The Honorable David T. Patterson
ca. 1860 - 1865
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David Trotter Patterson was a judge and later Senator from Tennessee. He was the first official from the former Confederacy to be elected to Congress.
Following the Civil War, when states from the defeated Confederacy were readmitted to the Union, some of those elected to Congress were the same people who had served the Confederate government or the governments of the seceded states. Citizens and government officials alike asked how these men could be trusted to serve the Union that they had so recently fought against.
One tool for judging the loyalty of potential office holders was the Ironclad Oath of 1862, a law passed by Congress during the Civil War to deter sabotage by Confederate sympathizers. The Ironclad Oath required that any federal officeholder (members of Congress were added in 1864) swear that they had never served a government in hostility to the United States.
On July 26, 1866, David Trotter Patterson appeared in the Senate and presented his credentials—the signed and certified document that served as evidence that the state of Tennessee elected him to Congress. But when Patterson appeared, several Senators expressed concern that Patterson could not honestly take the Ironclad Oath because he had served as a judge under Tennessee’s Confederate government, and therefore his credentials should not be accepted.
A day-long debate occurred in the Senate about Patterson’s loyalty. While he did serve as a judge under the Confederate government, Patterson did not support secession in 1861 and continued to support the Union during the Civil War by protecting Union loyalists from civil and military repression.
A day later, the Judiciary Committee issued Senate Report #139. The report declared that Patterson was qualified to hold the office of Senator, as he had been a staunch Union supporter during the Civil War and had remained loyal to the nation throughout his life. The next day, July 28, 1866, David Patterson took the oath of office, including the full wording of the Ironclad Oath, and took his seat in the Senate.
Patterson was just the first of many from the former Confederacy to be elected to Congress. While the evidence of Patterson’s loyalty to the Union was abundant and uncontested, other members-elect had less clear histories of loyalty.
Following the Civil War, when states from the defeated Confederacy were readmitted to the Union, some of those elected to Congress were the same people who had served the Confederate government or the governments of the seceded states. Citizens and government officials alike asked how these men could be trusted to serve the Union that they had so recently fought against.
One tool for judging the loyalty of potential office holders was the Ironclad Oath of 1862, a law passed by Congress during the Civil War to deter sabotage by Confederate sympathizers. The Ironclad Oath required that any federal officeholder (members of Congress were added in 1864) swear that they had never served a government in hostility to the United States.
On July 26, 1866, David Trotter Patterson appeared in the Senate and presented his credentials—the signed and certified document that served as evidence that the state of Tennessee elected him to Congress. But when Patterson appeared, several Senators expressed concern that Patterson could not honestly take the Ironclad Oath because he had served as a judge under Tennessee’s Confederate government, and therefore his credentials should not be accepted.
A day-long debate occurred in the Senate about Patterson’s loyalty. While he did serve as a judge under the Confederate government, Patterson did not support secession in 1861 and continued to support the Union during the Civil War by protecting Union loyalists from civil and military repression.
A day later, the Judiciary Committee issued Senate Report #139. The report declared that Patterson was qualified to hold the office of Senator, as he had been a staunch Union supporter during the Civil War and had remained loyal to the nation throughout his life. The next day, July 28, 1866, David Patterson took the oath of office, including the full wording of the Ironclad Oath, and took his seat in the Senate.
Patterson was just the first of many from the former Confederacy to be elected to Congress. While the evidence of Patterson’s loyalty to the Union was abundant and uncontested, other members-elect had less clear histories of loyalty.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer.
National Archives Identifier: 525633
Full Citation: Photograph 111-B-1428; Hon. Patterson; ca. 1860 - 1865; Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, 1921 - 1940; Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Record Group 111; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/david-patterson, September 7, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.