Health and Medical History of President

Franklin Pierce

During the Battle of Contreras in the Mexican-American War, Pierce was severely injured when his horse stumbled and fell on some rocks. As a result of the injury, and subsequent episodes of fainting, he missed some later battles. During the presidential election, his opponents intimated that cowardice caused him to miss the battles 1a.

Pierce and his wife were in a train accident two months before Pierce's inauguration. They sustained slight physical injuries after their train-car derailed, toppled off the embankment, and rolled into a field below 1b.

Reliability of this information is uncertain. 3 Given his alcohol intake, it would not be surprising for him to snore.

In the same train accident, the Pierce's sole surviving child, their son Bennie, was practically decapitated in front of their eyes. He died. The Pierces were wracked with guilt. Mrs. Pierce decided that God had taken their son so her husband would have no family distractions while President. Pierce believed it was punishment for his sins. The Pierces never really recovered from the tragedy 1b.

"Pierce was an alcoholic, as everyone close to him was well aware; a fondness for drink was not something to hide in those times" 4a. At the end of his term, when asked what a President should do after leaving office, he sighed: "There's nothing left... but to get drunk" 1c.

Both Pierce and his wife had tuberculosis of the lungs and hemoptysis. 4a