Civil War Confederate Major General, US Congressman, US Diplomat. Born in South Carolina, he moved to Cartersville, Georgia with his family when he was two years old. He attended Georgia Military Institute until he was accepted to The United States Military Institute at West Point in 1857. Two months before his 1861 graduation he left West Point to join the Confederacy. The commander of the Philips Legion, during the war he became a Successful cavalry officer who was promoted through the ranks to become the youngest Major General in the Confederate Army. After the war he went back to the family home, Walnut Plantation in Cartersville, and was elected represent Georgia 6th District in the United States House of Representatives, taking his seat July 25, 1868. Pierce was reelected to four terms (and eventually switching to represent the 7th District), finishing out his last term in 1875. He served as a Delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1872, 1876 and 1880, and was appointed United States Commissioner to the Paris Exposition in 1878. In his later years he embarked on a diplomatic career, serving as Consul General at St. Petersburg, Russia, from 1885 to 1887, and as Minister Plenipotentiary to Guatemala and Honduras (appointment of President Grover Cleveland) from 1893 to 1896. He died in Presbyterian Hospital in New York City in 1896, and was interred in his hometown of Cartersville, Georgia.
Civil War Confederate Major General, US Congressman, US Diplomat. Born in South Carolina, he moved to Cartersville, Georgia with his family when he was two years old. He attended Georgia Military Institute until he was accepted to The United States Military Institute at West Point in 1857. Two months before his 1861 graduation he left West Point to join the Confederacy. The commander of the Philips Legion, during the war he became a Successful cavalry officer who was promoted through the ranks to become the youngest Major General in the Confederate Army. After the war he went back to the family home, Walnut Plantation in Cartersville, and was elected represent Georgia 6th District in the United States House of Representatives, taking his seat July 25, 1868. Pierce was reelected to four terms (and eventually switching to represent the 7th District), finishing out his last term in 1875. He served as a Delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1872, 1876 and 1880, and was appointed United States Commissioner to the Paris Exposition in 1878. In his later years he embarked on a diplomatic career, serving as Consul General at St. Petersburg, Russia, from 1885 to 1887, and as Minister Plenipotentiary to Guatemala and Honduras (appointment of President Grover Cleveland) from 1893 to 1896. He died in Presbyterian Hospital in New York City in 1896, and was interred in his hometown of Cartersville, Georgia.
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