Harris M. Plaisted

Harris Merrill Plaisted
Brady-Handy photo circa 1875. Library of Congress.
38th Governor of Maine
In office January 13, 1881 – January 3, 1883
Preceded by	Daniel F. Davis
Succeeded by	Frederick Robie
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 4th district district
In office September 13, 1875 – March 3, 1877
Preceded by	Samuel F. Hersey
Succeeded by	Llewellyn Powers
Maine Attorney General
In office January 1, 1873 – December 1, 1875
Governor	Sidney Perham Nelson Dingley Jr.
Preceded by	Thomas Brackett Reed
Succeeded by	Lucilius A. Emery
Personal details
Born	(1828-11-02)November 2, 1828 Jefferson, New Hampshire
Died	January 31, 1898(1898-01-31) (aged 69) Bangor, Maine
Resting place	Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor, Maine
Political party	Republican (before 1878) Greenback (after 1878)
Spouse(s)	Sarah J. Mason (m. 1858, died 1875) Mabel True Hill (m. 1881)
Children	3 (including Frederick W. Plaisted)
Education	Waterville College Albany Law School
Profession	Attorney
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Branch/service	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Colonel (actual) Major General (brevet)
Commands	11th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Harris Merrill Plaisted (November 2, 1828 – January 31, 1898) was an attorney, politician, and Union Army officer from Maine. As colonel, he commanded the 11th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. After the war, he served as Maine Attorney General, a U.S. Congressman, and the 38th Governor of Maine.

Plaisted was born and raised in Jefferson, New Hampshire. He graduated from Waterville College (1853) and Albany Law School (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. In 1862 he was promoted to colonel and assigned as the regimental commander. He took part in numerous engagements in South Carolina and Virginia, including the Siege of Petersburg. 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 in 1867–1868, and was a delegate to the 1868 Republican National Convention. In 1873 he was chosen by the state legislature to serve as Maine Attorney General, 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. 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.