Col. Paul Hutchinson and Pierce Brigade member Nancy Hartford place a wreath next to the grave of President Franklin Pierce during an annual graveside ceremony at Old North Cemetery in Concord to honor the president, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. Photo by ELIZABETH FRANTZ / Concord Monitor
The dedicated members of the Pierce Brigade laid a wreath at the grave of Franklin Pierce on his birthday on November 25, 2014, as detailed in an article in the Concord Monitor.
Alas, by the time Presidents' Day 2015 rolled around, reverence for the 14th President was replaced in the news by the annual rankings, which always place Handsome Frank among the worst leaders of the U.S. This is nothing new--witness a 1997 article by Arthur Schlesinger.
