Sketches of Successful New Hampshire Men
C, which was most exposed to the fire of the Union guns from Morris
island, but providentially, though that part of the doomed city was
destroyed, no harm came to him from the guns of his fellow-loyalists.
The first set battle in which the Eleventh Regiment bore a part was that
of Fredericksburg, in December, 1862, when, with unflinching courage,
Col. Harriman and his men faced the dreadful carnage of that long day
before Marye's Height, less than three months after their arrival in the
field. The loss of the regiment in this engagement was terrific. Passing
over much (for want of space) that is thrilling and praiseworthy, we
find the Eleventh under their colonel, at the front, in the battle of
the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, when they made a daring and stubborn onset
on the Confederate intrenchments, carrying before them two successive
lines of the enemy's works. But among the five thousand Union men that
were captured in that bloody engagement, the commander of the Eleventh
N. H. was included. Col. Harriman and the survivors of his charge were
present at the final grapple of the war before Petersburg, and on the 3d
day of April, 1865, he led a brigade of nine large regiments (a force
three times as great as the whole American army at Bunker Hill) into
that fated city, on the heels of Lee's fleeing command. The war was now
virtually ended, the surrender of Lee at Appomattox followed six days
afterwards, and the Eleventh Regiment, of proud and honorable record,
was mustered out of service in the following June. Their commander was
appointed Brigadier-General U. S. V., by brevet, "for gallant conduct
during the war," to date from March 13, 1865.
On his arrival home, at the close of the war, Gen. Harriman was elected
to the office of secretary of state, by the legislature then in session,
and he at once entered upon the duties of the office, which he held two
years, and until his promotion to the gubernatorial chair. In the large
Republican convention, consisting of six hundred and seventy-five
delegates, and held at Concord in January, 1867, he was nominated, on
the first ballot, as candidate for governor of the state. One of the
most salient and memorable incidents connected with this period was the
joint canvass made, by amicable arrangement, between Gen. Harriman and
the Hon. John G. Sinclair, the Democratic candidate. Such canvasses are
not uncommon in the West and South; but in New England, and with two men
of such forensic ability as these distinguished nominees possessed, it
was an event fraught with great popular interest, and which drew forth,
possibly, the most earnest and eloquent discussions of questions to
which a New England people has ever listened. Many flattering notices
were given of these discussions. There were thirteen in all. Commenting
on one of the number, a leading newspaper said of Gen. Harriman:
"Soaring above all petty personal allusions, he held the audience as if
spell-bound, and made all his hearers, for the time being, lovers of the
whole country,--of the Union, of liberty, and independence throughout
the world. He spoke not as a politician, but as a patriot, a statesman,
a philanthropist, and his noble sentiments had such power of conviction
that it was impossible to ward off the results by argument." His
election followed by a decisive majority.
The campaign of 1868 occurred at a time when a strong reaction was
setting against the Republican party throughout the country. Fresh
candidates for the presidency were about to be nominated; the
impeachment of Andrew Johnson was in progress; military rule had been
established in the South; utter financial ruin was hotly foretold; and
the dominant party was suffering crushing reverses in many of the
leading states. To add to the discouragements of this party in New
Hampshire, when the municipal elections came on in December, Portsmouth
and Manchester rolled up adverse majorities, and the tide was tending
strongly in one direction. Encouraged by such promising signs, the
Democratic party held its state convention at the early day of the 14th
of November. Their old and tried war-horse, John G. Sinclair, was again
put upon the track, and his election was, by the party, deemed a
foregone conclusion. A long and fierce contest ensued. Gov. Harriman met
his fellow-citizens, face to face, in every section of the state. He
addressed immense meetings, holding one every secular day for six weeks,
and failing to meet no appointment on account of weariness, storms, or
any other cause. He was triumphantly re-elected, obtaining a larger vote
than any candidate for office had ever before received in New Hampshire.
Of Gov. Harriman's administration of the affairs of the state, in its
principal features, with the exacting duties and the keen prudence
required of the chief executive in those days of large indebtedness,
unbalanced accounts, and new legislation to meet the new and
unprecedented demands, his constituents seem to have been hearty and
unanimous in their approval. Their feelings may be summed up and
expressed in the words of the _Boston Journal_, when it said: "The
administration of Gov. Harriman will take rank among the best that New
Hampshire has ever had."
General Harriman was appointed naval officer of the port of Boston, by
President Grant, in April, 1869, which office he accepted after the
expiration of his gubernatorial term in June following. He was
re-appointed in 1873, for a term of four years. The affairs of this
office were conducted in such manner as to preclude any word of
criticism.
Gen. Harriman has engaged in political canvasses repeatedly in most of
the northern states, and in 1872 he participated extensively in the
state campaign in North Carolina. In this latter canvass, the key-note
of the national campaign was pitched, and the result of the desperate
contest there in August made the re-election of Gen. Grant in November a
certainty.
Thousands have warmly testified to the rare oratorical powers of the
subject of this sketch, the _Meriden_ (Conn.) _Recorder_ being one of
the number. That paper says of him: "As a platform speaker, we never
heard his equal. His delivery is fine, his logic clear as crystal, his
manner easy and natural, and his physical force tremendous. With a voice
clear and distinct as a trumpet, of immense compass, volume, and power,
his influence over an audience is complete. He affects nothing, but
proceeds at once to the work in hand, and from the very outset carries
his hearers with him, rising, at times, with the inspiration of his
theme, to the loftiest flights of eloquence."
Gov. Harriman has been twice married; first, in 1841, to Miss Apphia K.,
daughter of Capt. Stephen Hoyt, of Warner, who died two years
afterwards; and again in 1844, to his present wife, Miss Almira R.
Andrews. By the latter marriage he has had three children. Georgia, the
only daughter, is the wife of Joseph R. Leeson, an enterprising importer
of Boston. Walter Channing, the oldest son, married Miss Mabel Perkins,
of Portsmouth. He is a promising and successful lawyer, living at
Exeter, and solicitor of Rockingham county. The younger son, Benjamin E.
having prepared himself for the medical profession at some of the best
schools in the land, took his degree at Dartmouth College in 1877, and
began practice in Manchester. But his health soon failing, after patient
and determined efforts for its recovery, and after attempting in another
place to resume his professional work, he died at his father's home in
Concord, in May, 1880, lamented, not only by his own family, but by a
large circle of devoted and enthusiastic friends. His wife, so early
bereaved, was Miss Jessie B., only daughter of the late Col. Isaac W.
Farmer, of Manchester. A biographical paper read before the N. H.
Medical Society, by Dr. A. H. Crosby (a physician of wide reputation),
and printed, portrays the character of Dr. Harriman in generous outline,
and fine and tender tinting, and from it we know that he was a young man
of high integrity, large capacities for friendship, and superior
equipment for his life-work. There are two grandsons to represent the
family, one in the home of each of the governor's surviving children.
The home of Gov. Harriman in Concord, where he has now lived since 1872,
is a delightful one, and no one enjoys it with more satisfaction than he
himself. A great traveler, by the necessities of his public career, he
has a mastering fondness for quiet domestic life, and never are his rich
stores of experience, his knowledge of men, and his fine sense of humor
with its exhaustless fund of material, more ready at his command than of
an evening in his own house. He writes for various of the standard
publications of New England, and no time hangs wearisome on his mind. He
wears the honorary degree of A. M., conferred by Dartmouth College in
1867. A good citizen and neighbor, a delightful companion, free and
familiar and sympathetic with all persons, his intellectual power now at
high noon, and never better able to serve his time than now, it would
seem that many years of useful activity are before him ere the restful
evening descends.
HON. SAMUEL METCALF WHEELER.
HON. SAMUEL METCALF WHEELER was born in Newport, N. H., May 11, 1823. He
was the only son--having one sister--of Albira and Melinda (Metcalf)
Wheeler, who came of families of remarkably vigorous constitution and
decided longevity; and from his ancestry, doubtless, Mr. Wheeler
inherits the intellectual and physical ability which has made him so
careful in breadth of study, and so successful as a legal adviser at the
bar and in legislative debate and action.
Mr. Wheeler's early education was obtained in the seminary at Claremont,
N. H., the military academy at Windsor, Vt., at Newbury Seminary, Vt.,
and in private instruction in the languages.
In 1844 he entered upon the study of law in the office of Walker &
Slade, at Royalton, Vt.; seven months later he entered that of Tracy &
Converse at Woodstock, Vt., where he remained two years and a half; and
for some months afterwards he read law with Hon. Ralph Metcalf, an
ex-governor of New Hampshire, from whose office he was admitted to the
bar in 1847. He commenced practice in Newport, where he remained about a
year. The next four or five years he practiced in Fisherville, and in
1853 he removed to Dover, where he at once entered upon a large and
successful practice, and where he still remains. At first he was in
business connection with John H. Wiggin. Esq., which lasted for two
years. Subsequently, in 1858, he associated with himself Hon. Joshua G.
Hall, then commencing practice, and the law firm of "Wheeler & Hall"
continued for eight years. Since that time. Mr. Wheeler, while having
the assistance made necessary by his practice, has remained without a
partner.
As a lawyer, Mr. Wheeler has long been recognized as a leader. His
natural abilities, strengthened and brightened by patient study, which
has made him familiar with the law and precedents, and his learning,
supplemented by the power to see all the features of a case and a
conscientious devotion to the interest of his client, make him a safe
adviser. His particular success, however, has undoubtedly been in the
trial of jury causes, where his extensive study, quickness of
perception, tact, and forensic ability, and a habit of thought which
grasps particulars into a whole, tending to one strong impression upon
listeners, have been the elements which have made him very strong.
Mr. Wheeler was from the first one of the pillars of Republican strength
in Strafford county; and when the party in Dover has needed some one to
represent it with conspicuous ability it has very often called upon him.