Merideth P. Gentry was once an eloquent member of the United
States Congress from Tennessee. He flew
off the handle, as a Whig, when Gen. Scott was nominated for the
Presidency. How much he contributed to
Scott’s defeat, it is impossible to tell, as he was a much more respectable man
than he is now; but it is certain, the rebound of his fire killed Gentry as a
Whig. As a Know-Nothing he ran afterward
for Governor, Against Andrew Johnson, and was badly beaten. Now he is a member of the so-called Southern
Congress at Richmond. On his way to the
seat of piracy, from his resident in Bedford county Tennessee, he called on Dr.
Brownlow. Being well stiffened up with
his usual stimulant, he was talkative.
“Well, Brownlow,” said he, “I am going to Richmond on a
point of honor. You know I had retired
from politics, and had no desire to re-enter the arena. But my old friends and neighbors insisted
that I should run for the Confederate Congress, and I was elected. Now I make it a point of honor to go, just
because they say that McClellan will bag Richmond, and capture the entire
Congress. I wish them to see that I am
not afraid.”
“Yes, Gentry,” replied Dr. Brownlow, “and there is another
point of honor, which you have failed to mention. Buell and his army are at Nashville, and are
therefore nearer to Bedford county than McClellan is to Richmond. – You are
like a pismire on a chunk fired at each end; you have a point of honor on
either side of you.”
Gentry acknowledge the corn. – {Nashville Correspondence
Cin. Gaz.
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye,
Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, April 5, 1862, p. 1
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