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| Harrison Reed |
Harrison Reed was the ninth Governorof Florida. Reed was born in Littleton, Massachusetts, on August 26, 1813, to parents Seth and Rhoda Reed.
In 1861 he moved to Washington, D.C. to assume a post at the Treasury Department. While in Washington, his wife died on October 13, 1862. In 1863, he was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to be a tax commissioner in Florida to deal with seized Confederate property. While working as Tax Commissioner, Reed traveled to Fernandina Beach on several occasions. He met Chloe Merrick, a teacher of freedmen children, on one occasion. He became very impressed with Miss Merrick.
In 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed him the postal agent for Florida. In 1868, Florida enacted a new constitution and Reed was elected governor by the people. He assumed office on June 8, 1868, however, it was not until July 4, 1868 that the federal commander of Florida recognized the constitution and the election as valid, giving Reed control of the state. He appointed Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs as Florida's first African-American Secretary of State, and commissioned Gibbs as a lieutenant colonel in the Florida State Militia. During his term, there were at least two efforts to remove him, the first byWilliam Henry Gleason, his lieutenant governor from 1868 to 1870.
Gleason proclaimed himself Governor in November 1868. The state adjutant general and the county'ssheriff supported Reed and organized an effort to deny Gleason access to the Capitol. On November 24, 1868, the Florida Supreme Court held that the Senate had lacked a quorum and could not have impeached Reed.
During the second attempt to impeach Reed, Lieutenant Governor Samuel T. Day claimed to be Acting Governor from February 10 to May 4, 1872. While his impeachment was pending, Reed had felt he was disqualified from holding office, and had gone to his farm to await events. The Legislature adjourned without bringing him to trial, which he construed as tantamount to acquittal. While Day was in Jacksonville for a party caucus, Reed returned to Tallahassee, declared himself Governor, and appointed a new Attorney General. Reed's proclamation was then approved by the Secretary of State
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