Pierse Long (1739 – April 13, 1789) was an American merchant from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He served as a colonel of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War and served as a

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

delegate to the

Confederation Congress The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...

in 1785 and 1786. Pierse was the son of an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

immigrant (also Pierse) who had originally traded with Portsmouth merchants from Ireland. Around 1730, he moved to Portsmouth to open a store. In Portsmouth, Pierse Sr. married and had two daughters and a son, Pierse, who was born in 1739. He died only a year or two later. Young Pierse received a limited education, then was apprenticed to another merchant, Robert Trail. After his apprenticeship, Pierse became a merchant in his own right, exporting timber to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

and importing goods from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and Ireland. He prospered in business and became active in the militia and in civic affairs. As the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

neared, he became a member of Portsmouth's Committee of Safety. In 1774, he participated in the raid that removed gunpowder from

Fort William and Mary Fort William and Mary was a colonial fortification in Britain's worldwide system of defenses, defended by soldiers of the Province of New Hampshire who reported directly to the royal governor. The fort, originally known as "The Castle," was situ ...

. The following year, the town sent him to the revolutionary Provincial Congress held at Exeter. As New Hampshire reorganized the militia in preparation for war, he was named colonel of the Continental Army regiment raised in

New Castle, New Hampshire New Castle is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,000 at the 2020 census. It is the smallest and easternmost town in New Hampshire, and the only one located entirely on islands. It is home to Fort Const ...

called Long's Regiment. During the Saratoga campaign of 1777, he led the bulk of his regiment in the withdrawal from

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French milit ...

. They successfully delayed the British at the Battle of Fort Ann on July 8. Very soon thereafter, their enlistment terms expired, and most of the regiment was discharged. Long and a few of his men fought as volunteers in the Battle of Saratoga as a part of

Enoch Poor Enoch Poor (June 21, 1736 (Old Style) – September 8, 1780) was a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was a ship builder and merchant from Exeter, New Hampshire. Biography Poor was born and raised ...

's brigade. But, by the end of the year, he returned home to Portsmouth. He was confined to his home for nearly half a year by illness before resuming his mercantile activities. In 1784, New Hampshire named him as a delegate to the Continental Congress. In congress, he was active in developing some of the proposals for dealing with western lands. While not passed at the time, many of these became part of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787. On his return to New Hampshire, he served on the state council from 1786 until 1789. He was a member of the State's convention that ratified the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...

in 1788. Long died at home in Portsmouth on April 13, 1789 and is buried in the Proprietor's Burying Ground there.

Sources

State Builders: An Illustrated Historical and Biographical Record of the State of New Hampshire. State Builders Publishing Manchester, NH 1903

External links

biographic sketch at U.S. Congress websiteBurial site in Portsmouth, NH
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Pierse 1739 births 1789 deaths Continental Congressmen from New Hampshire 18th-century American politicians People of New Hampshire in the American Revolution Continental Army officers from New Hampshire People of colonial New Hampshire