Fountain E. Pitts

Fountain E. Pitts (July 4, 1808 – May 22, 1874) was an American Methodist minister and Confederate chaplain. He established Methodist missions in Brazil and Argentina in 1835–1836. During the American Civil War, he was a chaplain and colonel in the Confederate States Army, and he became known as the "Fighting Parson". After the war, he was the first pastor of the McKendree Church (later known as the West End United Methodist Church) in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. He also grew poppies to make opium.

Early life Fountain E. Pitts was born on July 4, 1808, in Georgetown, Kentucky.

Career Pitts was ordained as a Methodist preacher in 1824. where he established missionary posts that were manned by American men dispatched by the Methodist Church.

During the American Civil War of 1861–1865, Pitts joined the Confederate States Army, first as a chaplain in the 11th Tennessee regiment for six months, and later as a colonel in the 61st Tennessee regiment in the Great Smoky Mountains. It was then known as the McKendree Church.

Personal life and death Pitts resided on Gallatin Pike in Edgefield, now known as East Nashville, Tennessee.

Pitts died of pneumonia on May 22, 1874, in Anchorage, Kentucky near Louisville. His eyes were closed by John Berry McFerrin, and he was buried with Masonic honors in Mount Olivet Cemetery. In 1883, a monument was added to the top of his grave.

His portrait was painted by Washington Bogart Cooper, and it was installed in the art gallery of the West End United Methodist Church (then still known as the McKendree Church) in 1903.