William Gannaway Brownlow
Encyclopedia
William Gannaway "Parson" Brownlow (August 29, 1805 April 29, 1877) was an American newspaper editor, minister, and politician who served as Governor of the state of Tennessee
from 1865 to 1869 and as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1869 to 1875. Brownlow's uncompromising and radical viewpoints and his relentless invectives against his opponents made him one of the most divisive figures in Tennessee political history and one of the most controversial politicians of the Reconstruction-era South. His gubernatorial policies, which have been described as both autocratic and progressive, helped Tennessee become the first former Confederate
state to be readmitted to the Union after the U.S. Civil War. His policy of enfranchising former slaves brought him into conflict with the newly formed Ku Klux Klan
and its leader, Nathan Bedford Forrest
, which arose from disenfanchised ex-Confederate elements.
Brownlow often boasted that he was "never neutral" on any issue. Beginning his career as a Methodist circuit rider
in the 1820s, Brownlow was both censured and praised by his superiors for his vicious verbal attacks against missionaries from other religions (primarily Baptist
and Presbyterian) as they competed for converts across Southern Appalachia
. As a newspaper editor, he became notorious for his relentless personal attacks against his religious and political opponents, sometimes to the point of being physically assaulted, while at the same time building a large base of fiercely loyal subscribers. At the onset of the Civil War, he blasted both abolitionists and secessionists alike, going so far as to claim that both groups were on the same side. As governor he adopted the stance of the Radical Republican
s and spent much of his term opposing the policies of his longtime political foe Andrew Johnson
.
in 1805, the eldest son of Joseph Brownlow and Catherine Gannaway. Joseph Brownlow, an itinerant farmer, died in 1816, and Catherine Gannaway followed three months later, leaving William orphaned at the age of 10. Brownlow and his four siblings were split up among relatives, with Brownlow spending the remainder of his childhood on his uncle John Gannaway's farm. At age 18, Brownlow went to Abingdon
where he learned the trade of carpentry
from another uncle, George Winniford.
In 1825, Brownlow attended a camp meeting
near Sulphur Springs, Virginia, where he experienced a dramatic spiritual rebirth. He later recalled that, suddenly, "all my anxieties were at an end, all my hopes were realized, my happiness was complete." He immediately abandoned the carpentry trade and began studying to become a Methodist minister. In Fall 1826, he attended the annual meeting of the Holston Conference of the Methodist Church in Abingdon. He applied to join the travelling ministry (commonly called "circuit riders"), and was admitted that year by Bishop Joshua Soule
.
circuit in North Carolina. It was here that Brownlow first ran afoul of the Baptists— who were spreading quickly throughout the Southern Appalachian region— and developed an immediate dislike of them, considering them narrow-minded bigots who engaged in "dirty" rituals such as foot washing. The following year, Brownlow was assigned to the circuit in Maryville, Tennessee
, where there was a strong Presbyterian presence, and Brownlow later recalled being constantly followed around by a young Presbyterian missionary who taunted him with Calvinistic
criticisms of Methodism. Brownlow later rode circuits in Virginia and South Carolina
before being assigned to the Elizabethton, Tennessee
circuit in the mid-1830s.
The competition in Southern Appalachia between the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians was fierce, and diatribes against rival religions were commonplace among missionaries. Brownlow, however, took such debates to a whole new level, attacking not only Baptist and Presbyterian theology, but also the character and morals of his rival missionaries. In 1828 he was sued for slander (but got the suit dismissed), and in 1831 he was sued for libel, and ordered to pay his accuser $5. In 1832, Brownlow was assigned to the Pickens District in South Carolina, which he claimed was "overrun with Baptists" and "nullifiers
." Unable to make headway in the district, he circulated a particularly venomous pamphlet blasting the district's Baptists, and galloped safely back into the mountains as the district's enraged residents demanded he be hanged. Brownlow's run-in with the nullifiers would later influence his views on secession.
In 1836, Brownlow married Eliza O'Brien, and the two settled down in Elizabethton
.
Although Brownlow left the circuit shortly thereafter, he continued his staunch defense of Methodism in later newspaper columns and books, and for the remainder of his life he was known to friend and foe alike as "Parson Brownlow."
The Brownlows' older son, John Bell Brownlow, was an officer in the Union Army
during the Civil War
. He became colonel of the 9th Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry (Union). The Brownlows' younger son, James Patton Brownlow
, born December 17, 1842 at Jonesborough, Tennessee
, also was an officer in the Union Army
. He became colonel of the 1st Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry (Union). The Brownlows had five daughters, Susan, Mary, Annie, Fannie and Caledonia Temple.
. He became known as "The Fighting Parson" due to the "...caustic and trenchant editorials" that he published within his newspaper. He moved his newspaper to Jonesborough, Tennessee
in 1840 and then later to Knoxville, Tennessee
in 1849, renaming it the Knoxville Whig. The newspaper became known for its strong pro-Whig
, pro-Methodist, nativist, pro-Temperance, pro-Union
, pro-slavery and an anti-secession stances, all expressed in Brownlow's vituperative but effective style of editorial attack.
Brownlow was more closely attuned to, and representative of, East Tennesseans than his contemporary or later critics were willing to admit. In East Tennessee
, 69% of voters opposed secession in the statewide referendum of June 1861 even as 86% of voters elsewhere supported secession. Hardly the traitor to his community that his opponents made him out to be, he was more accurately a spokesman and leader for the strongly pro-Union inhabitants of East Tennessee. Brownlow and many of his supporters were pro-slavery (he himself owned slaves used as servants at various times), but were willing to consider scrapping slavery if necessary to save the Union.
Brownlow's passionately articulate stances and dramatic (if sometimes mean-spirited) writing also attracted thousands of subscribers from beyond Knoxville. At one point, the Knoxville Whig had over three times as many subscribers across the country as there were residents in Knoxville. The newspaper's two masthead slogans, "Cry Aloud and Spare Not," and "Independent in All Things, Neutral in Nothing," captured the spirit of the publication and its publisher. As the Civil War
approached, Brownlow worked tirelessly to dissuade any of his readers from supporting secession. He was a key figure at the East Tennessee Convention of 1861
, which denounced secession
and attempted to create a separate state in East Tennessee.
Once Tennessee seceded, Brownlow shifted to attacking the Confederate government. In October 1861 he was forced to cease publishing and flee Knoxville, hiding in Cades Cove
in the Great Smoky Mountains
. Offered a safe conduct pass to Union lines, Brownlow returned to Knoxville that winter only to be arrested and imprisoned. Union prisoners in Knoxville endured starvation and other physical abuse for several months as part of an extortion ring involving a corrupt magistrate and jailor, and while Brownlow and many other prisoners were freed after Confederate authorities learned of the abuse, his health never fully recovered.
After being escorted to Union lines in March 1862, Brownlow toured the North, stirring up support for East Tennessee Unionists and publishing books and articles, including Sketches of the Rise, Progress, and Decline of Secession; with a Narrative of Personal Adventures Among the Rebels (Philadelphia: George W. Childs, 1862). In November 1863, Brownlow returned to Knoxville after its occupation by Union General Ambrose Burnside
and resumed publishing his newspaper under the new name of the "Knoxville Whig and Rebel Ventilator".
Brownlow's election after the Civil War as governor survived his opponents' attempts to rig the vote. The Confederacy had just surrendered, and much of the state had required Union military occupation. Certain ex-Confederate officers were barred from voting, and a strong showing came from the eastern part of the state, a center of Union loyalty where slavery
had never been as much a part of the culture and economy, and secession
was generally opposed.
Tennessee was not officially readmitted to the union until July 2, 1866; even so it was the first ex-Confederate state to be officially readmitted. Brownlow was re-elected by a greatly expanded electorate (with the inclusion of freed slaves) in 1867; he resigned in February 1869 to accept election to the United States Senate
by the state legislature
, the method used prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment
of the United States Constitution
.
Brownlow is considered to be responsible for the current Seal of Tennessee
, which meets the requirements outlined in the legal description for the original state seal but is considerably more modern and streamlined-looking than its predecessor.
Brownlow is buried in Old Gray Cemetery
in Knoxville.
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
from 1865 to 1869 and as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1869 to 1875. Brownlow's uncompromising and radical viewpoints and his relentless invectives against his opponents made him one of the most divisive figures in Tennessee political history and one of the most controversial politicians of the Reconstruction-era South. His gubernatorial policies, which have been described as both autocratic and progressive, helped Tennessee become the first former Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
state to be readmitted to the Union after the U.S. Civil War. His policy of enfranchising former slaves brought him into conflict with the newly formed Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
and its leader, Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
, which arose from disenfanchised ex-Confederate elements.
Brownlow often boasted that he was "never neutral" on any issue. Beginning his career as a Methodist circuit rider
Circuit rider (Religious)
Circuit rider is a popular term referring to clergy in the earliest years of the United States who were assigned to travel around specific geographic territories to minister to settlers and organize congregations...
in the 1820s, Brownlow was both censured and praised by his superiors for his vicious verbal attacks against missionaries from other religions (primarily Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
and Presbyterian) as they competed for converts across Southern Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
. As a newspaper editor, he became notorious for his relentless personal attacks against his religious and political opponents, sometimes to the point of being physically assaulted, while at the same time building a large base of fiercely loyal subscribers. At the onset of the Civil War, he blasted both abolitionists and secessionists alike, going so far as to claim that both groups were on the same side. As governor he adopted the stance of the Radical Republican
Radical Republican
The Radical Republicans were a loose faction of American politicians within the Republican Party from about 1854 until the end of Reconstruction in 1877...
s and spent much of his term opposing the policies of his longtime political foe Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
.
Early life
Brownlow was born in Wythe County, VirginiaWythe County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,599 people, 11,511 households, and 8,103 families residing in the county. The population density was 60 people per square mile . There were 12,744 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
in 1805, the eldest son of Joseph Brownlow and Catherine Gannaway. Joseph Brownlow, an itinerant farmer, died in 1816, and Catherine Gannaway followed three months later, leaving William orphaned at the age of 10. Brownlow and his four siblings were split up among relatives, with Brownlow spending the remainder of his childhood on his uncle John Gannaway's farm. At age 18, Brownlow went to Abingdon
Abingdon, Virginia
Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, USA, 133 miles southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington County and is a designated Virginia Historic Landmark...
where he learned the trade of carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
from another uncle, George Winniford.
In 1825, Brownlow attended a camp meeting
Camp meeting
The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in Britain and once common in some parts of the United States, wherein people would travel from a large area to a particular site to camp out, listen to itinerant preachers, and pray...
near Sulphur Springs, Virginia, where he experienced a dramatic spiritual rebirth. He later recalled that, suddenly, "all my anxieties were at an end, all my hopes were realized, my happiness was complete." He immediately abandoned the carpentry trade and began studying to become a Methodist minister. In Fall 1826, he attended the annual meeting of the Holston Conference of the Methodist Church in Abingdon. He applied to join the travelling ministry (commonly called "circuit riders"), and was admitted that year by Bishop Joshua Soule
Joshua Soule
Joshua Soule was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church , and then of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.-Birth and rebirth:...
.
Circuit rider, 1826–1838
In 1826, Soule gave Brownlow his first assignment— the Black MountainBlack Mountains (North Carolina)
The Black Mountains are a mountain range in western North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Blacks are the highest mountains in the Eastern United States...
circuit in North Carolina. It was here that Brownlow first ran afoul of the Baptists— who were spreading quickly throughout the Southern Appalachian region— and developed an immediate dislike of them, considering them narrow-minded bigots who engaged in "dirty" rituals such as foot washing. The following year, Brownlow was assigned to the circuit in Maryville, Tennessee
Maryville, Tennessee
Maryville is the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. The city is located south of Knoxville. Maryville's population was 27,258 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Maryville has received a number of accolades for its...
, where there was a strong Presbyterian presence, and Brownlow later recalled being constantly followed around by a young Presbyterian missionary who taunted him with Calvinistic
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
criticisms of Methodism. Brownlow later rode circuits in Virginia and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
before being assigned to the Elizabethton, Tennessee
Elizabethton, Tennessee
Elizabethton is the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is also the historical site both of the first independent American government located west of both the Eastern Continental Divide and the original thirteen British American colonies.Elizabethton is also the...
circuit in the mid-1830s.
The competition in Southern Appalachia between the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians was fierce, and diatribes against rival religions were commonplace among missionaries. Brownlow, however, took such debates to a whole new level, attacking not only Baptist and Presbyterian theology, but also the character and morals of his rival missionaries. In 1828 he was sued for slander (but got the suit dismissed), and in 1831 he was sued for libel, and ordered to pay his accuser $5. In 1832, Brownlow was assigned to the Pickens District in South Carolina, which he claimed was "overrun with Baptists" and "nullifiers
Nullification Crisis
The Nullification Crisis was a sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by South Carolina's 1832 Ordinance of Nullification. This ordinance declared by the power of the State that the federal Tariff of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void within...
." Unable to make headway in the district, he circulated a particularly venomous pamphlet blasting the district's Baptists, and galloped safely back into the mountains as the district's enraged residents demanded he be hanged. Brownlow's run-in with the nullifiers would later influence his views on secession.
In 1836, Brownlow married Eliza O'Brien, and the two settled down in Elizabethton
Elizabethton, Tennessee
Elizabethton is the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is also the historical site both of the first independent American government located west of both the Eastern Continental Divide and the original thirteen British American colonies.Elizabethton is also the...
.
Although Brownlow left the circuit shortly thereafter, he continued his staunch defense of Methodism in later newspaper columns and books, and for the remainder of his life he was known to friend and foe alike as "Parson Brownlow."
The Brownlows' older son, John Bell Brownlow, was an officer in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He became colonel of the 9th Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry (Union). The Brownlows' younger son, James Patton Brownlow
James Patton Brownlow
James Patton Brownlow was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War. Brownlow was the son of East Tennessee Unionist preacher, newspaper publisher and editor, Governor of Tennessee and U.S. Senator "Parson" William G. Brownlow. James P...
, born December 17, 1842 at Jonesborough, Tennessee
Jonesborough, Tennessee
Jonesborough is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The population was 4,168 at the 2000 census...
, also was an officer in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
. He became colonel of the 1st Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry (Union). The Brownlows had five daughters, Susan, Mary, Annie, Fannie and Caledonia Temple.
Newspaper publisher
In 1839, Brownlow started a newspaper, the Tennessee Whig, in Elizabethton, TennesseeElizabethton, Tennessee
Elizabethton is the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is also the historical site both of the first independent American government located west of both the Eastern Continental Divide and the original thirteen British American colonies.Elizabethton is also the...
. He became known as "The Fighting Parson" due to the "...caustic and trenchant editorials" that he published within his newspaper. He moved his newspaper to Jonesborough, Tennessee
Jonesborough, Tennessee
Jonesborough is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The population was 4,168 at the 2000 census...
in 1840 and then later to Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
in 1849, renaming it the Knoxville Whig. The newspaper became known for its strong pro-Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
, pro-Methodist, nativist, pro-Temperance, pro-Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
, pro-slavery and an anti-secession stances, all expressed in Brownlow's vituperative but effective style of editorial attack.
Brownlow was more closely attuned to, and representative of, East Tennesseans than his contemporary or later critics were willing to admit. In East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
, 69% of voters opposed secession in the statewide referendum of June 1861 even as 86% of voters elsewhere supported secession. Hardly the traitor to his community that his opponents made him out to be, he was more accurately a spokesman and leader for the strongly pro-Union inhabitants of East Tennessee. Brownlow and many of his supporters were pro-slavery (he himself owned slaves used as servants at various times), but were willing to consider scrapping slavery if necessary to save the Union.
Brownlow's passionately articulate stances and dramatic (if sometimes mean-spirited) writing also attracted thousands of subscribers from beyond Knoxville. At one point, the Knoxville Whig had over three times as many subscribers across the country as there were residents in Knoxville. The newspaper's two masthead slogans, "Cry Aloud and Spare Not," and "Independent in All Things, Neutral in Nothing," captured the spirit of the publication and its publisher. As the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
approached, Brownlow worked tirelessly to dissuade any of his readers from supporting secession. He was a key figure at the East Tennessee Convention of 1861
East Tennessee Convention of 1861
The East Tennessee Convention consisted of a series of meetings held in 1861 on the eve of the American Civil War in which 29 counties in East Tennessee and one county in Middle Tennessee denounced secessionist activities within the state of Tennessee and resolved to break away and form an...
, which denounced secession
Secession in the United States
Secession in the United States can refer to secession of a state from the United States, secession of part of a state from that state to form a new state, or secession of an area from a city or county....
and attempted to create a separate state in East Tennessee.
U.S. Civil War
Cades Cove
Cades Cove is an isolated valley located in the Tennessee section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. The valley was home to numerous settlers before the formation of the national park...
in the Great Smoky Mountains
Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains or the...
. Offered a safe conduct pass to Union lines, Brownlow returned to Knoxville that winter only to be arrested and imprisoned. Union prisoners in Knoxville endured starvation and other physical abuse for several months as part of an extortion ring involving a corrupt magistrate and jailor, and while Brownlow and many other prisoners were freed after Confederate authorities learned of the abuse, his health never fully recovered.
After being escorted to Union lines in March 1862, Brownlow toured the North, stirring up support for East Tennessee Unionists and publishing books and articles, including Sketches of the Rise, Progress, and Decline of Secession; with a Narrative of Personal Adventures Among the Rebels (Philadelphia: George W. Childs, 1862). In November 1863, Brownlow returned to Knoxville after its occupation by Union General Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...
and resumed publishing his newspaper under the new name of the "Knoxville Whig and Rebel Ventilator".
Reconstruction and politics
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
had never been as much a part of the culture and economy, and secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
was generally opposed.
Tennessee was not officially readmitted to the union until July 2, 1866; even so it was the first ex-Confederate state to be officially readmitted. Brownlow was re-elected by a greatly expanded electorate (with the inclusion of freed slaves) in 1867; he resigned in February 1869 to accept election to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
by the state legislature
Tennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional structure:According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of...
, the method used prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures...
of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
.
Brownlow is considered to be responsible for the current Seal of Tennessee
Seal of Tennessee
The Great Seal of the State of Tennessee is the official insignia of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Origins:An official Great Seal of Tennessee is provided for the in the Constitution of the State of Tennessee of February 6, 1796...
, which meets the requirements outlined in the legal description for the original state seal but is considerably more modern and streamlined-looking than its predecessor.
Late career
After returning to Knoxville, Brownlow purchased an interest in the Weekly Whig and Chronicle, renewing his career as a newspaperman. He pursued this vocation with his typical devotion until his death in 1877.Brownlow is buried in Old Gray Cemetery
Old Gray Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee
Old Gray Cemetery is the second-oldest cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Established in 1850, the cemetery contains the graves of some of Knoxville's most influential citizens, ranging from politicians and soldiers, to artists and activists. The cemetery is also noted for the Victorian era...
in Knoxville.
See also
- Tennessee's 1st congressional districtTennessee's 1st congressional districtThe Tennessee 1st Congressional District is the congressional district of northeast Tennessee, including all of Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties and parts of Jefferson County and Sevier County...
- Carter County, TennesseeCarter County, TennesseeCarter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 57,424. Its county seat is Elizabethton.Carter County is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined...
Further reading
- Ash, Stephen (1999), Secessionists and Scoundrels, Louisiana State University Press, ISBN 0-8071-2354-4
- Downing, David C. (2007), A South Divided: Portraits of Dissent in the Confederacy. Nashville: Cumberland House, ISBN 978-1-58182-587-9