William Gannaway Brownlow

Born in 1805, William Gannaway Brownlow—widely known as “Parson Brownlow”—worked first as a Methodist circuit rider before building a reputation as the hard-hitting editor of the Knoxville Whig. His journalism was combative and deeply partisan, and he became known across Tennessee for his blunt style and talent for controversy.

During the Civil War, Brownlow stood out as an outspoken supporter of the Union in East Tennessee, a position that brought him arrest, harassment, and exile by Confederate authorities. His wartime writing and speeches made him a symbol of Unionist resistance in the region and helped turn him into a national figure.

After the war, he served as governor of Tennessee and later represented the state in the U.S. Senate. He remains a striking and complicated figure in American history: a preacher, editor, and politician whose forceful personality left a lasting mark on Tennessee and the Reconstruction era.