Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1862-04-03
PARsON BROwNLOw IN CINCINNATI
HIS SPEECH

speech. The speech was delivered at the Mer-
chants Exchange, during the afternoon, In
response to an Invitation Of q select committee
of the Chamber of Commerce:
Mr.. Brownlow was introduced to the mem.
bers by the President Of the Chamber, and
then addressed them as follows:
l am sorry, gentlemen and fellow-citizens,
that am not in q condition to make ysu even
short speech. / have been accustomed for
thirty-fve years to making public speeches,
and have only failed in the art during the
past three years, while suffering from q bron-
chial affection Of the throat. am getting
better, however, and although for two years
past / could hardly speak above a whisper,
can now make myself heard at the distance of
few feet, particularly when am talking
on Disunion-for never get on that subject
that God, in his providence, does not increase
the volume Of my voice.
In addition to my other sufferings, have
been iHearcersted in damp, gloomy Jail, shut
out from the fresh air and free exercise, for
three months This has been hard on me- who
was always accustomed to jump higher, fall
fatter and squsll louder than any other man
in Tennessee, (cheers,l always saying what 1
pleased, going where pleased, and coming
when pleased. For three months have been
kept in close confinement, and the only favor
allowed me was that my little son should bring
me my meals three times a day. The food that
was given my fellow-prisoners by the officers
in charge of the Jail was the fouiest offal from
the hotel No truo Virginian weuld give such
food to his dog. My food was prepared by my
wife, and was brought to me by my little son
in little basket.
The officers in charge used to take this bas-
ket, lift of the napkin, examine between the
plates and watch all my movements to see that
some little bit Of paper containing information
from my friends was not concealed in the bas-
ket, and when I had finished my meal, the
l. Al. r M
not communicate with them. The only infor-
nation obtained was from my little son, who
would whisper to me that fight had occurred
here, or sn engagement there, but no details
o. whatever were given me, for they charged
that in the absence ofGOv. johnson and Horace
Maynard, that l was at the bottom of the con-
spiracy and the leading spirit in opposition to
the Southern COnfederacy.
/, however, entered into learned diploma
tic correspondence with a little miserable Jew,
named Judah P. BENJAMIN, the ss-called Sec
rstsry OF War Of the bogus Confederacy. In
that correspondence have the vanity to be-
lieye that got the better Of him. This cor
respOndence has never been printed, although
now that am at the North, shall take the
opportunity to lay it before the public
In that correspondence he stipulated to let
me out. He said / was a bad man, and a
dangerous man to the Southern CoRfsderaey;
and, said be, "I have directed Msior General
lines to the people you serve" agreed ;" said
]; 81 propose to do for the Southern Confed-
eracy what the devil never did-qait the
country" TCheers. About the time was
ready to start, an inferior officer came in with
a warrant for my arrest. Holding in my pocket
the passport Of the Secretary of War sf the
bogus Government Of the Southern Confeder-
scy, and the order for my removal signed by
Crittenden, declined to notice the warrant
This officer, little upstart named James c.
Ramsey, seized upon me, and swearing to his
own warrant, the per- jured villain, that had
committed treason against the State Of Ten
nessee in writing certain editorial which was
published in the Knoxville Whig, and which,
mark you, was printed May "a, one month be-
fore the ordinances Of secession was passed and
Tennessee had passed into the Southern Con-
federscy, and yet this was treason to the State
i was taken out Of the hands of the military
althorities, denied trial, and thrust into Jail
on the affidavit Of this miserable, debsuched
little puke.
The brigadisr general commanding at KNOX
vile came in to see me one day. The prison.
ers all rallied around to hear what was said
He said: "BrownloW, you ought not to be
here" ''I think 50, too" said I. "Now,"
says he, "come along with me, and we win
make it all right. We will 60 up to Judge
Humphrey, at the court-h house, and you can
take the oath Of allegiance to the Southern
Confederacy." / turned round to him at this
insulting proposition. 'Sir, said I, " before
Twill take the oath Of allegiance to the Soutb-
ern Confedsracy, to obtain my freedom, will
rot in Jail with disease, or die with old age.
Nay, more-I deny that you have a Govern
ment; 1 deny that you are authorized to ad-
minister the oath Of allegiance to your rotten
mob Government, which no Power ON earth
will ever recognize Before will do 90. I win
see the entire Southern Confedersey in hell.
and you and on the top Of it. IGrsat cheer
ing
The little valley, forty miles wide and about
sixty miles long, Of which Knoxville is the
center, is full Of such Union men and women.
When came away, the Jail Of Knoxville was
full Of Union men. was there In Jail when
they took my companions out and hung them
L did not see them hung, because this was done
over the hill but saw them 90 out with the
black poplar eofins, and the soldiers would
turn round, and pointing to Brownlow, would
say, "You will swing next" My reply was,
I am ready to be hung, and all I want is one
hour under the gallows, to give the pedigree
Of these men"
expected to be hung, and had made up INV
mind to it. 1 was told that the drum-head
court-martial lacked one vote of confirming
my doom, and that was thevote Of Secession,
ist. No man ever came 80 near being hun 2
and was not. One Of my companions, A. G.
Hswn-the gallant Hawn, one Of the most
moral and upright men in Knoxville, with q
wife and two small children-was sentenced to
be hung by this ourt-nsrtisl and he had but
one hours notice to prepare himself. He asked
for q minister Of one Of the churches in Knox
vile to be sent for, but the reply Of the jailer
was: "No d-d traitor in the South has the
right to be prayed for, and God does not hear
such prayers" Poor Hawn was placed on the
sssfold, and a miserable, drunken chaplain of
one Of the southern regiments was sent to at
tend him.
Just as they were about to launch Hawn
into eternity, the chaplain said, "This poor
unfortunate man desires to say that he was
led into committing the acts for which he is
now to atone with bis life, by the Union men,
and he IL really an object of pity
Hsvn rose, and In stentorian voice repIied.
s'I desire to ssy that every word that man
has said is false. am the identical man that
put the torch TO the timbers Of that bridge,
and am ready to swing for it. Hang me as
soon rs you can" He said he would do IL
again IL he knew this was to be bis fate for It.
The jails In the South are literally full of
Union men, many Of them taken from East