When his father returned to Tennessee in 1861 after the outbreak of the American Civil War, Henry Watterson did too. He volunteered for the Confederate States Army, and was attached at various times to the staffs of Generals Joseph E. Johnston, Leonidas Polk and Nathan B. Forrest. His main contribution to the Confederate war effort, however, was editorial, with the "Chattanooga Rebel" and the "Nashville Banner". After the Confederacy lost, Watterson edited the "Cincinnati Evening Post" for six months. By September 1865 Watterson returned to Nashville, married, become editor and part owner of the "Nashville Banner," where he began his “New Departure” campaign urging national reconciliation. Watterson ultimately settled down in Louisville, Kentucky, having met Walter Newman Haldeman during the war, and began editing the "Louisville Journal". That paper merged with the "Louisville Courier" in 1868, forming the "Courier-Journal". This paper soon gained national attention for its excellent reporting. Watterson was a leader of the Liberal Republican movement in 1872. By 1876 he was a Democrat; his proposal for hundreds of thousands of Democrats to march on Washington to force the election of Tilden angered President Ulysses S. Grant, who noted that nobody threatened Grant. Watterson was elected to fill the rest of Edward Y. Parsons' term in the U.S. House when Parsons died in office. Watterson was called "the last of the great personal journalists", writing colorful and controversial editorials on many topics under the pen name "Marse Henry". Hundreds of American papers republished them; they were an early exemplar of the syndicated column which played a significant role creating public support for U.S. intervention in the First World War. Watterson won the Pulitzer Prize in 1918 for two editorials supporting U.S. entry into World War I ("" and ""), and he remained the paper's editor until 1919, retiring after conflicts with Robert Worth Bingham, who purchased the paper in 1918. During his tenure as editor, Watterson was a Democratic representative in Congress from 1876 to 1877. He was also a five-time delegate to the National Democratic Convention, where, in 1892, Watterson received a smattering of votes for the vice presidential nomination. He became widely known as a lecturer and orator. His publications include "History of the Spanish–American War" (1899) and "The Compromises of Life" (1902).