Pierce fought in only one war and that was the Mexican War. He enlisted as a private in the local militia in May, 1846. In February, 1847, he was made a colonel in the regular army and was promoted...
Jefferson Davis who went on to become president of the confederacy was Pierce's Secretary of War. Ironically, he put the US army into good shape to fight against the Confederacy a few years later.
He was against the war, but opposed to secession. He warned against trying to outlaw slavery in the slave states. His views were very unpopular in Concord, NH, where he lived. When Lincoln was...