Nathaniel R. Pierce was bom in Rehoboth, Bristol county,
January i, 1792. He was the son of Barnard and Mary Pierce,
was the second of seven brothers. When ^uite ^^oung he exhibited
a talent to till and cultivate the soil, displaying a fondness for
raising cattle, horses, sheep, etc., choosing to remain with his
parents and work on the farm, while the other brothers chose to
learn trades.
In the year 1812, his oldest brother, Jeremiah, was drafted as a
soldier to serve in the war, then existing between the United
States and England, but his calling was such, that he employed
his brother, Nathaniel, to take his place as a substitute. Accord-
ingly, he equipped himself and reported for duty under the com-
mand of one Captain Baker, at the fort and barracks of the United
States, at the head-quarters in Fair Haven in Bristol county, and
served as a soldier till the close of the war, when he received an
honorable discharge, and later on, a warrant entitling him to one
hundred and sixty acres of }he public land of the United States.
