The Five Spot: 5 reasons being named for President Pierce is depressing

Five tragic Presidents Day facts about Pierce County’s namesake president, Franklin Pierce.

1 As an officer in the Mexican-American War, he earned the lifelong nickname “The fainting general” (aka “fainting Frank”) after he was incapacitated by a groin injury on horseback.

2 As president-elect, he endured the death of his 11-year old son in a freak train accident.

3 As president, he notoriously set the stage for Civil War by helping overturn the Missouri Compromise, thus allowing slavery to move West.

4 In his lifetime, he was never privileged to visit the beautiful county in Oregon Territory (now Washington state) that was named for the newly elected president in 1852.

5 Nearly a century and a half after his death, a Western Michigan rock band called The Fainting Generals bills itself as the world’s greatest Franklin Pierce tribute band.

This story was originally published February 18, 2018 at 3:44 PM with the headline "The Five Spot: 5 reasons being named for President Pierce is depressing."