Was Franklin Pierce Arrested for Running Over a Woman?

One of the most sensational stories about American presidents claims that Franklin Pierce—the 14th president—was arrested during his time in office for running over an elderly woman with his horse. According to the tale, charges were later dropped due to insufficient evidence. It sounds outrageous enough to be true, and it's been repeated across countless trivia websites and pub quiz nights.

There's just one problem: it probably never happened.

The Myth Falls Apart Under Scrutiny

Historian Peter Wallner spent years researching Franklin Pierce for his definitive two-volume biography, including Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union. His conclusion? The arrest story is almost certainly fiction. The smoking gun is what's missing: there are no newspaper accounts from 1853, no police records, no mentions in personal correspondence, and no references in any contemporary documents.

Think about that for a moment. A sitting president gets arrested—not just pulled over or questioned, but actually arrested—and somehow nobody writes about it? No journalist covers it? No political opponent uses it as ammunition? In an era when newspapers were the primary source of information and political scandals were eagerly reported, the silence is deafening.

How Myths Become "Facts"

So where did this story come from? The earliest known reference appears in a 1927 newspaper article—74 years after it allegedly happened. By then, Pierce had been dead for decades and couldn't exactly defend himself. The story often includes juicy details: Pierce was supposedly drunk at the time, coming home from a friend's house when his carriage struck the woman.

These embellishments are classic signs of an urban legend. The story checks all the boxes:

• It involves a famous person doing something scandalous
• It has just enough detail to sound credible (specific year, specific circumstances)
• It reinforces existing narratives (Pierce did struggle with alcoholism)
• It's impossible to definitively disprove (you can't prove something didn't happen)
• It appeared long after the alleged event, when verification was impossible

Pierce's Real Controversies

The irony is that Franklin Pierce had plenty of real controversies that historians actually can document. His presidency was marked by divisive policies on slavery, including support for the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise and led to violent conflict in "Bleeding Kansas." He did battle alcoholism throughout his life, particularly after the tragic death of his son in a train accident shortly before his inauguration.

These documented struggles were devastating enough—there's no need to invent fictional arrests to make his presidency more dramatic. Pierce's legacy is complex and troubled based purely on the historical record.

The Takeaway

This myth persists because it's memorable, shocking, and plays into our fascination with presidential scandals. But good history requires evidence, and the Franklin Pierce arrest story has none. The next time you see this "fun fact" shared online, you'll know the truth: it's almost certainly a tall tale that grew taller over time, not a suppressed scandal from American history.