Erastus Fairbanks, of St. Johnsbury, was the first war Governor of Vermont, and was elected in September, 1860, and held office for one year. He had served the State as Governor previously for one year, being elected in September, 1852. His second administration was attended with the most important questions that had occurred since Vermont's admission into the Union. The announcement of secession and adoption of ordinances of state sovereignty was a realization that Governor Fairbanks did not expect, and was very slow to believe though treasonable would culminate in war.
Therefore, when the first hostile shell that was sent hissing and screeching over the blue waters of Charleston Harbor in the early gray of morning against Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861, Vermont was not prepared to respond as promptly to President Lincoln's first call for troops as other states. However, this overt and wicked act dispelled every doubt and aroused the Governor to immediate action that Vermont might be ready to respond when called upon. Governor Fairbanks was a fine Christian gentleman and of the old type of highly honorable citizens and as firm and steadfast in his convictions of right and wrong as the green hills among which he lived.
The people of Vermont as with a single voice rose to the importance and necessity of strenuous action, party lines found no place among the people, only one thought animated all. namely, suppress the rebellion and punish the traitors.
Governor Fairbanks now issued a proclamation calling a special session of the Legislature which was the first of any governor convening its Legislature to prepare for war. And from this time until the close of his term of office, none more assiduously applied honest effort and devotion that his state might be ready to respond to each and every call promptly, and to the uttermost discharged every duty in order that the dark and wicked scheme of treason might be destroyed, the Union preserved and the reputation of the Green Mountain State sustained.
He entertained the hope that the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 troops would be sufficient to restore peace and order. So sanguine was his conviction that war would be ended in 90 days, that he disbanded a company recruited by W.D. Munson of Colchester for artillery service, thinking it unnecessary to be at the expense to purchase cannon and otherwise equip for the field.
It is proper to here state that Governor Fairbanks both in and out of office put forth his great influence financially and otherwise in prosecution of the war until the enemy was subdued and peace declared. While he was not the most able of Vermont's distinguished Governors, yet he was second to none in philanthropy as evidenced by his many generous bequests. His administration was creditable, patriotic and satisfactory. He stood high in the estimation of all Vermonters, and maintained this reputation to the end of life.
~ History of the 13th Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, War of 1861-1865, written in 1910 by Ralph Orson Sturtevant, pages 12 & 13.
You can visit the memorial page for Erastus Fairbanks.
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