The Fourteenth President 

He was the dark horse candidate in the 1852, this son of a tavern keeper in rural New Hampshire. He’s still a bit of a dark horse in our national history. Most Americans, if they recognize Franklin Pierce as one of the presidents, cannot place him in the proper era. He served in the decade leading up to the Civil War and was much involved in events leading up to that cataclysmic event. His lack of recognition served us well when we visited the Franklin Pierce Homestead Historic Site. It’s a state park and a National Historic Landmark. We were the only two people on the three o’clock tour and got to linger with our guide far longer than the usual tour schedule permits. And we’ve come away with a deeper understanding of the man and his era.