Franklin Pierce rail accident

The Franklin Pierce rail accident was a train derailment in the US on January 6, 1853, that resulted in the death of Benjamin "Benny" Pierce (born April 13, 1841), the only living son of US president-elect Franklin Pierce.

Franklin Pierce rail accident
Benjamin Pierce, son of Franklin and Jane Pierce, pictured with his mother
Details
Date	January 6, 1853 1:00 p.m.
Location	Andover, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°40′17″N 71°08′34″W
Incident type	Derailment
Cause	Broken axle
Statistics
Trains	1
Vehicles	2
Deaths	1
List of rail accidents (before 1880)

Background

In 1852, Franklin Pierce was elected as president to succeed Millard Fillmore. The election victory put an emotional strain on Jane Pierce, who had previously urged her husband to retire from politics.^[1] Franklin and Jane Pierce had previously lost two of their three sons; Franklin Jr. died in infancy while Frank Robert died at age four due to typhus. Benjamin Pierce (born April 13, 1841 in Concord, New Hampshire) was their sole child, aged 11 at the time.^{[2]: 241–244}

Accident

To celebrate both Christmas and Franklin's election, the small family set out for a Boston respite before his inauguration.^[3] After the vacation, in January 1853, the Pierce family was visiting Andover, Massachusetts either to attend a funeral or as a vacation for the holidays. On January 6, the family was returning to Concord, New Hampshire, their hometown.^[1][4]

Pierce and his family boarded a train carrying two cars and began their travel back to New Hampshire. At around 1:00 p.m., three miles away from the Andover station (with one possible location being cited as "between Argyle and Arundel Street"^[5]), one of the train axles became fractured after running into some rocks that had fallen onto the tracks. The coach that Pierce and his family were in then derailed and fell down an embankment that was 15 to 20 feet below, destroying the car. Benjamin, who was standing up at the time, was the only fatality.^[1][4][6]

While Franklin and Jane did not sustain any severe injuries, Franklin immediately saw that Benjamin had been nearly decapitated as a result of the wreck and covered up his son's body with cloth so that Jane would not have to see it.^[7][8]

Aftermath

Grave of the Pierce family

News of the accident spread across the nation, but it was initially reported that Franklin Pierce was also among the fatalities of the wreck.^[9]

Benjamin was buried in the Old North Cemetery in Concord, the burial place of his brother Frank.^[3]

Effect on Presidency

Then president-elect Franklin Pierce

Both Franklin and Jane were visibly affected by the accident. Pierce was described as being emotionally drained when his presidency began, while Jane was so distraught from the event that she did not attend the presidential inauguration,^[4] nor was she able to attend Benjamin's burial in Concord. In a personal letter, Franklin Pierce wrote that the accident had left him crushed, but he still felt an obligation to pursue his duties as the president.^[10] With the incoming First Lady not present at the inauguration, and Pierce's vice-president William R. King also unable to attend due to tuberculosis,^[11] the inaugural ball was canceled.^[1]

Jane Pierce, raised a Puritan, believed that the accident was a punishment from God as a result of Franklin Pierce continuing his political aspirations against her wishes.^[12]: 91 Franklin Pierce also believed that the accident was a form of punishment from God so he refused to use a Bible when giving his oath of office.^[7]

When Jane Pierce finally moved into the White House, she spent a majority of her husband's presidency grieving and hiding upstairs. She allegedly wore all black for the rest of her life, spent time sending letters to her deceased son, Benjamin, and even held séances in an effort to communicate with him.^[6]

It is believed that this accident, as well as the death of his wife Jane in 1863, accelerated his drinking habits. Pierce would die of cirrhosis of the liver in 1869.^[13]