So this floated by on social media, from a post by MILITARY IMAGES: "in September (1863), Maine's Portland Daily Press newspaper published an editorial on state politics, taking aim at the Democratic Party's candidate for governor, Bion Bradbury, a Copperhead who reportedly threatened to withdraw troops from the army should he be elected."
Huh.
Curiosity piqued, I poked around but didn't find much on the man.
What did surface was just another illustration that public support for the war in the North was far from monolithic.
Maine Memory has little on him. https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/12845
From MAINE AND THE CIVIL WAR (1861-1865)
Unpaginated http://www.thomaslegion.net/americancivilwar/wikimainecivilwar.html
The citizens of Maine were divided into three parties at the
election which took place on the second Monday of Sept., 1862:
viz, the Republican, the Democratic, and the "War Democrats."
The Republicans placed in nomination Abner Coburn as their
candidate for governor; the "War Democrats" nominated Col.
Charles D. Jameson, colonel of the 2nd Maine regiment; and the
regular Democratic party nominated Bion Bradbury, who had
previously failed to receive the nomination of the "War Demo-
crats."
*
At the election held
on Sept. 8, Coburn received 45,534 votes; Jameson, 7,178, and
Bradbury, 32.331, a Republican majority over both the others
of 6,025. Four Republican Congressmen, one Democratic Con-
gressman, and a Republican majority of 81 in the state legis-
lature were elected at the same time.
*
The Democrats renominated their candidate of the previous year,
Bion Bradbury, and adopted resolutions announcing their devotion
to the Constitution and the Union, but severely denouncing many
of the war measures of the Government. They declared that in the
opinion of the convention the war was conducted by the present administration
"not for the restoration of the Union, but for the abolition of
slavery and the destruction of the Union." In the election
which followed on Sept. 14, Cony received 67,916 votes, and
Bradbury 50,366 — a majority for Cony of 17,550. The Union
party also had a majority of 118 on joint ballot in the legislature,
elected at the same time.
Huh.
Curiosity piqued, I poked around but didn't find much on the man.
What did surface was just another illustration that public support for the war in the North was far from monolithic.
Maine Memory has little on him. https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/12845
From MAINE AND THE CIVIL WAR (1861-1865)
Unpaginated http://www.thomaslegion.net/americancivilwar/wikimainecivilwar.html
The citizens of Maine were divided into three parties at the
election which took place on the second Monday of Sept., 1862:
viz, the Republican, the Democratic, and the "War Democrats."
The Republicans placed in nomination Abner Coburn as their
candidate for governor; the "War Democrats" nominated Col.
Charles D. Jameson, colonel of the 2nd Maine regiment; and the
regular Democratic party nominated Bion Bradbury, who had
previously failed to receive the nomination of the "War Demo-
crats."
*
At the election held
on Sept. 8, Coburn received 45,534 votes; Jameson, 7,178, and
Bradbury, 32.331, a Republican majority over both the others
of 6,025. Four Republican Congressmen, one Democratic Con-
gressman, and a Republican majority of 81 in the state legis-
lature were elected at the same time.
*
The Democrats renominated their candidate of the previous year,
Bion Bradbury, and adopted resolutions announcing their devotion
to the Constitution and the Union, but severely denouncing many
of the war measures of the Government. They declared that in the
opinion of the convention the war was conducted by the present administration
"not for the restoration of the Union, but for the abolition of
slavery and the destruction of the Union." In the election
which followed on Sept. 14, Cony received 67,916 votes, and
Bradbury 50,366 — a majority for Cony of 17,550. The Union
party also had a majority of 118 on joint ballot in the legislature,
elected at the same time.
Bringing the