Henry Watterson (February 16, 1840 – December 22, 1921), the son of a U.S. Congressman from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

, became a prominent journalist in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

, as well as a Confederate soldier, author and partial term U.S. Congressman. A Democrat like his father Harvey Magee Watterson, Henry Watterson for five decades after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

was a part-owner and editor of the ''

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is the highest circulation newspape ...

'', which founded by Walter Newman Haldeman and would be purchased by Robert Worth Bingham in 1919, who would end the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist's association with the paper.

Early and family life

Born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

on February 16, 1840, to the former Tilithacumi (Talitha) Black of

Spring Hill, Tennessee Spring Hill is a city in Maury and Williamson counties, Tennessee, located approximately south of Nashville. Spring Hill's population as of 2020 was 50,005. Spring Hill is recognized as the 4th fastest growing city in Tennessee by the U.S. Cen ...

and her husband, Harvey Magee Watterson, a

Shelbyville, Tennessee Shelbyville is a city in and the county seat of Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. The town was laid out in 1810 and incorporated in 1819. Shelbyville had a population of 20,335 residents at the 2010 census. The town is a hub of the Tennes ...

lawyer and U.S. Congressman. His father was close to President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame a ...

, also from Tennessee, and in 1843 would become the publisher of the ''Washington Union'', the main newspaper of the

Democratic party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

of that era. His uncle in Ohio would also become a newspaper editor, lawyer, Union soldier during the Civil War and ultimately Republican U.S. Supreme Court justice

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while st ...

. Henry was an only child. He was sickly, with very poor eyesight and that only in one eye, so that his mother home-schooled him in Washington, D.C. and their home in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

until he was twelve years old. She then sent him to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, where he received his only formal education, at an academy run by an Episcopal priest, and he also ran the school paper, the ''New Era'', on a press his father donated. After the American Civil War as discussed below, in September 1865, Watterson returned to Nashville to marry Rebecca Ewing (1842-1929), with whom he would have six sons and two daughters. They were able to hire live-in Irish servants, and by 1880 his parents also lived with them. Their sons were Ewing (1868- ), Henry Jr. (1877-) and Harvey W. Watterson (1879–1908) and their daughters were Lady (1871-) and Ethel Watterson Gilmour (1880–1907; who died in childbirth).

Career

Watterson became a newspaper reporter early in his life. In 1856 he moved to New York to work on various publication, and in 1858 he moved to Washington to work on other publications. When his father returned to Tennessee in 1861 after the outbreak of the

, Henry Watterson did too. He volunteered for the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, and was attached at various times to the staffs of Generals Joseph E. Johnston,

Leonidas Polk Lieutenant-General Leonidas Polk (April 10, 1806 – June 14, 1864) was a bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and founder of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America, which separated from the Episcopal Ch ...

and Nathan B. Forrest. His main contribution to the Confederate war effort, however, was editorial, with the ''Chattanooga Rebel'' and the ''Nashville Banner''. After the Confederacy lost, Watterson edited the ''Cincinnati Evening Post'' for six months. By September 1865 Watterson returned to Nashville, married, become editor and part owner of the ''Nashville Banner,'' where he began his “New Departure” campaign urging national reconciliation. Watterson ultimately settled down in

, having met Walter Newman Haldeman during the war, and began editing the ''Louisville Journal''. That paper merged with the ''Louisville Courier'' in 1868, forming the ''Courier-Journal''. This paper soon gained national attention for its excellent reporting. Watterson was a leader of the Liberal Republican movement in 1872. By 1876 he was a Democrat; his proposal for hundreds of thousands of Democrats to march on Washington to force the election of Tilden angered President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...

, who noted that nobody threatened Grant. Watterson was elected to fill the rest of

Edward Y. Parsons Edward Young Parsons (December 12, 1842 – July 8, 1876) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. Born in Middletown, Kentucky, Parsons attended the public schools at Louisville, Kentucky until age 12. He studied one year in the St. Louis High S ...

' term in the U.S. House when Parsons died in office. Watterson was called "the last of the great personal journalists", writing colorful and controversial editorials on many topics under the pen name "Marse Henry". Hundreds of American papers republished them; they were an early exemplar of the syndicated column which played a significant role creating public support for U.S. intervention in the First World War. Watterson won the Pulitzer Prize in 1918 for two editorials supporting U.S. entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

(" Vae Victis!" and " War Has Its Compensations"), and he remained the paper's editor until 1919, retiring after conflicts with Robert Worth Bingham, who purchased the paper in 1918. During his tenure as editor, Watterson was a

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

representative in Congress from 1876 to 1877. He was also a five-time delegate to the National Democratic Convention, where, in 1892, Watterson received a smattering of votes for the vice presidential nomination. He became widely known as a lecturer and orator. His publications include ''History of the Spanish–American War'' (1899) and ''The Compromises of Life'' (1902).

Death and legacy

Watterson died in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

Duval County, Florida Duval County is in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 995,567, up from 864,263 in 2010. Its county seat is Jacksonville, Florida, with which the Duval County government has been cons ...

in 1921, survived for several years by his widow as well as many grandchildren. He was interred in Louisville's

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buria ...

. The portion of

I-264 Interstate 264 is the designation for two Interstate Highways in the United States, both of which are related to Interstate 64: *Interstate 264 (Kentucky) Interstate 264 (I-264) is a partial loop around the city of Louisville, Kentucky, sou ...

from the junction with US 31W to its northeastern terminus at

I-71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-64 and I-65 (the Kennedy Interchange) in Louisv ...

is known as the Watterson Expressway. A Jefferson County Public School in eastern Louisville is named

Watterson Elementary School There are more than 145 public schools in Louisville, Kentucky, servicing nearly 100,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade (K–12) education. The primary public education provider is Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). Schools are ...

. The

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost constr ...

was named in his honor.

Enduring quotes

"Things have come to a hell of a pass, when a man can't whip his own ''jackass''." (i.e. Democratic Party) "We are a great imperial Republic, destined to exercise a controlling influence upon the actions of mankind and to affect the future of the world as the world was never affected, even by the Roman Empire."

Bibliography

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External links