USA > Tennessee > Notable men of Tennessee, from 1833 to 1875, their times and their contemporaries > Part 13
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Judge Houk possessed in the highest possible degree a sensi- tive, delicate organism. His feelings and sensibilities were most acute. His nervous system responded to the lightest touch, and thrilled at the slighest harshness. He was the subject of ex- treme exhilaration or of extreme depression. And this, beyond a doubt, largely accounts for his failings. A cold, sluggish nature is deeply moved neither by passion nor appetite, neither. by success nor disappointment. Higher natures need something to restore or keep alive their exaltation. They crave and must have stimulation, either mental or sensual. It thus comes to pass that genius is too often allied to great failings.
Judge Houk had his failings. The world knew them. He knew them, admitted them, and lamented them. And "griev- ously" he "answered" for them. They were buried with him. Let the silence of the grave cover them.
HORACE MAYNARD.
Born in Massachusetts-Graduate of Amherst-Professor in East Ten- nessee University-Defeated for Congress by Churchwell in 1853- Elector for State at Large in 1856-Elected to Congress in 1857, 1859, and 1861-At Disadvantage Among Southerners-Went Into Kentucky After August Election, 1861-Attorney General of the State-Twice Elected to Congress in the '60's-In 1865 Defeated for U. S. Senate- In 1872 Elected to Congress from State at Large-In 1874 Defeated for Governor by James D. Porter-In 1877 Appointed Minister to Elected to Congress in the '60's-In 1865 Defeated for U. S. Senate- by Howell E. Jackson in 1881-Ability-Oratory-Personal Character- istics-Rank as a Lawyer-Early Political Experiences-Last Days.
ONE of the distinguished Union men of East Tennessee, in 1861, and in fact the most distinguished after Johnson, Brown- low, and Nelson, was Horace Maynard. He was not perhaps in ability quite the equal of one, or possibly two of these, and yet he was no ordinary man. Nature had been bountiful in the bestowal of mental gifts on him. These had been improved by all that a finished education and hard study could do.
Horace Maynard was a graduate of Amherst College. When he entered college he put the letter "V" prominently above the door of his room. When he became the valedictorian of his class the meaning of the mysterious letter was explained. After his graduation he located in Knoxville, Tenn., and was for a number of years a professor in the East Tennessee University, now the University of Tennessee. Among the public or pro- fessional men of his day, in Tennessee, he was one of the ripest and most polished scholars. Indeed, in broad culture, but few college professors anywhere were his superiors. This gave him in some respects an immense advantage over his compeers.
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Mr. Maynard was born in Massachusetts. The fact that he was born in that State was a drawback to him in his political career in the South. I believe he always felt that such was the case, especially after the fierce sectional strife arose. To this feeling may perhaps be attributed, in part, the extreme caution which always characterized his course and utterances in public life. He seemed sensibly to realize that the Southern people would not tolerate in a native of Massachusetts the boldness
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of speech that they accepted in a native of the South. Hence his words were often marked by a certain hesitation. But, inde- pendent of this fact, he was by nature wanting in that open- ness and independence which were so conspicuous in Brownlow and T. A. R. Nelson.
Mr. S. S. Prentiss, when he first went to Mississippi, was conscious of the disadvantage he labored under as a Northern man, and he fought duels as he said in order to secure the respect of the people, and to avoid contempt and insults.
In politics, Mr. Maynard was an old-line Whig before the war. In 1853 he was nominated for Congress by the Whig party in the Knoxville district. His competitor was William M. Churchwell, a man of wealth and of great shrewdness. By the use of money and other means not to be commended, Church- well succeeded in overcoming a good Whig majority and in being elected. Maynard, it must be confessed, was far from being popular at that time. In proof of this I give the vote in Knox County, his home :
Maynard, Whig. 1760
Churchwell, Democrat. 1210
Henry, Whig candidate for Governor. 2308
Johnson, Democratic candidate for Governor 787
In the Presidential canvass of 1856 Maynard was selected by his party as one of the electors for the State at large. Ignoring the bad treatment he had received in 1853, he mag- nanimously took the stump, and canvassed the State with great earnestness and ability. This conduct on his part greatly endeared him to his party, and gave him a popularity not possessed before. In 1857 he was again nominated for Con- gress without opposition in his own party, and was elected by a small majority. In 1859 and in 1861 he was re-elected, no one in his own party opposing him.
Mr. Maynard's career in Congress during these six years was not distinguished by any striking display of ability such as he possessed. He was regarded as a man of much more than average capacity, but he by no means became a party leader. In 1859, during the long contest for Speaker, however, he at one time received sixty-five votes for that position, a very high compliment. John A. Gilmer of North Carolina, distinguished
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as he was, could command only thirty-six votes. Each of the parties, the Democrats, the Republicans, and the Americans, had its own candidate.
From 1860 to the spring of 1861, the great absorbing topic, both in Congress and out of it, was the impending crisis on the slavery question. He that was the boldest, and the most defiant in the utterance of his opinions, whether on the one side or the other, was the man who gained the greatest notoriety.
I have placed Mr. Maynard among the Union leaders in 1861, and he deserves that position both by reason of his ability and his reputation, yet in a true sense he was deficient in some of the elements of leadership. A leader in times of revolution must have courage, audacity, and enthusiasm, as well as ability. Ability Mr. Maynard certainly had, but not the other qualities in high degree. While not deficient in a reasonable share of physical courage, in that infinitely higher quality which enables a man not only to face danger, but to defy public opinion, and inspire others with his own great spirit, he was not dis- tinguished. Yet I repeat, that I think this was in part due to the fact that he always felt the disadvantage among a Southern people of having been born and educated in the North. When we add to this his natural caution, we can see how it operated on his mind. It would be in vain to deny that he had warm admirers, but in the later years of his life, after he had risen to greater eminence he had a much more devoted personal following.
After Mr. Maynard's return from Congress, some time in April, 1861, he took the stump and rendered able service in behalf of the Union. His speeches were earnest and strong in arguments and facts. But it was not arguments that were then needed. It was courage-enthusiasm-leadership. Arguments did not hold the timid or the wavering. The agency of the revolution was terror. In the wild whirl and frenzy of passion, reason lost its way. In times of great danger, "on the perilous edge of battle," men needed the example of courage, not polished sentences. The contagion of daring, like the contagion of fear, quickly spreads from man to man. Many of the men who early rushed into the Confederate Army were moved by sudden fear -the apprehension of some great disaster that was impending- they knew not what.
I would not underestimate the services rendered to the Union
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cause by Mr. Maynard. They were unquestionably great. His name and high character, as well as his ability, were of the highest value. But the opinions of the Union men were already fixed long before he returned from Washington, as was shown by the February election. When he returned he did not change them, but simply, with the assistance of others, helped to hold and confirm them. For this he deserves the gratitude of his countrymen, especially when so many others were false and faithless.
At the August election in 1861, notwithstanding the State had seceded in June, Mr. Maynard was voted for and elected a member of the Congress of the United States by the Union men. He remained in the State until the day of election. He managed on that day to be in Scott County, which lies on the border of Kentucky. When he had thus finished his can- vass and arranged all his plans, he took his horse, crossed over into Kentucky, and went on to Washington at his leisure. Not until Burnside had redeemed East Tennessee in September, 1863, was he permitted to return to his home. At the opening of the next Congress he was sworn in as a member of that body, not on the certificate of the Governor, but on the certificate of the loyal sheriffs of the different counties, who certified that he had received a majority of the votes cast.
When Andrew Johnson was Military Governor of Tennessee, Mr. Maynard was appointed by him Attorney General of the State. After the State was readmitted into the Union, he was again elected a member of Congress, and at the next election he was re-elected.
1865, before the State was recognized by Congress as en- titled to representation in that body, Mr. Maynard was a candi- date for a seat in the United States Senate. He was defeated by eight votes by Judge David T. Patterson. At the same session Joseph S. Fowler was elected to fill the other seat in the Senate. Looking back at these results, at this day, they certainly seem most surprising. Mr. Maynard was entitled to this position both by reason of ability and services. Neither of these men was distinguished for superior ability, though both ranked above the average. Neither of them by virtue of services had any strong claim on the party. Patterson, like Johnson, was an old-line Democrat, and had supported Breckinridge in 1860. He made no speeches for the Union in 1861-indeed
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he could not make a speech. Neither had Mr. Fowler rendered any service that gave him a claim on the State or the party for such a high honor. The election of Patterson can be easily accounted for; he was the son-in-law of President Johnson. It was fortunate for Mr. Johnson that these two men were elected Senators, for on the impeachment trial they both voted for his acquittal.
The election of Patterson over Maynard was an error and a wrong. True, he was a man of fair ability, and a worthy gentleman. He had made a most excellent Circuit Judge, but he had not built up the Union party and had no claims upon its honors. After a few months in the Senate, he went back to his life-long love-the Democratic party. Mr. Fowler was a worthy man, but he also had done nothing to merit such a distinction. Recently from Ohio, he was not identified with Tennessee ex- cept for a brief period. Mr. Maynard would have been elected but for the influence of Mr. Johnson, and he would have re- flected honor upon the State in a much larger measure than either of the others.
In 1872, a member of Congress had to be elected from the State at large in Tennessee. Mr. Maynard was nominated for this position by his Republican friends. General B. F. Cheat- ham was put in nomination by the Bourbon Democracy, and Andrew Johnson became a candidate of his own volition. The canvass was an interesting one as well as a remarkable one. Cheatham had been a brave and distinguished General in the Confederate Army, as well as a gallant Colonel in the Mexican War. He was a plain, blunt, honest man, who was always ready in war for a fight. He believed that war meant fighting. He wasno speaker and was of very moderate ability. The three canvassed the State together. Johnson, of course, had his own policy to defend, and so far as he was concerned, spent his time in defense of himself and in attacks on his enemies. Cheatham made short, sensible, but gentlemanly speeches. Maynard was fair, honor- able, and exceedingly dignified. His polished sentences and elegant bearing were in marked contrast with the coarse, strong, bitter language and harsh manner of Johnson. In none of his previous canvasses had Mr. Maynard made so much reputa- tion as a public speaker. He won golden opinions from all parties. The contrast between the two men was marked. In this canvass Maynard reached the zenith of his fame and popu-
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larity. It was admitted by all parties that in eloquence and dignified bearing he rose far above Johnson. He never ap- peared so well. The result was that he added immensely to his reputation, while Johnson lost. I need hardly add that with a divided Democracy Mr. Maynard was easily elected. In 1874 Mr. Maynard was the Republican candidate for Governor against James D. Porter. He was defeated, almost as a matter of course, in a Democratic State. In 1875 he was appointed Minister to Turkey by President Grant. He represented this government with dignity at the Court of the Sublime Porte, though nothing arose during his official term demanding special diplomatic ability. At the end of about five years, D. M. Key, the Postmaster General under President Hayes, was ap- pointed United States District Judge for Tennessee, and Mr. Maynard was recalled for the purpose of taking the place thus made vacant in the cabinet. The duties of this office he dis- charged efficiently and faithfully until Mr. Cleveland came into power. This closed the public life of Mr. Maynard. In 1881 he was a candidate for U. S. Senator, and was beaten by Howell E. Jackson, after a very close race, the Democrats being in a majority. From this time till his death, May 3, 1882, he spent his time quietly among his old friends in Knox- ville. He never seemed so agreeable, so happy, and pleasant as after his retirement. As the sunshine of a bright closing day settled about him he took more than usual interest in good works. Whenever called on he delivered graceful lectures to Sunday schools or prayer meetings, seeming to realize that the stormy scenes of political life were over, and that the time for rest and peace and preparation had come. He delighted in going quietly around among his old friends, sitting down and having with them long familiar talks. Many people now saw Mr. Maynard in a new light,-in that of the quiet Christian gentle- man, with a well-stored intellect and a heart out of which had been taken all traces of bitterness and passion. The night before his death, a friend and myseif were with him, at his own house, until a late hour, on important business connected with the University of Tennessee, of which institution we were all trustees. As this gentleman, who was a strong Democrat, and I walked home together that night, the wisdom, the deep earnest- ness, the utter absence of all prejudice, and the intense desire to do what was right, on the part of Mr. Maynard, were
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subjects of remark by both of us. He was then apparently in perfect health, with the promise of several years more of usefulness. In thirty hours or less after we left him, he passed suddenly away from heart failure at the age of sixty-seven years.
The community was startled by the unexpected news of his death. On the day of his funeral there had never been such a con- course of sorrowing people on the streets of Knoxville, except on the occasion of the death of Ex-Senator Brownlow, a few years earlier. His sudden demise in the full maturity of his powers, and in the enjoyment of perfect health, deeply touched the public heart.
The private life of Mr. Maynard was singularly pure and free from reproach. I do not recollect ever having heard him charged with a single questionable act in point of morals, and in all his stormy political life he maintained his consistency as an upright member and a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church. In all things he was extremely regardful of the truth. His life conformed to his professions. In his dealings he was hon- est and just, always rendering to others what was their due, while in his public life no temptation could seduce him from the path of honor and honesty. The best proof of his absolute integrity is found in the fact that he died with only a moderate estate, notwithstanding that he had had a large practice as a lawyer before he entered public life, and that during all the time he was in the public service-about twenty-five years-he lived in the simplest manner, and with the strictest economy.
In ability Mr. Maynard was above the average of even able men. His mind was remarkably quick, incisive, and penetrat- ing. It was more: it was strong, comprehensive, and brilliant. Few men thought more quickly or more clearly. There was no flaw, no weakness in his intellect. It was well-rounded,-bright, broad, and deep. And yet I do not mean to say that he was massive intellectually, for he was not. But he certainly had a clear, bright mind, of great force and rare power. His head was large and decidedly intellectual in outline. Fred Douglass, in speaking of him, once said he had a "three-story head." His eyes were as black as could be, and wonderfully bright, spark- ling like coals of fire. I do not think the world ever saw a full manifestation of his mental power. There were certain hindrances to this in his nature-caution, timidity, modesty,-
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some characteristic-which always restrained him. His great- est exhibitions of power were at the bar.
In oratory Mr. Maynard always ranked high in Tennessee. He possessed some of the first qualities of a fine orator. He was tall and straight in person, and if he was not graceful, he was not ungainly. His voice was uncommonly deep and strong, rather musical, and with a wide compass and great power, pleasant in all its variations. In imagination he was sufficient- ly gifted to adorn his argument with enough rhetoric to relieve it from dryness,-weaving beautiful threads of gold into his web of facts. When he wished he could be almost as effective as Rufus Choate, but without the dazzling display of W. T. Haskell, of our own State, whose marvelous eloquence will never be forgotten by those who heard him.
Besides person, voice, intellect, and a chaste fancy, Mr. May- nard, as I have already stated, had culture of a rare order. This gave him the use of the best and choicest language. All his words were skillfully chosen, and all his sentences were polished and rounded ready for the press. Few men, of little or of great renown, spoke such pure, perfect, beautiful English. The thought was always good; the language exceedingly felicitous.
In addition to these qualities, his mind was stored with useful information as well as with elegant learning, and all that adds to the graces of oratory. He was a thorough classi- cal scholar, with a memory that was never at fault, so he could draw at times on his varied and almost boundless re- sources.
To give point and effect to his arguments, he had at his command humor, keen wit, and a biting sarcasm. It is doubtful, however, whether this last quality is not, in public speakers, a source of weakness rather than strength. It certainly is, if used often. In early life Mr. Maynard used these gifts, es- pecially his sarcasm, a great deal at the bar, and with terrible effect. Toward the close of his career he seemed to have mellowed down very much, and the use of severe or offensive language was seldom heard from him.
I could name several orators in Tennessee who excelled May- nard in popular effectiveness, but none of them was his equal in pure, lucid, and classical English. Governor James C. Jones was a marked illustration of the former class. He was rather
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a shallow man, but by reason of his dashing manner was un- questionably one of the greatest popular orators of his day. And yet Mr. Maynard was no ordinary speaker. He some- times rose for a moment into the loftiest strains of brilliant oratory. It always seemed to me that he was capable of doing so at all times. I think it possible that his taste and his culture, acquired in early life by study and in teaching, became a posi- tive drawback to him as an extemporaneous speaker.
As a lawyer Mr. Maynard stood high, his legal ability never being questioned. Almost as soon as he was admitted to the bar, he was rated by his fellow lawyers as an able member of the profession. He at once went into a full practice, at least as full as the measure of legal business then warranted. In the preparation of his cases he spared no labor. When the trial came on he was master of his case, fighting with intense earnest- ness for his client. In this theater there appeared most con- spicuously the learning of the lawyer and the skill and shrewd- ness of the advocate. He was wary, vigilant, artful, and able.
He unquestionably possessed a mind capable of the finest analysis and the clearest reasoning. In the argument of his cases, whether before the court or a jury, he was strong and clear. His addresses to the jury were forcible and shrewd, and full of fire and vehemence. Often they were bitter and withering. Here he gave full vent to his wit, sarcasm, and his irony, frequently displaying a high order of eloquence, and often illustrating with happy effect the point in issue by some beautiful classical allusion. It was in these extemporaneous speeches before juries and courts that Mr. Maynard's highest efforts were made. Here, in my opinion, he displayed greater ability than he ever did in politics. I always questioned whether he did not commit a mistake in quitting the bar. Certainly he could have won the highest eminence in this field. His ability was sufficient to have won fame for him beyond the limits of the State, if an opportunity had presented itself.
Mr. Maynard came to the bar in the golden era of the pro- fession in East Tennessee. John A. Mckinney, the elder, still lingered at the bar with his distinguished ability. Robert J. Mckinney had just reached the meridian of his well-earned fame. Thomas A. R. Nelson, though still young, had nearly attained the zenith of his successful career. Gray Garrett, of Tazewell, was still noted for his wit, his exact learning, and for
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his incisive logic and power. William H. Sneed was now in the full vigor of his prime, and in the exercise of those quick and strong faculties which made him so formidable an antago- nist. And Thomas C. Lyon, next after Mr. Maynard the most cultured man at the bar, was then also in the full possession of those splendid powers which made him, in the estimation of many, the ablest lawyer in the State. Certainly he was ex- celled by few. These were all great lawyers, recognized as such throughout the State at that time, and they still hold place in the memory of this generation.
Mr. Maynard in his wide circuit came in contact with all these, and notwithstanding the high standard of ability they formed, he was able to make a reputation but little inferior, and in some respects superior to any one of them. He did this, too, in only a few years, for he left the bar to enter Congress after only about ten years of practice, and never returned to it. His career as a lawyer is indeed remarkable and brilliant.
During the first few years of Mr. Maynard's life at the bar he was abrupt and unamiable, and often offensive in his manners, snapping men up without hesitation. Many were the persons he stung and wounded by his biting sarcasm or pungent wit. But few men whom I have known were so savage and so bitter toward witnesses and the opposite parties in his cases; and sometimes his assaults were simply terrible. In his younger days his manner toward his fellows was cold and stiff, which explains in part his early unpopularity. But once in politics he outgrew this habit. In his early days he was in fact a typical Massachusetts man, and not a Southerner, in his man- ners.
Never, perhaps, did an honest man make more enemies than he in early life. He had a few friends that were attached to him, a few who admired his ability, and only a few. Yet not- withstanding all this, his legal practice was large. Said a prominent Democrat, the Hon. Peter Staub, Consul to Geneva under Mr. Cleveland: "I voted twice for Mr. Maynard. I never liked him, but always admired him on account of his talents and the purity of his character."
Time passed on. He began to make Whig speeches. That made him friends. It brought him also more in affiliation with the people. In 1853, as we have seen, he was nominated for
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Congress, and was badly beaten in a Whig District. Seldom have the vials of slander and defamation been more freely and unjustly poured out than they were on him on this occasion. He took his defeat meekly, complained not, made further sacri- fices for his party, and in this way began to grow stronger. In 1856 in the face of his recent ill-treatment, he canvassed the State for the Whig party. In 1857 he was again nominated for Congress, and this time was elected. Many of those who disliked him in 1853, through sympathy or from better knowledge of him, now supported him. He, too, had learned by experience. The "common herd," as he had called the plain people, with whom he said in one of his essays while a teacher in the University he "desired no fellowship," he at length learned to respect, and to treat with the consideration they always demand of those who seek their suffrages. By this time he had found out that the "few choice spirits" he desired as "associates," could not elect a man to a seat in Congress. The prejudice created by his manners and by these foolish articles, not written seriously perhaps, began to die away, but it did not entirely disappear until his last years in Congress, or until his triumphant race for that position against Andrew Johnson.
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