Chronological History of the American Civil War

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refused to give Brownlow such a tool to use indiscriminately. Brownlow was furious with them and sent the State militia out at midnight to round them up and bring the representatives at gun point to the Capitol building. Brownlow ordered them to call themselves to order and pass the Reconstruction bill. Angered and upset at being herded like a bunch of prisoners into the Capitol – they defiantly refused to pass any illegal statutes that seized property without due process. Brownlow turned furious and openly ordered the militia to fire on the representatives. After the soldiers fired a few rounds at the group, the legislature, in fear for its collective lives, passed the Reconstruction Act and began one of the darkest eras of Tennessee history. In the election of 1867, Brownlow issued an order that forbade the wives and children of former Confederate soldiers to vote in the election. That tactic allowed Brownlow to reduce voter turnout by as much as 95 percent. His total debt he left for the state in 4 years was over $16 million. In 1869, Brownlow left office, when he was elected to the United States Senate from Tennessee. There he really did not have as much power, and soon had become known as the “silent Senator” because of his ill health retired to his Knoxville home. He died April 29, 1877.