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ALS signed “Frank: Pierce,” one page both sides, 6.5 x 8.75, October 21, 1852. Addressed from Concord, a handwritten letter from Franklin Pierce to Charles Lanman: “Your kind letter of the 16th inst. has just been received and altho’ I have not time to reply as I could desire to do, I must not lay it aside without an acknowledgment. I have not seen Mr Webster since the occasion to which you refer, tho’ I have thought of him often particularly during the illness (from which I trust he is now recovering), and never without profound admiration & gratitude for his kindness to me on many occasions, and a deep interest in everything connected with his happiness.” In fine condition.
Charles Lanman, the recipient of this letter, served as Daniel Webster's private secretary at the State Department and, in 1852, published The Private Life of Daniel Webster, placing him close to Webster during the final period of the statesman's life.
The date of this letter gives Pierce's remarks particular significance. Webster's health had deteriorated severely during 1852, and by the fall he had withdrawn, mortally ill, to his home at Marshfield, Massachusetts. Writing on October 21st, Pierce tells Lanman that he has often thought of Webster during his illness and hopes that he is "now recovering.” Webster died just three days later, on October 24, while still serving as Secretary of State.
Pierce wrote amid the presidential campaign of 1852, having secured the Democratic nomination and facing Whig nominee Winfield Scott in the November election. Webster himself had been one of the principal contenders for the Whig nomination, which Scott finally secured after a protracted, 53-ballot convention, and Webster was subsequently put forward as an independent candidate before failing health effectively ended his candidacy. Despite their opposing political affiliations, Pierce's private letter conveys unmistakable personal regard for his fellow New Hampshire statesman. Written only three days before Webster's death and less than two weeks before the presidential election, it captures Pierce's "profound admiration & gratitude" for Webster at the very end of his life.
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