Harris Merrill Plaisted (November 2, 1828 – January 31, 1898) was an attorney, politician, and Union Army officer from Maine.

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.

degree from Albany Law School with several honors and awards, including a gold medal for an essay on the topic of equity jurisprudence.

[2] Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Plaisted enlisted in the Union Army and was commissioned as the lieutenant colonel of the 11th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment on October 30, 1861.

[1] Plaisted advanced to command of a brigade which included the 11th Maine, 10th Connecticut, 24th Massachusetts, 100th New York, and 206th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiments.

[1] In September 1875, Plaisted was chosen in a special election to serve in the Forty-fourth United States Congress, filling the vacancy caused by the death of Congressman Samuel F.

[1] He served in the US House from September 13, 1875, to March 3, 1877, and resigned as Attorney General in December 1875 in order to attend the session of Congress that started later that month.

[1] He did not run for renomination in 1876, accepting the decision of a Republican district convention that voted to maintain an informal rotation system which mandated the selection of a nominee from Aroostook County.

[1] During Plaisted's tenure in the US House, his time and effort was concentrated on his service as a member of the committee that investigated the Whiskey Ring, a major scandal that came to light during the Grant administration.

[1] In 1878, events including wage cuts that precipitated the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 caused Plaisted to leave the Republican Party because of dissatisfaction with their monetary policy.

[1] Instead, he favored federal government-issued currency not backed by gold and silver, believing that this would prevent deflation and make business easier to transact by holding costs and salaries steady.

[1] Taking advantage of voter unhappiness caused by the lingering effects of the 1873 economic downturn, Plaisted prevailed over incumbent Republican Daniel F. Davis by fewer than 200 votes, becoming one of only four non-Republicans to hold the governorship between the founding of the party in the 1850s and the Great Depression in 1929.

[1] By 1883, voter concern over the economic downturn that had begun in the 1870s had largely abated, and Plaisted was defeated for reelection by Republican Frederick Robie.

[5] He used its editorial pages to convey his political views, and engaged in long-running debates with Republicans over their monetary policy, primarily Maine party leader James G.