Horace Truman Hanks Pierce

He was student in Civil Engineering (1843-46) at Norwich, then a mechanic and brick manufacturer in Keene. By the start of the War he was brick mason in Keene. He enrolled as First Lieutenant in Company G, First New Hampshire Infantry from April to August 1861, with service along the Potomac. He enrolled as Captain, Company H, 5th New Hampshire Infantry on 12 October 1861 at age 37.

He commanded Company H in Maryland.

He was in command of the Fifth at some point at Fredericksburg on 13 December 1862 as senior officer remaining. He resigned his commission on 29 January 1863, possibly at Colonel Cross' request following a disagreement about a guard detail.

As late as 1875 he was a still mason, in Keene.

Basic service information for the 5th Infantry from Child1, with details on the First from S.G. Griffin's A History of the Town of Keene (1904). Further details from Ellis2. Pierce was mentioned for leadership and "gallant conduct" in Maryland in Colonel Cross' after action Reports. The anecdote about Pierce's resignation in footnotes by the editors of Stand Firm and Fire Low: The Civil War Writings of Colonel Edward E. Cross (2003). His father Ezekial (1785-1865) had been a farmer and tavern-keeper in Chesterfield, as well as Major General in the New Hampshire militia.

02/22/1822; Chesterfield, NH

01/07/1877; Keene, NH