Harris Merrill Plaisted | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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 | November 2, 1828 Jefferson, New Hampshire, US |
| Died | January 31, 1898 (aged 69) Bangor, Maine, US |
| Resting place | Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor, Maine, US |
| 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 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 |
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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, 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.