Early life Mabry was born near modern
Concord in west
Knox County, Tennessee, In April 1861, Mabry chased away a Confederate
brass band attempting to interrupt a speech by pro-Unionist
Andrew Johnson. The following day, however, Union supporter Charles Douglas was shot by a Confederate soldier on
Gay Street in an incident for which Mabry was later charged as an accessory. In December 1861,
William "Parson" Brownlow, the vitriolic pro-Union editor of the
Knoxville Whig, was jailed by Confederate authorities on charges of
treason. While most of Knoxville's secessionists celebrated the arrest and called for Brownlow to be hanged, Mabry nevertheless lobbied on Brownlow's behalf, and managed to secure his release. Brownlow never forgot this gesture, and during the
Reconstruction period following the war, Mabry was one of the few ex-Confederates spared the wrath of Brownlow's regime. During the war, Mabry established a supply depot that provided uniforms and tents to Confederate soldiers. He later claimed to have donated $100,000 (~$ in ) to the Confederate cause, although historians point out that he may have earned upwards of one million dollars in contracts with Confederate purchasing agents during the course of the war. Furthermore, when the Union Army occupied Knoxville in September 1863, Mabry quickly switched sides, and offered his assistance to the occupying forces. He took the United States Oath of Allegiance on January 29, 1864.
Post-war activities After the war, Mabry continued championing railroad construction. Working with fellow Confederate-turned-Unionist
Charles McClung McGhee, Mabry helped extend the Knoxville and Kentucky Railroad to modern
Caryville, providing invaluable railroad access to the lucrative coalfields of western
Anderson County. By 1869, however, the railroad was bankrupt and placed in
receivership. Mabry's fortunes began to decline, and in subsequent years he fell deeply into debt. Throughout the 1860s, Mabry consistently quarrelled with Knoxville attorney
John Baxter, who accused Mabry of opportunism and profiteering during the war. In 1869, after the Knoxville and Kentucky was placed in receivership, Baxter sued Mabry, claiming that Mabry had practically pillaged the company. The two assailed one another in the press, and filed
libel suits and counter libel suits against one another. Finally, on June 13, 1870, Mabry approached Baxter in front of the
Lamar House Hotel, stated, "Business is business," and shot Baxter in the wrist. Baxter managed to run away, and for reasons unknown, never pressed charges.
Mabry–O'Connor shootout In December 1881, Mabry's son, Will, was shot and killed by Constable Don Lusby during a barroom brawl at Snodderly's bar on Gay Street. Lusby was arrested for murder, but acquitted of the charge in April 1882, leaving the Mabry family outraged. For several weeks, Mabry and Lusby exchanged threats. In August 1882, a chaotic brawl erupted at the
Knox County Courthouse involving Mabry, his son Joseph Mabry III, Lusby, Lusby's father, and several others. During the fracas, Lusby and his father were shot and killed. Mabry and his son were charged with the murder of the Lusbys, but were acquitted. In 1880, Mabry sold a parcel of land to
Mechanics' National Bank president Thomas O'Connor under the stipulation that O'Connor give the land to Mabry's son, Will. After Will's death, the land became O'Connor's, leading Mabry to suspect that O'Connor had somehow arranged for Will to be murdered. On October 17, 1882, a visibly intoxicated Mabry confronted O'Connor at the Fair Grounds in
South Knoxville, but O'Connor backed off, saying it was neither the time nor place to settle their dispute. That evening, Mabry sent O'Connor a message, stating he would "kill him on sight." On the morning of October 19, 1882, O'Connor stepped outside the Mechanics' Bank and spotted Mabry walking down Gay Street. O'Connor quickly grabbed a
double-barreled shotgun, and emptied both barrels into Mabry, killing him instantly. Hearing the commotion, Joseph Mabry III, hurried toward the bank, and upon seeing his father's body, drew a pistol and shot O'Connor. As O'Connor fell mortally wounded, he managed to fire one final shot, killing the younger Mabry. Along with these three deaths, seven bystanders were wounded by stray
shot from O'Connor's gun. ==Legacy==