[1][2][3] His father was determined that his sons receive college educations, and Benjamin K. Pierce attended Phillips Exeter Academy in preparation for admission to a university.

[4] He studied at Dartmouth College from 1807 until 1810, when he was dismissed for carrying out pranks and practical jokes, including damaging a campus building by firing a loaded cannon during an 1810 Independence Day celebration.

[18] Pierce was promoted to permanent major in the 1st Artillery on 11 June 1836,[19] and to brevet lieutenant colonel in October 1836 (to rank from 21 August 1836) for "distinguished service in affair at Fort Drane, Florida".

[23] At the November 1, 1836, battle in the Wahoo Swamp in the region south of the Withlacoochee River Cove, Pierce was part of a force which again defeated a sizable contingent of Seminoles.

His commander mentioned Pierce favorably in his written report, which led to his being recommended a few years later for a brevet promotion to colonel.

[29] In May 1840 Pierce was reassigned to Hancock Barracks near Houlton, Maine, where he was promoted to permanent lieutenant colonel in the 1st Artillery Regiment on March 19, 1842.

[32] Early in the Mexican–American War Pierce led the 1st Artillery Regiment from the United States as far as the Port Isabel, Texas mobilization station, but ill health prevented him from commanding actively in Mexico.

[35] During the war, Fort Adams was maintained by a small detachment that was responsible for mobilizing and demobilizing troops sent to Texas and Mexico.

[35] In the final months of his life Pierce's health failed as the result of his long military service under difficult conditions, and he resided in a hospital in New York City.

[38][39] All the remains there were later re-interred in Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn, and Pierce is buried at Section OS, Site 20.

That same night a fire broke out, and Pierce along with four of his soldiers braved the flames to remove the remains, enabling them to be buried in the spring.

By right of his father's service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, Pierce was a hereditary member of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati.

[44] Pierce was highly regarded by his contemporaries, and Army records contain commendations from superiors Jacob Brown, Richard K. Call, and Thomas S.