Daniel Coffee Trewhitt (January 29, 1823 – January 4, 1891) was an American attorney, judge, and politician. He served one term (1859–1861) in the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

, where he was one of the few state legislators to oppose secession on the eve of the Civil War. He represented Hamilton County at the pro-Union

East Tennessee Convention The East Tennessee Convention was an assembly of Southern Unionist delegates primarily from East Tennessee that met on three occasions during the Civil War. The convention most notably declared the secessionist actions taken by the Tennessee sta ...

, and afterward fought for the Union Army. He served as judge of the state's second chancery division from 1864 to 1870, and judge of the state's fourth circuit court from 1878 to 1891.

Early life

Trewhitt was born along Daddys Creek in what was then

Morgan County, Tennessee Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,035. Its county seat is Wartburg. Morgan County is part of the Knoxville, TN Combined Statistical Area. History Morgan County was ...

, but is now part of

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

. He was one of seventeen children of Levi Trewhitt, a county clerk and attorney, and Harriet (Lavender) Trewhitt. In 1836, he moved with his family to

Cleveland, Tennessee Cleveland is the county seat of, and largest city in, Bradley County, Tennessee. The population was 47,356 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Cleveland metropolitan area, Tennessee (consisting of Bradle ...

, where he attended the Oak Grove Academy from 1837 to 1840. He afterward

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

under his father, and was licensed to practice in 1847.William S. Speer, "Hon. D.C. Trewhitt," ''Sketches of Prominent Tennesseans'' (1884), pp. 505-507. After receiving his law license, Trewhitt commenced practice in Harrison, Tennessee, which at the time was the county seat of Hamilton County. In 1854, he ran for district attorney general, but was defeated by rising politician George W. Bridges. He ran unsuccessfully for the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee , Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any ...

in 1857, losing to J.C. Burch. Running on the pro-Union

Opposition Party In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government (or, in American English, the administration), party or group in political control of a city, region, state, coun ...

ticket, Trewhitt was elected to Hamilton County's seat in the

in 1859. Though Southern Democrats had gained control of the state government, Trewhitt joined William H. Wisener, Roderick R. Butler, and

Dewitt Clinton Senter Dewitt Clinton Senter (March 26, 1830June 14, 1898) was an American politician who served as the 18th Governor of Tennessee from 1869 to 1871. He had previously served in the Tennessee House of Representatives (1855–1861), where he opposed ...

in providing persistent opposition to secession in the state legislature during the months leading up the Civil War.

Civil War

Throughout the first half of 1861, Trewhitt canvassed the Hamilton County area, speaking out against secession.

Oliver Perry Temple Oliver Perry Temple (January 27, 1820 – November 2, 1907) was an American attorney, author, judge, and economic promoter active primarily in East Tennessee in the latter half of the 19th century.Mary Rothrock, ''The French Broad-Holston Country: ...

Mary Boyce Temple Mary Boyce Temple (July 6, 1856 – May 16, 1929) was an American philanthropist and socialite, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was the first president of the Ossoli Circle, the oldest ...

(ed.), "Daniel C. Trewhitt," ''Notable Men of Tennessee'' (Cosmopolitan Press, 1912), pp. 206-207. He was a delegate to both the

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

and

Greeneville Greeneville is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 15,479. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene, and it is the sec ...

sessions of the

, and represented Hamilton County on the convention's powerful business committee. The convention sought to create a new state in East Tennessee that would remain in the Union. Trewhitt was elected to Hamilton County's seat in the Tennessee Senate in August 1861, but the state having seceded, he instead fled to Kentucky to join the Union Army. During the Confederate crackdown following the

East Tennessee bridge burnings The East Tennessee bridge burnings were a series of guerrilla operations carried out during the American Civil War by Southern Unionists in Confederate-held East Tennessee in 1861. The operations, planned by Carter County minister William B. C ...

in late 1861, Trewhitt's father, Levi, was arrested and jailed on suspicion of aiding the bridge-burners. Despite pleas for his release, he died in a Confederate prison in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, in 1862. His death sparked considerable outrage among East Tennessee's Unionists. Having joined the 2nd Tennessee Volunteer Infantry with the rank of lieutenant colonel, Trewhitt took part in operations in the

Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a Mountain pass, pass in the Eastern United States, eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains and near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At&n ...

area in early 1862, and commanded the 2nd Tennessee at the

Battle of Mill Springs The Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Fishing Creek in the Confederate States of America, Confederacy, and the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads or Battle of Somerset in the Union (American Civil War), Union, was fought in Wayne Coun ...

on January 19 of that year. While stationed at

Barbourville, Kentucky Barbourville is a home rule-class city in Knox County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 3,165 at the 2010 census, down from 3,589 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city was formally established b ...

, however, he fell ill, and resigned his commission. In April 1862, having recovered, he joined the staff of General James G. Spears of the 3rd brigade with the rank of captain, and was appointed the brigade's Assistant Adjuntant General. He was with the brigade at the

Battle of Stones River The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Ci ...

in early 1863, and at the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 18–20, 1863, between the United States Army and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a U.S. Army offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southe ...

later that year (though his unit arrived after the battle had mostly ended).

Postwar activities and judgeship

When the East Tennessee Convention reconvened in April 1864, Trewhitt joined Governor

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

and Johnson's eventual successor,

William G. Brownlow William Gannaway "Parson" Brownlow (August 29, 1805April 29, 1877) was an American newspaper publisher, Methodist minister, book author, prisoner of war, lecturer, and politician who served as the 17th governor of Tennessee from 1865 to 1869 and ...

, in endorsing President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

and the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

. He afterward supported the agenda of Brownlow and the

Radical Republicans The Radical Republicans were a political faction within the Republican Party originating from the party's founding in 1854—some six years before the Civil War—until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reconstruction. They ca ...

, including a contentious piece of legislation known as the "franchise bill," which barred ex-Confederates from voting. In May 1866, Trewhitt and dozens of other East Tennessee Unionists, frustrated over the state legislature's inability to pass a more restrictive franchise bill, held a convention in Knoxville that once again called for East Tennessee to break away and form a separate state. In 1864, Johnson appointed Trewhitt chancellor (judge) of the state's second chancery division, which included Chattanooga and surrounding areas of southeastern Tennessee. He held this position until 1870, when the new state constitution restored the voting rights of former Confederates, and he was defeated in his bid for reelection by

David M. Key David McKendree Key (January 27, 1824 – February 3, 1900) was a United States senator from Tennessee, United States Postmaster General and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennesse ...

. He then returned to private practice in Chattanooga. In 1878, Trewhitt ran for the state's fourth circuit court judgeship. On election day, he won easily, capturing 1,222 votes out of 2,017 votes (60%) in a three-way race. During this period, Trewhitt staunchly supported

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

, going so far as to state, "the greatest battle of the age is now being fought, headed on the one side by Satan in the form of intoxicating liquor, on the other hand by Christianity, morality, sobriety, and decency." He was the Republican nominee for the 3rd district seat in Congress in 1882, but was defeated by the Democratic incumbent, George Dibrell. He was, however, reelected to a second term on the fourth circuit court in 1886. In 1890, Trewhitt began experiencing symptoms of what was later described as "softening of the brain." He died at his home in Chattanooga on January 4, 1891.Other Deaths
" ''Indianapolis Journal'', 6 January 1891, p. 1. He is buried in Chattanooga's Forest Hills Cemetery.

Family

Trewhitt married Mary Melissa Winnee in

Gwinnett County, Georgia Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, being located about northeast of Atlanta city limits. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the ...

, in 1841. They had four children: Thomas, Mary Jane, William, and Martha (William and Martha died in childhood). After his first wife died in 1861, he married Mary Melissa Hunter on July 4, 1865. They also had four children: Addison, Alonzo, Paul, and Ellen.

Notes

References