Portrait and Biography of Parson Brownlow, The Tennessee PatriotBrownlow, William Gannaway
History
Portrait and Biography of Parson Brownlow, The Tennessee Patriot
Brownlow, William Gannaway
Brownlow, William Gannaway, 1805-1877; Tennessee, East -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
In the afternoon the party visited the prisoners at Camp Morton, where
Mr. Brownlow made a brief speech, to which some of the rebels gave no
very grateful reception. He was met with jeers, and cries of "Put him
out," "Don't want him here," "The old traitor," &c., which he, having
faced worse treatment under far more dangerous circumstances, gave
little heed to. The insults came chiefly from the Kentucky prisoners,
who have been, from the start, the most obstreperous and unrepentant of
the rebel keepsakes.
Notice was given that the Parson would address the public in the evening
at Metropolitan Hall. Although the night was dark and rainy, the large
hall was crowded to its utmost capacity, with a highly intelligent
audience. After music by the band of the 19th U. S. Regiment, the
meeting was opened with prayers by Rev. James Havens. The following
gentlemen of the committee occupied seats on the platform:
WM. HANNAMAN,
DAVID MCDONALD,
GOVERNOR MORTON,
MAYOR MAXWELL,
CALVIN FLETCHER, ESQ.
COL. JAMES BLAKE,
J. H. MCKERNAN, ESQ.
B. R. SULGROVE, ESQ.
ALFRED HARRISON, ESQ.
SPEECH.
Gov. Morton then introduced Mr. Brownlow, who spoke at length of the
causeless character of the rebellion, and its disastrous effects, and
was frequently cordially cheered by his large audience. He gave an
account of his ancestry, and showed how they had all been engaged in the
service of the country, and always true to its flag and its principles.
He said he had been called a traitor by R. Barnwell Rhett, of South
Carolina. "Rhett" said he, "was named R. Barnwell Smith, but the Smiths
being all Tories during the Revolution, he was allowed by a legislative
act to call himself Rhett. He call _me_ a traitor," said the iron old
Parson indignantly, "when his illustrious ancestors were hunted by
Marion through all the mosquito swamps of South Carolina." (Uproarious
cheers and laughter.) He commented at considerable length on the
rebellion and its leaders, and declared, with great emphasis, that "if
the issue was to be made between the Union without slavery, and slavery
without the Union, he was for the Union and let slavery perish. (Great
applause.) Let every institution die first, and until the issue was made
between the Union and the religion of Jesus Christ, he was for the
Union." (Tremendous cheers.) We have not space to report his whole
speech, which was considerably over an hour in length, and was listened
to with close and intense attention by all, and we must content
ourselves with a report of the outrages practiced on the Union men,
which he detailed with impressive eloquence and pathos.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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