HENBY WATTERSON 517 80 familiar. The father did all in his power to lay the storm, but when he saw it was impossible he withdrew to a retired estate among the mountains and took no part in the fight. The young man was not able to do this, although at the time he was editing a Union paper in Tennessee. His life had been spent in action. When he saw that the Union was to be destroyed he took sides with that party which he thought most nearly represented the old Union of Jackson, ^d Clay, and Jefferson. In doing this he only did what thousands joi patriotic Southern men did. He entered the Southern anpiy reluctantly but once enlisted he fought loyally for the Souih as long as there was any hope of victory. He enlisted from Tennessee in 1861. He was at first an aide to the famous cavalry gen- eral, Forrest, but later served on the staff of General Leon- idas Polke, better known as one of the great bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He was a daring, reckless sol- dier and during the Atlanta campaign he served as a scout. During all his four years of service he was rarely on regular duty. He preferred independence where his own initiative might have free play. For this reason he was usually as- signed to scout duty. Although Colonel Watterson as a soldier lost the cause for which he was fighting, he came out of the war with rugged health and an iron constitution. Four years of life on horse- back and in camp in the mountains of Tennessee had devel- oped for him a physique that was to stand him in good stead in his long and arduous service as editor. Even during the war Colonel Watterson had not entirely forgotten his first love. As mentioned above, he had spent some time as an art critic on the newspapers of Washington. The opening of the war had found him editing a paper in Ten- nessee. As soon as the war was well under way he recognized the great advantage there would be in a newspaper at some central point which would give the military news of the Con- federate armies. Carrying out this idea there appeared at Chattanooga in October, 1862, the first number of the Rebely
