were Ichabod Bartlett, Levi Woodbury, 
 and Edmund Parker, and many other of the master 
 minds of the State. It was, perhaps, the most dig 
 nified body which ever met in New-Hampshire, 
 containing all the men of influence in both parties. 
 General Pierce was elected President of the con 
 vention by a vote of 257 to 6. The course pursued 
 by him at this convention constitutes an important 
 portion of his life, inasmuch as in it he came out 
 boldly for religious freedom. No sooner had the 
 nomination of General Pierce to the Presidency be 
 come fairly known, than party presses at once be 
 gan to accuse him of approving the Religious Test 
 which is a part of the Constitution of the State of 
 New-Hampshire. This Test in theory excludes all 
 
192 LIFE or TraA-rcrnvng- PIERCE. 
 
 Catholics from office in the State, though, to a cer 
 tain extent, it has become obsolete, and a dead let 
 ter. From the first moment of his political life, 
 General Pierce has been entirely opposed to this 
 odious clause in the Constitution. 
 
 The present Constitution of New-Hampshire was 
 formed in the year 1792, and has never since been 
 altered. The legal method of amendment is first 
 by a vote of the people to call a convention for that 
 purpose ; second the adoption of amendments by 
 such convention ; and third, the ratification of such 
 proposed amendments ly a two-thirds vote of the 
 people. Since General Pierce first entered upon the 
 stage of public life, the question of the revision of 
 the Constitution has seven or eight times come be 
 fore the people, and every time he has used his in 
 fluence to secure said revision, and avowedly for 
 the main purpose of abolishing the obnoxious and 
 oppressive Religious Test. Every time, however, 
 until 1850, the friends of a convention were de 
 feated. In 1850, every Democratic press in New- 
 Hampshire advocated the calling of a convention 
 to abolish all religious tests in the Constitution, and 
 a convention was called by a vote of the people. 
 The subjects of the Keligious Test and Property 
 Qualification were taken up at an early day. Such 
 was General Pierce s anxiety to induce the con 
 vention to amend the Constitution in reference to 
 the Religious Test, that he left the chair, and enter 
 ed the arena of debate. 
 
THE RELIGIOUS TEST QUESTION. 
 
 On the fourth day of the session, November 11, 
 the " Bill of Eights" being under consideration in 
 committee of the whole, Judge Woodbury moved 
 to strike out the word " protestant" in the sixth sec 
 tion, where it provides that the Legislature may 
 authorize towns, parishes, &c., to make provision 
 for the support " of public protestant teachers of 
 piety, religion and morality." As there were other 
 amendments to be proposed to this article, Judge 
 "Woodbury withdrew his motion, and the article was 
 passed over. At a subsequent stage of the pro 
 ceedings, as appears by record, General Pierce pro 
 posed to Judge Woodbury to renew the above 
 motion, which he did ; and the word " protest ant" 
 was stricken out. The following is Judge Wood- 
 bury s speech made on the occasion one of the 
 most convincing ever made upon a similar subject. 
 "We copy it here, because General Pierce s speech 
 followed it, and is connected with it in a manner, 
 as he refers to it in terms of great commendation : 
 
 RELIGIOUS TESTS. 
 
 On motion of Mr. Parker, of Nashua, the Con 
 vention resolved itself into the Committee of the 
 "Whole, on the report of the Committee on Property 
 Qualifications and Keligious Tests. (Mr. Sawyer, 
 of Nashua, in the chair.) 
 
 RELIGIOUS TESTS. The first resolution striking out 
 all religious tests, was taken up. 
 
 Judge Woodbury, made the following remarks : 
 
194: LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 " MR. CHAIRMAN : Being opposed to the test, that 
 some of our principal offices shall not be filled, ex 
 cept by persons of the Protestant religion, I ask 
 leave to offer a few reasons for it. I do it quite as 
 much to vindicate our fathers, in part, for inserting 
 it, as myself for resisting it. Constitutions, it is 
 conceded, ought to be durable instruments, being 
 the great fundamental laws passed by the people, 
 and lasting at times, as ours has, without a shadow 
 of a change for half a century ; yet I am willing, 
 when a provision like this becomes hostile to the 
 tolerant spirit of the age, and a more enlightened 
 public opinion, to expunge it at once from our sys 
 tem of government. I do this too, the more readily 
 at the present moment, in order to present ^ another 
 illustration to the world, how easily laws and even 
 constitutions, where objectionable, can be changed 
 and re-changed in this free country without a resort 
 to violence, and to measures treasonable to public 
 liberty and the safety, as well as the best interest 
 of our blessed Union. Nor is it that I oppose reli 
 gion, but support it. I am neither deistic nor inno 
 vating rashly. 
 
 " On a little examination, it will be found that 
 this test crept into the constitution originally, under 
 a temporary impulse, and without having any influ 
 ence on the affairs of the State, practically, as they 
 then stood. This is the vindication of our fathers. 
 ^ "Tradition says and I probably had it in early 
 life, from the venerable parent of the member from 
 
THE KELIGIOTTS TEST QUESTION". 195 
 
 Epping, (Mr. Plumer) that parent, the Nestor of 
 the politicians of that generation, and sole survivor 
 of the convention of 1791 that the provision was 
 inserted in 1784, to repel taunts which had been 
 flung out by some, after the French alliance, that 
 there was to be an alliance also with the French 
 religion, and the establishment of it here. The pro 
 vision fell then still born so few Catholics existed 
 in the State. But in 1791, the impropriety of re 
 taining it on principle became so manifest, that after 
 one or two ineffectual efforts, the convention voted 
 to erase it, and a majority of the people concurred 
 with them ; yet not being quite two-thirds, the pro 
 vision remained, though against the will of a deci 
 ded majority. 
 
 "The principle of the test was, even then, so 
 odious, that, as Catholics increased since in the 
 State, from a mere handful as then, another conven 
 tion would, I think, long ere this, have been called 
 for expunging this alone, had they become numer 
 ous, or had the test been much more than a Irutum 
 fulmen, or used practically to oppress them. If any 
 soreness against Catholic persecution of the Puri 
 tans abroad, mingled with this, and rendered preju 
 dices stronger with some against erasing the test, 
 they ought, for more recent persecution by Laud 
 and the Episcopalians in England, to have excluded 
 them also. But it was right to exclude neither. 
 Now, under more auspicious circumstances, we have, 
 and I trust will, improve the opportunity to do 
 
196 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 justice to all. There is now no dread of French 
 influence or French religion. The rights of all 
 Christians, at least to equal freedom and power, in 
 our system of government, have become a practical 
 question, and should of course be settled on broad, 
 enlightened and humane principles. Fifty years, 
 with their discussions and researches, and experi 
 ments, have poured a flood of light over the true 
 nature of liberty of conscience, and all its great 
 safeguards. Let us, then, do what our fathers them 
 selves would, if now living, under increased light 
 and experience. 
 
 " How does the question stand under republican 
 principles of government ? By them constitutions 
 and laws are made more to protect rights than to 
 confer them. They are made for protecting liberty, 
 equality, conscience, property and life, rather than 
 to give most of these, or to establish any particular 
 set of religious opinions. This is not, that religion 
 is a minor concern, and not in some view the great 
 est for an immortal being, but rather that religion 
 is a concern between God and man, and seldom to 
 be interfered with by governments. Such intoler 
 ant interferance has caused oceans of blood to flow, 
 and millions to perish at the stake, and was one of 
 the great causes which expelled our fathers to a 
 wilderness and the mercy of savage foes. The re 
 publican government afterwards established here, 
 should, if true to republican principles, shield all 
 in their religious tenets while conducting peacefully, 
 
THE RELIGIOUS TEST QUESTION. 197 
 
 and protect all in their pursuits and worship, how 
 ever different, while acting as good citizens, or it 
 becomes suicidal, and, like despotism, persecutes 
 differences of opinions, and introduces the grossest 
 irregularities. 
 
 " How does the question stand on the principles 
 of our bill of rights ? 
 
 " It is forced to admit that each sect should enjoy, 
 and it does now enjoy here, the privilege to hold 
 property. If to hold that, why not protect by laws 
 which each helps to make ? It concedes to each 
 sect the right to sue for injuries to character, for 
 injuries to children and wife, and to worship God 
 in freedom. Why not, then, let them aid in legis 
 lating to protect all these ? You hold out the husk, 
 but withdraw the kernel. You allow firearms, but 
 neither gunpowder nor lead to load them, and 
 make them effective. In the bill of rights, you 
 pledge also to all sects equality, but afterwards by 
 this test, you make all but Protestants unequal. 
 You will promise entire freedom of conscience to all, 
 and treat it in the 4th article as so high a privilege, 
 as not to be in any way unalienable, and yet you 
 leave others than Protestants defenceless as to it, 
 by disfranchising them from filling offices to secure 
 it by legislation. 
 
 "It is contrary to the Declaration of Independ 
 ence, and of the very first article in your bill of 
 rights, declaring all men equal. You do not thus 
 give to all men equal privileges. It is also in the 
 
198 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 teeth of the same bill of rights, to say one sect shall 
 not be subordinate to another, and still disfranchise 
 one, or let one hold offices forbidden to others. -It 
 is likewise contrary to all sound experience and 
 reason to say, as we do, that Catholics may vote, 
 but net be voted for ; and that they may be well 
 competent for one duty and not the other. So it is 
 inconsistent to say, as we do, that they may be 
 jurors or judges, yet not legislators or agree, as 
 we do in the Constitution of the Union, that Cath 
 olics may be fit and safe for members of Congress, 
 Senators, Cabinet Officers, yea, Presidents, and yet 
 denounce them as unfit and unsafe at home, to rep 
 resent one hundred and fifty polls in one of our 
 email townships. It is, in truth, much like the great 
 grievance which led to our Revolution taxation 
 without representation. All other than Protestant 
 sects are virtually deprived of representation, as they 
 are made ineligible to the Legislature. Their opin 
 ions and wishes are unheard there, from themselves. 
 They are branded. They are driven forth as with 
 the mark of Cain, for servitude and ignominy. 
 
 Why not as well explicitly say and not doit 
 covertly that none but Protestants are fit fora 
 republic ? Why not say that Catholic Maryland is 
 unfit ? Catholic Hungary ? Catholic Ireland ? 
 Catholic France ? Why halt at half-way measures ? 
 Why not say it is a mere creed in religious faith, 
 and not the mind, heart, morals, which renders men 
 fiuita ble for self-government ? or that we establish 
 
THE RELIGIOUS TEST QUESTION. 199 
 
 government for the former alone, and not to secure 
 liberty, character, property and life? 
 
 Indeed, this test debars man from what we allow 
 to the degraded African, as he is eligible here to 
 hold office as well as to vote. It seems often to have 
 been overlooked ; likewise that these tests are re 
 straints or chains on those who make them, as well 
 as on others. The Protestant himself cannot now 
 vote here for a Catholic any more than a Catholic 
 vote for one, though tho candidate may be on all 
 hands confessedly the best qualified man for State 
 Representative, Senator, or Governor. 
 
 If urged that the power to make such tests in con 
 stitutions exist, it is no argument for the moral and 
 political right to do it than it is because we have the 
 naked power, that we have also the moral and po 
 litical right to unite Church and State, create an in 
 quisition, or, having stripped other sects of the 
 privilege to hold office, to go farther, and rob them 
 of equal rights to earth, air, fire, and water, and 
 the same hopes and means for happiness, both in 
 time and eternity. One profession alone in business 
 might, on a like ground, be admitted to sit in the 
 Legislature such as merchants or lawyers. While 
 the present test continues, it is with an ill grace we can 
 call other countries bigoted, who, like England have 
 emancipated the Catholics, and made contributions 
 for their education. All the former fears as to their 
 numbers or political principles have now become 
 groundless. In most Catholic countries Jesuitism is 
 
200 LITE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 banished, and the inquisition abolished, and the 
 Pope himself has become quite a reformer and re 
 publican, and Catholics generally are not believed 
 in morals or the religious sentiment to be behind 
 the age, or the true standard for public liberty. 
 "What other sect shall throw at them the first stone ? 
 "What one vindicate the present exclusion, and not 
 admit that if other than Protestant sects had a ma 
 jority here, these last should not also be stripped of 
 power ? and that our ancestor s complaints of pen 
 alties and disfranchisements were ill founded ? It 
 is doing what we have always censured in others. 
 The error is that this exclusion concedes in principle, 
 that religion is to be regulated by a majority rather 
 than the sincere conviction and conscience of each 
 individual ; that only certain sects are moral and 
 intelligent enough to exercise political power, which 
 is fallacious and false under our forms of free schools 
 and universal education ; or that reason and Provi 
 dence cannot uphold correct principles without our 
 feeble aid and our proscriptions ; and that Deity or 
 his adorable Son need persecution of some sects to 
 sustain and render triumphant pure religion. So, if 
 it be insisted that one denomination must be better 
 and more trustworthy than the rest which may 
 as well be done even among Protestants why not 
 trust to that one alone and proscribe all the rest, 
 though Protestant ? Which shall be that special 
 favorite ? So, which one profession shall, under a 
 like system, rulj ? . 
 
THE KELIGIOTJS TEST QUESTION. 201 
 
 " What sect do Sidney, or Locke, or Jefferson, 
 or Madison think fit to be trusted with legislative 
 power ? How is this, too, in our neighboring repub 
 lics ? Do they thus ostracise a part ? On the con 
 trary, they had the experience of the Revolution to 
 aid them by the Catholic Carrols and Lafayettes 
 being moral and brave as the most Puritanical - 
 and many others of that creed have fought side by 
 side with us since at Chippewa and Bridgewater, 
 and under the w T alls of Mexico, and shown that 
 their creed is not deserving proscription. In short, 
 without going further into the question now, it seems 
 to my mind not only unjust to other sects, but not 
 reputable to us as a people, or to the age in which 
 we live, to retain this test longer. 
 
 " Without fatiguing the convention with more on 
 this occasion, I will only add that considerations 
 like these have led to the abolition of such tests in 
 many other of our sister States, and in the Constitu 
 tion of the United States, and in my view, require 
 us to imitate their wise example." 
 
 General Pierce now rose, and made the following 
 brief but able remarks. We copy from the rec 
 ord: 
 
 " Mr. Pierce, of Concord, said that he could con 
 cur heartily in all that the gentleman from Ports 
 mouth had uttered, except in his last remark. It 
 was quite obvious that, so far from having taxed the 
 patience of the committee, his speeches upon both 
 
202 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 the great subjects embraced in the resolutions un 
 der consideration had been listened to with unqual 
 ified gratification. Not because he threw the weight 
 of his high character and the power of his argu 
 ments into the scale on the side of right in a case 
 where there was hesitancy where the judgment 
 of members was not definitely formed where there 
 was a shade of doubt as to the result ; but because 
 it was desirable that the grounds on which we pro 
 ceed in matters of such grave import should be sta 
 ted, as they had been, with singular force of 
 reasoning and beauty of illustration. It was also a 
 service well rendered, not less in vindication of the 
 past than the present. The motives of the fathers of 
 the present Constitution and of the people in 1792, 
 had been placed in their true light. So much was 
 due to them. It was also due to this convention, 
 and the people whom they represent, and due to 
 the reputation of the State abroad, that it will be 
 well understood that both of the provisions the 
 religious test and the property qualification had 
 been a dead letter, at least as long as the chairman 
 (Mr. Sawyer) had participated to any extent in the 
 councils of the State. They had been practically 
 inoperative from Mi*. P s earliest recollection. The 
 chairman w^ould remember that many years ago, at 
 a time of high party excitement, it was suggested 
 that a member of the House of Representatives oc 
 cupied his seat without the requisite property quali 
 fication. But two objections at once occurred to 
 
THE RELIGIOUS TEST QUESTION. 203 
 
 any action upon the subject : the first was, that in 
 vestigation and action, instead of rejecting one 
 member, might probably vacate twenty seats ; the 
 second was, that no member could probably be 
 found to move in the matter so utterly repugnant to 
 public sentiment. 
 
 u The religious test in the Constitution had unde 
 niably bean astigou, upon tha Sta e, at turns and 
 abroad. It had been repeatedly named to him, and 
 once at least in a foreign land, as unworthy of the 
 intelligent and liberal spirit of our countrymen. 
 Although he at times felt keenly the reproach, he 
 had uniformly referred, as he had no doubt other 
 gentlemen had done, to other parts of the Constitu 
 tion as illustrating the true and free spirit of our 
 fathers, and to these as, at least f jr many years, a 
 blank. The great question of religious toleration 
 was practically settled, and settled in a manner nev 
 er to be reversed while we retain our present form 
 of government, more than thirty years ago. The 
 provisions now claiming the attention of the com 
 mittee could hardly be said to involve an open ques 
 tion. They had been the subject of discussion in 
 every lyceum, every academy, debating club, every 
 town ; and there was perhaps no subject upon which 
 public opinion and public feeling was so uniform and 
 decisive. The substance if substance they ever 
 had having long since passed away, he rejoiced 
 that the proper occasion had at length arrived to 
 dispense with the form." 
 
204 
 
 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 To make the further history of this important 
 matter clear, we quote from the pen of Mr. Butter- 
 field, of the Concord Patriot, one of the most im 
 portant men in New-Hampshire : 
 
 " The resolutions abolishing the religious test and 
 property qualifications were unanimously agreed to 
 in committee ; and the committee then rose and re 
 ported them to the convention. The question was 
 taken at once, in the convention, on the adoption of 
 the resolution striking out the religious test, and it 
 was adopted, only seven members voting against it. 
 
 " The convention made a great number of amend 
 ments to the Constitution -making almost an entire 
 new one, in fact. Changes of a very important 
 character, relating to the basis of representation, 
 the judiciary, &c. &c., which the people never ex 
 pected, were made. These, and the great length 
 and expense of the session, rendered the conven 
 tion rather unpopular, and the opposition press 
 seized upon these facts to prejudice the convention 
 and its doings, in. the minds of the people, holding 
 the Democratic party responsible for the whole. 
 The consequence was, that when the amendments 
 were submitted to the people, thus prejudiced 
 against them and their authors, in advance, the 
 whole were rejected together. They were acted 
 upon at the annual meetings, when other matters 
 engrossed the minds of the people, and not much 
 more than half of the voters of the State voted upon 
 them* 
 
THE RELIGIOUS TEST QUESTION. 205 
 
 "The convention met again in April, 1851, to 
 receive the verdict of the people upon their doings. 
 A large portion of the members were in favor of 
 adjourning at once, without submitting any further 
 propositions to the people. But Judge Wood bury 
 and General Pierce strenuously urged that the sense 
 of the people should again be taken upon stri 
 king out the odious tests in question. Some of 
 the leading federal members opposed this as an in 
 sult to the people ; but the majority were prevailed 
 upon to try the question again. Accordingly, they 
 were again submitted, at the last annual election. 
 The result was just what was anticipated. In the 
 bustle and excitement of a most fiercely contested 
 election, with the prejudice excited against the con 
 vention by the opposition press, but about a third 
 part of the voters acted upon them ; and they were 
 again rejected. No man of candor and intelligence 
 will contend that this was a deliberate expression 
 of the sentiments of the people of this State upon 
 the question of religious toleration. Those senti 
 ments were expressed thirty years ago, when the 
 Taleration act was passed an act whose spirit is 
 in direct opposition to this test. Everybody admits 
 that no expression of their sentiments upoc. the mer 
 its of the question under consideration, has yet 
 been obtained. The vote in most towns was taken 
 at a most exciting political contest, after the princi 
 pal business of interest to the mass of voters had been 
 done, and the larger proportion of them had left for 
 10 
 
206 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 their homes ; and it is a libel upon the people of 
 New-Hampshire to represent this as a deliberate 
 expression of their views upon the great question 
 of religions freedom ond equality. 
 
 "Something has been said in the papers in regard 
 to the degree of responsibility which attaches to the 
 two parties for this resnlt. All we have to say npon 
 this point is, that for more than twenty years, the 
 federal press and leaders .unitedly opposed, and 
 thereby prevented, the call of a convention for the 
 avowed purpose of expunging these tests from our 
 Constitution; that they favored a convention in 
 1850 only when they saw plainly that one would 
 be called in spite of them ; that if they had not 
 sought, .by all means in their power, to render that 
 convention and its doings odious to the people, these 
 amendments would undoubtedly have been approved 
 and these illiberal and unjust features of our Con 
 stitution would have been expunged. These are 
 plain truths, known to be so by the people of this 
 State. We know that, at the last session of the con 
 vention, a number of the leading federal members, 
 including one of their late candidates for Governor, 
 strenuously opposed the amendment in question ; 
 while General Pierce and all the other leading Dem 
 ocratic members advocated it. 
 
 " Such are the simple facts in regard to this mat 
 ter, and from them the people abroad can judge 
 for themselves what truth there is in the charge 
 against General Pierce that he opposed the aboli- 
 
LETTER ON THE STARK MONUMENT. 207 
 
 tion of the religions test. It has not even a shade of 
 truth to rest upon ; and its authors will find that in 
 stead of injuring him, it will re-act upon them with 
 fearful effect, when the truth is placed before those 
 whom they have sought to deceive." 
 
 In the early part of 1850, General Pierce was in 
 vited to attend a meeting, called to take measures 
 for the erection of a monument to the illustrious 
 General Stark of Revolutionary memory. To this 
 invitation of the committee, he replied as follows : 
 
 " Concord, Feb. 22, 1850. 
 
 " GENTLEMEN : Your note of this date, inviting 
 me to attend a meeting c to be held in the City Hall 
 of Manchester, on the 2nd day of March, at 7 o clock 
 P. M., for the purpose of taking measures to erect a 
 monument to Major General John Stark, has just 
 been received. I fear that my engagements at court 
 in Belknap county will prevent me from participa 
 ting with you in this preliminary meeting ; but 
 whether present or absent, you will need no assu 
 rance of my earnest co-operation in the successful 
 prosecution of an object which must make a strong 
 appeal to the heart of every patriotic son of New- 
 Hampshire. It will, I am confident, be the work 
 of our whole population. Fathers and sons, moth 
 ers and daughters, will heartily unite in an enter 
 prise around which must ever cluster so many proud 
 and grateful recollections, and they will make the 
 
SOS LITE OF FRAISTSLm PIEECE. 
 
 column worthy of one of the bravest and most self- 
 Bacrificingspirits of an age of heroes. How naturally 
 and inseperably united in association are the names 
 of Washington and Marion, Stark and Sullivan ; and 
 how fresh and delightful, on this anniversary, the 
 memories of these great men, their associates. 
 They lived and labored in a common cause, with 
 unflinching fortitude, at a period full of discouraga- 
 ment, danger and privation. In what was the crown 
 ing element of their final and complete triumph ? 
 Doubtless, in so far as human instrumentalities were 
 concerned, in the bond of brotherhood and patriot 
 ism that knit together all hearts and nerved all 
 hands. A participator in that struggle made this 
 entry in his military journal, May, 1777. The 
 maxim adopted by our enemies is Divide and con- 
 quor. We enjoin the command, Unite and be in 
 vincible. Liberty or death Unite or die 
 are the mottos which blazon the chronicles of the 
 day, and embellish the military standards of almost 
 every militia company. 
 
 " The value of whatever will revive and stengthen 
 this sentiment cannot be over-estimated, while every 
 proposition, every act, every idle word, calculated 
 to weaken it, is a proposition, an act, a word, false 
 to humanity, and treasonable to human liberty. 
 
 "God forbid that, while at the North and the 
 South the present generation are erecting monu 
 ments commemorative of the events of the Revolu 
 tion, and of the services of its <listmguis]ied leaders, 
 
LETTER ON THE STARK MONUMENT. 209 
 
 they shall, by encouragement or countenance to 
 sectional distrust, cast a pall over all the bright 
 hopes of the future. 
 
 " In the fortunes of war Molly Stark was not made 
 a widow at Bennington, but the monument will call 
 up saddening but glorious memories of the fields of 
 Lexington and Bunker Hill, Yorktown and the Cow- 
 pens, and of the many homes never after gladdened 
 by the sound of a husband s and a brother s voice. 
 Will it not profitably remind us of the price at which 
 the present power, freedom, and prosperity of the 
 great confederacy were purchased, and necessarily 
 of the only means by which they can be sustained 
 and perpetuated ? 
 
 " I shall look with interest for an account of your 
 proceedings. 
 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your friend and servant, 
 
 FRANK. PIERCE. 
 
 lion. II. ATEB, etc., etc., Committee. 
 
210 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Gen. Pierce as an Orator His success in Examining Witnesses His 
 power as a Pleader His Plea in the Wentworth Case. 
 
 GENERAL PIERCE, as an orator, stands in an ex 
 alted position. He has all the natural graces of 
 oratory is a man to make a deep impression upon 
 an audience by his manner is impassioned, yet 
 logical, in all iiis speeches. He never yet made a 
 poor speech, and succeeds best with but little prep 
 aration upon the spur of the moment. Unfortu 
 nately, his best efforts are unreported. His finest 
 pleas at the bar are not preserved. As a lawyer, 
 he has long ranked among the very first in the 
 Union. He is not surpassed by a single lawyer in 
 New-Hampshire, in the eloquence of the bar ; not 
 even by that brilliant and far-famed man, Ichabod 
 ji.artlett, of Portsmouth. He is one of the most 
 skillful managers of suits, and has a peculiar faculty 
 in pumping the truth out of a witness. In this re 
 spect he is greatly like the late Daniel O Connell. 
 A \vitness in his hands can conceal nothing. He is 
 
 & 
 
 an excellent reasoner, but his great power lies in his 
 appeals to the feelings of a jury. There is no law 
 yer in New-England, who has greater success in 
 winning verdicts than General Pierce. It is almost 
 proverbial, in New-Hampshire, that a man is sure 
 
HIS PLEA IN THE WENTWORTH CASE. 
 
 of a favorable verdict, with Frank Pierce, as coun 
 sel and attorney. His eloquence is of a peculiar 
 nature : it is like that of the French, full of bril 
 liancy, animation, and yet is profound. He also has 
 a powerful command of sarcasm, and uses it with 
 great effect occasionally, though it is entirely for 
 eign to his nature to treat any one with severity. 
 It is very unfortunate that the most distinguished 
 of General Tierce s speeches at the bar are not pre 
 served. The only one ever reported we will present 
 to the reader. It was badly reported, but still, it 
 will give the reader a faint idea of his legal talents. 
 It was made in defence of Asa and Henry T. Went- 
 worth, charged with the murder of Jonas L. Par 
 ker, March 26, 1845. The case was tried before the 
 Police Court, Judge Potter on the bench, of Man 
 chester, N. H., in May, 1850. The case at the time 
 excited great attention throughout the country, and 
 the most of our readers will recollect it. The case 
 was a mysterious one, and General Pierce s plea 
 was able, ingenious, and eloquent, and would, of 
 itself, place him among the first advocates of this 
 or any country : 
 
 ARGUMENT OF GENERAL PIERCE, 
 
 In lehal/ of Asa and Henry T. Wentworth, lefore 
 the Police Court at Manchester, July 2d, 1850. 
 
 "When your honor indulged me with an adjourn 
 ment this forenoon, it was with the hope and inten 
 tion on my part, to abridge materially the remarks 
 
212 LIFE OF FKANEXIN PIEECE. 
 
 I proposed to submit in this case, as well as to omit 
 a further discussion upon those points so eloquently 
 and ably argued by my friends who have preceded 
 me. It will be my purpose to discuss as calmly 
 and dispossionately as I can, the evidence bearing 
 upon the two respondents for whom I appear. 
 
 "My friend who first preceded me, has said that 
 in arguing the case, he labored under no ordinary 
 embarrassment. I must confess that I also am af 
 fected by feelings of a similar character. I have, 
 from the outset, labored under great apprehensions 
 not from the evidence that has been introduced, 
 but from the tremendous and unparalleled, if not 
 unscrupulous exertions, that have been made by the 
 retainers of the Government, to procure testimony, 
 and inflame the public mind against these prisoners. 
 I have entertained, from the first, no doubt of the in 
 nocence of the accused. But the extreme danger of 
 the prisoners, I could not but know full well. When I 
 have seen here an array of men from almost every 
 section of the State when I have seen here the 
 active and energetic sheriff of the county of Rock- 
 ingham, and his jailor and deputies all putting 
 forth their utmost exertions to hunt up evidence, and 
 create a prejudice against these men when I have 
 seen here felons unloosed from the jails of our own 
 and a neighboring State, and wretches raked from 
 almost every locality, to be used as witnesses, I con 
 fess I have labored under some apprehensions. It 
 was fearful in itself, and I could not be insensible 
 
HIS PLEA IN THE WENTWOKTH CASE. 213 
 
 of the extreme clanger in which my clients were 
 placed. I saw, in the beginning, that their guilfc 
 was here a foregone conclusion not a conclusion 
 to be regarded in the light of an opinion for no 
 thing is to be dignified with the name of opinion, 
 which is taken up without research, and held with 
 out knowledge. It cannot be denied that popular 
 prejudice was fully aroused, and it seemed almost 
 like folly to attempt to secure an impartial investi 
 gation. Yet perhaps I should say that this tribunal 
 is as free from partiality and prejudice as the com 
 mon lot of humanity will permit. K"o, I cannot say 
 this ; for I do not believe it. Your ho<ior would be 
 more than human not to be influenced in some de 
 gree by this strong current of popular prejudice. 
 Still, I may be permitted to hope, and I do ask your 
 honor to rise above this prejudice, and to decide the 
 case upon the law and the testimony. 
 
 "At South-Berwick the hypothesis laid down by 
 the Government was, that Horace Wentworth was 
 the man who committed the murder, that Clark 
 planned it, and that my clients were near to aid and 
 assist. I take it for granted that they abide by this 
 hypothesis now; fur if they intend to change it, 
 every consideration of justice and fairness requires 
 that we should be informed of it. I take it for 
 granted that Horace Wentworth, who, it is charged, 
 committed the murder, and Clark, the man who, 
 upon the hypothesis of the Government, planned it, 
 having proved, what the Government seemed tore- 
 10* 
 
214 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 quire, incontestably their absence and innocence, 
 are to be discharged. Taking that for granted, I 
 ought not, perhaps, to suppose, for a moment, that 
 my clients, after an examination of a hundred days, 
 are to be held to answer further. 
 
 " The idea of holding the accessaries without the 
 principal, is too absurd to be indulged ; and yet, I 
 wish by marshaling this evidence, which has been 
 placed before your honor somewhat disjointedly, to 
 show, not that my clients cannot be holden, but that 
 they also are incontestably innocent. And on this 
 ground, and with this purpose, I shall proceed. 
 
 "Let me call your attention to the nature and 
 circumstances of this startling murder a murder 
 more remarkable for the boldness of its conception, 
 the pertinacity with which the plan once adopted 
 was carried out, and the desperate recklessness of 
 its final consummation, than any, so far as I know, 
 that has hitherto marked the history of crime. 
 
 " During the evening, Parker is sitting in the sa 
 loon. While he is still there, and before it is yet 
 late, the murderer comes to the door of his dwell 
 ing, adjoining the saloon, to call him out. The man 
 is seen ; yet, with unflinching boldness, he rings the 
 bell. ]S T one but the most desperate and hardened 
 villain would, under these circumstances, have dared 
 to go on. He was a man schooled in crime, one 
 who had murder in his heart, and yet, as the testi 
 mony shows, could put a smile on his face. All the 
 evidence proves him to have been acquainted with 
 
HIS PLEA IN THE WENTWOKTH CASE. 215 
 
 Parker, and to have been a man of powerful 
 strength. Fellows testimony, as at first given in 
 his deposition, proves them to have been intimate 
 acquaintances. But when this prosecution is com 
 menced, and it is sought to charge Horace "Went- 
 worth with this fearful butchery, it is found neces 
 sary to make it appear that the man who called 
 Parker out was a stranger, because it cannot be 
 proved that Horace and Parker ever saw each other 
 in their lives. Hence it is that Mr. Fellows is 
 brought in here to swear now, that they did not 
 seem to be acquainted, and that Horace Went- 
 worth is a perfect fac simile of the man. But we 
 produce here a copy of his deposition, given imme 
 diately after the murder, and dash to the ground 
 this contrived testimony to meet a contrived case. 
 "You have heard the positive testimony of Mrs. 
 Oilman the woman called upon by Cilley s illus 
 trious compeer, and asked to describe the man she 
 saw on the night of the murder, walking up Man 
 chester street with Parker. After giving to him the 
 same description she has given here upon the stand, 
 Dr. Gregg asked if she can t say he was a little 
 slimmer? and getting no satisfactory reply, then 
 attempts to frighten her from testifying in this case. 
 She says she was stooping in the street, on her way 
 home from a singing school, to find a chain which 
 she had dropped, when Parker and the murderer 
 passed along. Parker came up to her with a lan 
 tern, stopped a moment until another light was pro- 
 
216 
 
 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 cured, and then went on. Yon will notice here 
 how this statement is corroborated by Dr. Morrill, 
 lor it was at just about this spot, tliat he says he 
 saw a light crossing the street. Mrs. Oilman and 
 Mrs. Fogg bear witness, as does also Dr. Morrill, to 
 the stout, athletic frame of the man with Parker on 
 that fatal night. Mrs. Fogg followed behind them 
 several rods. They were walking together arm in 
 arm, engaged in familiar conversation. And here 
 I will take occasion to say that I have been sur 
 prised that any reliance or importance, should have 
 been placed by any one, either in the man s gait, or 
 the size of his boots. He- undoubtedly disguised 
 as much as he could his general appearance, and 
 most probably did not then have on the boots he 
 usually wore. On the next morning, the awful 
 tragedy was revealed. We may now inquire, what 
 was the character of the struggle that took place on 
 the spot of the murder. Every thing goes to show 
 that it was protracted and violent. There can be 
 no doubt that the first stroke was upon Parker s 
 neck, and was intended to completely sever the 
 trachea and dispatch him without a murmur. This 
 failed, and a terrible struggle ensued. Dr. Crosby 
 swears to us that the perforated wound upon tho 
 neck might not have-proved fatal, and that it would 
 not at once disable the man, or diminish his strength. 
 If Horace, then a mere boy, had been his assailant, 
 what would have prevented the muscular and agilo 
 Parker, from seizing him and dashing him at onco 
 
HIS PLEA m THE WENTWORTH CASE. 21 7 
 
 to the ground ? It could not have been a struggle 
 between Parker and this boy, but between two pow 
 erful men. The prints in the snow indicated that 
 they closed, and that both came twice to the earth 
 before the final fall. Who was that man ? Was it 
 a stripling not yet twenty-one years old, whose 
 cheeks the bloom of boyhood had not yet deserted ? 
 No ; he was a man of strength and prowess, confi 
 dent of his muscular power. He had dabbled his 
 hand in blood before. It was no new experiment. 
 Horace Wentworth could not have ventured into 
 such a desperate encounter. The moral impossibil 
 ity of his dashing off suddenly and at once into such 
 a depth of crime, is as great as the moral impossi 
 bility of a child s performing the labor of a man. 
 
 " I now come to inquire, what was at that time 
 the situation of the two respondents for whom I 
 appear ? Where were they ? It has again and 
 again been rumored that I should not here adhere 
 to the alibi set up for Henry T. Wentworth, at 
 Saco and South Berwick. I shall do it. My posi 
 tion is this that Henry T. Wentworth was on that 
 night at Saco. I maintain that there is no evidence 
 of his having been any where else. First, where 
 was he on Tuesday night preceding the murder? 
 It is proved by May bury, the Government witness, 
 that he was at Saco, and that ho had there conver 
 sation with him between eight and nine o clock in 
 the evening. Next, where was he the morning but 
 one after the murder ? At Saco, as proved also by 
 
218 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 Maybury, How was it possible for him to have 
 left Saco, after Maybuiy saw him on Tuesday night, 
 and traverse, unseen, a distance of eighty miles, so 
 as to reach Manchester on Wednesday evening? 
 How did. he corne here ? No man saw him on the 
 way ; no man heard of him no man noticed his 
 absence from his business in Saco. He managed 
 this matter with perfect secrecy nntil he arrived 
 within a mile and a half of the scene of the murder. 
 He then overtakes Samuel Bartlett, and next finds 
 himself seated by his side on a load of sand. Was 
 there ever anything so absurd ? 
 
 " On the morning after the deed, the news spread 
 like lightning. It was known in every direction, 
 and every one was on the lookout. And yet on this 
 morning, as testified by Eliza Jane Smith, he left 
 Asa s house. Where did he go ? Is there no man 
 who can say he saw him going across the country, 
 or passing in that direction ? He is the first man 
 at Saco, in whose hands a handbill containing an 
 account of the murder was seen on Friday morning. 
 How could he have gone baxik those eighty miles 
 and nobody have seen him ? If he had been absent 
 from his business, would not scores have noticed it 
 at Saco, at the time, and remembered it? How 
 improbable is such a story ! And will not your honor 
 require more than ordinary proof before you can 
 believe it ? If it is to be made out at all, you are 
 to have it established by conclusive evidence. Now, 
 to my mind, the testimony of May bury alone> is 
 
HIS PLEA IN THE WENTWORTH CASE. 219 
 
 sufficient to overbear everything that has been put 
 into this case against our position. They were rival 
 coach drivers at Saco, and had Henry been absent 
 at that time, he must have noticed that departure. 
 Yet he says he did not, though he heard Henry 
 talking about Parker, on the very evening he must 
 have started for Manchester, if he started at all ; 
 and when the news of the murder comes down, 
 Henry is the first man at the depot who shows him 
 a handbill, and at the same time informs him that 
 it was the very Parker who had just before been 
 down there. 
 
 " I turn now to the testimony of Samuel Bartlett. 
 Did ever so absurd a story as his gain credit any 
 where in a court of justice ? Look at the improba 
 bilities of his testimony. He swears that Henry 
 was on foot, and overtook him and his team within 
 a mile and a half or two miles of Manchester. 
 When he had got opposite to him, Bartlett said to 
 him, Henry, how are you V Henry at first made 
 no reply, but on being addressed a second time, 
 said, ; I wish you would not call me Henry, for I 
 do not want to be known. Bartlett then invited 
 him to get up and ride with him, and to avoid ob 
 servation, as he says, he took a seat upon the off 
 side of the load. Bartlett s son, Philip, and Moses 
 Drew, were with a team immediately behind, but 
 how a seat upon the off side could better conceal 
 Henry from their observation, than one upon the 
 nigh side, we are left by the witness wholly unin- 
 
220 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 formed. On their way to the city they got off tho 
 wagon several times, and then Henry would step 
 along before Bartlett, that he might not be seen. I 
 do not know how to argue testimony of this charac 
 ter. It is too glaringly false and absurd to gain 
 belief anywhere. He can tell nothing of his appear 
 ance he does not know whether he wore a hat or 
 a cap, or whether he had, or had not on, an outside 
 garment, nor even whether his clothes were white 
 or black. He only remembers that he told him not 
 to call him Henry, and by way of sharpening his 
 attention, asked him to say nothing about him, for 
 he did not want it known that he was in Man 
 chester. 
 
 " It has been asked, why we did not allow Mr. 
 Bunton to be put on the stand to corroborate this 
 statement? Simply for the reason that his testi 
 mony upon this point, or the testimony of any man 
 of his habits, cannot be reliable. There is a man of 
 character and stand ing here, a member of the inves 
 tigating committee, whom the Government might 
 have called to the stand. Why have they not pro 
 duced Mr. Morrison to substantiate this evidence 
 of Bartlett? Is it not because his story cannot bo 
 substantiated by any fair, credible testimony ? But 
 what is the nature of the communication Bartlett 
 now swears he made to Mr. Morrison, two or three 
 weeks after the murder? He told him not that 
 Henry rode up on the day of the murder, but about 
 that time? He did not then fix it as being the night 
 
HIS PLEA IN THE WESTTWORTH CASE. 221 
 
 of the murder, and he did not so inform Mr. Morri 
 son. If such information has been given to a 
 member of this committee, I ask why it was neces 
 sary to send Colonel Chase and Mr. Rowell, to Saco, 
 to ascertain where Henry was on the night of the 
 murder. If Bartlett had already informed them 
 that he saw Henry here, there surely would have 
 been no sort of occasion for all this. The truth in 
 regard to the matter is, if Morrison received any 
 such information at all, he considered it as nothing 
 more than a drunken vagary, and unworthy the 
 slightest attention. Do you suppose if Bartlett had 
 disclosed this fact to Mr. Morrison, at a time when 
 the evidence shows that Henry was suspected, Mor 
 rison would not have inquired who was with him ? 
 and would not the boy Philip have been seen to 
 ascertain whether he would corroborate his father ? 
 Philip is now produced by us upon the stand, and 
 swears that he knows nothing about the matter, 
 and that he did not see Henry Wentworth from the 
 time he left Manchester, in the fall of 1844, until 
 he saw him here at this trial. He also testifies that 
 he never heard this fact mentioned by his father, 
 until a very short time previous to the Saco exam 
 ination. This testimony is very material, and 
 throws discredit upon Bartlett s whole story. 
 
 "Again, Bartlett s prevarication and attempted 
 deception in regard to his books are enough in them 
 selves to overthrow and impeace his entire testimo 
 ny. In answer to my question where he had left 
 
222 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 his books, I ask your Honor if lie was not guilty of 
 positive falsehood ? And when the book is finally 
 produced, is it not palpable that the date 1845, which 
 he exhibited, was once 1844? and is it not also evi 
 dent that the word March has been written over 
 a spot where another has been effaced ? The load 
 of sand is all right, by which he says he fixes the 
 date the charge to Bunton is right, and squares 
 well with his testimony every thing is all right 
 but the infamous forgery the book bears upon its 
 face. 
 
 [Here General Pierce was interrupted by Bunton, 
 who was understood to say. " I say the books are 
 all right Bartlett tells the truth," or something to 
 that effect.] 
 
 u There, sir, is the man whom the government 
 has taunted me with not wishing to see on the stand, 
 sitting in a drunken reverie. There he sits, bloated 
 and besotted. Oh, I blush for my native county, 
 that such characters should be brought forward to 
 sustain this prosecution. 
 
 " Bartlett again swears that he fixes the time of 
 his seeing Henry on this day by the fact, that on 
 this particular night he left his load of sand upon 
 the Head lot a thing which he says he never did 
 before or since. But in this he is directly contra 
 dicted by his son Philip, who swears that this was 
 the spot where their loads were usually left. So 
 much for the story of Samuel Bartlett. And I now 
 ask your Honor and every body else, if upon such 
 
HIS PLEA IN THE WENTWORTH CASE. 123 
 
 testimony you would hang even a dog of bad repu 
 tation. 
 
 " But let us look at this case further. Asa 
 "Went worth removed from Manchester to Saco in 
 1848, where he has since been struggling to ac 
 quire a pittance for those for whom every good man 
 at his time of life labors more than for himself. 
 A year and a half ago he is arrested at Saco for this 
 murder. A seven-weeks examination ensues, and 
 nothing being found against him, he is honorably dis 
 charged. Scarce a year is passed, when he is again 
 arrested on the same charge. In order that he may 
 be prevented from obtaining witnesses, or be ruined 
 in procuring their attendance, he is dragged thirty 
 miles from his home to undergo another examina 
 tion. With a fiendlike barbarity, the poor privilege 
 of visiting his home and arranging his disordered 
 business is denied him, while he is delayed near the 
 confines of New-Hampshire. He is at last brought 
 to Manchester, where he is compelled to go through 
 with another long protracted examination. For 
 more than a hundred days this investigation at 
 South Berwick and here has been proceeding, and 
 now that the evidence has closed there is not a re 
 spectable and intelligent man in the courtroom, who 
 believes, or will stand up and say, that upon this 
 evidence any grand jury, that ever was empannelled 
 or ever will be empannelled, in the county of Hills- 
 borough, can ever find an indictment against him. 
 Why, then, oppress these men farther ? 
 
224 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PTEECE. 
 
 "We next come to the testimony of Mrs. Eliza 
 Jane Smith. I would like to be informed who it 
 was that first fished up this wretched prostitute and 
 brought her here to testify ? Who aided in manu 
 facturing her story, and drilled and trained her for 
 the court room ? She was not capable of framing 
 this story herself. Some one must have done it for 
 her. Why was she, I ask, brought here ? It grew 
 out of the fact that there is testimony in this case 
 going to show that there was a wagon that night 
 stationed near the spot of the murder loud talk 
 was heard near the woods. The murderer probably 
 ran up to this w^agon which was provided to carry 
 him away. But being all covered and reeking with 
 blood after his tremendous struggle, he was told it 
 would not answer for him to get in. It was seen by 
 some sagacious and unprincipled man, either hero 
 or at Saco, that it was necessary to train this aban 
 doned woman to meet this part of the case a wo 
 man so vile and besotted that the government coun 
 sel had her instructed before she came upon the 
 stand, even as to the obligation of an oath. JSTot 
 only this, but she has evidently been trained in ev 
 ery material part of her testimony. What a fiction 
 is her whole story ! Henry comes in he afternoon 
 Horace comes before him Henry goes out into 
 the shed comes in again puts on his circular 
 cape and pulls down his cap leaves the house, 
 and at a late hoar returns he calls aloud in the 
 entry for the girls, and asks for a shirt this wo- 
 
HIS TLEA IN THE WENTWOKTH CASE. 225 
 
 man procures one for him he takes it and hands 
 to her in a few minutes his own, blooded to the el 
 bow, and then retires to bed. The next morning he 
 rises early, between four and five o clock, and asks 
 for something to eat. While sitting at the table, an 
 hour before the murder of Parker is known, ho 
 speaks out abruptly and says to her, if you ever 
 say anything about what took place here last night, 
 I will send you where I have sent Parker. He then 
 gets up from the table, and without looking for, or 
 speaking about his blooded shirt, he leaves the 
 house and is seen there no more. 
 
 " When the learned solicitor comes to this part 
 of the case, if he argues her testimony, let him say 
 on his honor, and his conscience, if he can, that ho 
 believes her himself. He will have his hands full 
 if he ventures to become sponsor for such witnesses 
 as Eliza Jane Smith, John Brown, Sam Bartlett, 
 Wiley, Sarah Lewis, and Sal Peavy. ]STo man who 
 ever sat as a traverse juror, would think of convict 
 ing a man of the merest petty larceny, on the 
 evidence of these witnesses. How, then, can theso 
 men be committed ? I have heard out of doors ru 
 mors of more testimony to come in hereafter. It is 
 not true. There is no more testimony. It is as 
 false as the alkoran. Are counsel contending here 
 for a triumph? a triumph where four men s lives 
 are at stake ! Surely, they cannot be capable of 
 sporting thus with the liberty of my clients. Mrs. 
 Eliza J. Sinith, swears that she lived and worked at 
 
226 LIFE OF FKANKLEST PIERCE. 
 
 Asa "Wentworth s house, four months. She may 
 possibly have been there in the course of her vagrant 
 life, but she never did live there at all. She was 
 never known to Mrs. Asa Wentworth that respect 
 able woman who came here and looked her in the 
 eye, as she was emitting that vile perjury on the 
 stand. Who are the persons called, to prove her 
 there ? Sarah Lewis, who says she saw her there 
 two or three times about five years ago ; Frost, who 
 says he has seen her about there once or twice* 
 Stevens, and Mrs. Diadama Sanborn. AYe prove, 
 however, by Dr. Colburn, who produces his books 
 to establish the fact, that Mrs. Sanborn was taken 
 sick in January, 1845, when his visits commenced, 
 and that those visits were continued until after the 
 middle of March. He says that whenever he called, 
 he always found Mrs. Sanborn confined to her bed. 
 Her testimony then to this point is clearly incorrect. 
 "But Mrs. Smith s testimony itself, is conclusive 
 of the fact that she never lived there. She knew 
 nothing at all about the arrangements in the house. 
 She located Mrs. "VVentworth s kitchen in the back 
 part of the house where Joel s family resided, and 
 the rooms actually used for a kitchen she designated 
 as the parlor. She did not know that Mrs. Vent- 
 worth s little daughter resided that winter in the 
 family, and when Mrs. "\Yentworth sat directly 
 facing her, here in the court room, she could not 
 point her out. She could see no one who looked 
 like her. And at last, when the woman herself was 
 
HIS PLEA IN" THE WENTWOKTH CASE. 227 
 
 actually shown to her, she said, in answer to my 
 question, that it was not Mrs. Wentworth. Then 
 what a buzz there was among the retainers for the 
 Government. 
 
 " But whom have we called to show that she did 
 not live there. Not those who have once or twice 
 casually happened there, or were occasionally pass 
 ing. First, we have Joel Wentworth and his wife, 
 whose family lived in the same house ; then John 
 Holmes, Dr. Colburn, Mrs. Wiley, who lived oppo 
 site and was in there daily; John Adams and 
 Jacob B. Moore, the portrait painter, all of whom 
 swear they never saw her there. And then over 
 and above all, we have the government witness 
 brought down from East Topsham, Yt., Edward 
 Craig, the man who, as she says, took his meals 
 there all the time she lived in the family, and he 
 too, swears that he never knew of such a woman 
 being there. To cap the climax of this tissue of 
 falsehoods, Mrs. Smith has been instructed to swear, 
 and actually does swear, that she saw on the eve 
 ning of the murder, a woman attending the ball, 
 who was pointed out to her as Mrs. Annis. While 
 the truth is, there was then no such woman as Mrs. 
 Annis in existence. The name of the woman at 
 that time, was Ann Mann, and she did not become 
 Mrs. Annis till long afterwards so much for the 
 testimony of that vile and infamous child-killing 
 strumpet, Eliza Jane Smith. 
 
 " We now come to consider the testimony of Mrs, 
 
228 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 Ann Maria Annis. She says she attended the ball 
 at Asa "Wentworth s house on the night of the mur 
 der that she went there and returned on runners. 
 She thinks she saw Henry T. "Wentworth standing 
 at the door of the hall for a minute, as she stood up 
 for a dance, but does not undertake to swear posi 
 tively. Now, the single fact that there was on that 
 night no snow on the ground, and no sleighing at 
 all in the streets, is sufficient to show that she is 
 mistaken. But we are, fortunately, able to fix this 
 matter beyond all doubt. Mrs. Annis says, that on 
 her return that night from the ball, one of the 
 horses was injured, which caused a detention on 
 the way, till the driver could go back and procure 
 another horse. She could not tell whether the 
 driver was Joel Wentworth or John Holmes. Now 
 we prove by John Holmes that on the night of the 
 fifth of March of that year, he went around with an 
 omnibus on runners to collect females to attend a 
 ball at Asa Wentworth s. He says he went over 
 the river that night to Amoskeag, after Ann Maria 
 Annis. After the ball broke up, he started to carry 
 her home, but before he had gone a great distance, 
 one of his horses was disabled, and he returned to 
 the house and dispatched another driver with a fresh 
 horse. He fixes this date by a charge made against 
 Asa Wentworth at the time, for toll and his time 
 on his book, which is produced here in court. Na 
 than R. Perkins is also produced, who testifies that 
 he drove the carriage for Asa Wentworth, on the 
 
HIS PLEA IN THE WENTWOKTH CASE. 
 
 night of the 26th of March the night of the mur 
 der that no other carriage was to his knowledge 
 driven to the ball that night, and that he did not go 
 over the river or carry any such person as Mrs. 
 Annis. This fact he also is able to fix by a memo 
 randum made at the time. So that we meet Mrs. 
 Annis here not only with two witnesses, but with 
 two records. But conclusive as this is, it is not all. 
 "Joel Went worth swears that he has been ac 
 quainted with Henry T. Wentworth from his child 
 hood, that he had charge of, and stood at the hall 
 door where Mrs. Annis says she saw Henry, from 
 early in the evening till the party retired. That 
 Henry was not at the door, nor about that house 
 that night, so far as he knows, nor for months before 
 or after. I will now merely glance at the testimony 
 of Mrs. Elizabeth Salpaugh, and shall then leave 
 this part of the case. She appeared to be a very 
 intelligent and highly respectable female, and gave 
 in her testimony with perfect candor and fairness. 
 She was at Asa s on the night of the murder, and 
 heard the cries of the murdered Parker, < Oh, don t, 
 Oh, don t. She saw a man there who was called 
 Wentworth, but she cannot say it was either of the 
 prisoners. Most probably it was Joel Wentworth, 
 who swears that he stood at the door of the ball 
 room during the most of the evening. It must 
 forcibly strike every one, that if ever an absence of 
 Henry T. Wentworth from Saco, at that time could 
 be proved, it could have easily been done by the 
 11 
 
280 LITE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 officers who were sent there, when all these events 
 were as fresh as the incidents of this day. We have 
 put on the stand the Marshal of your city, J. M. 
 Rowell, an old and experienced officer, and Col. 
 Chase, both of whom were sent down there immedi 
 ately after the murder, to inquire about Henry T. 
 Wentworth. They both made an investigation, 
 formed their conclusions, and reported them to the 
 committee of vigilance. We were not allowed to 
 inquire what those conclusions were. But they 
 cannot be a subject of doubt. 
 
 " As to the testimony of Reuben J. Wiley, in 
 regard to the $1000 bill, of which he says he had a 
 glimpse, I need say but little. The only particular 
 description he can give of the bill, is, that the word 
 Boston was in black letters near the bottom of the 
 bill. I think that your Honor will say that this 
 word on the bill presented here in Court, is printed 
 in light letters. Of itself, this testimony is most 
 meagre. But when we look at Wiley s infamy, the 
 story is told. Who is Reuben J. Wiley ? A man 
 who, last July, was traveling the country with a 
 prostitute, while his own wife was lying on a sick 
 bed, and deserted a man who was dragged from 
 a Massachusetts jail, where he was confined for 
 crime he had committed, and his testimony is trum 
 peted upon the stand to sustain this prosecution. 
 
 "The evidence of Messrs. Adams and Harris, I 
 do not deem it necessary to argue at all, as I do not 
 know what possible bearing it can have upon this case. 
 
HIS PLEA IN" THE WENTWORTH CASE. 231 
 
 " I next come to the testimony of Mr. Kichard 
 G. Smith. This is the witness of whom it has been 
 vauntingly said that he could not be shaken or dis 
 turbed by any examination that we might think 
 proper to give him. I have seen this gentleman 
 before, but never before have I seen him so pale and 
 uneasy, so restless and confused, as he appeared 
 here upon the stand. Never did a witness on. his 
 cross-examination, seem more like a mere child in my 
 hands. He swore that Joel Went worth once told 
 him that he knew Henry was here on the night of 
 the murder. But this statement does not at all con 
 flict with the testimony of Joel Wentworth, and 
 can therefore have no material bearing upon this 
 case. This witness swears to you that he attended 
 the examination at Saco. He went down, as he says, 
 upon his own hook, and the Government paid him 
 for it on their own hook. He says he was gone a 
 week or ten days, and states to you, here on his 
 oath, that the nearest sum he can fix upon as the 
 amount he received from the Government for his 
 invaluable services, is $400. He could not call it a 
 dollar more or a dollar less. He did not go into the 
 court room while he was there, and did nothing 
 whatever. A most remarkable instance of gener 
 osity on the part of the Government, or what is 
 perhaps fully as probable, a most striking indica 
 tion of falsehood on the part of the witness ! 
 
 "I have now noticed, I believe, all the witnesses 
 whose evidence bears upon the case of Hemy T. 
 
232 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 "YVentworth. I wish, however, to call your atten 
 tion for a moment to a portion of the testimony of 
 John II. Brown incidentally given by him, and 
 with a far different intention which goes to prove 
 Henry T. Wentworth s innocence. Brown says that 
 he saw Henry here the fall after the murder, and 
 that he went with him to show him the spot where 
 the murder took place, and that Henry asked him 
 to go and show him. Did a murderer ever go to the 
 scene of his guilt, and lament over the death of his 
 victim ? But Henry goes to the spot with Brown. 
 While there, Henry tells him that he had not been 
 in Manchester before, since the fall previous. I say 
 that this is conclusive that Henry knew nothing of 
 the murder. Brown points out to him the place 
 where the body was found shows him where the 
 head lay, and where the feet lay ; and as Henry 
 called to mind the memory of a murdered acquain 
 tance, Brown says he became somewhat affected ; 
 he thinks he shed a tear. Tears are no evidence of 
 weakness ; are they of guilt ? But the wretch, John 
 Brown, who, as proved by Hayward, Seville and 
 Cheney, was not, as he says he was, in Boston on 
 the night of the murder, shed no tears. It did not 
 affect him ; he was past any such feeling. 
 
 " I now come to the testimony against Asa "Went- 
 worth. I have spoken of some of that evidence 
 already. And here I will take occasion to do an 
 act of justice to a gentleman I see here near me ; I 
 mean Mr. Samuel Perkins. He was summoned in 
 
HIS PLEA IN THE WENTWOBTH CASE. 233 
 
 here on account of what I then considered a some 
 what extraordinary circumstance, mentioned by the 
 witness, John Adams. I am now perfectly satisfied 
 that what Mr. Perkins has said is strictly true, and 
 I wish to acquit him, here publicly, of any actual 
 or intentional misstatement. 
 
 " We will now proceed to examine the testimony 
 of John S. Elliott. He says that he was at Asa 
 Wentworth s house, one night, some time after the 
 murder, playing cards, and that Asa s wife came 
 into the room and said she c could tell who came 
 there the night Parker was murdered, and looked 
 pale. Now who is there, for a moment that sup 
 poses she applied that remark to her husband ? As 
 if she would furnish evidence to convict her hus 
 band of a crime for which his life must pay the for 
 feit. There can be no doubt that she referred to 
 John Adams, as Adams says he always understood 
 it, and as McQuestion told him. 
 
 " ]STow, as to the testimony of Mrs. Downing, in 
 regard to the interview between Asa and Mrs. Mc 
 Question. Do you think that they will prove it 
 against you that you murdered Parker ? ~No I it 
 was a dark night, and nobody saw us. Can your 
 Honor for one moment believe that this testimony is 
 true ; that he then made a confession of guilt ? 
 Aside from its great improbability, and inconsist 
 ency, it is contradicted from beginning to end by 
 Mrs. McQuestion, the very woman who, it is said, 
 carried on the conversation with Asa, and a lady of 
 
234 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEEOE. 
 
 irreproachable character. I ask your Honor if there 
 has been a single witness on the stand who has ap 
 peared better than she ? She has been long a resi 
 dent of this city. If they can impeach her, why 
 have hey not attempted it ? 
 
 " Stephen C. Hall, whom we have called to the 
 stand, says that he saw Asa in his own bar- room on 
 the night of the murder, after 9 o clock, when Zimri 
 Lew came in, and informed them of the outcry he 
 had just heard in the woods. 
 
 " There is but one point left, and that is the ques 
 tion of Asa Wentworth s property. Are counsel 
 going to argue this point to the Court? Argue 
 what? Why, they show that in the fall of 1844, 
 he was sent to the Amherst jail for selling liquor ; 
 that about that time, he purchased his place of Ste 
 phen C. Hall, for $1000, and paid $150 down, and 
 gave notes for the rest, payable in one, two, and 
 three years. It appears that the whole amount was 
 finally paid in just before the expiration of the three 
 years, and that the largest amount paid in at any 
 one time after the first payment, was one hundred 
 dollars. Since his arrest, all his property at Saco 
 has been laid under attachment, and the effect of 
 this examination will be to strip him of every cent s 
 worth of property he has in the world. This matter 
 of property has, I understand, been often used 
 against Asa Wentworth, and much of the popular 
 excitement against him, has, in this particular, been 
 fanned by the rankest falsehoods. On this point I 
 
HIS PLEA IN THE WENTWOKTPI CASE. 235 
 
 defy investigation. I proposed to the solicitor in 
 the outset, that an auditor should be sent to Maine to 
 investigate this matter fully. If it cannot be shown 
 that all he has, or all he has had, is the result of his 
 honest and hard earnings, I will consent that they 
 may go to prison. 
 
 " I now feel, may it please your Honor, that my 
 duty in this case has been performed. I entertain 
 no more doubt of the innocence of these four men, 
 than I do of my own. During this examination, I 
 have already said I had fears, not from testimony, 
 but from the forestalling of opinion out of doors. 
 The pressure has been from without. Public senti 
 ment has been cheated, misled, abused. From the 
 evidence itself, 1 can fear nothing. Before no jury 
 can they incur the least danger. Yet, should they 
 be sent to the gloomy cells of the prison, I tremblingly 
 apprehend that over the remains of my younger 
 friend, whose feeble frame is before me, the cold 
 clods will rest before the day of trial shall arrive. 
 Then will his fiend-like pursuers have accomplished 
 one purpose ; and not satisfied with this, they may 
 perhaps, like harpies, go to his grave, and with the 
 ferocity of the hyena, howl and scratch over his re 
 mains. His eldest brother, Asa, is here to-day, ru 
 ined in property and broken in spirit, with nothing 
 to live for but his wife and children. Yet he must 
 be sent to prison, because there must be a victim 
 not because any one can believe him guilty, but 
 because there must be a triumph. Triumph ! what 
 
236 LIFE OF FEANKLLtf PIEKCE. 
 
 a word to be used on an occasion like this, when the 
 personal liberty of men, nay their lives, are ulti 
 mately involved ! The scope and effect of such a 
 decision, I have no language to express. "While 
 they are here to-day, there is sorrow and weeping 
 at that home outraged by their absence. 
 
 " My spouse and boys dwell near thy hall, 
 
 Along the bordering lake, 
 And when they on their father call, 
 
 What answer shall she make ? 
 
 " c He is in Amherst jail. Why, asks his child, 
 with earnest gaze, was my father guilty of crime ? 
 * No, my son, but they have pursued him with blood 
 hound ferocity. They have raked the purlieus of 
 houses of correction and of prisons in New-Hamp 
 shire and Massachusetts, and upon the testimony of 
 felons charged him. 
 
 " Did it not almost seem to the court, when that 
 tittering, fiend-like prostitute, Eliza Jane Smith, and 
 others hardly less vile, succeeded each other upon 
 the stand, that the government must have swept the 
 great ultimate prison house of unreclaimed atrocity 
 and unforgiven crime with a drag-net ? 
 
 " Sir, if these men are to be committed, they are 
 to be held not only without evidence, but against 
 evidence. They are to be ground down beneath the 
 iron heel of oppression. 
 
 " I have been told that the warning of Lochiel 
 was ringing in my ears. It these men are oppressed 
 farther, there are those to whom the warning of the 
 
HIS PLEA IS THE WENTWOBTH CASE. 237 
 
 seer will yet be applicable, in those ears it will ring 
 like a funeral knell 
 
 " Wo ! wo to the riders that trample them down." 
 
 " I have now done my duty all I need and can 
 do poorly and feebly at best, but sir, all I can do 
 and the responsibility now rests with you and the 
 Government." 
 
 The prisoners were triumphantly acquitted. 
 11* 
 
238 LIFE OF FRANKLIN- PIERCE. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 General Pierce at Home His Family His Popularity Anecdote His 
 Generosity Personal Appearencp The Compiomise Question 
 Nominated to the Presidency by the N. H. Democracy Declines 
 Letter to Colonel Lally. 
 
 CONCORD, the residence of General Pierce is one 
 of the most retired, most beautiful of all the inland 
 towns of New-England. Containing about ten 
 thousand inhabitants, surrounded by an industrious 
 population of agriculturalists, it combines the ad 
 vantages of a residence in the city and country. 
 The streets are wide, and lined with pleasant shade 
 trees ; the beautiful Merrimac flows pleasantly 
 through the town ; the winds in the summer are 
 fresh and cool, from the heights of the White Moun 
 tains, and, in short, it is one of the pleasantest sum 
 mer homes in the Union, The law office of General 
 Pierce is situated upon Main street. His law-part 
 ner, Mr. Minot, is a young but able and gentlemanly 
 man. General Pierce has no home at present, as, 
 with his wife and child, he boards at a private house 
 in the southern part of the village. 
 
 In November, of 1834, during his second year in 
 Congress, General Pierce married Jane Means, the 
 youngest child of Eev. Dr. Appleton, late President 
 of Bowdoin College. This was the result of an in- 
 
HIS FAMILY. HIS POPULARITY. 239 
 
 timacy formed while lie was studyinglaw at Amherst, 
 which was the residence of her maternal relatives, 
 They have had three children, and all of them 
 sons. The first of these died in infancy ; the sec 
 ond, Frank Robert, a lovely and beautiful child, 
 died in 1844, at the age of five years ; and the 
 youngest now lives at Concord with his parents. 
 His name is Benjamin, and he is eleven years old. 
 Mrs. Pierce is an accomplished woman, but of late 
 years has suffered much from poor health. The 
 death of Frank Robert was a terrible stroke upon 
 her, and she has never completely recovered from it. 
 Ever since, she has been more or less of a pensive, 
 melancholy disposition, exceedingly retired and 
 modest. General Pierce is beloved by his family, 
 and indeed he is one of the most devoted of hus 
 bands and fathers. For the sake of his wife he has 
 often relinquished the highest honors which were 
 pressed upon him ; for her sake he has retired from, 
 the highest places to the stillness and quietude of a 
 life in the country. 
 
 It has been our great pleasure to see General 
 Pierce at home among his people in " the old Gran 
 ite State," and we were surprised to discover with 
 what universal affection he is held. His popularity 
 in New-Hampshire is unbounded his name never 
 is mentioned without the greatest enthusiasm. 
 During his campaign in Mexico, General Pierce was 
 loved as well as admired by the soldiers under his 
 command. Shortly after the war was brought to a 
 
240 LIFE OF FEANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 close, one of the soldiers in the Ninth Regiment 
 wandered up into New-Hampshire, and one day 
 entered 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 do yon come ?" 
 
 " From Mexico !" answered the old soldier. 
 
 " Oh ! 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 thunderbolt had fallen at his feet. 
 He eyed the man closely for a minute in astonish 
 ment, when he 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 window !" 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! you are rather fast, my 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 !" 
 
 The one great secret of General Pierce s popu- 
 
ANECDOTE OP GEN. PIEKCE. 241 
 
 larity is his kind-heartedness. He has a word 
 for all his friends, whether high or low; he has 
 a purse always open to the call of the suffering 
 and oppressed. You can always find him in his 
 place at church on Sundays, and on week-days he 
 is ever ready to assist the poor and unfortunate with 
 his money and his talents. 
 
 A fact which speaks volumes for General Pierce s 
 generosity is this : that although he has been in 
 lucrative offices, and for the past few years in the 
 receipt of an income of near ten thousand dol 
 lars a year, from his professional services, yet he is 
 a poor man ! He is not to-day worth ten thousand 
 dollars and we dare say never will be worth that 
 sum, so generous is he in all his actions. 
 
 The following anecdote of him is told by one of 
 his friends : 
 
 On a certain occasion, two men had been arrested 
 on suspicion of murder. He heard of it, and at 
 once looked after their interests. " I do not know," 
 said the person of whom he asked information about 
 the character of the men, " whether they will be 
 able to reward you for your services." "That is 
 not the point," he replied. " Who are the men ?" 
 He learned their names, and he said, " This must 
 be looked into. I hardly think they can have done 
 it." The justice had ordered them committed ; but 
 Mr. Pierce, believing there was no good ground for 
 the commitment, brought them befere another 
 
242 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 magistrate on a writ of habeas corpus and when 
 the grand jury met, nothing could be found against 
 them, and they were discharged. 
 
 Upon a certian occasion, a poor young man in 
 !N"ew-Hampshire, was imprisoned upon a charge of 
 theft. General Pierce defended him, though with 
 out any hope of getting paid for his trouble. During 
 the trial he became thoroughly convinced of the in 
 nocence of his client, though the circumstantial evi 
 dence against him was very strong. He exerted 
 himself to the utmost to save the poor young man, 
 but all was in vain. The verdict was against him, 
 and the poor fellow was marched off to prison. But 
 General Pierce tried to raise his dejected spirits by 
 hopes of a pardon. He spent time and money to 
 effect his object, and at last was successful. The 
 young man was set free \ And what was the result ? 
 Why, that the young man became one of the best of 
 men, and is this day one of the steadiest citizens of 
 Kew-Hampshire! There are a thousand such anec 
 dotes which we might relate, all going to show how 
 noble, and how generous is the character of Frank 
 Pierce, but we have no room to repeat them. 
 
 The personal appearance of General Pierce is ele 
 gant and commanding. He is within a few inches 
 of six feet in height ; is rather slight and thin than 
 inclined to obesity ; has a very pleasant and im 
 pressive address. His eyes are bright and piercing ; 
 his hair is greyish ; his forehead, and indeed, face, 
 very fine, open and frank in their expression. It is 
 
HIS HABITS. THE COMPROMISE. 243 
 
 difficult to gain a fair idea of the man from a por 
 trait. You need to see the gentleness of his man 
 ners,/^ the kindliness of his nature, and witness 
 the easy politeness of all his actions. There is not 
 a spice of the aristocrat in the man ; he is as polite 
 to a beggar as to a prince, as free and generous to 
 a country farmer as to a Senator in the halls of 
 Congress. 
 
 In his habits he is strict and severe. In several 
 conversations with him, we could not fail to observe 
 with what solemnity and reverence he alluded to 
 the hand of Providence in all things. He is not a 
 member of any Church, but generally attends wor 
 ship at the Congregational Church in Concord. 
 
 We now come to the scenes of 1850 the agita 
 tion in reference to the Compromise Scheme, etc., 
 etc. "With this agitation General Pierce was not 
 specially identified ; yet it would be unfair to deny 
 that his course in reference to the compromise has 
 been distinct and bold. His views on these meas 
 ures were expressed in a private letter to a distin 
 guished Senator, under date of May 9, 1850. "We 
 give the following extracts : 
 
 " I have been so constantly occupied in court that 
 no leisure moment has presented itself for the ac 
 knowledgment of your noble speech upon Mr. Bell s 
 proposition for a compromise of the question, which 
 has so deeply agita-ted Congress and the country 
 during the last few months. I appreciate your kind 
 
LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIEKCE. 
 
 remembrance of me personally. As a New-Hamp 
 shire man, I hear your name pronounced only 
 with pride ; as an American citizen, I acknowledge 
 with gratitude the eminent public services that 
 have signalized your course along the w r hole line of 
 your useful life. 
 
 " It grieves me to observe that the spirit of con 
 cession and honorable compromise is not stronger 
 and more prevailing at Washington. I have no ap 
 prehension that the disruption of this Union is at 
 hand ; but I foresee consequences appalling in this 
 daily use of the terms north and south, as terms 
 of antagonism. What are the North and South but 
 component parts of our common country parts 
 which should be regarded as absolutely inseparable ; 
 not united merely by reciprocal rights and obli 
 gations arising under the Constitution, but bound 
 together by ties of affection, common interest, and 
 reciprocal ^respect ; recognizing at all times, and 
 above all, that noble band of brotherhood which 
 concentrated the genius, and courage, and patriotism 
 that achieved our independence, that has sustained 
 the country in all its trials that bond to which 
 the republic is indebted for a career more rapid and 
 wonderful than any that has hitherto marked the 
 march of civilization and civil liverty ? 
 
 " You have doubtless observed that a great effort 
 is being made to give currency to the impression, 
 that the opinion and sentiments advanced by your 
 self find nothing like a general response in New- 
 
PEESENTED FOE THE PEES1DENCY. 245 
 
 England. I do not believe the fact to be so in this 
 State. Our people set a value upon the Union 
 which language cannot express ; they look for a 
 compromise expect a compromise conceived in a 
 spirit of justice and patriotism, firmly and manful- 
 
 ly." 
 
 In January, 1852, the Democracy of New-Hamp- 
 shire presented General Pierce as their candidate 
 for the Presidency. The General declined the hon 
 or in the following language : 
 
 " Concord, January 12^A, 1852. 
 
 " DEAE SIE : I take the liberty to address you, 
 because no channel more appropriate occurs to me 
 through which to express my thanks to the conven 
 tion over which you presided on the 8th instant, and 
 to the masses there represented. 
 
 " I am far from being insensible to the steady and 
 generous confidence so often manifested towards me 
 by the people of this State ; and although the ob 
 ject indicated in the resolution, having particular 
 reference to myself, be not one of desire on my part, 
 the expression is not on that account, less gratify 
 ing. 
 
 " Doubtless the spontaneous and just appreciation 
 of an intelligent people, is the best earthly reward 
 for earnest and cheerful services rendered to one s 
 state and country ; and while it is a matter of un 
 feigned regret that my life has been so barren of 
 
246 LIFE OF FEA^KLIN PIEECE. 
 
 usefulness, I shall ever hold this and similar trib 
 utes, among my most cherished recollections. 
 
 u To these, my sincere and grateful acknowledg 
 ments, I desire to add, that the same motive which 
 induced me several years ago to retire from public 
 life, and which since that time controlled my judg 
 ment in this respect, now impel me to say, that the 
 use of my name, in any event, before the Democrat 
 ic National Convention at Baltimore, to which you 
 are a delegate, would be utterly repugnant to my 
 tastes and wishes. I am, with the hightest respect 
 and esteem, your friend, 
 
 " FRANK. PIERCE. 
 " HON. CIIAS, G. ATHERTON, Nashville, N. H." 
 
 The following is the last letter of General Pierce, 
 before the meeting of the National Democratic 
 Convention at Baltimore. It is addressed to Colo 
 nel Lally, of New-Hampshire : 
 
 TEEMONT HOUSE, JBaston, May With, 1852. 
 
 " I intended to speak to you more fully upon the 
 subject of the compromise measures than I had an 
 opportunity to do. The importance of the action 
 of the convention upon this question cannot be over 
 estimated. I believe there will be no disposition 
 on the part of the South to press resolutions unneces 
 sarily offensive to the sentiments of the North. 
 But can we say as much on our side ? Will the 
 North come cheerfully up to the mark of constitu 
 tional right ? If not, a breach in our party is inev- 
 
VIEWS ON THE COMPROMISE MEASURES. 247 
 
 itable. The matter should be met at the thresh 
 old, because it rises above party, and looks at the 
 very existence of the confederacy. 
 
 "The sentiment of no one State is to be regarded 
 upon this subject; but having fought the battle in 
 New-Hampshire upon the fugitive slave law,andup- 
 on what we believed to be the ground of constitutional 
 right, we should of course desire the approval of the 
 democracy of the country. What I wish to say 
 to you is this. If the compromise measures are not 
 to be substantially arid firmly maintained, the plain 
 rights secured by the Constitution will be trampeled 
 in the dust. What difference can it make to 
 you or me, whether the outrage shall seem to fall on 
 South Carolinia, or Maine, or New-Hampshire? 
 Are not the rights of each equally dear to us all ? 
 I will never yield to a craven spirit, that from con 
 siderations of policy would endanger the Union. 
 Entertaining these views, the action of the conven 
 tion must, in my judgment, be vital. If we of the 
 North, who have stood by the constitutional rights 
 of the South, are to be abandoned to any time-serv 
 ing policy, the hopes of democracy and of the Union 
 must sink together. As I told you, my name will 
 not be before the convention ; but I cannot help 
 feeling that what there is to be done will be impor 
 tant beyond men and parties transcendently im 
 portant to the hopes of democratic progress and 
 civil liberty. Your friend, 
 
 "FKANK. PIEKCE." 
 
248 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The National Convention Letter of the Committee Gen. Pierce s 
 Reply Remarks. 
 
 IT is not necessary for us here to give a detailed 
 report of the doings of the Democratic National 
 Convention, which met at Baltimore on Tuesday, 
 the 12th of June. Its course is well known. The 
 protracted struggle between the friends of several 
 prominent candidates has become a matter of his 
 tory. After four days spent in earnest attempts to 
 come to a decision, on the thirty-sixth ballot, the 
 Virginia delegation cast their vote for FBANKLHT 
 PIEKCE, of New-Hampshire. On the forty-eighth 
 ballot, Mr. Pierce polled 55 votes. On the forty- 
 ninth ballot, North-Carolina first came to the support 
 of the Granite Statesman, amid tumultuous ap 
 plause. The Mississippi delegation followed in the 
 same track ; then came Tennessee and Alabama. 
 By this time, the whole Convention was one mass 
 of enthusiasm. State after State wheeled into the 
 support of Franklin Pierce, until the vote stood 
 For General Pierce, 282 ; all others, 11. Loud 
 huzzas followed the announcement of the vote. It 
 was in vain for the officers of the Convention to at 
 tempt to restrain the wild manifestations of delight 
 on the part of the audience. Out of doors, the 
 
HIS NOMINATION FOR THE PRESIDENCY. 249 
 
 thunder of cannon was soon heard, and the streets 
 were full of people, filled with enthusiasm. 
 
 FRANKLIN PIERCE was then declared to be the 
 unanimous choice of the Convention for the Presi 
 dency. 
 
 The Committee of Resolutions reported the fol 
 lowing, and, by a vote of 167 ayes to 97 nays, they 
 were adopted, and now constitute 
 
 THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM. 
 
 "Resolved, That the American Democracy place 
 their trust in the intelligence, the patriotism, and 
 the discriminating justice of the American people. 
 
 "Resolved, That we regard this as a distinctive 
 feature of our political creed, which we are proud 
 to maintain before the world, as a great moral 
 element in a form of government springing from 
 and upheld by the popular will ; and we contrast 
 it with the creed and practice of Federalism, under 
 whatever name or form, which seeks to palsy the 
 will of the constituent, and which conceives no 
 imposture too monstrous for the popular credulity. 
 
 " Resolved, Therefore, that, entertaining these 
 views, the Democratic party of this Union, through 
 their delegates assembled in a General Convention 
 of the States, coming together in a spirit of concord, 
 of devotion to the doctrines and faith of a free rep 
 resentative government, and appealing to their fel 
 low citizens for the rectitude of their intentions^ 
 
50 LIFE OF FRANKLIN TIERCE. 
 
 renew and re-assert, before the American people, 
 the declaration of principles avowed by them when, 
 on former occasions, in general Convention, they 
 presented their candidates for the popular suffra 
 ges. 
 
 "1. That the Federal Government is one of limit 
 ed powers, derived solely from the Constitution, 
 and the grants of power made therein ought to be 
 strictly construed by all the departments and agents 
 of the Government ; and that it is inexpedient and 
 dangerous to exercise doubtful constitutional pow 
 ers. 
 
 " 2. That the Constitution does not confer upon 
 the General Government the power to commence 
 and carry on a general system of Internal Improve 
 ments. 
 
 U 3. That the Constitution does not confer author 
 ity upon the Federal Government, directly or indi 
 rectly, to assume debts of the several States, 
 contracted for local internal improvements, or other 
 State purposes, nor would such assumption be just 
 or expedient. 
 
 "4. That justice and sound policy forbid the 
 Federal Government to foster one branch of indus 
 try to the detriment of any other, or to cherish the 
 interests of one portion to the injury of another 
 portion of our common country ; that every citizen 
 and every section of the country has a right to 
 demand and insist upon an equality of rights and 
 privileges, and to complete and ample protection 
 
THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM. 251 
 
 of persons and property from domestic violence or 
 foreign aggression. 
 
 " 5. That it is the duty of every branch of the 
 Government, to enforce and practice the most rigid 
 economy in conducting our public affairs, and that 
 no more revenue ought to be raised than is required 
 to defray the necessary expenses of the Government, 
 and for the gradual but certain extinction of the 
 public debt. 
 
 "6. That Congress has no power to charter a 
 National Bank ; that we believe such an institution 
 one of deadly hostility to the best interests of the 
 country, dangerous to our republican institutions 
 and the liberty of the people, and calculated to 
 place the interests of the country within the control 
 of a concentrated money power, and above the laws 
 and will of the people ; and that the results of Dem 
 ocratic legislation, in this and all other financial 
 measures upon which issues have been made be 
 tween the two political parties of the country, have 
 demonstrated to candid and practical men of all 
 parties, their soundness, safety, and utility, in all 
 business pursuits. 
 
 " 7. That the separation of the moneys of the 
 government from banking institutions, is indispen 
 sable for the safety of the funds of the Govern 
 ment, and the rights of the people. 
 
 " 8. That the liberal principles embodied by 
 Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, and 
 sanctioned in the Constitution, which makes ours 
 
252 LIFE OF FRANKLIN" PIERCE. 
 
 the land of liberty and the asylum of the oppressed 
 of every nation, have ever been cardinal principles 
 in the Democratic faith ; and every attempt to 
 abridge the privilege of becoming citizens, and the 
 owners of soil among us, ought to be resisted with 
 the same spirit which swept the alien and sedition 
 laws from our statute book. 
 
 " 9. That Congress has no power under the Con 
 stitution to interfere with or control the domestic 
 institutions of the several States, and that such 
 States are the sole and proper judges of everything 
 appertaining to their own affairs, not prohibited by 
 the Constitution ; that all efforts of the abolition 
 ists or others, made to induce Congress to interfere 
 with questions of Slavery, or to take incipient steps 
 in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the 
 most alarming and dangerous consequences ; and 
 that all such efforts have an inevitable tendency to 
 diminish the happiness of the people, and endanger 
 the stability and permanency of the Union, and 
 ought not to be countenanced by any friend of our 
 political institutions. 
 
 " fiesolved. That the foregoing proposition covers, 
 and was intended to embrace, the whole subject of 
 slavery agitation in Congress; and therefore the 
 Democratic party of the Union, standing on this 
 national platform, will abide by and adhere to a 
 faithful execution of the acts known as the Com 
 promise measures, settled by the last Congress 
 the act for reclaiming fugitives from service or labor 
 
THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFOEM. 253 
 
 included which act being designed to carry out 
 an express provision of the Constitution, cannot 
 with fidelity thereto, be repealed, or so changed as 
 to destroy or impair its efficiency. 
 
 " Resolved, That the Democratic party will resist 
 all attempts at renewing in Congress, or out of it, 
 the agitation of the Slavery question, under what 
 ever shape or color the attempts may be made. 
 
 " Resolved, That the proceeds of the public lands 
 ought to be sacredly applied to the national objects 
 specified in the Constitution ; and that we are op 
 posed to any lave for the distribution of such pro 
 ceeds among the States, as alike inexpedient in 
 policy and repugnant to the Constitution. 
 
 " Resolved, That we are decidedly opposed to 
 taking from the President the qualified veto power, 
 by which he is enabled, under restrictions and 
 responsibilities, amply sufficient to guard the public 
 interest, to suspend the passage of a bill whose 
 merits cannot secure the approval of two-thirds of 
 the Senate and House of Representatives, until the 
 judgment of the people can be obtained thereon, 
 and which has saved the American people from the 
 corrupt and tyrannical domination of the Bank of 
 the United States, and from a corrupting system of 
 general Internal Improvements. 
 
 "Resolved, That the Democratic party will faith 
 fully abide by and uphold the principles laid down 
 in the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions of 1792 
 12 
 
254: LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 and 1793, and in the report of Mr. Madison to the 
 Virginia Legislature in 1799 ; that it adopts those 
 principles as constructing one of the main founda 
 tions of its political creed, and is resolved to carry 
 them out in their obvious meaning and import. 
 
 " Resolved, That the war with Mexico, upon all 
 the principles of patriotism and the laws of nations, 
 was a just and necessary war on our part, in which 
 no American citizen should have shown himself 
 opposed to his country, and neither morally nor 
 physically, by word or deed, given aid and comfort 
 to the enemy. 
 
 " Resolved, That we rejoice at the restoration of 
 friendly relations w r ith our sister republic of Mex 
 ico, and earnestly desire for her all the blessings 
 and prosperity which we enjoy under republican 
 institutions, and we congratulate the American 
 people upon the results of that war, w r hich have so 
 manifestly justified the policy and conduct of the 
 Democratic party, and insured to the United States 
 indemnity for the past, and security for the future. 
 
 " Resolved, That in view of the condition of the 
 popular institutions in the Old World, a high and 
 sacred duty is devolved w r ith increased responsibil 
 ity upon the Demacracy of this country, as the party 
 of the people, to uphold and maintain the rights of 
 every State, and thereby the union of the states, 
 and to sustain and advance among them constitu 
 tional liberty by continuing to resist all monopolies 
 
LETTER OF THE COMMITTEE. 255 
 
 and exclusive legislation for the benefit of the few, 
 at the expense of the many, and by a vigilant and 
 constant adherence to those principles and compro 
 mises of the Constitution, which are broad enough 
 and strong enough to embrace and uphold the Union 
 as it is, and the Union as it should be, in the full 
 expansion of the energies and capacity of this great 
 and progressive people." 
 
 The following correspondence between the Com 
 mittee appointed by the National Convention and 
 General Pierce, (to acquaint General Pierce with 
 his nomination,) took place immediately after the 
 Convention the Committee going in person to 
 Concord. 
 
 LETTER OF THE COMMITTEE. 
 
 " Concord, June IT, 1852. 
 
 " SIR : A National Convention of the Demo 
 cratic Republican Party, which met in Baltimore 
 the first Tuesday in June, unanimously nominated 
 you as a candidate for the high trust of the Presi 
 dent of the United States. We have been delega 
 ted to acquaint you with the nomination, and 
 earnestly to request that you will accept it. Per 
 suaded as we are, that this office should never be 
 pursued by an unchastened ambition, it cannot be 
 refused by a dutiful patriotism. 
 
 "The circumstances under which you will be 
 presented for the canvass of your countrymen, seem 
 
256 LIFE OF FKAjraXIN PIERCB. 
 
 to us propitious to the interests which the Consti 
 tution entrusts to our. Federal Union, and must be 
 auspicious to your own name. You come before 
 the people without the impulse of personal wishes, 
 and free from selfish expectations. You are iden 
 tified with none of the distractions which have 
 recently disturbed our country, whilst you are 
 known to be faithful to the Constitution to all its 
 guarantees and compromises. You will be free to 
 execute your tried abilities within the path of duty 
 in protecting that repose we happily enjoy, and in 
 giving efficacy and control to those cardinal princi 
 ples that have already illustrated the party which 
 has now selected you as its leader principles that 
 regard the security and prosperity of the whole 
 country, and the paramount power of its laws as 
 indissolubly associated with the perpetuity of our 
 civil and religious liberties. 
 
 " The Convention did not pretermit the duty of 
 reiterating those principles, and you will find them 
 prominently set forth in the resolutions it adopted. 
 To these we respectfully invite your attention. 
 
 " It is firmly believed that to your talents and 
 patriotism the security of our holy Union, with its 
 expanded and expanding interests, may be wisely 
 trusted, and that amid all the perils which may 
 assail the Constitution, you will have the heart to 
 love and the arm to defend it. 
 
 " With congratulations to you and the country 
 upon this demonstration of its exalted regard, and 
 
GENERAL PIERCERS ACCEPTANCE. 257 
 
 the patriot hopes that dusted over it, we have the 
 honor to be, with all respect, your fellow citizens, 
 
 J. S. B ARBOUR, 
 J. THOMPSON", 
 ALPHEUS FELCH, 
 PIERRE SOULE. 
 Hon. FRANKLIN PIERCE, New-Hampshire." 
 
 GENERAL PIERCED REPLY. 
 
 " Concord, N. //., June 17, 1852. 
 " GENTLEMEN : I have the honor to acknowledge 
 your personal kindness in presenting me this day 
 your letter, officially informing me of my nomina 
 tion by the Democratic National Convention, as a 
 candidate for the Presidency of the United States. 
 The surprise with which I received the intelligence 
 of my nomination was not unmingled with painful 
 solicitude, and yet it is proper for me to say that 
 the manner in which it was conferred was peculiarly 
 gratifying. 
 
 " The delegation from New-Hampshire, with all 
 the glow of State pride, and with all the warmth 
 of personal regard, would not have submitted my 
 name to the Convention, nor would they have cast 
 a vote for me under any circumstances other than 
 those which occurred. 
 
 " I shall always cherish with pride and gratitude 
 the recollection of the fact that the voice which first 
 pronounced, and pronounced alone, came from the 
 mother of states a pride and gratitude rising above 
 
258 LIFE OF FKANKLEST PIERCE. 
 
 any consequences that can betide me personally. 
 May I not regard it as a fact pointing to the over 
 throw of sectional jealousies, and looking to the per 
 manent life and vigor of the Union, cemented by 
 the blood of those who have passed to their re 
 ward a Union wonderful in its formation, bound 
 less in its hopes, amazing in its destiny ? 
 
 " I accept the nomination, relying upon an abi 
 ding devotion to the interests, honor, and glory of 
 the whole country, but, above and beyond all, upon 
 a Power superior to all human might, a Power 
 which from the first gun of the Revolution, in every 
 crisis through which we have passed, in every hour 
 of acknowledged peril, when the dark clouds had 
 shut down over us, has interposed as if to baffle 
 human wisdom, outmarch human forecast, and 
 bring out of darkness the rainbow of promise. 
 "Weak myself, but in faith and hope I repose my se 
 curity. 
 
 "I accept the nomination upon the platform 
 adopted by the Convention, not because this is ex 
 pected of me as a candidate, but because the prin 
 ciples you embraced command the approbation of 
 my judgment, and with that I believe I can safely 
 say there has been no word nor act of my life in 
 conflict with them. 
 
 " I have now only to offer my grateful acknowl 
 edgments to you, gentlemen, to the Convention of 
 which you are members, and to the people of our 
 common country. 
 
HE IS APPRIZED OF HIS NOMINATION. 259 
 
 " I am with the highest respect, your most obedi- 
 ent servant, FKAOTtm PIERCE. 
 
 To Hon. J. S. BARBOTJR, J. THOMPSON, ALPHEUS 
 FELCH, PIERRE SOULE." 
 
 The news of the nomination of General Pierce to 
 the Presidency has created throughout the country 
 the utmost enthusiasm. To the General himself, it 
 came suddenly and unexpectedly. Full of modesty, 
 he had not the slightest expectations of such honors. 
 But there were others who foresaw, from the pecu 
 liar circumstances, from General Pierce s universal 
 popularity and fitness for office, that his chances for 
 a nomination were by no means slight. The day 
 upon which the final ballot was taken, General 
 Pierce was in Cambridge. A friend in Boston, 
 upon receiving the news of his nomination, imme 
 diately rode over to apprize him of the result. He 
 chanced to meet the General in his carriage, and 
 accosted him with 
 
 " Have you heard the news from Baltimore ?" 
 
 " No. Who is nominated ?" 
 
 " Yourself, General. Allow me to congratulate 
 
 you!" 
 
 man has heard the news with more surprise 
 than myself," replied modest yet illustrious General 
 Pierce. His conduct, since the nomination, has 
 been a proof of his excellent wisdom of character. 
 The majority of men would have been elated with 
 such honors, but it is not so with Franklin Pierce. 
 
260 LIFE OF FKAJSTKLEST PIERCE. 
 
 Prom the first he has conducted himself in a retir 
 ing manner. Instead of feeling elated at his nomi 
 nation, he has rather seemed to grow serious under 
 the sense of his great and solemn position. It is no 
 light matter for a man to assume the responsibilities 
 of the Presidency, or to become the candidate of the 
 great Democratic party of the United States for that 
 high office. In a conversation which we had the 
 honor of holding with General Pierce a short time 
 since, he said that the whole matter his nomina 
 tionthe coming struggle, etc., etc. was entirely 
 distasteful to him, and he would not consent to run 
 as the party s candidate, did he not believe it to be 
 his duty so to do. And we saw by his whole de 
 meanor that he spoke from the heart. 
 
 The following letter from Mr. Pierce was ad 
 dressed to the Philadelphians in reply to an invita 
 tion to participate with them in the celebration of 
 our National Anniversary on the 5th inst. : 
 
 " Concord, N. /Z, June 30, 1852. 
 
 "GENTLEMEN: There are many reasons why it 
 would be peculiarly gratifying to me, to accept your 
 kind invitation, and pass the next Anniversary of 
 Independence as a Kation, in Philadelphia. 
 
 Wherever an American citizen is found on the 
 recurrence of that day, whether upon his own or 
 upon a foreign soil, his thoughts instinctively turn 
 to the consecrated locality of the most sublime spec- 
 
LETTER TO PHILADELPHIA. 261 
 
 tacle presented in the history of governments, and 
 his heart beats quicker and warmer for his own 
 country, and most earnestly for the disenthralment 
 of the oppressed everywhere, as his free glance is 
 turned toward Independence Hall. 
 
 " The suggestions of severe prudence may, for the 
 moment, be less controling, but it is well that, once 
 in every year, full latitude be given to the impulses 
 that gush out, and the generous ardor that glows for 
 the firm establishment of constitutional liberty 
 throughout the world. It is well that we recount 
 the sacrifices at which this glorious Union, with all 
 its multiplied and multiplying blessings, was pur 
 chased. It is well that, in the midst of our congrat 
 ulations, we remember that in the weakness of our 
 infancy as a people, not only words of cheering 
 were sent across the ocean to greet us, but upon its 
 bosom were borne to our shores hearts to sympa 
 thize and arms to strike. How the cherished mem 
 ories of the noble dead of other lands, whose blood 
 mingled with that of our fathers in the struggle that 
 followed the declaration, the anniversary of which 
 you are to commemorate, come thronging with the 
 gray dawn of that day of general jubilee ! So may 
 they every come ! So will they ever come, while 
 we are faithful to the Constitution, true to our mis 
 sion, and heedful to the lessons of wisdom which 
 have descended to us. 
 
 "Independent of the inspiring associations to 
 which I have adverted, it would be pleasant to par- 
 12* 
 
262 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 ticipate in the National festival in Philadelphia, 
 because I should meet numerous friends whose ac 
 quaintance I enjoyed at Washington, many years 
 ago, and more, perhaps, for whom I formed ties of 
 unalterable attachment, in that different field of 
 service, to which so many of your citizens were 
 called, in 1847. 
 
 " With these strong inducements for compliance, 
 you will readily appreciate the deep regret I feel, in 
 being compelled to deny myself the pleasure of 
 meeting the sterling Democracy of your city and 
 county, as proposed. 
 
 " I have made arrangements to attend the anni 
 versary of the Society of the Cincinnati, instituted 
 by the officers of the American army, at the close 
 of the Revolution, of which my father was an ori 
 ginal member. There is no longer hope of meeting 
 the patriarchs, whose names appear with that of the 
 Father of his country, upon the old constitution of 
 the Society, but I feel a strong desire to be with 
 their descendants on that day. 
 
 " Accept, gentlemen, for yourselves, and present 
 to the Democracy for whom you speak, my grateful 
 acknowledgments. With the highest respect, 
 "Your fellow-citizen, 
 
 "FRANK. PIERCE. 
 "Committee ANDREW HAGUE, W. F. SMALL, 
 
 JACOB LEWIS, O. F. FOGUERAY, W. ENGLISH, 
 
 J. O. TOBIAS." 
 
RECEPTION OF THE NOMINATION. 263 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Reception of the News of the Nomination of General Pierce in New- 
 Hampshire Meeting of the State Legislature Mr. Sargent s 
 Speech Mr. Wells Speech Mass Meeting of the People at 
 Concord Meeting at Boston, at Washington, at New -York, 
 Hartford, etc. etc. Letters of Mr. Buchanan, Ex-President Van 
 Buren, Messrs. Cass, Houston, Douglass, etc. etc. Concluding 
 Remarks. 
 
 THE nomination of General Pierce, as we have al 
 ready remarked in a previous chapter, has been 
 ratified by the people in all parts of the Union with 
 great enthusiasm. Old feuds have been healed by 
 it, old differences adjusted, and a larger vote will, 
 in November, be polled for Franklin Pierce, than 
 could have been polled for any other man whose 
 name was before the Convention. This is not merely 
 our individual opinion, but that of some of the 
 ablest men in the nation. 
 
 We have not room for a detailed account of the 
 many great ratification meetings which have been 
 held over the country, but will give a few extracts 
 from some of the best speeches made at such as 
 semblages. 
 
 As soon as the news of General Pierce s nomina 
 tion reached New-Hampshire, the whole State was 
 alive with excitement. Bells were rung ; cannons 
 
264 LITE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 were fired, and joy was pictured upon almost every 
 face. The State Legislature was in session at Con 
 cord, and a meeting of the Democratic members 
 composing it was soon gathered, in response to the 
 nomination. Governor Martin took the chair, sup 
 ported by a large number of vice-presidents. Among 
 the many excellent speeches made on the occasion, 
 we quote those of Mr. Sargent, of "Went worth, and 
 Mr. Wells, the Presioent of the Senate : 
 
 Mr. Sargent spoke as follows : 
 
 "J!/r. President and Gentlemen : I do not rise 
 to make a speech. I am no speech maker, and if I 
 were, am in no state of preparation at the present 
 time to make one. But there is no Democrat who 
 cannot say something, if need be, on an occasion 
 like this. And if he is not called upon to speak, 
 every true man must feel an interest in the subject 
 which calls us together at the present time. 
 (Cheers.) We meet as members of the Legislature 
 of New-Hampshire, as Democrats of the Granite 
 State, to respond to the nomination of General Frank 
 lin Pierce, of our State, as a candidate for the Pres 
 idency of the United States. (Cheers.) 
 
 " I had the honor, Mr. President, at the Demo 
 cratic State Convention, held in this Hall, on the 
 8th day of January last, to introduce the resolution 
 recommending General Pierce to the Baltimore 
 Convention, as a candidate for the Presidency, which 
 resolution was then unanimously adopted. In intro- 
 
RESPONSES TO THE NOMINATION. 265 
 
 ducing that resolution, I only obeyed the impulse, 
 and embodied the deep and all-pervading sentiment 
 of the people of Graft on county, and of the State. 
 There is but one feeling on the part of the Demo 
 crats of New-Hampshire in relation to General 
 Pierce, and that is a strong and abiding affection, 
 and an unbounded desire to honor him who is so 
 universally known to be the friend of the people, 
 the advocate of popular rights, the known supporter 
 of the Union, and of our glorious Constitution. 
 (Loud cheers.) 
 
 " The Baltimore Convention have seen fit to honor 
 the Democracy of New-Hampshire by nominating 
 her favorite as a candidate for the Presidency of 
 the nation a station higher, more responsible, more 
 honorable, and more important than any other place 
 or office in the world. This nomination will be re 
 sponded to by the Democracy of this State, and of 
 the nation, with a unanimity and an enthusiasm 
 which will secure his triumphant election. by an 
 overwhelming majority. (Applause.) I set the 
 State of New-Hampshire down as good for 20,000 
 majority for General Pierce. (Some one here sug 
 gested 10,000.) No, said Mr. S., I will not take 
 off a single vote from the number I have stated. 
 (Immense applause.) 
 
 "Allusion has been made to the other candidates 
 who were before the Baltimore Convention. The 
 Democracy of New-Hampshire have been through 
 
266 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 one contest under lion. Lewis Cass, as their leader 
 and standard-bearer, and nobly did they then con 
 duct themselves, and honorably and triumphantly 
 did they come out of the contest, the banner State 
 of the Union. (Cheers.) There is perhaps no man, 
 next to General Pierce, under whom our Democracy 
 would sooner and more cheerfully rally, in another 
 contest, than General Cass. ]STo man stands higher 
 in the estimation of the nation than he. (Applause.) 
 The Democracy of our State would be equally ready 
 to rally under the standard of Buchanan, Douglass, 
 Marcy, or either of the other distinguished states 
 men who were before the Convention as candidates 
 for this high office. (Cheers were here given for 
 these eminent men.) But when it was found that 
 neither of these could get the nomination, it was 
 asked, Where is the man whose talents, courage, 
 experience, patriotism and attachment to the Union 
 and the Constitution, will make him the man of the 
 nation, and raise him above all sectional preferen 
 ces and local prejudices ? In looking over the men 
 of the nation, General Pierce was at once seen by 
 all to be the man who possessed all the qualities 
 necessary for the station, together with the elements 
 of an unbounded popularity that would insure his 
 triumphant election. 
 
 " Mr. S. then spoke of the compliment that had 
 been paid to the New-Hampshire Democracy by the 
 nomination. They had always proved true to the 
 
RESPONSES TO THE NOMINATION. 267 
 
 Union, and their course lias insured for them and 
 for their State the respect and confidence of the 
 whole Union. (Loud plaudits.) 
 
 " Mr. S. then alluded to the fact that we had 
 heretofore had several candidates for the Presidency 
 presented by different parties, w r ho were sons of 
 New-Hampshire, but who had emigrated from the 
 State, (alluding to Cass and Webster,) none of whom 
 had been elected. But now, said he, c we have a 
 candidate who is not only a son of New-Hamp- 
 shire, but still a resident in New-Hampshire a 
 man of the people, a man who will only leave the 
 soil of his native State to take a short trip to the 
 White House, which General Pierce is sure to do 
 on the fourth of March next. (A perfect storm of 
 cheers greeted this statement.) 
 
 " Mr. S. assured the other States of the fidelity, 
 the purity and the reliability of the New-Hamp 
 shire Democracy. He briefly reviewed General 
 Pierce s course in his own State, in the House and 
 Senate of the United States, and his brave conduct 
 and high standing as a General in the Mexican war. 
 He further alluded to his high qualifications as a 
 jurist and a statesman, and closed by expressing his 
 entire confidence that these qualifications were such 
 as would dignify the exalted position to which Gen 
 eral Pierce had now been called such as would se 
 cure his triumphant election by the people, and 
 secure to the country peace, prosperity, honor and 
 
268 LIFE OF FKAJSTKLIN FLEECE. 
 
 union. (Loud applause followed the conclusion of 
 Mr. Sargent s address.) 
 
 The following is Mr. Well s speech : 
 
 " MR. PRESIDENT : We have assembled here this 
 evening to make a declaration of our feelings and 
 opinions responsive to the nomination of General 
 Franklin Pierce, as a candidate for the President of 
 the United States. 
 
 " Had the National Convention presented to the 
 Democracy of the country, the name of either of 
 the distinguished gentlemen proposed to the Con 
 vention for that exalted station, I am fully confident 
 that a warm and generous response would have been 
 made by the Democratic members of this Legisla 
 ture, and by the sterling Democracy of the old Gran 
 ite State. But when, unexpectedly to the most of 
 us, one of our citizens is selected for that distin 
 guished and honorable position, I know we shall be 
 excused by our brethren in other States, for manifes 
 ting more than the ordinary interest on occasions 
 of this character, when they learn the deep, intense, 
 and affectionate regard, which the people of New- 
 Hampshire entertain for him who has been so high 
 ly honored. (Loud cheers.) To the generous and 
 judicious delegation of the old Dominion, we will 
 first tender our warmest and kindest thanks for pre 
 senting to the Convention the name of General 
 Pierce : (Cheers.) and we will long cherish in our 
 
RESPONSES TO THE NOMINATION. 269 
 
 hearts the sentiments of gratitude due to the State of 
 Tennessee, (cheers) for the warm approval by her del 
 egation of Virginia s noble stand. (R3nswed cheers.) 
 Long and faithfully have New-Hampshire and Vir 
 ginia been linked together to maintain the faith of 
 our political fathers, and rejoiced are we still to 
 know, that her faith and confidence in us is still 
 firm and enduring. (Applause.) The Democracy 
 of Tennessee have the right to claim paramount love 
 and affection for the life and memory of Andrew 
 Jackson, for he was of them, and among them, and 
 his ashes consecrate their soil ; (applause,) but de 
 voted as were his kindest friends, and warm as may 
 be the affectionate remembrance of his virtues, no 
 section can in truth exceed the State of New-Hamp 
 shire in reverence for his memory ; nor did men of 
 truer hearts or stronger hands stand by him, in his 
 fearful conflicts with federalism and mammon, than 
 stood for him and around him in the State of New- 
 Hampshire. (Loud cheers.) 
 
 " New-Hampshire also brought forward in the 
 convention of 1844 the name of the pure hearted 
 and patriotic James K. Polk ; and when at his elec 
 tion, the Democracy of New-England in all save 
 two of the States, was prostrated and paralyzed, the 
 flag of Polk and Dallas floated in triumph on the 
 rugged hills of New-Hampshire. (Cheers.) 
 
 " I allude to these States because of our pecu 
 liar connexion with them in times which have 
 passed ; but I believe I utter the sentiments of this 
 
270 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 assembly, and of the entire Democracy of this 
 State, when I say, that New-Hampshire is profound 
 ly grateful to the members of the National Democrat 
 ic Convention, for the distinguished consideration 
 shown her in selecting as the nominee for the Pres 
 idency, her noble and patriotic son ; (loud and re 
 iterated cheers,) and that we assure them, and their 
 constituents, that in making this nomination, they 
 have secured in our belief the triumph of the Dem 
 ocratic party, in the next Presidetial election. (Ap 
 plause.) For if a candidate of exalted moral worth ; 
 of high literary and legal attainments ; of endear 
 ing social qualities ; of vigorous, comprehensive in 
 tellect ; one thoroughly schooled in the theory and 
 practical operation of Government ; a son of the 
 Revolutionary stock, and who cherishes the princi 
 ples established by the Revolution, a statesman of 
 enlarged views, rooted in the Constitution, and the 
 theory of a republican Government ; one in whom 
 the love of country is a religious sentiment ; one 
 who in his administration will make the Constitu 
 tion his polar star, and who regards the preservation 
 of the American Union as the sheet anchor of ra 
 tional liberty here, and throughout the world ; one 
 who will follow 110 path but that which the lamp of 
 truth illumines, and who will mete out to each 
 and all, their legal constitutional rights if, I repeat, 
 a candidate possessing such qualities and qualifica 
 tions, caw unite the Democratic party of this nation, 
 all honor is due to the sagacious men of the Balti- 
 
RESPONSES TO THE NOMINATION. 271 
 
 more Convention, for presenting to the country the 
 name of General Franklin Pierce of New-Hamp 
 shire. (The climax was greeted with three heart 
 felt cheers.) They will unite ; relying confidence in 
 the nominee will, I verily believe, bring into one 
 fraternal circle, the great family of American De 
 mocracy. They will go into the contest shoulder to 
 shoulder, hand in hand, and heart in heart, and pro 
 duce by a united effort that glorious sentiment of 
 Democratic Union, which pervaded the whole party, 
 when it was guided by the spirit of him who sleeps his 
 last sleep in the shades of the Hermitage. (Sensation.) 
 " The action of the Baltimore Convention fur 
 nishes tit themes for deep and candid New-England 
 consideration. Though once the ill-starred district, 
 which Hartford Convention federalism sought to 
 seperate from the American Union, and annex to 
 the British Provinces ; though at times it seemed 
 that all its political power and influence would be 
 merged in the caldron of federalism ; though big 
 otry and fanaticism have run loose and wild through 
 out its whole extent, yet the untiring efforts of 
 Democratic freemen, have so preserved its charac 
 ter and political integrity, that our confiding breth 
 ren of other States have rewarded their exertions by 
 this distinguished act of faith and confidence ; so 
 that now for the first time in our country s history, 
 we are rejoicing at the certain prospect of a Dem 
 ocratic New-England President. (The applause at 
 this point was liberal and earnest.) 
 
272 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 " Well may the booming cannon echo from hill 
 to hill. (Cheering.) Well may the loud huzza ring 
 out from Madawaska to those verdant hills where 
 rest the ashes of Ethan Allen. (Cheering renewed.) 
 Well may the storm of joy roll on from the rugged 
 mountains of New-Hampshire, to the land of the 
 Charter Oak. (Loud cheers.) Well may the rejoic 
 ing voices of thousands go up from the base of 
 Bunker Hill, to float away and mingle with the 
 hoarse roar of the surf on Plymouth Rock. (Ap 
 plause.) 
 
 "Well may the true-hearted Democracy of New- 
 England congratulate themselves upon the assurance 
 of uniting with their political brethren from all sec 
 tions of this great Republic, around a New-England 
 Democratic President, and renewedly pledge them 
 selves to the faithful support of our commom Con 
 stitution, and the preservation of the American 
 Union. (Rapturous applause.) 
 
 " How often has it been asserted by our oppo 
 nents that the South would never consent to vest 
 political power in the hands of northern men. But 
 now examine the record and judge as to the truth 
 of the allegation ! With 112 votes in the Conven 
 tion from slave States, only six were cast for a can 
 didate in that section of the country ; but, on the 
 contrary, all the candidates were from the northern 
 States, and w r ere mainly of New-England birth, and 
 New-England sentiments. (Cheering.) Does this 
 &how that exclusive selfishness which has been so 
 
RESPONSES TO THE SrOMmATIOI*. 273 
 
 often asserted ? By no means. It shows, rather, 
 what we all know to be true, that the love of coun 
 try is the paramount sentiment with the true repub 
 licans of the South. (Immense cheering.) That 
 they, like us, are willing to deposit political power 
 wherever it is deserved, and that all they require is 
 the reasonable assurance of an honest and efficient 
 administration of the Government, the compelling 
 all to perform their legal obligations, and securing 
 to all their Constitutional rights. (Loud applause.) 
 
 "The history of the country is full of evidence 
 that the Democracy of the South have ever been 
 ready to sustain the whole country in all its domes 
 tic and foreign difficulties. (Cheers.) Point me to 
 a national controversy when the Democracy of tho 
 South did not unite, heart and hand, with the De 
 mocracy of the North, to sustain our national rights 
 and our national honor. (Renewed cheers.) Tell 
 me of a battle scene on the mountain wave, where 
 southern blood was not freely shed in defence of the 
 stars and stripes the common flag of our common 
 land. (Applause.) Designate, if you can, the bat 
 tle field, from Chippewa to Monterey, from Brook 
 lyn Heights to the city of Mexico, where the bones 
 of the brave men of the South are not crumbling 
 into dust with those of the patriotic sons of the Nor 
 thern States. (Rapturous applause.) 
 
 "Away, then, with such false and groundless ac 
 cusations ! (Liberal applause.) The good and true 
 men of the South, like the good and true men of the 
 
MFE OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 North, fully realize the necessity and propriety of 
 confidence and union in our party ; (Cheers,) and 
 this nomination, in my belief, will produce that re 
 sult so perfect and complete, that the political power 
 in this country will be so permanently established 
 in Democratic hands, that federalism and fanati 
 cism will be forced into the dark valley of despond 
 ency, where they will hang their harps upon the 
 willows, and mourn the blighted prospects of longer 
 disturbing or distracting the Democratic party." 
 
 A mass meeting of the people of Concord was 
 held, at which Mr. Peabody, of the native town of 
 General Pierce, said : 
 
 " He had bnt the moment before arrived in town 
 from Hillsborongh. It was not two hours since, 
 when the joyous news of General Pierce s nomina 
 tion to the Chief Magistracy of the United States, 
 first greeted the ears of his delighted fellow-towns 
 men, the yeomanry of old Hillsborough. The an 
 nouncement thrilled like an electric touch through 
 the hearts of the sterling Democracy of that fine 
 old town, the birth-place of Franklin Pierce. The 
 school-mates of his boyhood, the companions of his 
 youth, and the friends of his maturer years, grasped 
 each others hands in an ecstacy of delight, and call 
 ed down blessings upon the head of him in whose 
 honors they shared as in the honors of a brother. 
 They had watched his growing fame with unmeas 
 ured delight. They had seen wave after wave of 
 
RESPONSES TO THE NOMINATION. 275 
 
 popular applause bear him onward towards the 
 proud position which he now occupied in the face of 
 the whole world. As a statesman and a soldier, his 
 praises had been recorded on every heart in the 
 land. And at every step of his course, his towns 
 men had exclaimed : His wisdom and his virtues 
 have merited it all. His blushing honors rest upon 
 a noble and deserving brow, and in his triumphs we 
 rejoice ! 
 
 " Not only his native town, but the whole State 
 rejoiced in his nomination. The warm heart and 
 splendid talents of General Pierce had long been 
 recognized and admired throughout our whole bor 
 ders ; and every son of the old Granite State was 
 ready to shout with joy that the mantle of so many 
 illustrious Presidents was now to rest upon the 
 shoulders of a worthy son of New-Hampshire. New- 
 Hampshire, the home of the Starks, the Cilleys and 
 the Pierces New-Hampshire, the patriotic de 
 fender of our nation s liberties, the foremost in her 
 love of our glorious Union had at last received 
 the reward that was her due. Let us be thankful 
 that the wisdom of our national Convention had se 
 lected General Pierce for our standard-bearer in the 
 campaign which had this day commenced. 
 
 "That he will be triumphantly elected to the 
 Presidential chair, no one could doubt. But let it 
 be the aim of every true man among us to work 
 with unflagging energy until the desire of our hearts 
 should be accomplished. Let us proclaim to the 
 
276 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 whole world the wisdom, the virtues and the gene 
 rosity of the man, until every heart should be fired 
 with the truth, and the voices of the whole people 
 should oonie up in one prolonged shout, declaring 
 Franklin Pierce, of New-Hampshire, to be the next 
 President of the United States." (Loud cheers.) 
 
 At an immense ratification meeting held in Fa- 
 neuil Hall, Boston, the Hon. S. II. Ayer, of Man 
 chester, N. H., made the following speech : 
 
 Hon. S. H. Ayer, of Manchester, IN". H., was 
 introduced to the meeting, and replied to the great 
 cheering with which he was received, that he was 
 sure the response was in favor of the State in which 
 lie lived. 
 
 "Mr. Ayer said, a newspaper in Boston the 
 Atlas had spoken of New-Hampshire as a plague 
 spot in the Union. He did not doubt that New- 
 Hampshire would prove to be a plague spot to 
 Massachusetts. He had recently seen an article in 
 a Virginia paper in the same strain, with the sneer 
 ing remark in reply to the question of who is Gen. 
 Pierce, that he is a native of a State away up among 
 the rocks, where the sun does not shine more than 
 three hours out of the twenty-four. He would tell 
 the editors of such papers, that the sun which beams 
 over New-Hampshire, was destined to shine in such 
 a manner as that there will be no more Galphinism 
 and no more Gardnerism, and that the men of this 
 country will not be shot down like dogs in other 
 
RESPONSES TO THE NOMINATION. 277 
 
 countries, as they have been during the present 
 national administration. (Great cheers.) 
 
 " Mr. Ayer said he would answer the question 
 how it was that the nomination of Gen. Pierce had 
 been effected. It was true that Gen. Pierce had 
 been nominated by a State Convention in New- 
 Hampshire, yet he went to the Convention at Balti 
 more, with one purpose, that of being true to the 
 man who should appear to be the choice of the Con 
 vention. Mr. Pierce in reply to the nomination of 
 the State Convention, positively declined being a 
 candidate, and the delegates of New-Hampshire 
 cast their votes for Cass. (Cheers.) New-Hamp 
 shire had known Gen. Cass, and had watched his 
 progress as he left his home for a residence beyond 
 the mountains, and through the various official po 
 sitions with which he had been entrusted, and her 
 delegates never deserted him until his vote fell 
 below fifty, and even then they did not give him up 
 until they consulted with the delegates of Michigan, 
 whether they should go for any other candidate. 
 Then it was that the idol of New-Hampshire was 
 brought forward by the delegation of glorious old 
 Yirginia. (Cheers.) There was no need that it 
 should be asked why he did not answer the Scott 
 letter; no one mentioned it as an objection, for 
 every one said we know just where Pierce is. 
 (Cheers.) 
 
 " Mr. Ayer said his personal knowledge of Gen 
 eral Pierce, extended from his own boyhood, was 
 13 
 
278 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 continued while a student in his office, find in ta 
 king his practice in Hillsborough, his native town. 
 He knew him for as pure a man as lived in ]STew- 
 Hampshire, or in the country. After he had served 
 nine years in Congress, four in the House and five 
 in the Senate, he resigned his seat, saying at the 
 time, he had endeavored to serve his country with 
 fidelity, but he must in future endeavor to do 
 something for his own family. He was nominated 
 for Governor of New-Hampshire, but declined the 
 nomination. He was with him when he received 
 the letter from President Polk, tendering him the 
 office of attorney-general of the United States. He 
 said to him, c of course you will accept of it. His 
 reply was, that he should not accept of it, nor of 
 any other office under the Government, except in 
 the defence of his country in war. (Applause.) 
 This he wrote in reply to President Polk. A gen 
 tleman at the Baltimore Convention, related a con 
 versation with President Polk, at the time he 
 nominated Mr. Pierce as colonel, and subsequently 
 as brigadier-general, in which President Polk gave 
 his opinion that General Pierce would yet be Pres 
 ident of the United States. 
 
 " The federal papers, said Mr. Ayer, had endeav 
 ored to ridicule the pretensions of General Pierce as 
 a soldier. It was only necessary, in reply, to quote 
 what General Scott at Puebla said, on receiving a 
 letter from General Pierce, that he was coming to 
 his aid with a reinforcement of 2,500 men. General 
 
RESPONSES TO THE NOMINATION. 279 
 
 Scott said of him that he was an old soldier, that 
 his appearance was that of a man who had served 
 at least fifteen years in the army. General Scott 
 had also said in relation to the calumnies sought to 
 be cast upon General Pierce, that there was no 
 braver man in Mexico than he was. And General 
 Pierce would be supported by multitudes of old sol 
 diers in the Mexican war. 
 
 "He had seen letters from all the prominent can 
 didates before the Baltimore convention, and they 
 all cheerfully supported the nomination, and prom 
 ised their hearty support. (Applause.) The Boston 
 papers say either Mr. "Webster or General Pierce 
 must be President. (Cheers.) Mr. Webster him 
 self has said, General Pierce is an honorable man, 
 and will make a good President. Mr. Clay has 
 said, I regret that the nomination has not fallen on 
 General Cass ; but Pierce is a very good man. Mr. 
 Ayer closed by quoting from a letter of Governor 
 Seymour, of Connecticut, in congratulating General 
 Pierce, assuring him that when the order is given, 
 forward, the ninth, the old ninth regiment and the 
 whole line of Democracy will move forward in un 
 broken strength, and secure him the victory. Mr. 
 Ayer sat down amid great applause. 
 
 At Washington a mighty gathering of the people 
 took place, to ratify the doings of the National Con 
 vention. We quote the concluding portions of Gen 
 eral Cass speech : 
 
280 LIFE OF FRANKLIN" 
 
 "I trust I know myself well enough to know that 
 my time for public office is fast passing away, and 
 that no possible event can ever place my name 
 again before the American people for the Presiden 
 cy; and if I did not know this you do, and so does 
 the whole country. My ambition is to serve the 
 people of Michigan, to whom I owe a debt of grati 
 tude I can never repay, yet a little longer in the 
 station I fill by their confidence and kindness. One 
 word more, my fellow-citizens ; let us enter into this 
 contest with a determination to conduct it upon 
 principles upon those great issues which constitute 
 the difference between the Whig and Democratic 
 parties. That will be a noble strife, in which we 
 may all engage with honor. But let us reject and 
 denounce, as unworthy of our cause, that low abuse 
 which unfortunately is too prevalent upon such oc 
 casions. We seek higher objects, and should em 
 ploy higher means. Let us indignantly frown upon 
 every man who so far forgets himself and the cause 
 he professes to support, as to quit the contest of 
 principle to descend to that of scurrility. We are 
 better without such a man than with him. There 
 are honorable points of difference enough between 
 us and the Whigs to engage all our attention, and 
 to call forth all our energy, without entering into 
 such a field of warfare. Recollect that we are breth 
 ren of the same mighty family, equally interested 
 in its honor and prosperity ; and though we differ 
 upon many important principles of government and 
 
RESPONSES TO THE K OMIN ATIOJS . 
 
 administration, yet we all seek the same common 
 object the preservation and perpetuation of our 
 glorious institutions, the world s best hopes and our 
 own. Let the rivalry between us be hereafter which 
 shall best strive for this great end ; it will be a 
 rivalry of the understanding and of the heart, not of 
 the tongue : of patriotism, and not of abuse." 
 
 The Hon. Henry Dodge wrote to the meeting the 
 following letter : 
 
 " Washington, June 10, 1852. 
 
 " DEAR SIR : I regret that circumstances prevent 
 ed my attendance at the ratification meeting held 
 last night. jSTo individual, present or absent, more 
 heartily approves the nomination of Franklin Pierce 
 and William K. King, for President and Vice-Presi 
 dent, than I do. I know both of our nominees well, 
 and regard them as eminently qualified and worthy 
 of the stations for which they have been named, and 
 shall most cordially support them. 
 
 "Most respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 "HENRY DODGE. 
 
 " J. D. HOOVER, Esq., President Jackson Demo 
 cratic Association." 
 
 In New-York, a grand ratification meeting was 
 held. At one time twenty thousand of people were 
 present. Staiiton, O Connor, Yan Buren and others 
 made enthusiastic speeches. We quote a paragraph 
 from Mr. Yan Buren s speech. He said : 
 
 "I am anxious only that two great men, nom- 
 
282 LIFE OF FKAHKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 inated for tlie highest honors which the coun 
 try can bestow, shall be successful. I have known 
 Pierce from boyhood. I have known him to be a 
 true unflinching radical Democrat as a faithful, 
 honest, disinterested public officer, in civil, as well 
 as in military life. I have known him to be a 
 modest unassuming man, and above all, an honest 
 man; abundantly capable of discharging with 
 honor the high duties which will be imposed upon 
 him. I shall support him honestly and cheerfully. 
 (Cheers.) I may say the same about the distin 
 guished gentleman whose name is on the ticket, 
 besides that of Mr. Pierce ; I mean Mr. King from 
 Alabama. I know him too, from childhood, and a 
 more upright, capable man, as a statesman, citizen, 
 or foreign ambassador, never lived. He is the soul 
 of chivalry and honor ; he is of true courage a 
 uniform unflinching Democrat. Such a ticket I 
 cheerfully support. I can stand I will stand 
 upon the platform laid down at Baltimore. (Pro 
 longed cheers.) I will not stop to cavil by what 
 vote that platform has been adopted, what circum 
 stances fostered it, or how it was made public. I 
 say, I approve of that platform, and cheerfully 
 support it. 
 
 In Hartford there was also an immense gather 
 ing of the people to ratify the doings of the Con 
 vention. "We give Gov: Seymour s letter to the 
 meeting : 
 
LETTER OF GOV. SEYMOUR. 
 
 "Hartford, June 12-tfA, 1852. 
 "GENTLEMEN: Feeling obliged to decline the 
 honor of presiding at tlie ratification meeting for 
 this evening, I cannot permit the opportunity to 
 pass, without some proof of my warm satisfaction 
 with the nominations of the late Democratic Na 
 tional Convention. 
 
 " The name of General Pierce is associated in the 
 minds of all those who have the pleasure of ac 
 quaintance, with the noblest qualities of the intel 
 lect and heart. As a civilian, his life presents a 
 record of tried devotion to the cardinal principles 
 of the Democratic party, those principles which 
 have given a true construction to the Constitution, 
 the bond of our Union, and which in times of dan 
 ger to the Union, have been brought to bear in its 
 defence. His military services originated in a pa 
 triotic zeal to serve his country, when there was a 
 call for volunteer strength to maintain the honor of 
 our flag, and nobly did he perform his duty to that 
 country against the common enemy. 
 
 " I rejoice to see that the nomination is received 
 with great applause throughout New-England, from 
 a State which has furnished us with a candidate, to 
 Connecticut which will stand by New-Hampshire 
 and her gallant son and with corresponding en 
 thusiasm at the "West and South, thus vindicating 
 the nationality of the party which has placed his 
 name in nomination for the Presidency, and gave 
 him for an associate, W. K. King of Alabama. 
 
284: LIFE OF FEANKLIN PIEKCE. 
 
 "I need hardly remind yon, that in the coming 
 contest, no brighter augury of success can be named 
 than that which is to be found in the perfect union 
 of the Democratic party at the present time. In 
 that union is strength^ and the hopes of certain vic 
 tory. I remain very truly, 
 
 "Your friend and fellow citizen, 
 
 "THOS. II. SEYMOUR" 
 
 But it is in vain that we attempt to even mention 
 all the enthusiastic ratification meetings which have 
 been held over the country. North and south, east 
 and west, in Boston and New- York, in Philadelphia 
 and "Washington, in New-Orleans and St. Louis, and 
 in all the smaller cities of the land, great meetings 
 have been held by the people, to express their satis 
 faction at the nomination of General Pierce to the 
 Presidency. 
 
 The following letter of Mr. Buchanan is of great 
 importance, and for that reason we preserve it here. 
 
 LETTER FKOM HOST. JAMES ErcnAlSTAN". 
 
 " WJieatland, (near Lancaster^) \ 
 June 14^, 1852. j 
 
 The WasMnton Union publishes the following 
 letter from Mr. Buchanan, in reply to a letter from 
 a large number of Democrats in Bradford county, 
 expressing wishes for his election, and inviting him 
 to pay them a visit in the course of the canvass. 
 
LETTER OF ME. BUCHANAN. 285 
 
 He deferred answering it until after the action of 
 the Convention : 
 
 " GENTLEMEN : I have delayed on purpose to an 
 swer your kind communication of the 20th ultimo 
 until the result of the Baltimore Convention should 
 be known. With every feeling of a grateful heart, 
 I thank the intelligent and faithful Democracy of 
 Springfield township for their favorable opinion, and 
 for the earnest and friendly hope expressed by them 
 that the Democracy of the Union would respond to 
 the wishes of Pennsylvania in the National Conven 
 tion. In this hope they have been disappointed ; 
 but yet all of us have much reason to be satisfied 
 with the nomination of Franklin Pierce and Wil 
 liam K. King. 
 
 " They are sound, radical, state-rights democrats, 
 who will employ their best efforts to expel from the 
 halls of Congress and the purlieus of the treasury, 
 the hosts of stock-jobbers, contractors, and specula 
 tors by which they are now infested, and to restore 
 the purity, simplicity and economy of former 
 times in the administration of Government. I 
 know them well, having served in the Senate with 
 both for several years, at a most critical and impor 
 tant period of our political history ; and I speak 
 with knowledge when I say they are the very men 
 for the times. Public economy, reform, and a strict 
 construction of the Constitution, according to the 
 Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 1798 and 
 1799, ought to be watchwords of the Democratic 
 
286 LIFE OF FRANKLIN" PIEECE. 
 
 party throughout the pending contest ; and Pierce 
 and King will prove to be the able and faithful rep 
 resentatives of these great principles. 
 
 " General Pierce first entered the Senate of the 
 United States on the 4th of March, 1837, and contin 
 ued to be a member, until the 28th day of Februa 
 ry, 1842, when he resigned. This period embaces 
 the whole of Mr. Yan Buren s administration and 
 the first year of that of Gen. Harrison and Mr. Ty 
 ler. He had previously served as a member of the 
 House of Representatives from December, 1833, 
 until the 4th of March, 1837, throughout General 
 Jackson s second term of office. 
 
 " When General Pierce first made his appearance 
 in the Senate, he was one of the youngest, if not the 
 very youngest, of its members. Modest and unas 
 suming in his deportment, but firm and determ 
 ined in his principles and purposes, it was not long 
 before he acquired the respect and esteem of his 
 brother Senators. 
 
 "From deep conviction he was a state-rights 
 Democrat sound, unwavering and inflexible ; and 
 I venture to predict that when his votes shall be 
 scrutinized and tested by the touchstone of Demo 
 cratic principles, they will present as fair a record 
 as those even of the lamented Wright himself. His 
 innate modesty and comparative youth prevented 
 him from addressing the Senate very frequently ; 
 and yet I well recollect some of his efforts, which 
 would have done no discredit to the oldest and 
 
LETTER OF ME. BUCHANAN. 287 
 
 ablest members of the body, then in its most palmy 
 days. "When he spoke he was always prepared ; his 
 voice was excellent, his language well chosen and 
 felicitous ; and he had an earnestness of manner 
 proceeding evidently from deep conviction, which 
 always commanded the attention of his audience. 
 " No candid and honorable man, of any party, 
 well acquainted with General Pierce, will, I am 
 convinced, deny to him the intellectual qualifica 
 tions necessary to render his administration of the 
 government wise, able, and successful. Besides, 
 unless I am greatly mistaken, he possesses determi 
 nation of character and energy of will, without which 
 no individual is fitted to perform high and responsible 
 executive and administrative duties, such as per 
 tain to the office of President of the United States. 
 My own observation, as well as the history of the 
 world, have taught me that these are qualities 
 which do not always belong to great senators and 
 distinguished orators. 
 
 " The Democracy will not ask that their candidate 
 shall be elected because of his great military ex 
 ploits ; and yet his military services constitute a 
 beautiful episode in the history of his life. It is no 
 small distinction for General Pierce to have merit 
 ed the official and emphatic endorsement of the 
 commander-in-chief of our army in Mexico an ar 
 my composed of heroes for gallantry and good 
 conduct on the field of battle. 
 
 " Of Colonel King, our candidate for Yice Pres- 
 
288 LIFE OF FHANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 ident, I can say emphatically that he is one of the 
 purest, the best, and the most sound-judging states 
 men I have ever known. 
 
 " He is a firm, enlightened, and unwavering Dem 
 ocrat, and an amiable, honorable, and benevolent 
 gentleman. From the day when, yet a youth in 
 1812, as a member of the House of Representatives, 
 he voted for the declaration of war against Great 
 Britain, until the present hour, his life presents one 
 consistent and beautiful portrait. As President of 
 the Senate he is without a superior ; and should it 
 ever be his fate, in any contingency, to discharge 
 the duties of President of the United States, he will 
 conduct the Government with wisdom, sound dis 
 cretion, and enlightened patriotism. 
 
 " But why should I insist upon the merits and 
 qualifications of our candidates ? Their nomina 
 tion by the highest tribunal of the Democratic par 
 ty is the strongest presumptive evidence of their 
 worth, and ought to be sufficient of itself to rally to 
 their support every true-hearted and faithful Demo 
 crat. 
 
 " As Democrats we should always yield our per 
 sonal preferences for men when great principles re 
 quire the sacrifice. Man is but the creature of a 
 day, whilst principles are eternal. The generations 
 of men in succession rise and fluctuate, and sink, 
 and are forgotten ; but the principles of democracy, 
 of progressive democracy, which we have inherited 
 from our Revolutionary fathers, will endure to bless 
 
LETTER OF ME. BTJCHANAH. 289 
 
 mankind throughout all generations. As Democrats 
 we believe that not only the prosperity and glory 
 of the coutry, but even the preservation of our bles 
 sed Union, depend upon a faithful observance of 
 these principles in the administration of the Federal 
 Government. And I ask, in what manner can that 
 ascendency be secured but by a sacred adherence 
 to regular nominations? This is the only bond 
 which can unite, consolidate, and render invincible, 
 the great party of which we are all proud to be 
 members. 
 
 " If, as soldiers in the ranks of the Democratic ar 
 my, we should desert the good old cause of democ 
 racy merely because we might prefer a different 
 leader, we shall then soon become broken and dis 
 organized, and an ignominious defeat must be the 
 inevitable consequence. In union, and in union 
 alone, there is strength. Good and great old demo 
 cratic Pennsylvania will never forsake her principles 
 merely because she might possibly have pre 
 ferred other agents than Franklin Pierce and Wil 
 liam E. King, to carry her will into effect. She 
 will never thus prove recreant to her own true glo 
 ry and to her highest interest. 
 
 " In what light would we regard a professing 
 Christian who should desert his holy religion and 
 his church merely because he preferred a different 
 bishop or pastor to preside over it from the individ 
 ual the majority had selected ? No, no, my Demo 
 cratic fellow-citizens, we must neither be for Paul 
 
290 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 nor Appollos, except but as the mere but worthy 
 agents to cany out the great and fundamental 
 doctrines of the democratic faith on which we are all 
 united. Principles rather than men ought ever to 
 be our motto. 
 
 " It has been our glory and our strength, in the 
 past time, that we have never concealed our princi 
 ples from the public eye, but have always proclaimed 
 them before the world. The late Baltimore Conven 
 tion, in obedience to our will, has erected a platform 
 of principles in the midst of the nation, on which 
 every true Democrat can proudly stand. Does the 
 man live, be he Democrat or Whig, who, knowing 
 Franklin Pierce and William R. King, believes 
 they will prove faithless to any one of these princi 
 ples ? The great Democratic party of the Union 
 have delivered to these, their chosen candidates, a 
 chart by which they stand pledged, in the most sol 
 emn manner, to guide the ship of state ; and my 
 life upon the issue, they will never deviate from the 
 prescribed course. In voting for these candidates, 
 then, every Democrat will be voting for his own 
 cherished principles, and sustaining the platform of 
 his party. 
 
 " I fear I shall not be able to accept your kind 
 invitation to pay you a visit during the Presidential 
 canvass. With the strongest disposition to culti 
 vate the personal acquaintance and friendship of my 
 brother Democrats of Bradford county, I must yet 
 leave the public discussion of the principles involv- 
 
LETTER OF MB. VAN BTJREN. 
 
 291 
 
 ed in the present contest to younger and abler Dem 
 ocrats, I have, during so long a period, served in 
 the character of a speaker before the people, that 
 trust my Democratic fellow-citizens throughout the 
 State, considering that I am now more than sixty 
 years of age, will give me an honorable discharge 
 from the active duties of the campaign. 
 
 " With sentiments of the highest respect, I re 
 main your friend and fellow-citizen, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN." 
 
 " Theodore Leonard, Isaac Cooley, Elam Bennett, 
 John Salisbury, Frederick Leonard, Charles Sal 
 isbury, J. L. Philips, Esqs., and many others." 
 
 The annual celebration of the Tammany Society 
 took place in New-York on the 5th of July, and the 
 enthusiasm of all present in reference to the coining 
 election, was most cheering. Several important let 
 ters, addressed to the committee, from distinguished 
 Democrats, were read on that occasion, a few of 
 which follow : 
 
 FEOM EX-PRESIDENT MAKTIN VAN BTJREN. 
 
 Lindenwald, July 1, 1852. 
 
 GENTLEMEN : I beg you to accept my thanks for 
 the invitation to meet the Tammany Society on the 
 5th hist., with which you have honored me. It re 
 vives recollections reaching to a far distant day, of 
 similar meetings, at which I had the pleasure < 
 acting in the promotion of our cause, with a long 
 array of disinterested and patriotic men, many of 
 
LIFE OF FKANEXIN PIERCE. 
 
 whom have been forever removed from such scenes, 
 whilst some are yet amongst you, honored members 
 of your society, lingering, like myself, on the verge 
 of life. A summons from the survivors of such a 
 band and their younger associates together, for the 
 support of principles which we imbibed in boy 
 hood, and to which we have since devotedly adher 
 ed, I cannot regard with other feelings than those of 
 deep interest, mingled with regret, that the gratifi 
 cation of thus meeting them is denied to me. 
 
 " In a public letter, some years since, addressed 
 by me to the Democracy of the city of New- York 
 of which your society constitutes a highly re 
 spectable and influential part I stated that I had, 
 since the expiration of the Presidential term, deem 
 ed it due to that high office, and to those whose 
 friendship and confidence raised me to it, to abstain 
 as far as possible from an active participation in 
 party politics. The opinion as to the proprieties of 
 my position, coinciding with my preferences and 
 views in other respects, has remained unchanged, 
 and nothing can be further from my wishes or in 
 tentions, than to pursue a different course at this 
 advanced period of my life. I am, therefore, con 
 strained to throw myself upon the indulgence of 
 your society, in declining their invitation. 
 
 " But I cannot, gentlemen, alow the opportunity 
 you have presented, to pass without renewing the 
 assurances which were given in the letter referred 
 to, of my deep sense of the vigorous and effective 
 
LETTEE OF ME. VAN BTTEEN. 293 
 
 support tliat for so long a period, and through so 
 many and such trying vicissitudes in my public ca 
 reer, I received from the Democracy of your great 
 city. Differences of opinion have, it is true, since 
 arisen between large and respectable portions of 
 your associates and myself, upon points which your 
 invitation well describes as foreign to the objects 
 and political relations of your society. In regard 
 to these, we have each pursued the course that we 
 deemed right, and that our judgments approved ; 
 and I am, I hope, too just to extend grudgingly to 
 others, as well entitled, the exercise of a right I 
 claim for myself, or to allow the personal asperities 
 which unhappily seem to be inseparable from col 
 lisions of opinion upon most public questions, and 
 against an indulgence in which men best disposed 
 cannot always guard themselves, to weigh against, 
 much less to cancel claims upon my gratitude and 
 esteem that I can never either forget or disown. I 
 can, therefore, with truth, say that the sentiments 
 towards your society, and their political brethren of 
 the city, long and cordially entertained by me whilst 
 the relation of constituent and representative exist 
 ed between us, are not less kind or less sincere now 
 when that has ceased, and can never be restored. 
 
 " There is every probability, gentlemen, that what 
 is so earnestly desired by all sincere Democrats >a 
 fair field for the discussion before the people, of the 
 conflicting principles of the respective parties, of the 
 administration of the iederal government will bo 
 
294: LIFE OP FEANKLLN" PIERCE. 
 
 once more afforded. At too many of our Presiden 
 tial elections, circumstances in the actual condition 
 of the country, or considerations personal to one or 
 the other of the candidates, have, by the address of 
 politicians, been used to prevent a proper attention 
 to that great issue by the people. In the coming 
 contest, there is, I think, great reason to expect that 
 no such obstacles can, to any serious extent, be 
 brought into successful operation. The disturbing 
 subject of slavery has, by the action of the two 
 great parties of the country, been withdrawn from 
 the canvass between them, and the no less exciting 
 questions in regard to a National Bank, and the 
 uses and deposit of the moneys of the people, which 
 so convulsed the whole country by appeals to indi 
 vidual interest and cupidity, have been finally set 
 tled by the adoption of the Democratic policy. 
 
 " In regard to the personal characters of the re 
 spective candidates, the prospects are not less pro 
 pitious. The Whig nominee, in that chivalrous 
 spirit which belongs to his character, has commen 
 ced his first political campaign with a frank admis 
 sion of the private worth and claims to public con 
 fidence of his opponent a concession which I am 
 very sure General Pierce will be, at all times, ready 
 to reciprocate. 
 
 "A Presidential election, held under the circum 
 stances to which I have adverted, must, in seems to 
 me, result in the success of the Democratic candi 
 date. No well informed and candid mind can doubt 
 
LETTER FKOM ME. CASS. 295 
 
 that a large majority of the people of the United 
 States prefer the political principles for the admin 
 istration of the federal government, of which Mr. 
 Jefferson was the first and greatest advocate, and 
 which have, in the main, guided the counsels of the 
 Democratic party. The "Whig nominee is the open 
 and bold opponent of the most important of those 
 principles, and the decided advocate of political 
 doctrines, which are, in the estimation of every 
 sound Democrat, in deadly hostility to the spirit of 
 our free institutions. 
 
 " On the other hand, Gen. Pierce and Mr. King 
 have both been brought up in the true Democratic 
 faith, and spent their lives among the straightest of 
 their sect. They are honest men, long tried in pub 
 lic life, possessing talents abundantly adequate to 
 the successful discharge of every duty, and private 
 characters above all cavil or reproach. They have 
 been fairly nominated, and ought to receive, and I 
 am confident will receive, the vote of every single- 
 minded Democrat in the country. If my life is 
 spared, they shall have mine. 
 
 " I am, gentlemen, very respectfully, your friend 
 and servant, M. YAN BUKEK" 
 
 FROM HON. LEWIS CASS. 
 
 " Washington, July 5, 1852. 
 " GENTLEMEN : I have but this moment received 
 your invitation to attend the celebration on this day, 
 of the anniversary of National Independence, by 
 
296 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIEECE. 
 
 the Tammany Society, and must answer yon hastily. 
 By some accident, I know not what, the preceding 
 invitation to which you refer did not reach me. 
 
 "It would afford me great pleasure to meet the 
 Society npon this interesting occasion, were cir 
 cumstances such as to permit it. But they are not, 
 and it only remains for me to thank you for your 
 kind recollection and to express my cordial concur 
 rence in your sentiments, which should find a re 
 sponse in the heart of every Democrat. Let the 
 contest among us be, not who has done best in the 
 time that is passed, but who will do best in the time 
 that is coming, that has come, indeed, and that de 
 mands our united, vigorous, centering action. With 
 that we shall succeed, and that we shall have. 
 Everywhere in the ranks of our party, the cry is 
 heard the good of all demands the exertion of 
 all and well may old Tammany -patriotic, dem 
 ocratic old Tammany set us the example of a 
 sacrifice of individual preferences upon the altar of 
 our party, and urge us all to come to the good work, 
 determined to accomplish it ; your society has al 
 ways adhered to the cause of the country, in peace 
 and war, with as true, patriotic ardor, as ever the 
 love of country called forth, and well may we say, 
 that we can never be defeated when united, for vic 
 tory is sure, so long as we follow your example. 
 Our principles are founded in free institutions, and 
 are hallowed by time, and by the blessings they 
 since brought with them, and our nominees are 
 
LETTERS OF MESSRS. DOUGLAS AND HOUSTON. 297 
 
 worthy of the party ; and thus we have motives for 
 exertion as powerful and encouraging, as ever called 
 the Democracy of the county to the support of their 
 principles and of men, by whose judicious selection 
 alone can principles be practically maintained. 
 " I am, gentlemen, with great regard, truly yours, 
 
 "LEWIS CASS." 
 
 FEOM HON. STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS. 
 
 " Washington, June 26, 1852. 
 " GENTLEMEN : You will accept my thanks for 
 your invitation to attend and participate in the fes 
 tival of the Tammany Society, on the 5th of July. 
 I am truly rejoiced at the cordial reunion of the 
 great republican party of New- York, and of the na 
 tion, with the ticket and platform presented by the 
 Baltimore Convention. A complete and glorious 
 triumph surely awaits us. I take great pleasure in 
 accepting your invitation, and will be with you on 
 the occasion referred to. I have the honor to be 
 very truly yours, 
 
 " S. A. DOUGLAS." 
 
 FEOM HON. SAM HOUSTON. 
 
 " Washington, June 25, 1852. 
 " MY DEAR Sm : As it would not be in my power 
 to attend the celebration of the birth day of our 
 National Independence by the Tammany Society or 
 Columbian Order, and my temporary absence, 
 when the invitation arrived, I did not reply imrne- 
 diately. 
 
298 LIFE OF FKANKLIN PIEKCE. 
 
 " Some days previous to the receipt of your re 
 quest, I had consented to unite with the citizens of 
 New-Hope, Pennsylvania, and Lamberts ville, New- 
 Jersey, in celebrating our anniversary. 
 
 " It would afford me much pleasure to be present 
 at " old Tammany," and unite in all the feelings of 
 the order. I do sincerely hope that such an im 
 pulse will be given there as will secure the support 
 of the whole Democracy of the Empire State to 
 Pierce and King. 
 
 " The Democracy united will secure to us victory. 
 A triumph we can and must have. Truly thine, 
 
 "SAM HOUSTON." 
 
 Extract of a letter from Hon. J. Letcher, of 
 
 "Virginia : 
 
 " WASHINGTON, June 16, 1852. 
 
 " The approaching Presidential election is one of 
 the utmost importance and interest, and it behooves 
 every Democrat to exert himself in behalf of the 
 distinguished nominees of the Baltimore Conven 
 tion. They are gentlemen of high character, dis 
 tinguished talent, enlarged experience in public 
 affairs, unquestioned patriotism and the soundest 
 republican principles. They have been long tried, 
 and in prosperity and adversity have proved true 
 to the faith and interests of the Democratic party. 
 They are men of national views, and feelings, and 
 principles, and will so administer the government 
 as to put an end to the sectional strife that has so 
 
LETTER FEOM ME. LETCHEE. 299 
 
 long existed, and effect a restoration of peace and 
 tranquillity, by a full recognition of the constitu 
 tional rights of all sections of the country north, 
 south, east and west." 
 
 Extract of a letter from Hon. E. Strange, of North 
 Carolina : 
 
 " Fayetteville, JV. (7., Jane 30, 1852. 
 
 " ... I am greatly rejoiced to hear of the 
 renewed union of the great republican party of 
 New-York, whose divisions have so seriously threat 
 ened with ruin the whole republican party of the 
 United States. Believing, as I do, that the des 
 tinies of this great nation depend on the mainte 
 nance or downfall of republican principles, the first 
 wish of my heart has ever been for their preserva 
 tion, and all that I own would be cheerfully divided 
 
 to their security It is cheering, then, 
 
 on the eve of one of the most important Presiden 
 tial elections that our country has ever witnessed, 
 to behold the dense columns of New- York Democ 
 racy gathering to their standard, and with the 
 principles of 1798 in their hearts, sending forth the 
 general shout of Pierce and King." 
 
 And now our work is done. We have given the 
 reader a faithful portrait of General PIERCE as a pri 
 vate citizen, as a lawyer, as a law-maker, as a sol 
 dier and a statesman. In whatever position it has 
 
300 LIFE OF FRANKLIN PIEECB. 
 
 been his fortune to be placed heretofore, he has 
 been equal to all the demands of the occasion. As 
 a private citizen, the reader has found him to be 
 noble and generous, more than fulfilling his duties 
 to society ; as a lawyer he is most eloquent, and as 
 a soldier fearless in time of battle ; and as a states 
 man he ranks with such men as as Jackson and 
 Yan Buren and Polk. That he will preside over 
 this nation with ability, dignity and impartiality, no 
 candid man can doubt. That he will more than jus 
 tify the most sanguine expectations of his friends, 
 we are confident. There are few men in the country 
 who have the administrative ability of General 
 Pierce ; there are few men who have his firmness of 
 purpose ; and in short there are few men who would 
 fill the Presidential Chair with so much grace, 
 dignity and ability. That the American people will 
 in November elect him to that position, we cannot 
 entertain a doubt, for throughout the Union, North 
 and South, East and West, the Democracy are uni 
 ted, and therefore invincible. 
 
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