Dear Mr. Horton,

The good "Parson" Brownlow was the reconstruction governor of the state of Tennessee. His policies of retribution, disenfranchisement, and overall ill will toward former Confederates set the conditions for organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan to have success in forming. He also set the conditions (politically, and in the judicial branch) to prevent prosecutions of those accused of assassinations of ex-Confederates in the state. A mass exodus by ex-Confederates took place in the immediate years after the closure of the war because conditions were so bad. My great (3X) grandfather went to Arkansas until the year reconstruction was ended and returned that same year because conditions were so bad for ex-Confederates. Most did not.

There are numerous works out there that discuss this but you will only find them on dusty bookshelves in research libraries. For years his picture hung in the state capitol building and only recently was it taken down so it could have the tobacco stains cleaned off of it.

I hope this helps.

Respectfully,

Gerald D. Hodge, Jr.
War Between the States Historian
Historian: 39th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment
http://39thgavolinfrgt.homestead.com/39thHomepage.html