50 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



farm. Here lie cocked fcr himself, slrpt upon a 

 blankot, and lived as best he might. He married 

 probably in 17c;7, and Una now living as the eft'- 

 spring of his first wife, an only cjuld, tho wife of 

 Gen. John M'Ncil, who is the sgn of anotlier sol- 

 dier of the revolution bearing his patronymic, and 

 who died about two years ago. The brother of Gen. 

 Pierce's first wife, M;ij. Andrews, a revolutionary 

 soldier of njore thnn fourscore years, attended nis 

 funeral on the 3d April. 



In the auLumn of ]766, the militia of the county 

 of Hillsborough were first organized and formed in- 

 to a brigade. President Sullivan, for whom and 

 his descendants Gen. P. by act and profession, has 

 constantly shown the strongest affection, found out 

 the soldier then far in the woods, and induced a 

 gentleman of his Council in the soutli part of the 

 county to accept tlie office of Brifcadier General on 

 the condition that he was to be furnished with a 

 Brigade Major capable and able to take any prelim- 

 inary step for the perfect organization and -fUsci- 

 pline of the several regiments. Besides move than 

 eight years service in the ro^ular army, he served 

 in Massachusetts and New Han>pshirc twenty-one 

 years in tlie militia, leaving it m the capacity of 

 General of the brigade composing all the regiments 

 of his favi'rite county. For many years he com- 

 manded that regiment which furnished a Miller, 

 M'Neil?rid several otlier highly valued oITicers and 

 soldiers who have distinguished themselves in tiie 

 public service. Up to the year 1605, a strong po- 

 litical feeling prevented his advancement : that 

 year he was, finally promoted by Gov. Langdon to 

 the office of Brigadier. Thirty-four years ago, we 

 remember distinctly of seeing Jiim as the reviewing 

 officer of the Fifth Uegiment on Amherst Plain; 

 at no subsequent time probably has that or any oth- 

 er regiment in the State appeared to better advan- 

 tage than this regiment with their General on that 

 occasion. Every person who has seen Gen. Pierce 

 upon parade must give him credit of having been 

 behind no man in those graces which become the 

 military officer. He was the bcuu ideal of an oni- 

 cev of the revolution, than whom it is difiicult to 

 conceive of manners of the gentleman move perfect, 

 with enough for true discipline of tliat pride which 

 distinguishes the superior from the subaltern. 



Gen. P. was attached to the militia from princi- 

 ple, believing it to-be the only, sure arm of defence: 

 he patronized and encouraged its continued orwan- 

 ixiition and dir-ciniine through life, beyond any otli- 

 er man in the -State. He wasof thorx- who distrust 

 standing armies as the principal reliance, believintr 

 tliey might be used here as they have been in other 

 countries as int;truments in the hands of arbitrary- 

 power to destroy the liberties of the people. Oi 

 the first division of political parties the act to cast 

 him into the shpde oa the cue side was the reRisul 

 to accept the conimiasionaf -Colonel, although arms 

 had been his profesijlon, in the army autJinrized by 

 Congress in ]7;td. Gen. P. then replied to the oi- 

 fer which was tendered by saying he could accept 

 no appointment in an army which seemed to him 

 to be raised to subvert the very principles for 

 which he had fought rinring the revolution. 



In J789 he was f r.st elected a representative to 

 the General Court of riew Hampshire, for tiie 

 classed towns of Hillsborough and Hem^iker, and 

 continued to representeither those towns classed or 

 Hillsborough singly for thirteen years in succession. 

 As a legislator he generally took a part in the dis- 

 cussions, and was auiong those men who for many 

 years preserved the esprit de corps of the militia in 

 all its departments. He likewise had a tact in all 

 matters of public interest — in the municipal reo-u- 

 lations of towns, in the arrangement of courts of 

 justice, in the general administration of public af- 

 fairs, and in subjects generally pertaining to legis- 

 lation, which made him a leading member. 



In 1803 hr vv-as first elected to the Council for 

 Hillsborough county, aa the political opponent of 

 the late Col. B.obcrt Means of Amherst, bctwee: 

 whom and himself there had always been stron:] 

 personal friendsiiip. Tliis was the first success ol" 

 the democratic party in that county; his prede- 

 cessor in the Council wns Hon. Robert Wall-ico of 

 Henniker, who was of the federal partv, and had 

 recently been appointed Judge of the Common 

 Pleas — a truly amiable and excellent man. Gen. 

 P. continued in the Council from 1803 to 1801)— the 

 five last years as the Counsellor of Gov. Langdon, 

 by whom he was appointed Sherift'of HillsbOTOugh. 

 In the office of Sheriff he continued until 1813, 

 when in a time of high excitement he was address- 

 ed out of office by a majority of both braTiches of 

 the Legislature, for adhering to the old Court in- 

 stead of the new, which had been established by 

 the same Legislature. 



At the first election tlie people of Hillaborono-h 

 district again returned him to the Council in isf-l, 



to which office he was annually re-elected until he 

 was a_gain appointed Sherlfi' of the county in ISIS. 

 From the office of SherilTin 1827, he was transferred 

 to that of Governor of this State, to which last office 

 he v.'as again elected in the year lSi^9. His last 

 public office was Elector of President in 1832. 



From 1775 to 1830, with the exception of only a- 

 bout two vcirs, lie was always in some public em- 

 ployment. Indeed taking the whole time, either as 

 a inngistrate, a town officer or in some military ca- 

 pacity, lie was out of public employment scarcely 

 a single year. 



No man, probably, has preceded him in tlie State 

 of equally extensive pei-sonal infiuencc from ex- 

 aiTiple and precept: no man ever lived in the State 

 v."ho was more respected within the circle of his 

 acquaintance. He was one of a class always help- 

 ing others forward, and seldom or never who asks 

 helj> for himself. In every public enterprise, whe- 

 ther for charity or general utility, he was the first 

 to move, as habit had taught every body about him 

 to move first upon him. Without the appcnrance 

 of dictation, he was ever ready to advise, and his 

 advice was invariably foUov/ed. Wanting nothing 

 for self, every thing desirable concentrated upon 

 him and his; and nnbody was dissatisfied that the 

 general sentiment wns most of all in his favor. 



He never moved without some object of utility ; 

 and he liad the happy art, while mr>ving himself, to 

 bring in auxiliary aid more extensive than his own. 

 An instance may be mentioned which occurred 

 very near his death. A poor man, a revolutionary 

 soldier, had lost his only cow by death from some 

 disease. The Friday before his death, he lay in a 

 state of apparent delirium or insensibility. The 

 conversation of his m.nn and another gentleman in 

 attendance was the poor man's cow. The General 

 started as if awaking from sleep and asked whose 

 cow T/as dead. On being informed it was that of 

 old S C , he bid them call the young wo- 

 man who had attended him in his decrepitude ma- 

 nv mohths, and who had the custody of the ke}-- 

 that locked up his money. " Go to my desk, (said 



he) take out three dollars — give it to Mr. M , 



and he will take that and add to it by the contribu- 

 tions of the neijrhbors enough to replace tlie cow. 

 I may not live till to-morrov.'." 



The father of the two Decaturs who when young 

 officers fought the barbarian Turk;^ of Tripoli, en 

 the African coast of the Mediterranean, with an 

 intrepidity almost witiiout a parallel in history — 

 himself a navy officer of the revolution — when he 

 received news of the tragical butchery of his gal- 

 lant son James, simply remarked tliat '* our chil- 

 dren are the property of the country." Gen. Pierce, 

 in relation to his owm family, practically adopted 

 the same sentiment. His second wife is the moth- 

 er of five sons and. two d:iughters : two sons and 

 the tv/o daughters with the mother have gone be- 

 fore him to the world of spirits, the three last with- 

 in tv.'o year.s of his own death. The mother was 

 a daughter of the late venerable Benjamin Kend- 

 rick of Amiicrst — the elder daughter was tlie wife 

 of Gen. Solomon M'Niel, nnd the younger, the 

 wife to Hugh Jameson, Esq. Gen. P. at the com- 

 mencement of the late war with Great Britain, 

 entered with his whole soul into that contest. In 

 1814, he used to attend the meetings of the Coun- 

 cil, carrviuu" his side arms and pistols ready to turn 

 ou! should the enemy attempt to execute tiic threat 

 of attacking the town of Portsmouth and its navy 

 vard, which contained several public vessels of war 

 and material'^ for ship building. His sons, Benja- 

 min Kendrick and John Sullivan, the youngest of 

 M'hich was in his minority, by a«lvice of their fa- 

 ther at once entered the military service. The el- 

 der remains still in the army, having advanced to 

 the rank of lirutenant colonel: the younger died in 

 the service in t!ie western country some fifteen 

 years ago, leaving two daughters, who were taken 

 to their grandfather's home, and have by him been 

 educated. These yonng men distinguished them- 

 selves in various service during the war; and the 

 one who still lives stands hitrh in the estimation of 

 •his superior officers and of the country. The re- 

 cent melnnclioly death o^ young Scott M'Niel, by 

 thr- bloody hands of t)io Seminole Indians, a few 

 months after leaving the residence of his grandpn- 

 rent, wiien announced to the veteran on his couch 

 of decrepitude, was treated as an ordinary casualty. 

 During the last four months, while the General 

 has been vibrating between life and death, all the 

 time he has taken a deep intei"cet in jmblic affairs. 

 The mortification of his extremities actually com- 

 menced several weeks before his final exit, and the 

 physicians pronounced that he could live but a 

 few days. His son Franklin in the Senate 

 of the United States wrote home to know 

 if it was not his father's wish that he should be 

 present to sooth his few remaining liourp. The j 



General returned for answer tliat he wished him to 

 stand to tlie post of public duty: his fellow citi- 

 zens had confided to him a high public office. The 

 present was a moment when the people of New 

 Hampshire expected their Senators and Ptepresen- 

 tatives to act on every question regarding the in- 

 terest of the country — theirs was a duty of solemn 

 moment. His own life (he said) was of little con- 

 sequence; and he wished him to remain. The 

 Senator did tarry till the whole proceedmgs of Con- 

 gress were closed on the 4th of March, and after 

 having first visited his father, in the course of three 

 weeks was twice sent for by express to this town to 

 be present at the closing scene. 



At no time was the property of Gen. Pierce a- 

 bove mediocrity. He added to his first purchase of 

 land until he owned several small frirms beside 

 that on which he lived. His chiiilren were all 

 v.'ell educated, and no necess'-ry expense was spar- 

 ed on tliem. His farms were always well managed, 

 and ir.s pecuniary conuems were looked after with 

 the vigilance characteristic of every prudent New 

 Kngland farmer. There was no public charity in 

 the town or neighborhood, in which he did not par- 

 ticipate. He not only supported the clergyman, 

 whose ministrations he constantly attended when 

 in health, but he contributed liberally for the sup- 

 port ©f all other societies and denominations of 

 Ciiristian.s, especially in his own town. The poor 

 and needy never wont away from his door empty : 

 it was his practice to seek out and relieve ob- 

 jects of charity. A single instance of his noble 

 generosity; — When sheritf of the county, a poor 

 man, a revolutionary soldier, had laid in the gaol 

 at Amherst confined for debt, totally unable to bo 

 extricated by the law because there was no one to 

 pay the expenses of commitment and the cost of 

 his subsistence, for some eight or ten years. Fruit- 

 less attempts were made to raise a iew hundred 

 dollars by subscription ; when Gen. P. first dis- 

 charging the whole debt from his own pocket, went 

 to the prison, turned the kej-, and told the poor 

 man," Go breathe the free air.' 



From the vast increase of business travel and 

 f?onsequent estal?lishmcut of good and convenient 

 inns on all our public ronds, the old fasluoned hos- 

 pitality which at first characterized New Hamp- 

 shire and Vermont, especially in the valley of the 

 Connecticut, has fallen into disuse. But the de- 

 ceased, until the evening of life, kept up the old 

 custom of gratuitous entertaiimient ; and he and 

 his amiable lady, whose decease preceded his own 

 but a few months, and who always presided with 

 great elegance and propriety over the festivit-es of 

 their numerous guests, contributed largely to form 

 for'the Granite Stale that high character for hos- 

 pitality whicli her citizens, particularly her intelli- 

 gent yeomanry, have always sustained. Tliis vir- 

 tue in Gov. Pierce v/as not like the pride and vani- 

 ty of those city nabobs v/ho occasionally fill their 

 dining halls merely to show their guesta the gor- 

 geous splendor of the plate and furniture, but was 

 practised from a generous desire to give his visitora 

 rest, and <;omfort, and wholesome fare, without os- 

 tentation or parade. And his frank and ceurteous 

 manners made his guests feel easy and at home, 

 because they knew and felt that they were wel- 

 come. Col. Cnrrigain, who more than a quarter of 

 a century ago repeatedly traversed the State to pro- 

 cure the surveys and identify the localities upon his 

 map which Wiis then considered a chr:f d.'aurre^ 

 and often spent days and nights under the hospita- 

 ble roof of the deceased, was probably influenced 

 to have engraved in a marginal note upon that map, 

 by the generous example of the deceased in that be- 

 half, the following note : " Tlie extrenx* eoldne'j.s 

 of the v.'jnter is allevin.ted by the convlvUd hospituL- 

 itijof the season, and more th;in compensated by the 

 salubrity oftlie air and other delights of summer." 



Up to the very close of his active life Gen. Pierce 

 enjoyed the innocent recreations aud pastimen 

 which were more frequent in by-gone years, and 

 for which the inventions of fashion have either 

 found more extravagant substitutes, or which hay." 

 been partially proscribed by the ascetic habits of 

 those who take the opposite extreme. His neigh- 

 bors, whether affiuL nt or poor, were alwa^'s taken 

 and treated, so many as behaved with propriety, as 

 his equals. The vivacity of youth found in him 

 a congenial spirit that readily participated in what- 

 ever wns innecently playful or exhilirating ; and 

 the nioro staid sobriety of age never had cause for 

 reproach that he did not treat thinge serious with a 

 suitable gravity. Other distinguished men, tiie 

 objects of jealousy or envy to sonie and of grati- 

 tude to otiiers, have bitter enemies and decided 

 friends, fieii. Pierre Iiad no enemies ; nnd all the 

 world of mankind, so far as Jie \vas known, were 

 his fri(.nds. 



Until his last sickness, he enjoyed general and 



