Harris M. Plaisted
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Harris Merrill Plaisted (November 2, 1828 – January 31, 1898) was an attorney, politician, and Union Army officer from Maine. As
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
, he commanded the
11th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 11th Maine Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 11th Maine Infantry was organized in Augusta, Maine, and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on November 12 ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. After the war, he served as
Maine Attorney General The Maine Attorney General is the chief legal advisor and prosecutor of the Maine, State of Maine. The constitutional basis of the office is Article IX, Section 11 of the Maine Constitution, and the holder of the position is chosen biennially by t ...
, a
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
, and the 38th
governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...
. Plaisted was born and raised in
Jefferson, New Hampshire Jefferson is a New England town, town in Coos County, New Hampshire, Coos County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,043 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is home to parts of the White Mountain National Forest in ...
. He graduated from
Waterville College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, United States. Founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, it was renamed Waterville College in 1821. The donations of Christian philanthropist Gardner ...
(1853) and
Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary ...
(1855), and practiced law in Bangor. In 1861, he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel in the Union Army and named second in command of the
11th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 11th Maine Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 11th Maine Infantry was organized in Augusta, Maine, and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on November 12 ...
. In 1862 he was promoted to
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
and assigned as the regimental commander. He took part in numerous engagements in South Carolina and Virginia, including the
Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a c ...
. In February 1865 he was appointed brevet brigadier general of volunteers and in 1867 was appointed brevet major general of volunteers for gallant and meritorious services during the war. After the war, Plaisted resumed practicing law and became involved in politics as a Republican. He served as a member of the
Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...
in 1867–1868, and was a delegate to the
1868 Republican National Convention The 1868 Republican National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held in Crosby's Opera House, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, on May 20 to May 21, 1868. Ulysses S. Grant won the election and became the 18th president of ...
. In 1873 he was chosen by the state legislature to serve as
Maine Attorney General The Maine Attorney General is the chief legal advisor and prosecutor of the Maine, State of Maine. The constitutional basis of the office is Article IX, Section 11 of the Maine Constitution, and the holder of the position is chosen biennially by t ...
, and he was reappointed in 1874 and 1875. In December 1875 he resigned as Attorney General in order to take the U.S. House seat for which he had been selected in a special election the previous September. He completed the term of his predecessor, which ended in March 1877, but was not a candidate for a full term. In 1878, Plaisted left the Republicans over dissatisfaction with their monetary policy, and became a member of the
Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an Political parties in the United States, American political party with an Competition law, anti-monopoly ideolog ...
. In 1880, he was elected governor as the fusion candidate of the Greenbacks and the Democrats, and he served from 1881 to 1883. Plaisted died in Bangor in 1898, and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor.


Early life

Plaisted was born and raised in
Jefferson, New Hampshire Jefferson is a New England town, town in Coos County, New Hampshire, Coos County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,043 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is home to parts of the White Mountain National Forest in ...
, the son of Deacon William and Nancy (Merrill) Plaisted. He attended the local schools, and attended an academy in
Lancaster, New Hampshire Lancaster is a town located along the Connecticut River in Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The town is named after the city of Lancaster in England. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,218, the second largest in the cou ...
, St. Johnsbury Academy, and the
New Hampton School New Hampton School is an independent university-preparatory school, college preparatory high school in New Hampton, New Hampshire, United States. It has 330 students from over 30 states and 22 countries. The average class size is eleven, and the ...
. He graduated from
Waterville College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, United States. Founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, it was renamed Waterville College in 1821. The donations of Christian philanthropist Gardner ...
in 1853, and in 1855 Plaisted received his
LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
degree from
Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary ...
with several honors and awards, including a gold medal for an essay on the topic of equity jurisprudence. Plaisted spent a year teaching school while studying for the bar exam in the office of
Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...
attorney Albert W. Paine, attained admission to the bar in 1856, and commenced practice in Bangor. From 1858 to 1860 he served on the military staff of Governor
Lot M. Morrill Lot Myrick Morrill (May 3, 1813 – January 10, 1883) was an American politician who served as the 28th governor of Maine, as a United States senator, and as U.S. secretary of the treasury under President Ulysses S. Grant. An advocate for hard ...
as an aide-de-camp with the rank of lieutenant colonel.


Civil War service

Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Plaisted enlisted in the Union Army and was commissioned as the lieutenant colonel of the
11th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 11th Maine Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 11th Maine Infantry was organized in Augusta, Maine, and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on November 12 ...
on October 30, 1861. He was promoted to
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
on May 12, 1862, and led the regiment in several campaigns in the Eastern Theater. He commanded during the 1862
Peninsula Campaign The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...
and participated in the
Siege of Yorktown The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Ma ...
and the subsequent
Battle of Williamsburg The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitc ...
. Later in the campaign, he fought at the
Battle of Seven Pines The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union's Army of the Po ...
and in the
Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate States Army, Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army ...
. In 1863, he and his men were involved in the
Siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...
. Plaisted advanced to command of a brigade which included the 11th Maine, 10th Connecticut, 24th Massachusetts, 100th New York, and 206th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiments. In 1864, he participated in the
Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, towards the end of the American Civil War. Lieutenant general (United States), Lt. G ...
and the
Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a c ...
. On February 22, 1865,
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
nominated Plaisted for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from February 21, 1865, and the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
confirmed the appointment on March 3, 1865. On February 28, 1867, President
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...
nominated Plaisted for appointment to the grade of brevet major general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on March 2, 1867.Eicher, 2001, p. 714.


Continued career

Following the war, Plaisted resumed practicing law in Bangor. He was elected to the
Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...
as a Republican, and served from 1867 to 1868. He was also a delegate to the 1868
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...
, and supported
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
for the presidential nomination. In January 1873, Plaisted was chosen by the state legislature to serve as
Maine Attorney General The Maine Attorney General is the chief legal advisor and prosecutor of the Maine, State of Maine. The constitutional basis of the office is Article IX, Section 11 of the Maine Constitution, and the holder of the position is chosen biennially by t ...
, and he was reappointed in 1874 and 1875. During his tenure, Plaisted tried 14 capital cases, all of which resulted in convictions, and all of which were sustained on appeal. In September 1875, Plaisted was chosen in a special election to serve in the
Forty-fourth United States Congress The 44th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1875, ...
, filling the vacancy caused by the death of Congressman Samuel F. Hersey. He served in the US House from September 13, 1875, to March 3, 1877, and resigned as Attorney General in December 1875 in order to attend the session of Congress that started later that month. He did not run for renomination in 1876, accepting the decision of a Republican district convention that voted to maintain an informal rotation system which mandated the selection of a nominee from
Aroostook County Aroostook County ( ; ) is the northernmost county in the U.S. state of Maine. It is located along the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,105. The county seat is Houlton, with offices in Caribou and Fo ...
. During Plaisted's tenure in the US House, his time and effort was concentrated on his service as a member of the committee that investigated the
Whiskey Ring The Whiskey Ring took place from 1871 to 1876 centering in St. Louis during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. The ring was an American scandal, broken in May 1875, involving the diversion of tax revenues in a conspiracy among government agent ...
, a major scandal that came to light during the Grant administration. After concluding his Congressional term, Plaisted resumed practicing law in Bangor. In partnership with attorney Frederick H. Appleton, he compiled and published ''The Maine Digest'', a collection of
Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. Between 1820 and 1839, justices served lifetime ...
decisions from 1820 to 1879. In addition, he published accounts of two cases he handled as Attorney General, ''The Lowell Trial'' and ''The Wagner Trial''. He also researched and compiled a genealogical and biographical history of the Plaisted family.


Governor

In 1878, events including wage cuts that precipitated the
Great Railroad Strike of 1877 The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. The Great Railroad Strike of 187 ...
caused Plaisted to leave the Republican Party because of dissatisfaction with their monetary policy. As did many farmers and laborers, Plaisted opposed currency backed by gold and silver, arguing that it caused the post-
Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...
deflation In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services. Deflation occurs when the inflation rate falls below 0% and becomes negative. While inflation reduces the value of currency over time, deflation increases i ...
that reduced wages and prices paid to farmers, laborers, and producers of raw materials. Instead, he favored federal government-issued currency not backed by gold and silver, believing that this would prevent deflation and make business easier to transact by holding costs and salaries steady. Both the national Republican and Democratic parties favored specie-backed currency issued by state-chartered banks. As a result of his unhappiness with the Republicans, Plaisted joined the new
Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an Political parties in the United States, American political party with an Competition law, anti-monopoly ideolog ...
, and became their candidate for governor in 1880. He was also backed by pro-Greenback Democrats, and became the fusion candidate of both parties. Taking advantage of voter unhappiness caused by the lingering effects of the 1873 economic downturn, Plaisted prevailed over incumbent Republican Daniel F. Davis by fewer than 200 votes, becoming one of only four non-Republicans to hold the governorship between the founding of the party in the 1850s and the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
in 1929. Plaisted served from 1881 to 1883, and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in
1882 Events January * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in New York at the ...
. During Plaisted's term, the state legislature remained solidly Republican. As a result, legislators were able to block many of Plaisted's appointments, and he vetoed a much higher than normal number of bills, including 31 vetoes of measures to re-charter banks that issued specie-backed currency. By 1882, voter concern over the economic downturn that had begun in the 1870s had largely abated, and Plaisted was defeated for reelection by Republican
Frederick Robie Frederick Robie (August 12, 1822 – February 2, 1912) was an American physician and politician who most notably served as the 39th governor of Maine. Early life Robie was born in Gorham, Maine and studied at the Gorham Academy. He graduated f ...
.


Later life and death

From 1884 to 1898 Plaisted was editor and publisher of the ''New Age'', a newspaper in Augusta. He used its editorial pages to convey his political views, and engaged in long-running debates with Republicans over their monetary policy, primarily Maine party leader
James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the United States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as speaker of the U.S. House of Rep ...
. In his later years, Plaisted suffered from
Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...
. He died in Bangor on January 31, 1898, and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor.


Family

Plaisted was a member of a family long active in
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
politics and government. His grandfather Samuel Plaisted was a judge during the early years of New Hampshire's statehood. Another ancestor, John Plaisted, was a member of the colonial legislature and a judge during the late 1600s and early 1700s. Harris Plaisted was one of nine brothers and sisters. Among his siblings was William, who served in the
Maine State Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...
, and Charles, who served in the
New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral State legislature (United States), legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members com ...
. In 1858, Plaisted married Sarah J. Mason. She died in 1875, and in 1881 he married Mabel True Hill. With his first wife, Plaisted was the father of three children, including
Frederick W. Plaisted Frederick William Plaisted (July 26, 1865 – March 4, 1943) was an American politician and the 48th governor of Maine. Early life Plaisted was born in Bangor, Maine, on July 26, 1865, the son of Sarah J. (Mason) Plaisted and Harris Plaisted, wh ...
, who served as governor from 1911 to 1912.


See also

*
List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union) __NOTOC__ This is a list of American Civil brevet generals that served the Union Army. This list of brevet major generals or brevet brigadier generals currently contains a section which gives the names of officers who held lower actual or sub ...


References


Sources


Books

* * * * *


External links

Retrieved on 2008-08-13 *
Officers of 11th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment
*

at National Governors Association

at The Political Graveyard
Harris M. Plaisted
at Maine: An Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Plaisted, Harris Merrill 1828 births 1898 deaths Governors of Maine Members of the Maine House of Representatives 19th-century American newspaper editors Maine lawyers Union army colonels People of Maine in the American Civil War Politicians from Bangor, Maine Colby College alumni Albany Law School alumni Maine Greenbacks Maine Democrats Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Bangor, Maine) People from Jefferson, New Hampshire Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine Greenback Party state governors of the United States Democratic Party governors of Maine American male journalists 19th-century American male writers Maine attorneys general 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature