USA > Maine > Maine; a history, Volume II > Part 17
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Abner Coburn's most marked characteristics were quiet self-control, extreme self-reliance and reticence. President Pepper said :
"Whoever saw Abner Coburn in a bluster or fluster? For what minutes of what day did he lose his head? Where was the place? What the cause? News has been broken to him suddenly of the loss of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars at one stroke. I have been assured that the bearer of the news could not detect in the tone of the voice, the look of the eye, or the expression of the face perplexity of mind or ruffle of sensibility.
"We must remember that what he did he himself did. He put him- self in no man's hand. In so far as the nature of the case would allow, he put his business in no man's hands, never let it slip from his grasp. Even the infinite details of it, which, we would think, another, or others ( for not one other adequate could well have been found), might have per- formed, he chose not only to watch, but to execute, and this not merely in the vigor of early and mature manhood, when there was great reserve or surplus of physical strength, but to the last. These details seemed rather to rest than to worry or weary him. It was perhaps because of a change from the effort, if we may properly speak of any action of his as effort- from the effort of regarding and controlling the major affairs."
Mr. Coburn's unwillingness to take others into his confidence was carried to an extreme degree, and must be regarded as a weakness. He appointed his most intimate friend, Judge Dascomb, one of his executors, ME .- 29
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yet though his health was manifestly infirm, he neither told the judge any- thing of his investments nor informed him of his appointment. This was the more unfortunate, as he rarely made a settlement in full with anybody. He kept about square with the world, but seldom exchanged receipts. It was stated after his decease that if he had kept a confidential clerk for the last five years of his life, it would have saved his estate $300,000.
Mr. Coburn never married. It is said that at one time he "paid devoted attention" to a charming and accomplished lady of very small fortune. Her family were highly delighted, and boasted so freely and loudly of the catch that had been made that the suitor withdrew in disgust.
Mr. Coburn was not a member of any church or a graduate of any college, but he was a sincere believer in the value both of religion and of education, and manifested his faith by his works. At church he was an unusually attentive listener, a trait which must have specially commended him to the clergy. He gave freely of his time, counsel, and money-Colby, the Maine State College, Waterville (now Coburn) Classical Institute, and Baptist churches in Maine being the objects of his special regard. By his will he bequeathed $100,000 to the Maine State College, $200,000 to Colby, / and over $450,000 to various Baptist societies. He also left $100,000 to the Maine General Hospital, and $50,000 to the State Insane Hospital.
The call for the election of delegates to the convention had included not only Republicans, but all supporters of the National and State adminis- trations, and the platform invited "a cordial and patriotic union of the people of Maine on the patriotic basis of a generous support of the policy and principles that characterize the administration of Abraham Lincoln," and declared that "the infamous rebellion in the Southern States against the authority of the Union and the Constitution, now happily waning in its proportions and its strength, must be put down at any cost of blood and treasure, and that to this end the people of Maine pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor."
The Republican campaign was moderate, like their platform. On August 26 the Whig said: "In the conditions of war which now exist in the country, a mere party contest has been deemed unadvisable by the loyal citizens, and there has consequently been but little of the excitement, and but few of the partisan appeals usually attending a political contest." The Whig stated that it believed this action proper, but that there was a duty to support the government, that the leaders in the Bradbury movement were the men who had denounced the government the year before, that Mar- cellus Emery, who had issued the convention call in 1861, had reported the resolutions in 1862, and that there had been no change in Virgil D. Parris, Moses Macdonald, John Anderson and John Babson. The editor of the Whig declared that though he "would not say a word against any Democrat who votes for the loyal and gallant Jameson, we think the overwhelming defeat of the Portland ticket would be made more certain by a general sup-
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port of the Republican State ticket. With thirty thousand loyal voters absent, we cannot afford to risk much upon third tickets."
The election was formally a success for the Republicans, but one which they must have regarded as a disappointment, if not a disaster. Coburn led Bradbury by less than 11,000 votes. The War Democrat movement was almost a complete failure. In May the Whig had declared that "without a union with the Danaites the new People's Party will scarcely do enough to pay the expenses of organization." September proved the Whig a prophet. Jameson received only 6,764 votes-
The Whig claimed that the falling off of the Republican vote was due to the absence of the soldiers and a prevailing idea that there was no need of voting, that the Democrats had got out their men, and that most of them went for Bradbury. The Whig in rather peevish tones delcared itself sub- stantially free from blame. "What the moral effect of this is likely to be, we leave for the Republican voters who did not vote to determine. We have performed our duty; and if the Union majority is cut down to a small figure, we do not take any large share of the responsibility."
There were reasons for the Democratic gain which the Whig did not mention-corruption in the War Department before the appointment of Stanton, suppression of newspapers, arbitrary arrests, and failure in the field.1ª
Had the election come a month later, the success of the Democrats might have been even greater. On September 22 the President issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. The Whig welcomed it, and expressed the hope that those military officers would be advanced who had a heart in the contest for freedom. The Jeffersonian said: "The moral aspect of the Proclamation cannot be too highly appreciated. The friends of Freedom and Humanity, of Christian civilization the world over, rejoice with joy unspeakable at this determination of the President of the United States, and they will earnestly pray for its fulfillment, and will celebrate the New Year of its fulfillment as a new era in the history of nations, which will immeasurably overshadow and transcend all others. God and the Great Genius of Human Freedom be praised for the Grand Proclamation of President Lincoln. It is the jewel in the coronet of his honors."" But the Democratic papers gleefully proclaimed that their prophecies had been fulfilled and that the Black Republicans were now openly waging an aboli- tion war.
The newspapers were, of course, filled with accounts of the war and prophecies of what was about to happen, and some of them read strangely today. After the fall of Donelson the Whig said: "The capture of this fortress cannot fail to prove a death blow to the rebellion, not only from the opening it gives our forces to strike at the heart of the rebellion, but
"See, Rhodes, "History of the United States," IV, 164.
"Jeffersonian, Sept. 20, 1862.
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from the disastrous moral effect which it must have upon the rebels throughout the entire South." When the Confederates abandoned York- town, the Whig, made a little more modest by experience, claimed some- what less. It said that the retreat "well nigh settled the fate of the rebel- lion so far as the great States of Virginia, North and South Carolina are concerned." On September 19 the Whig announced that "Lee's hands had been terribly lacerated by a bullet, that both were entirely useless, and that he was greatly worried at not being able to manipulate his pen and pencil." As a matter of fact General Robert E. Lee was not wounded once in the whole course of the war. But we must not laugh too loudly, remem- bering how frequently the Entente reporters killed the Crown Prince of Germany in the recent war.
The term of Senator Morrill expired in March, and he was re-elected by the Legislature. The Republicans had made no caucus nomination. The Democratic candidate was William P. Haines of Biddeford, formerly an anti-slavery man and follower of Hannibal Hamlin. One vote was cast for Israel Washburn, and another for Edward Kent. It is said that these were given by "loyal Democrats."
Although Haines' nomination might have been regarded as a tribute to the power of the Jameson Democracy, that wing of the party was in truth fast disappearing. Jameson himself had died in the preceding autumn, and the final Emancipation Proclamation had greatly displeased many of his former followers. A number of them who had spoken loudly in favor of the Government and had announced their willingness to destroy slavery if this were necessary to save the Union, failed to attend the great meeting held in Bangor to endorse the Emancipation Proclamation. The Democrat resumed publication. At the municipal election in Bangor the Democratic vote greatly increased. These changes were the more significant since east- ern Maine had been the special seat of the War Democracy. Their leading newspapers, such as the Belfast Journal and the Augusta Age, were now opposing the national Government, though their language was more mod- erate than that of the Dana papers.
In these circumstances and in view of the poor showing made by Governor Coburn the preceding year, James G. Blaine, chairman of the Republican State Committee, deemed it advisable for the Republicans to drop their party name and be replaced by a Union organization. His advice was followed by his committee, as was usually the case, and a notice was issued stating that "the citizens of Maine who are uncon- ditionally loyal to the Government of the United States, and who uncon- ditionally support all the measures for the suppression of the rebellion, and who are resolved to spare no endeavor to maintain the National Union, both in principle and territorial boundary, are invited to send delegates to a Convention to be held in the City of Bangor, on Wednesday, the Ist day of July next, for the purpose of nominating a candidate for Governor, to
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be supported by the Union men of Maine at the next election." Represen- tation was to be proportioned not according to Republican voters, but to the number of inhabitants. The call was signed by the gentlemen of the State committee, and their respective counties were placed after their names, but the chairman did not sign first; there was nothing to indicate that they were members of a committee or even members of the Repub- lican party, and the word Republican nowhere appeared in the call.
The Democratic press proclaimed with much joy that the Republican party was annihilated. The Rockland Democrat, Ephraim K. Smart's organ, declared that the Republican party had disbanded, and that the new move- ment was not a party one. "Every loyal man is invited to participate in it, and if Republicans carry away the honors, it will be because loyal Demo- crats permit them to do it by refraining to act in the primary meetings." The Democrat also demanded that Governor Coburn be denied a renom- ination because he was a Republican, and that no Republican should enter the convention as such. But Smart asserted the right to enter the con- vention as a Democrat, and the Augusta Age supported his claim. The great majority of the Republican papers, the Jeffersonian, Vice-President Hamlin's organ, the Kennebec Journal, Chairman Blaine's, the Portland Press, Biddeford Journal, Rockland Gazette, Ellsworth American and Skowhegan Clarion, denied the authority of the Republican committee to act as they had done, but acquiesced in what they could not change
The Jeffersonian expressed its disapproval very freely. It said, "Re- publicans of Maine, stand your ground. The country needs your service as an organized party now more than ever before; and standing our ground we shall have the active and hearty co-operation of all late 'Democrats,' who are now unadulterated, sincere Union men. They will add strength to the Union cause, while Sham Union Democrats will bring weakness to us and strength to the Treasonable Democratic party." The Whig, however, fully endorsed the call and announced that Mr. Hamlin also favored it.
E. K. Smart's demand for a new candidate if the Convention was to be regarded as a truly Union one, though harsh toward Governor Coburn and unfair to the Republican party who would certainly furnish most of the votes, commanded a support among the Democrats which it was dangerous to disregard. Chairman Blaine recognized this and before the call for the convention was issued had probably determined not only to set aside Gov- ernor Coburn but to nominate a former Democrat. The shelving of Coburn was the more easy because he had offended influential politicians.
The gentleman picked by Mr. Blaine as the next Governor of the State was Samuel A. Cony of Augusta. A Democrat until the outbreak of the war, he had from that moment vigorously supported the Government, had acted as Assistant Paymaster-General of Maine, and advanced money from his private fortune to pay the soldiers when there was no law authorizing the State Treasurer to do so.
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The convention met on the day and place appointed, and was called to order by Mr. Blaine in the name of the Union and the loyal masses. Hon. James B. McCobb of Portland was elected chairman. While the commit- tees were out, Lewis Barker of Stetson was called for and made an earnest non-partisan speech in which he said: "We are here to crush the copper- head faction-a pack of guerrillas who have stolen the livery of Democracy for evil designs. If a Democrat comes here merely as a Democrat, I spurn him; if a Republican comes here, I do the same-but if you come as Union men without condition, I am with you and welcome you." Before the vote was taken Mr. Blaine rose and stated that he was authorized by Governor Coburn to say "that he fully sympathised with the movement for Union. That feeling thus and wishing to do all in his power to promote union of action among loyal men, regardless of past party differences, the Governor did not consider that his nomination a year ago by a somewhat different constituency gave him any priority or precedence at the hand of this con- vention. He, therefore, claimed none, but simply submitted his name to the consideration of the convention. If nominated, he would endeavor to faith- fully serve the public interests. But if it should be adjudged wise policy to take another candidate, he would most cheerfully and cordially sustain him by his vote and whatever influence he might possess. The perils of our national crisis demand, in the Governor's view, a union of all patriotic hands and hearts, and the man should be chosen for our standard bearer who can make this union most cordial and effective."
The first ballot for Governor stood: Samuel Cony, 474 ; Abner Coburn, 418; Joseph H. Williams, 176; scattering, 15. This division gave oppor- tunity for a very bitter contest, but Hon. B. W. Norris of Skowhegan said he was authorized to withdraw the name of Governor Coburn, whereupon Governor Coburn was most loudly cheered. He further proposed to nom- inate Hon. Samuel Cony by acclamation. After some little discussion, it was concluded to proceed to a second ballot, which resulted in the nomina- tion of Samuel Cony by a vote of 899 to 66 for Williams and 26 for Coburn.
Samuel Cony was a member of the well known Cony family of Augusta. His father, also named Samuel, was the first adjutant-general of Maine, serving from 1820 to 1830. His mother, his father's own cousin, was a daughter of Judge Daniel Cony, who had taken an active part in politics before the separation and in the convention which formed the constitution of Maine. Samuel, the second, was born February 27, 1811. He graduated from Brown University in 1829. He studied law with Hiram Belcher of Farmington, was admitted to the bar in 1829, and settled in Old Town. He served in the Legislature in 1835, and the Council in 1839, was judge of probate for Penobscot county from 1840 until 1847, land agent from 1847 to 1850, and then State Treasurer for the usual five years. He had moved to Augusta in 1850 and in 1854 was elected mayor of the city.
Mr. Cony had always been a Democrat, but he belonged to the Douglas
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wing, and on the outbreak of the war he vigorously supported the Govern- ment. The Republicans of Augusta offered to join the Democrats in sup- porting a joint ticket for Representatives to the Legislature and proposed Cony as one of the candidates. The Democrats declined, but the next year the Republicans nominated and elected him.
The "Union" platform demanded a firm and unanimous support of the Administration. The arrest and holding without trial of men who had attacked the Government and the war, had been the subject of much crit- icism, some of which came from earnest Union men. The convention, however, resolved "that those assemblages of Northern citizens, who, wish- ing to make a diversion in favor of the rebellion, have feigned excessive indignation at the few arrests of persons engaged in discouraging the organ- ization of a military force to defend the Constitution, while they have expressed no execration against the foe now invading the Free States, and no commiseration for our fellow-citizens who have been robbed of their property and driven from their homes by a lawless band of conspirators against the Republic; have shown such misdirected sympathies, and such utter lack of the first instincts of patriotism, as to make them dangerous counsellors in the present crisis of the country."
The Democrats had originally intended to hold their convention in July, but postponed it until August 6, perhaps to gain time to settle a serious difference of opinion concerning the renomination of Mr. Bradbury. The convention met in Portland on the day fixed, and elected Samuel Taylor, a Quaker, president. This gentleman said in a speech of thanks to the convention, "I do not know but the shooting of one man may under certain circumstances be justifiable-but am opposed to shooting men in a lump." Mr. Charles Jarvis twice nominated the president for Governor, but Mr. Taylor declined to put the motion, saying that his religion forbade him to accept an office which would make him commander-in-chief of the militia. A platform was adopted declaring that "we will earnestly support every constitutional measure tending to preserve the Union of the States," but stating that they could not "support the present Administration, its course being destructive of the Union and the Government"; and that "The war is now being conducted, not for the restoration of the Union, but for the Abolition of Slavery and the destruction of the Republic." Arbitrary arrests were denounced, and the freedom of speech and of the press asserted. The conscription act was declared unwise and oppressive, but obedience to it was advised unless the courts should declare it unconsti- tutional.
There was considerable discussion of Mr. Bradbury's attitude. General S. J. Anderson of Portland read a letter from him of the same nature as the resolutions, but Virgil D. Parris was not satisfied and asked General Anderson if Mr. Bradbury held the same opinion which he did the year before. General Anderson replied that Mr. Bradbury was "as much
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opposed to the war as now conducted by the Administration as any gentle- man present is or can be." Mr. Parris said that as far as Bradbury had gone in his letter, he went with him, but that he had not denounced "this wicked, this unholy, this hellish war." Another delegate asked if Mr. Bradbury, if elected, would withdraw the Maine troops from the army, as he would have a right to do. General Anderson replied that as the con- vention had expressed no opinion on that point, it was not fair to ask Mr. Bradbury to do so, but that if Governor Seymour should withdraw the New York troops, Mr. Bradbury would take similar action.
A ballot was taken and Mr. Bradbury was nominated by 797 out of 893 votes." The campaign was a vigorous one. Mr. Blaine was responsible for the holding of the Union convention and its nomination of a War Democrat, and his political prestige and future success would be much affected by the result of the election. Accordingly, he carefully organized "the most systematic and thorough canvass Maine had ever known. Polit- ical rallies were held in every town and hamlet. Speeches and other docu- ments to be read at home were sent out in sufficient numbers to reach every voter, not once but many times. A considerable part of the funds neces- sary to defray the expenses of the campaign was obtained by the assess- ment of office holders, a practice against which no objection was then raised in any quarter."" Victory crowned these efforts, and Samuel Cony polled 68,339 votes to Bion Bradbury's 50,676.
Mr. Cony's victory heartened the friends of the Union in other States, and was received with disappointment in the Confederacy. The Richmond Examiner said: "This event is of greater moment than a similar result in any other New England State. It had been thought that the ruling faction was not so firmly seated in Maine. The course of the war, too, seemed less favorable to her interests than to those of her neighbors. Manu- facturers were not in any branch so flourishing, and the shipping interests, it was supposed, would have found the advantages arising from the employ- ment of vessels for warlike purposes fully balanced by the damage inflicted on commerce by our indefatigable cruisers. The expectations arising from these various elements of calculation have all been disappointed and the people have apparently pronounced in favor of the war policy of their Government."
The year 1864 was a presidential one, and therefore of special interest politically. In March the Legislature passed a resolution declaring that "for their eminent services to their country in the years of its greatest peril, President Abraham Lincoln and Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin are de- serving the confidence and regard of the American people, and that in the opinion of this Legislature the loyal citizens of Maine desire their re-election to the offices which they now so ably and faithfully fill."
"Jeffersonian, Aug. 11, 1863.
"Stanwood, "Blaine," 59-60.
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When the national convention met, Lincoln was renominated on the first ballot, Missouri voting for General U. S. Grant. The first ballot for Vice-President stood: Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, 200; Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, 150; Daniel Dickinson of New York, 108; seven others, 61. Vote after vote was then transferred to Johnson, and when the result of the first ballot was formally declared Johnson had 494 votes, Dickenson 17, Hamlin 9. The victory of Johnson was received in good part by the Republican papers of Maine, even by those of Bangor, the Vice-President's home town. The Jeffersonian, Mr. Hamlin's special organ, said that the nomination of Johnson was made "not from any lack of confidence in the true patriotism, integrity, ability or statesmanship of the distinguished gentleman who now holds that office, but solely from the desire of making another and more signal recognition of the patriotic services of those few Democrats in seceded or border States, who, without waiting to hear the roar of the rebel cannon against Fort Sumter, declared to the country that, live or die, armed secessionists and defiant traitors should be and must be coerced into subjection to the Federal laws by the national forces." The Whig said: "The people of Maine felt a strong interest for the renomina- tion of Hannibal Hamlin, but nevertheless will cheerfully and cordially sup- port Mr. Johnson. It is peculiarly fitting at this time that the Vice-President should be taken from one of the Border States, and it is also peculiarly fitting that Mr. Johnson should be the nominee. A man of marked ability, a patriot in the highest sense of the term, thoroughly devoted to freedom, his name will add strength to the ticket and his nomination will be received with unusual favor."
An enthusiastic ratification meeting was held in Bangor, and was addressed by Mr. Hamlin in a magnanimous speech in which he eulogized both the nominees. His praise of Johnson was in striking contrast to his own opinions and that of his audience a year later. The Jeffersonian in its report of the meeting stated that Mr. Hamlin said that "from an inti- mate acquaintance with Andrew Johnson, of over a quarter of a century, he knew him to be an honest and incorruptible patriot, a statesman of large experience, and eminently qualified not only for the duties of Vice-Presi- dent, but for the Presidency, should he in the providence of God be called to that post." ספיי
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