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Love Letter Mentioning Parson Brownlow

 Collection
Identifier: MS-2663

  • Staff Only

This collection contains a letter signed by Harry, dated June 2, 1862 from Portland, Maine to Sherbrooke, Canada. The letter is addressed to Miss L. A. Hale in care of the Honorable E. Hale. Predominantly a love letter, Harry mentions seeing William G. Parson Brownlow speak, calling him vulgar and profane. He writes, "I went to hear a wretch Parson Brownlow, a Union man and a Methodist from Tennessee lecture, but only stayed a few minutes for anything more vulgar and profane I never listened to. If he is a specimen of the Union men in the South I don't wonder the Southerners send them off." He also talks of two musical composers of the time - Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Bringnoli.

Dates

  • 1862 June 2

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet

Abstract

This collection contains a letter signed by Harry, dated June 2, 1862 from Portland, Maine to Sherbrooke, Canada. The letter is addressed to Miss L. A. Hale in care of the Honorable E. Hale. Predominantly a love letter, Harry mentions seeing William G. Parson Brownlow speak, calling him vulgar and profane. He also talks of two musical composers of the time - Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Bringnoli.

Biographical/Historical Note

William Gannaway Parson Brownlow was an influential East Tennessee minister, journalist, and governor. In 1838 he became owner/editor of an Elizabethton newspaper popularly known as Brownlow's Whig. His newspaper, which, one the eve of the Civil War, reached nearly eleven thousand subscribers across the nation, moved to Knoxville in 1849. The Parson was a prominent spokesperson for the Whig Party and a staunch defender of the Union. After Tennessee left the Union, Brownlow continued speaking out against the Confederacy. He was eventually jailed in Knoxville and later expelled from the Confederacy for his anti-secession editorials. After traveling on a speaking tour throughout the North, the Parson returned to Knoxville with the Union troops in the fall of 1863, continuing to rail against the Confederacy and secession. In March 1865, Tennessee Unionists chose Brownlow to succeed Andrew Johnson as governor of Tennessee. After two terms as Tennessee's Reconstruction-era governor, Brownlow, in 1869, was chosen to represent the state in the U. S. Senate. He served only one term before returning to Knoxville, where he died on April 28, 1877.

Arrangement

Collection consists of a single folder.

Acquisition Note

This collection was purchased by Special Collections in August 2004.

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480