resistant to Georgia's secession prior to the Civil War, but later supported the Confederacy and maintained friendships with Robert Toombs and Alexander Stephens. He advocated for the repeal of Georgia's slave laws in 1863. However, scholarly works such as "The Southern Methodist Church and the Proslavery Argument", published in The Journal of Southern History, vol 32, No. 3. (August 1966), pp. 325–41. note that Pierce's reforms were mild. In 1863 Pierce delivered a speech before the Georgia Legislature in which he argued for slavery and supported the secession of states and the Confederate cause, stating "The triumph of our arms is the triumph of right and truth and justice. The defeat of our enemies is the defeat of wrong and malice and outrage. Our Confederacy has committed herself to no iniquitous policy, no unholy alliances, no unwarrantable plans..." Pierce was widely popular throughout the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. After resigning Emory's presidency to become Bishop, he maintained a close affiliation with the college, serving in later years as a trustee and helping to raise capital funds for the school. Death and legacy Pierce died on 3 September 1884 near Sparta, Georgia, where he was buried. Wesleyan College has named two chapels in his honor. The original Pierce Chapel was an integral part of daily life at Wesleyan's former downtown Macon campus before the college was destroyed in a 1963 fire. In 2015, Wesleyan dedicated a new Pierce Chapel at its present suburban campus. Pierce Avenue, a major road in Macon and part of Georgia State Route 247, is also named for George Foster Pierce. Selected writings "Oration on Anniversary of the American Bible Society", 1844. This General Conference address exists today in part only in Sermons and Addresses. Sermon in The Southern Methodist Pulpit, C.F. Deems, Editor, 1849–1852. Incidents of Western Travel, 1854. Sermon: "Devotedness to Christ", preached in memory of Bishop Capers, 1857; also in Smithson, W.T., Methodist Pulpit, South, 1859. "Wesley As An Itinerant", Wesley Memorial Volume, J.O.A. Clark, Editor, 1880. Sermon: "The World in the Church", Sermons by Southern Methodist Preachers, T.O. Summers, Editor, 1881. Sermons and Addresses A.G. Haygood, Editor, 1886. Sketch of Lovick Pierce, in Life and Times of George F. Pierce, G.G. Smith, 1888. Proceedings of the Bible Convention of the Confederate States of America, Including the Minutes of the Organization of the Bible Society, Augusta, Ga., March 19–21, 1862; and Also a Sermon