John W. Morton

John Watson Morton (September 19, 1842 – November 21, 1914) was an American Confederate military officer, farmer and politician. Educated at the Western Military Institute, he entered military service soon after graduation, with the outbreak of war. He served as captain of artillery under General Nathan Bedford Forrest in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Afterward he was the founder of the Nashville chapter of the Ku Klux Klan during the Reconstruction era.

Although Morton studied medicine after the war and practiced as a physician for two years, he decided to go into farming. He led various agricultural societies and served as the Tennessee Secretary of State from 1901 to 1909.

Early life Morton was born on September 19, 1842, in Williamson County, Tennessee, to Dr John A. Morton and his wife Sarah Buchanan.

Morton was educated at the private Western Military Institute. in Room 10 of the Maxwell House Hotel in fall of 1866.

Morton practiced medicine for two years, until he decided to take up farming in Tennessee.

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