Sherman Conant (December 21, 1839 – November 21, 1890) was an American soldier and politician who served as the 9th Florida Attorney General during Reconstruction.

Early life and military service

Conant was born on December 21, 1839 in

Dublin, New Hampshire Dublin is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,532 at the 2020 census. It is home to Dublin School and ''Yankee'' magazine. History In 1749, the Masonian proprietors granted the town as "Monadnock No. ...

from a batch of triplets. He is a member of the

Conant family The Conant family is a distinguished family of English origin. History The Conant surname is thought to be of Celtic, possibly Breton origin. The earliest known member of the most prominent line of the family was John Conant, a yeoman of East Bud ...

. Conant moved to Littleton, Massachusetts in 1845. At the beginning of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, Conant was a student in

Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

. On August 4, 1862, he enlisted as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

into Company I of the 39th Massachusetts, tasked with the defense of Washington, D.C. In August 1863, army recruiter George Luther Stearns organized and mustered the 3rd Colored Infantry in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. Conant was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and was placed in command of Company H. The 3rd Colored fought at the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, capturing the fort shortly after the famous assault by the

54th Massachusetts The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was the second African-American regiment, following the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry ...

. In 1864, the regiment assisted in the capture of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, and occupied much of coastal

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. After the end of the war, the 3rd Colored was assigned to assist the

Department of Florida Department of Florida, was the military administrative department established by the Union Army. The Department of Florida was established on April 13, 1861 to defend and administer the few remaining Federal installations remaining in Florida. ...

in reorganizing the state. On September 13, 1865, Conant was promoted to the rank of major. The regiment was disbanded a month later, though Conant remained in Florida to aid in its reorganization.

Political career

After leaving the army, Conant, a Republican, settled in Jacksonville, becoming a prominent citizen popular with local African-Americans due to his command of the 3rd Colored during the war. Conant was selected to be the secretary of the state's Constitutional Convention in 1868 in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

, drafting the Reconstruction era so-called

Constitution of Florida The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constit ...

, derided as the "

Carpetbagger In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical term used by Southerners to describe opportunistic Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War, who were perceived to be exploiting the lo ...

" Constitution by opponents. While in Tallahassee, Conant served on the Leon County Voter Registration Board, and he is credited with helping enfranchise hundred of African-Americans in the area. The following month, Conant, who had been serving as a

United States Commissioner United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

for the

Northern District of Florida The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida (in case citations, N.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are a ...

, was appointed as the judge for the Leon County by Florida Governor Harrison Reed. He served until his resignation in 1869. In 1870, Conant was appointed as the 9th Florida Attorney General by Reed. He would only serve as the state's attorney general until 1871, when President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Conant as the

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a Government agency, bureau within the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Depa ...

for the Northern District of Florida. Conant received national attention for his 1871 arrest of four members of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Ca ...

accused of several

lynchings Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

during the

Jackson County War Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida, on its northwestern border with Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,319. Its county seat is Marianna. History Jackson County was created by the Florida T ...

. Conant was reappointed by Grant at the end of his first term in 1875, and served until the end of his second term in 1879. In 1881, Conant represented Duval County in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopte ...

. He would only serve for that year due to the death of his daughter.

Personal life and death

In 1867, Conant married Frances Dewey, a native of Boston, Massachusetts. They had two children: Anne Whitney (1867 – 1881) and John Sherman (1877 – 1890), with Conant outliving both of them. Conant died at his home in

Palatka, Florida Palatka () is a city in northeastern Florida and it is the county seat of Putnam County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,558 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Putnam County. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka M ...

on November 21, 1890. Conant served as the general manager of the

Florida Southern Railroad The Florida Southern Railway (later known as the Florida Southern Railroad) was a railroad that operated in Florida in the late 1800s. It was one of Florida's three notable narrow gauge railway when it was built along with the South Florida Rail ...

from January 1883 until his death.

Burial and legacy

Conant is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...

. In 1884, while he was serving as manager of the Florida Southern Railroad, the town of Conant, Florida in Lake County was established by a group of wealthy Englishmen and named for Conant, a major financier of the railroad. The town grew into a vacation destination for the wealthy, until the Greet Freeze in 1894 and 1895 forced the town to be abandoned. Much of the land where the town was is now incorporated in Lady Lake, Florida.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conant, Sherman 1839 births 1890 deaths Conant family People from Dublin, New Hampshire People from Jacksonville, Florida People from Palatka, Florida Florida Attorneys General Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives American railroad executives Union Army officers Union Army soldiers United States Marshals People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery American twins