David T. Patterson Politician

David Trotter Patterson (February 28, 1818 – November 3, 1891) was a United States Senator from Tennessee at the beginning of the Reconstruction Period.A staunch Union supporter (as were most of his fellow East Tennesseans), he was elected by the Tennessee General Assembly to the U.S. Senate when Tennessee was readmitted to the Union on July 24, 1866, the first state of the former Confederacy to do so. He presented his credentials to the Senate on July 26, but they were challenged; he was not permitted to take the oath of office until July 28.