Reverend William G. Brownlow Against the Stream

by JAMES BARNETT

One day in January in 1862, the readers of the Columbus, Georgia, Times were treated to this bit of blood-thirsty journalism: "Now, this hoary-headed and persistent traitor is occupying too much of the time and attention of the country. HE DESERVES DEATH AND WE VOTE TO KILL HIM!" That such hatred should be directed toward one man, espe- cially a minister of the Methodist church, merits an examination of the man and his actions. Contrary to a modern concept, not everyone living south of the Mason-Dixon line was pro-Confederate at the time of the Civil War nor was everyone living north of this imaginary line necessarily pro-Union. However, less is known of the pro-Union sentiment in the South than is known of Copperhead sentiment in the North. A number of prominent pro-Unionists in the South have passed into obscurity. Such a figure is the man the unknown Georgia journalist wanted to kill in 1862. He was the Reverend William G. Brown- low, better known as the Fighting Parson, or simply as Parson Brownlow. He was the editor of the Knoxville, Tennessee, Whig, who fought secession in the columns of his newspaper and at one time stood alone as the only newspaper editor in the South who supported the Union. The men in the South who precipitated the rebellion con- stituted a small minority of the population. Of the eight million inhabitants of the South only three hundred thousand owned slaves, yet these slave owners were the ruling class. Though numerically a feeble minority, they possessed the capacity to govern the actions of a large, inarticulate mass of people and caused these people to make the major sacrifices in a war against the Union, a war from which the vast majority of the southern people could gain nothing. This in substance was the central fact that Brownlow con- stantly warned his fellow southerners about in his speeches and in the columns of his newspaper. And nowhere in the South was this fact more true than in Brownlow's home bailiwick of East Tennessee. Here the clash between the Confederate government 206 The Bulletin

and the majority of the people was more sharply outlined than anywhere else in the South. East Tennessee was rich in natural resources and had for its economic base the family-type farm. Its mountains were abun- dantly covered with timber and in the earth lay rich deposits of iron ore, copper, zinc, lead, and coal. In the fertile valleys farmers performed their own labor and raised a wide variety of crops in excess of their needs. They placed their excess farm products on the market. At the apex of the economic pyramid stood the townspeople, the merchants and traders. Growing modern capitalism had already begun to exploit the natural resources of the region. Significantly enough, no cotton was raised in East Tennessee. The rulers of the Confederacy, the slave owners, had their economy based on a single crop, cotton. In East Ten- nessee slavery was almost unknown, and most of the population performed its own labor. The conditions were not present to support a single crop economy of cotton based on chattel slavery. From the military point of view East Tennessee was vital to the war plans of the Confederacy. Through Knoxville ran the East Tennessee-Virginia railroad, a vital link in the South's only east-west trunk line. This railroad was needed by the war-makers to feed troops and supplies from the cotton states to the Virginia battlefields. Brownlow became the articulate spokesman for the East Tennessee status quo, a free labor bridgehead pointed like a dagger at the cotton states, the heartland of the South. Ironically enough, Brownlow was not opposed to slavery at the outbreak of the Civil War. But even this fact did not mitigate the hatred heaped upon him by the secession-minded southerners, who sought to silence him. He preached from the pulpit of his Methodist church on Sundays, delivered temperance lectures and at least once and sometimes three times a week produced editions of his Knoxville Whig. As the war clouds of rebellion gathered on the horizon, he lacerated the proponents of secession with stinging words and incurred their undying hatred for his unqualified support of the Union. When Fort Sumter was fired upon, Brownlow was fifty-six years old, and he described himself in this manner: Against the Stream 207 I am about six feet tall and have weighed as much as one hundred and seventy-five pounds. I have very few gray hairs in my head and will pass for a man of forty years. I have as strong a voice as any man in East Tennessee. For the last twenty-five years I have edited the Knoxville Whig, the paper with the largest circulation in East Tennessee. I have never been arraigned in the church for any immorality. I never played a card. I never drank a dram of liquor, until within a few years — when it was taken as a medicine. I never was in attendance at a theater. I never attended a horse race, and never witnessed their running, save on the fair grounds of my own county. I never courted but one woman; and her I married. I have taken part in all the religious and political controversies of my day and have writ- ten several books. Secession sentiment rumbled louder and louder in the deep South as the election of 1860 approached. It was a foregone conclusion that Lincoln's election meant secession by a large number of southern states. But there was a chance that a number of border states such as Tennessee could be held. Brownlow was ready for the fight to keep Tennessee in the Union. Whether intended as a jest or not, one Jordan Clark of Camden, Arkansas, urged Brownlow to come over to the side of the Democratic party, which meant, of course, an anti-Union position. This infuriated Brownlow, who lashed back at Clark in this fashion: I join the Democrats! Never so long as there are sects in churches, weeds in gardens, fleas in hog pens, dirt in vict- uals, disputes in families, wars with nations, water in the ocean, bad men in America, or base women in France! No, Jordan Clark, you may hope, you may congratulate, you may reason, you may sneer, but that cannot be. The thrones of the Old World, the courts of the Universe, the govern- ments of the World may all fall and crumble into ruins — the New World may commit the national suicide of dis- solving this Union, — but all this and more must occur be- fore I join the Democracy! I join the Democracy! Jordan Clark, you know not what you say. When I join the Democracy, the Pope of Rome will join the Methodist church. When Jordan Clark, of Arkansas, is president of the Republic of Great Britain by the universal suffrage of a contented people; when Queen Victoria consents to be divorced from Prince Albert by a county court in Kansas; when Congress obliges by law James 208 The Bulletin Buchanan to marry a European princess; when the Pope leases the Capitol at Washington for his city residence; when Alexander of Russia and Napoleon of France are elected Senators in Congress from New Mexico; when good men cease to go to heaven or bad men to hell; when this world is turned upside down; when proof is afforded both clear and understandable, that there is no God; when men turn to ants, and ants to elephants, I will change my political faith and come out on the side of the Democrats! In protest against Brownlow's pro-Unionism, subscribers in the cotton states sometimes canceled their subscriptions. A can- cellation usually triggered a tirade against the secession-minded defector by Brownlow. When a subscriber from South Carolina canceled his subscription, Brownlow charged that South Caro- linians were hereditary traitors to their government. He charged that during the Revolutionary War South Carolina was a cesspool of Toryism. He stated that in South Carolina, more than in any other state, scores of the best families had changed their names, after the Revolutionary War, in order to escape the odium of having supported Great Britain against the Continental Army. He even published a list of names of these families and chided the South Carolinians for the treason of their forebears. Disloyalty during the Revolutionary War and secession were one and the same crime to Brownlow. To judge how severe Brownlow's words were at the time, one must know that the southern aristocracy put great store in tradition, and to insult their forebears was enough to cause the aristocratic blood pressure to leap above the boiling point. The mind of the southern aristocrat in those days was not receptive to mental innovations. It was a closed mind incapable of sus- taining the shock of a challenging idea. The frontiers of this mind had been reached, and it possessed neither the mood nor the capacity for intellectual controversy. It was the dangerously inflexible mind that has launched all the aggressive wars of history bringing down upon itself ruin and desolation. To this mind the bottom rung of the southern ladder of social acceptability was the ownership of one slave. The second rung was reached by the ownership of two slaves, and so on. To this southern mind Brownlow represented all that was base and evil. He had been left an orphan at an early age and had Against the Stream 209 worked as a carpenter as a young man and educated himself. To further infuriate this southern mind Brownlow wrote of the dignity of labor and predicted that ultimately ''educated labor will be the salvation of this great country." The southern aristo- crat regarded manual laborers in the same social strata as Negro slaves. It was Brownlow's role in Civil War history to storm this fortress of primitive fanaticism, to blast away at this closed southern mind in an emotional manner. The mind he challenged would not give battle to his ideas and could be stirred up only by attacks on the emotions. He never left any room for doubt in the minds of his readers about his position on any of the issues of the day. He was honest and outspoken. His choice of epithets may seem odd by modern standards when one considers that if he wished to crush an enemy with the crowning insult of all, he called him a ''whiskey drinker." Brownlow could be temperate in his language at times. One such instance occurred after Lincoln's election. Brownlow had this comment to make: "I endorse the innaugural address of Lincoln and I commend it for its temperance and conservatism and for its firm nationality of sentiment." Commending Lincoln, no matter how temperately, served only to bring down upon Brownlow more abuse. One unknown and vicious character sent him a cardboard box through the mail, which contained pus laden bandages which had been wrapped around the limbs of a small pox victim. Once the contents of the box were discovered, Brownlow had it burned without any damage to himself or his family. Threats of violence became more numerous as Brownlow con- tinued his support of the Union. He replied to these threats through his newspaper in these words: If these God forsaken scoundrels and hell deserving as- sassins want satisfaction out of me for what I have said about them — and it has been no little — they can find me on the streets every day of my life but Sunday. I am at all times prepared to give them satisfaction. I take back nothing I have ever said against the corrupt and unprincipled villians, but reiterate all, cast it in their dastardly faces, and hurl down their lying throats their own infamous calumnies. 210 The Bulletin No record exists of any response to this challenge hurled by Brownlow. It may have been because fifty-six was considered old in those days and no one wanted to bear the stigma of having struck an old man. Early in January, 1861, the secessionists began their agitation to take Tennessee out of the Union. Naturally, Brownlow opposed this move and urged his readers to stand firm behind the Union. The voters of the state were asked to vote on the question, should a convention be held to consider secession? This sly way of phrasing the issue revealed the secession sentiment in the hand that penned the question. As the secession-minded well knew, a favorable vote to consider secession would amount to secession itself. However, the trick failed because the people of Tennessee voted not to hold the convention. Temporarily, at least, they voted to keep Tennessee in the Union and to dissociate themselves from the six states which had already seceded shortly after Lincoln's election. It was not until June, 1861, that a favorable vote was obtained to take Tennessee out of the Union. Brownlow charged that this favorable vote would have been impossible and was achieved only because thousands of Confederate soldiers from the cotton states, camped on Tennessee soil, terrorized the people into voting for separation. He wrote: "By such fraud and villiany as this, the great state of Tennessee was carried out of the Union." Anxious to secure rail communications with the Virginia battlegrounds, Confederate troops occupied East Tennessee soon after Fort Sumter was fired upon. The East Tennesseans met this occupation with fierce opposition. Thousands formed them- selves into regiments and fought their way through the Con- federate lines to join the Union army in Kentucky. Other armed bands conducted guerrilla warfare against the Confederate in- vaders. Among their activities they burned railroad bridges in an effort to impede the flow of Confederate soldiers and supplies into Virginia. Meanwhile, in spite of the Confederate occupation of Knox- ville, Brownlow continued to fly the Stars and Stripes over his home and steadfastly refused to sign a loyalty oath to the Con- federate government. And he continued to publish his newspaper, the Knoxville Whig. In his newspaper he refuted the extravagant claims of Confederate victories that flooded the South and Against the Stream 211 countered with a list of Union victories. He ridiculed the Confederate-minded with this bit of sarcasm: Many of you have made big speeches in favor of the war; not a few of you have sought to sell the army supplies, and thousands of you are willing to stoop to fill the offices for the salaries they pay, and you have been so patriotic as to try to get your sons and other relations into office. Some of you have hired yourselves out as spies, understrappers and tools in the glorious cause at two to four dollars per day. Come now, enter the ranks, as there is more honor in serving as privates. . . . Any of us are willing to be judges, attorneys, clerks, Senators, Congressmen and camp followers for pay, when out of danger; but who of us are willing to shoulder our knapsacks and muskets. . . . Come, gentlemen, the eyes of the people are upon you, and they want to see if you will pitch in. This is a good opening.

This provocative bit of invective along with other articles in the same vein caused the Confederate military authorities to attempt to link Brownlow with the bridge burnings in East Tennessee. He was believed to be the fountainhead of all pro- Union feeling in the region. The Confederate military men mistakenly believed that if Brownlow was out of the way, the resistance to their occupation would end. They didn't realize that Brownlow, in addition to speaking for himself, was speaking, also, for all of East Tennessee. Proof of this lies in the fact that, when Brownlow was eventually silenced, the resistance against the occupation did not diminish one whit. Brownlow's friends were concerned over his safety and advised him that the Confederate military authorities, while they had not reduced the order to writing, had every intention of killing him and were waiting only for a suitable provocation. That there was cause for concern cannot be doubted. One Reverend W. H. H. Duggan had been beaten by Confederate soldiers because it had been reported that he had prayed for the United States govern- ment in his church. Another citizen of Knoxville, Charles S. Douglas, had run up the Stars and Stripes over his house when the Confederate troops entered Knoxville and stood guard over his home with a shotgun. Although he was fired upon by Con- federate troops and wounded, he stood his ground and the flag flew over his house all of one day until sunset. The next day 212 The Bulletin

Douglas was seen through an open window in his home, and Confederate soldiers fired, killing him. At this particular time the Confederate troops in Knoxville were commanded by Colonel W. B. Wood. Brownlow had referred to Wood as "this unmitigated villain parson Colonel Wood." He also characterized him as "this Alabama hypocrite who preached on Sundays in the Methodist pulpit and urged his men to do acts of violence on week days." Brownlow's friends suspected that Colonel Wood was not above using his military position to pay off some personal scores he held against Brownlow as a result of pre-war sectarian disputes in the Methodist Church. Finally, Brownlow yielded to the wishes of his friends and decided to close down his newspaper and leave Knoxville. In addition to the danger of being killed by the hostile Confederate soldiery, he was scheduled to be indicted for "treason" before a Confederate grand jury in Nashville. In his final issue of the Knoxville Whig, he stated in calm and firm tones why he refused to sacrifice his personal liberty to "keep peace and to demean myself to the leaders of the secession." He would refuse to sign a loyalty oath to a bogus government and stated that he would rather submit to "imprisonment for life, or die at the end of a rope." He then stated the real reasons for the hostility of the Confederate government toward him: I have refused to make war upon the government of the United States; I have refused to publish false and exaggerated accounts of the several engagements between the contending armies; I have refused to write and publish false versions of the origin of this war, and of the breaking up of the best Government the world ever knew; and all this I will continue to do, if it cost me my life . . . The real object... is to dry up, break down, silence, and destroy the last and only Union newspaper in the eleven seceded states. After the last issue of the Knoxville Whig was distributed, Brownlow's friends spirited him out of Knoxville and hid with him in the Smoky Mountains. An armed guard of pro-Union East Tennesseans guarded the approaches to the hide-out and brought them food. At one stage of their voluntary exile Brown- low's party killed a large bear and had a supply of fresh meat that lasted for several days. Against the Stream 213

With Brownlow's newspaper closed down and with the editor and publisher absent from Knoxville, the resistance of the East Tennesseans to the Confederate occupation continued unabated. The bridges continued to be burned and the Knoxville jail over- flowed with suspected Unionists. Colonel Wood telegraphed Judah P. Benjamin, the Confederate Secretary of War, for instructions on how to deal with the resistance in East Tennessee. Colonel Wood received this reply from Benjamin: All such as can be identified as having been engaged in bridge burning are to be tried summarily by drum head court martial, and, if found guilty, executed on the spot by hanging. It would be well to leave their bodies in the vicin- ity of the burned bridges. If the Confederate military authorities hoped to receive instructions to hang Brownlow, they were doomed to disappoint- ment when Benjamin outlined his position on Brownlow in this manner: I cannot give him a formal passport but I would greatly prefer to see him on the other side of our lines as an avowed enemy. I wish, however, to say that I would be glad to learn that he has left Tennessee and I have no objection to interpose to his leaving, if you are willing to let him pass. The Confederate Brigadier General W. H. Carroll, who had superseded Colonel Wood as the military commandant in Knox- ville, interpreted Benjamin's muddled instructions as meaning that something should be done about Brownlow. Whereupon he contacted the parson through an intermediary and asked him to return to his home in Knoxville. He informed Brownlow that he would be given an opportunity to defend himself before "a civil tribunal, if it is necessary, provided you have committed no act that will make it necessary for the military law to take cognizance." This obvious attempt to link Brownlow with the bridge burnings did not go unnoticed and caused him to state his position on the matter in a letter to General Carroll. Brown- low was opposed to the burning of bridges because as he said: "The Federal Government will need the facilities these roads afford . . ." when East Tennessee is recovered by the Union forces. However, this letter to General Carroll was so provocative in most matters that Brownlow's emissary deemed it prudent to withhold the letter, and it was never delivered to General Carroll. — illustration from Parson Broumlow's Book Parson Brownlow entering the Knoxvill eJail. Against the Stream 215

Brownlow had no intention of giving himself up for any reason except to be sent through the Union lines. He made this point clear in a further exchange of letters with General Carroll. Finally General Carroll assured Brownlow that, if he surrendered himself within twenty-four hours, he would be passed through the Union lines. On December 5, 1861, Brownlow returned to Knoxville and gave himself up to the Confederate military authorities. Arrange- ments were made to remove him from Knoxville within forty-eight hours. However, before the Confederate military authorities could get Brownlow out of Knoxville, he was arrested by the Confederate appointed civil authorities of the city on a warrant signed by one Robert B. Reynolds. The warrant read in part that Brownlow was being arrested for having been "seduced by the instigation of the devil and not having the fear of God before his eyes, did willingly and knowingly commit the crime of TREASON . . ." and had "since the 10th day of June" (1861, the date of Tennessee's secession from the Union) published "a weekly and tri-weekly paper known as Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, said paper had . . . divers of editorials written by the said Brownlow" which "were treasonable against the Confederate States of America." Bail in the amount of $100,000 was offered by Brownlow's friends. However, the civil authorities refused to release him under any circumstances, and he was committed to jail. The jail was overflowing with prisoners who had been confined for the most part for "talking Union Talk." While in jail Brown- low kept a diary, and he records that he spoke to his cellmates in this manner: Gentlemen, don't take your confinement so much to heart. Rather glory in it, as patriots devoted to your country, and to your principles. What are you here for? Not for stealing, not for counterfeiting; but for your devotion to the Stars and Stripes, the glorious old banner under which Washington conquered, lived and died. You will yet enjoy your liberties, and be permitted to die beneath the folds of the old Star Spangled Banner, the sacred emblem of common nationality. The Federal Government will crush out this wicked rebellion and liberate us, if we are not brutally murdered; and if we are, we die in a good cause. I am here with you to stay until the Rebels release me or execute me, or until the Federal 216 The Bulletin army shall come to my rescue. You may take a different view of the subject, but I regard this as the proudest day of my life. Brownlow's family brought him a basket of food each day to supplement the meager prison rations. He shared his extra food with his less fortunate fellow prisoners. On December 9, 1861, he recorded in his diary that two East Tennesseans, named Hensie and Fry, respectively, were hung for bridge burning. He wrote that the Confederate Colonel Leadbetter, who hung the men, left the bodies hanging on the limb of a tree close enough to the railroad tracks that the bodies could be reached by pas- sengers on passing trains. He further stated that trains were slowed down so that passengers could strike the bodies of the dead men with sticks and clubs. He said the bodies remained hanging and were belabored by sadistic Confederate train pas- sengers for four days before they were removed and buried. Two days later on December 11, 1861, Brownlow recorded in his diary that a twenty-seven year old East Tennessean, C. A. Haun, was hung for bridge burning. Haun had requested that a Methodist minister be brought to pray for him, but his execu- tioners denied him this last request. He was told "We don't permit any praying here for a damned Union shrieker." Brownlow expected that it soon would be his turn to go to the gallows, and he prepared a speech to be delivered before he was hung. In his speech he had planned to point out that he was being executed not for any crime but for "my devotion to my country, her laws and Constitution." He concluded his proposed farewell address with these words: "Let me be shrouded in the sacred folds of the Star Spangled Banner." Shortly before Christmas, 1861, Brownlow became ill and was attended daily in prison by his personal physician, Dr. 0. F. Hill. Two days after Christmas on December 27, 1861, Brownlow's scheduled trial was opened in Knoxville. Brownlow was too ill to be present, and he was represented by his attorney. A letter was read to the court from the Confederate Secretary of War, Judah P. Benjamin, in which Benjamin stated that in order to maintain the integrity and good faith of the Confederate government he would recommend to Jefferson Davis, the presi- dent of the Confederacy, that Brownlow be pardoned, if the Against the Stream 217 court found him guilty of any offense. Brownlow had been promised safe passage through the Union lines by the Confederate military, and the Confederate civil authorities in Knoxville were trying to upset Benjamin's plans. So the civil case was dismissed. However, Brownlow's freedom was only momentary, because he was placed under military arrest immediately while on his sick bed in prison. Despite Brownlow's imprisonment, the partisan warfare con- tinued in East Tennessee. It soon became apparent that not only

— illustration from Parson Brownlow's Book Hanging of Hensie and Fry near the railroad tracks.

Brownlow but nearly all East Tennesseans were pro-Union. During this period of time an advertisement appeared in the Memphis Appeal offering to buy bloodhounds for the purpose of tracking down "the infernal, cowardly Lincoln bushwhackers of East Tennessee and Kentucky." Brownlow's physician, Dr. Hill, on December 31, 1861, wrote a letter to the Confederate military authorities requesting Brown- low's removal from prison to his home where he could receive better care. In requesting this, Dr. Hill wrote that he "much regretted that greater quiet could not be secured to him" and 218 The Bulletin

Dr. Hill likewise stated that he had "little hope of his recovery without it." Brownlow was released from prison and removed to his home. His house was heavily guarded with a sentry posted at the door of his sick room. Brownlow wrote a letter of protest against the sentry being inside his home. The sentry was removed. However, a heavy guard remained all around the outside of his house. At one stage of Brownlow's illness the Confederates sent in one of their doctors to examine Brownlow in the hope of finding him physically enough fit to be returned to prison. However, the Confederate doctor confirmed Dr. Hill's diagnosis, and Brownlow remained in his home. Brownlow had become a famous martyr in the North, and the Confederate government in Richmond did not relish the position of being the persecutor of an heroic old man. Conse- quently, the southern officials became anxious to get Brownlow through the Union lines and directed that as soon as he was able, he was to be sent North by way of Richmond, Virginia. In an exchange of letters with the Confederate government, Brownlow refused to go north by way of Richmond and demanded that he be allowed to choose his own route of exit from the Confederacy. After much delay, it was agreed that Brownlow could leave by a route of his own choosing. On Monday morning, March 3, 1862, Brownlow had regained his health sufficiently enough to leave Knoxville by train for Nashville. His family was not permitted to leave with him and remained at their home in Knoxville in semiconfinement. After many delays Brownlow reached the Union lines at Nashville on March 15, 1861, where he was greeted personally by the Union Major General Don Carlos Buell, and other Union army officers. He was given a hero's welcome in Nashville. He rested there for a few days and then left for Cincinnati. When he reached the Queen City, he reported that "At no point since I reached this Government have I been treated with more kindness and real hospitality than in Cincinnati ... I was met at the wharf by the Messrs. Geffroy and Gibson, the pro- prietors of that well kept, quiet hotel the Gibson house, on Walnut street, and kindly tendered the hospitalities of their house as long as I chose to remain." Against the Stream 219

A welcoming committee called on Brownlow at the Gibson house and escorted him to a meeting of the city's leading business men. Brownlow was introduced to the gathering by Joseph C. Butler, president of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. Brownlow spoke briefly outlining the state of affairs in East Tennessee. He was then taken on a tour of the city. Brownlow recorded: "I took a most agreeable drive through Clifton and Spring Grove, viewing at my leisure the surroundings of the most populous city of the West, alike remarkable for its extensive trade, rapid growth, genuine hospitality and productive industry." At Pike's Opera House on the night of April 4,1862, Brownlow made his first major speech in the North. The Cincinnati Gazette reported that: Before the doors were opened, the crowd had commenced to gather on Fourth street; and before half past seven not a vacant seat was to be found in the house, and the aisles and every available spot were occupied. Many, we learned, were unable to obtain even standing room, and left the house. . . . The stage was decorated with a large number of Ameri- can flags .. . and ... immediately in the rear was a raised plat- form, on which were seated three hundred and seventy-two boys and girls from the district, intermediate and high schools of the city. Under the direction of L. W. Mason this chorus of boys and girls sang a song entitled "A Song Of Welcome," composed for the occasion in Brownlow's honor. The song began with: "All hail! all hail! the hero unflinching, The pure patriot we sing, unwavering and bold." And the song concluded with these lines, "We love and revere him. In his presence rejoice! Then hail him again and forever, and aye! His country he loves, and for it he would die." Shortly after 8 o'clock Brownlow was escorted onto the stage by Joseph C. Butler, who introduced him. Butler spoke of the "patriots of East Tennessee driven from their homes, suffering in jails and sealed, when called on, with their lives on the scaffold, their devotion to the Union and Constitution established by their fathers." Mr. Butler concluded his introduction of Brownlow with these words: "The historian who will record for the perusal of our children the list of heroes that this wicked rebellion has brought forth, will name none whose matchless courage is sur- 220 The Bulletin passed or the bold outline of whose character for outspoken patriotism so overshadows all cavil and criticism as the hero of the pulpit and the press. I have now the honor of introducing Mr. W. G. Brownlow, of Knoxville, Tennessee." Brownlow was greeted with a thunderous ovation. He began his speech in moderate tones then went into a short autobio- graphical sketch of himself. When he mentioned that he was born in Virginia, he said: "I am perhaps the only man who ever did, or ever will, appear before a Cincinnati audience publicly con- fessing that he descended from one of the second families of Virginia. All others are descended from the F.F.V.'s, which since, their numerous retreats before Rosecrans and others, signifies, Fleet Footed Virginians!" Brownlow went on to outline in great length his position on all the political campaigns that led up to the outbreak of the Civil War. He then spoke at some length on the reign of terror in East Tennessee. He said: "Houses were plundered, stock killed before the eyes of the owners and horses taken." He then related the imprisonments and hangings which had occurred. He concluded by telling how effective the Union blockade of southern seaports had been. He stated that the shelves of the stores were almost empty of commodities. Finally, he predicted that the rebellion would be crushed in that year, 1862. After Brownlow spoke the Union General S. F. Carey spoke briefly as did Lieutenant Governor Fisk of Kentucky. After the speeches a number of resolutions were offered condemning the rebellion and urging all to take a firm stand in defense of the Union. A resolution praising Brownlow concluded with: "And be it further resolved that we recognize in the Reverend W. G. Brownlow the true patriot, the intrepid and unflinching defender of the Federal Constitution, as the representative of that band of true men in the South, who, in the midst of an atrocious re- bellion, still assert their ancient loyalty and devotion to the Union." The evening's program was concluded with everybody rising and singing "Hail Columbia." Brownlow's Cincinnati speech was the beginning of a trium- phal speaking tour of the principal cities of the North. He spoke in Indianapolis, Chicago, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia. He was greeted by huge crowds of people and was introduced by state and local dignitaries wherever he spoke. Against the Stream 221

Brownlow pulled no punches in his denunciation of the Con- federacy despite the fact that his wife and children were still in Confederate hands in Knoxville. After a month long speaking tour he became the guest of Robert E. Peterson of Crosswicks, N. J. The Confederate gov- ernment eventually conducted his wife and children through the lines by way of Richmond, Virginia, and they joined Brown- low in exile. Brownlow then devoted his time to writing a book about his experiences and the situation in East Tennessee. The book was published under the title "Parson Brownlow's Book," and it enjoyed a wide circulation in the North at that time. Through his speeches and his book Brownlow played a major role in bringing to the attention of the North the island of Union loyalty that was surrounded by a sea of Confederate hostility in East Tennessee. East Tennessee became of prime military importance to Lincoln. He once wrote: "I do as much for East Tennessee as I would or could if my own home and family were in Knoxville." Throughout 1862 Lincoln attempted to prod Buell into occupying the region. Halleck expressed Lincoln's wishes to Buell in these words: "The capture of East Tennessee should be the main object of your campaign. Your army must enter East Tennessee this fall [1862]." But Buell would not be prodded. Finally, he was shelved for a more aggressive general, and the region was soon occupied by the Union army. On September 11, 1863, Lincoln wrote in a mood of jubilation: "All Tennessee is now clear of armed insurrectionists." Brownlow returned to Knoxville from exile in 1864. He was elected governor of Tennessee and served from 1865 to 1869. He then served as United States Senator from Tennessee from 1870 to 1876. After his term in the United States Senate, he returned to Knoxville, where he died the following year at the age of 71. Brownlow dared to go against the stream of secession which engulfed the South and brought on the Civil War. He did this at a time when it might have cost him his life. For this principled stand, he deserves to be remembered.