Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Macon Allen, born in Indiana, August 4th 1816. The ambitious schoolteacher relocated to Maine and studied law under tutelage of an abolitionist who later co-founded the state GOP. Passing the bar in July 1844 made him the nation’s first African-American lawyer. He later became a justice of the peace in Boston. Allen moved to South Carolina after the Civil War, and with two others opened the first Black-owned law firm. Republicans nominated him for secretary of state. February 1873, the GOP-controlled legislature elected him to a judicial vacancy. After two years with the Grant administration Treasury Department, he was elected probate judge. Allen settled in Washington, DC to practice law for a real estate company. He "left a legacy as a pioneer in African American legal history that transcended time, space, and the tenor of the nation and...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Alfred Torbert, born in Delaware, July 1st 1833. He graduated from West Point in 1855. Early deployments were to Nebraska and Wyoming. Being from a slave state, Torbert was offered a position by Confederates at outbreak of civil war. Remaining loyal, he accepted command of the 1st New Jersey Infantry. His troops fought at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and Winchester. President Grant made him Ambassador to El Salvador, then Consul General in Havana, then Consul General in Paris. Torbert joined with other businessmen planning to build a railroad in Mexico. Enroute, he drowned when his ship sank during a storm near the Florida coast, August 29th 1880. There is a statue of the venturesome general in his hometown. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I spotlight the first National Historic Landmark. During the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Sergeant Charles Floyd died – probably from appendicitis – near Sioux City, Iowa. Flooding swept away a wooden marker in 1857.  A local association secured funding from the federal and state governments and private sources for the U.S. Corps of Engineers to build a 100-foot sandstone obelisk. Completed in 1900, it stands on a 23-acre park and encloses Floyd’s remains. June 30th 1960, the Eisenhower administration designated the site as the nation’s first National Historic Landmark. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about the history of our party, the more Democrats will worry about the future of theirs. For more i...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Oliver Spaulding, born August 2nd 1833. He attended Oberlin College in Ohio, then relocated to Michigan and studied law. Outbreak of civil war, Spaulding enlisted as captain. His regiment battled through Tennessee, Georgia and the Carolinas. He merited promotion to colonel. Peace restored, Spaulding was elected secretary of state and served on the Michigan GOP committee. President Grant offered to nominate him for a judgeship in Utah, then named him to a Treasury Department position. In 1880, he won a congressional term. President Arthur sent him on a diplomatic mission to Hawaii. This reliable public servant was Assistant Treasury Secretary during the Harrison administration, delegate to the 1896 Republican National Convention, and again Assistant Treasury Secretary during the McKinley administration. Theodore Roosevelt and Willia...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Samuel Pingree, born August 2nd 1835. He attended Dartmouth, then studied law. Outbreak of civil war, this young Republican recruited volunteers and enlisted as lieutenant with the 3rd Vermont Infantry. Pingree was severely wounded during the Peninsula Campaign. After ten weeks in hospital, he returned to his regiment and was promoted. He later fought at Spotsylvania, Wilderness, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. His last battle was the defense of Washington at Fort Stevens. Lieutenant Colonel Pingree received the Medal of Honor. Peace restored, Pingree served as county prosecutor and attended the GOP's 1868 national convention. He was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1882 and Governor in 1884. "His administration was characterized by the same efficiency and zeal which he ever displayed as soldier, lawyer and citizen." Later ...