Michigan Governor Austin Blair

Have you heard of our long-ago Michigan governor, Austin Blair? He was an extremely effective and generous head of our state who literally helped the north win the Civil War. I just wish I could have known him, for he was a great fellow in many ways.

Blair was born in New York in 1818 and helped his father farm for his first 17 years. Then he went to college and graduate school there in New York to become a lawyer.

After graduating in 1841, he moved to Michigan for the rest of his life. He practiced law for a couple of years in Eaton Rapids, but he quickly became extremely upset about the sad situation of the slaves in the south, and therefore he moved to Jackson, Michigan, where he could more easily became involved with politicians who were concerned with eliminating slavery.

In 1849, when he was 31, he married Sarah L. Ford, who was also from New York, and they had four boys.

Then in 1852 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Jackson County and two years later he served as Parliamentary Leader in the Senate.

By 1861 he became our state’s 13th governor. At first it seemed to him to be a part-time job, but as the war quickly became a huge problem, he gave his all and became known as Michigan’s finest “War-Time Governor.”

He was remarkably generous during the war, giving a lot of his own salary to help get more troops of soldiers involved. He was requested to contribute just four regiments, but he was so caring about the poor blacks that he went on to establish the fifth, sixth, and seventh regiments, and he continued to supply troops for the Union forces throughout the war.

In addition, he personally helped to raise about $100,000 to organize and equip the troops. As a result, when Blair left office in 1864, he was almost destitute, despite the famous quote from the past by Anne Frank, “No one has ever become poor by giving.”

Sadly, because our state had so many men in the war, we suffered considerable losses, especially at the Battle of Gettysburg. Altogether 14,753 Michigan soldiers died in service, roughly one of every six who served. Approximately 4,500 died from combat, while over 10,000 died from disease because of what Wikipedia describes as “disease, a constant fear in crowded army camps with poor food, sanitation and exposure issues and pre-modern medicine.” Though Michigan was a fairly new state at that point, it suffered the sixth-highest losses among the Union States.

Nevertheless, Michigan people in all political, religious, ethnic and occupational groups were enthusiastic and appreciated Blair’s deep caring.
Of course this state was far away geographically from the problems of the South, but it supplied not only many troops but several important generals. It’s touching that Abraham Lincoln said of our state, “Thank God for Michigan.”

After the war, Blair ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate, but then, from 1867-1873, he represented Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District. He then returned to Jackson to resume his law practice. In addition, he was was a member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents from 1881 to 1889.

Blair died there in Jackson in 1894, at age 64, and was buried there.

He was certainly loved by our state, for just after his death the Michigan legislature appropriated $7,200.00 for a statue in Blair's memory. It was to be placed on Capitol Square, the only time that an actual person has been honored with a statue on the capitol's grounds.