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Caleb Strong
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==Second term and War of 1812== {{further|War of 1812}} In 1812 Strong was convinced by Massachusetts Federalist leaders to come out of retirement to run once again for governor. War with Britain was imminent, and the Federalists sought a strong candidate to oppose Elbridge Gerry, who had been victorious against [[Christopher Gore]] in the previous two elections.<ref>Buel, p. 147.</ref> Gerry, who had originally been somewhat moderate, became increasingly partisan during his tenure, and Federalists viewed Strong's earlier success in office and relatively modest demeanor as assets. Strong's victory in the election, which saw the Federalists also regain control of the legislature, was attributed to several factors: Federalists capitalized on the partisanship of the recent redistricting of the state that resulted in the coining of the term "[[Gerrymandering|gerrymander]]", and there was strong anti-war sentiment in the state.<ref>Buel, pp. 147β149.</ref> Strong was reelected by wide margins in the following war years.<ref>Buel, pp. 175, 202.</ref> [[Image:1789 CastleWilliam BostonHarbor MassachusettsMagazine.jpg|thumb|left|Fort Adams, the principal defense of [[Boston Harbor]], in 1789. It was later rededicated [[Fort Independence (Massachusetts)|Fort Independence]].<ref>Butler et al, p. 10.</ref>]] Strong took a principled stand against the War of 1812, generally refusing to assist federal government efforts to prosecute the war. Strong was part of a chorus of Massachusetts (and more broadly New England) Federalists who complained that in "[[James Madison|Mr. Madison's]] War" the federal government was trampling state and individual rights.<ref>Stuart, p. 109.</ref> He adhered to the view that state militia could not be required to serve under regular army command.<ref>Buel, p. 166.</ref> When the first such requests were made by U. S. Army General [[Henry Dearborn]], Strong refused and was backed by the Governor's Council as well as the Supreme Judicial Court. He argued that there was no need to call out the militia because invasion was not imminent.<ref>Hickey, p. 590.</ref> Because of his stance against regular army command, the state was denied a shipment of arms that was instead diverted to frontier areas and the war theater.<ref>Buel, p. 176.</ref> Strong also took no particular actions to prevent widespread smuggling along the state's frontiers with the neighboring British provinces.<ref>Stuart, pp. 89β90.</ref> Strong's opposition to regular army control was more nuanced than that of neighboring [[Connecticut]] Governor [[John Cotton Smith]], who ensured that his militia always remained under state command.<ref>Hickey, pp. 592β593.</ref> Strong was more concerned that the state militia not be used except in defense of the state's borders, and he compromised on the issue of command. In 1812, not long after refusing General Dearborn's request, he authorized the dispatch of militia companies to the state's eastern district (now [[Maine]]) under U.S. Army command.<ref>Hickey, p. 594.</ref> With the British naval blockade tightening and threatening the state's coastal communities in early 1814, Strong authorized Brigadier General [[Thomas Humphrey Cushing|Thomas H. Cushing]] to command militia forces in the defenses of [[Boston Harbor]], subject to reasonable limitations. Cushing was transferred to Connecticut, and General Dearborn again commanded the regular army forces in Massachusetts. Dearborn interpreted the agreement Strong had made with Cushing to apply statewide and began reorganizing militia companies to conform to regular army practices.<ref>Hickey, p. 595.</ref> This engendered ill will among the militia, and Strong refused to place additional levies under Dearborn's command.<ref>Hickey, p. 596.</ref> [[File:SirJohnSherbrookeByRobertField.jpg|thumb|right|upright|British General Sir [[John Coape Sherbrooke]], Lieutenant Governor of [[Nova Scotia]] and leader of the expedition that in 1814 occupied [[Castine, Maine|Castine]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=3132|title=Biography of John Coape Sherbrooke|publisher=Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online|access-date=February 12, 2013}}</ref>]] The defense of Maine, however, proved problematic. Strong's aide [[William H. Sumner]] negotiated an agreement with the Army command for the defense of [[Portland, Maine|Portland]], but the ironically Republican-dominated district militia objected, first to the idea of serving under any regular army leadership, and then to serving under a relatively low-ranked officer (a lieutenant colonel) who was given command of Portland after the agreement was signed. Several units of local militia refused the perform their assigned duties.<ref>Hickey, pp. 596β597.</ref> One consequence of the dispute was that most militia in the state remained under state control and were thus paid from state coffers at a cost of around $200,000 per month.<ref>Hickey, p. 598.</ref> This further strained the state economy, which was already suffering because of the British blockade.<ref>Hickey, pp. 599β600.</ref> Following the British seizure of [[Castine, Maine|Castine]] in September 1814, Strong called the legislature into session early in October to respond to the occupation.<ref name=Buel212>Buel, p. 212.</ref> Given that the federal government was unwilling to fund militia not under its control, the legislature authorized Strong to borrow money to fund a major expansion of the militia, but most of the funds acquired were spent improving Boston's defenses.<ref>Banks, p. 60.</ref> Another result of the special session was a call for a meeting of states opposed to the war, which became known as the [[Hartford Convention]].<ref name=Buel212/> Around the time of the convention, which was held in [[Hartford, Connecticut]], beginning in December 1814, Strong secretly wrote to [[Nova Scotia]] Lieutenant-Governor Sir [[John Coape Sherbrooke]], essentially offering a separate peace in exchange for the return of the seized territory.<ref name=Morison362_370>Morison, pp. 362β370.</ref> He also refused to authorize temporary Massachusetts funding for a federally led expedition to recover Castine, leading to further cries of indignation from Maine's Republicans.<ref>Banks, pp. 61β62.</ref> The [[Treaty of Ghent]] ended the war before the Nova Scotia negotiations went anywhere.<ref name=Morison362_370/> Strong's policies during the war are credited as one of the reasons for Maine's drive for statehood, which came to a successful conclusion in 1820.<ref>Clark, pp. 60β69.</ref> In 1816, with the war at an end, Strong decided once again to retire from politics.<ref name=Trumbull600>Trumbull, p. 600.</ref> Strong died in Northampton on November 7, 1819, and was buried in its Bridge Street Cemetery.<ref>{{CongBio|S001009|inline=yes}}</ref>
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