Franklin Pierce ~ November 23, 1804 - October 8, 1869

14th President 1853-1857

Franklin Pierce sites visited:

                                                    Birthplace, Hillsborough, New Hampshire                                                           

This is the manse in Concord, New Hampshire, the only home ever owned and lived in by Pierce.

There's a statue in his honor at the New Hampshire Statehouse in Concord.

Rapid City, South Dakota, City of Presidents statue:

Pierce was the first president to be born in New Hampshire and the first to have a Christmas tree in the White House. He was a Brigadier General in the Mexican-American War and was sworn in as president on a law book rather than a Bible.

Franklin and his wife, Jane, had three children together. Franklin Jr. lived for three days and had a non-cemetery burial. Frank Robert died at age 4 from typhus. Benjamin died in a train derailment accident when he was 11. His parents were riding with him on the train and Benjamin was the only fatality. This occurred several months before Franklin's inauguration. What a tragic way to begin a presidency.

Pierce and his wife left Washington after serving one term. His actions (the Kansas-Nebraska Act & his enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act) set the stage for the Civil War. 

Franklin, his wife, and two of his sons rest in Old North Cemetery in Concord, NH.

"With the Union my best and dearest earthly hopes are entwined."