Francis M. “Franc” Paul established the Chattanooga Daily Rebel in August 1862, after the town’s two newspapers had merged, then suspended publication earlier that year. Paul was principal clerk of the Tennessee senate and had formerly been a printer for Brownlow’s Knoxville Whig. Paul was the Rebel’s sole publisher and editor during its first few months. On a trip to Murfreesboro, he met Henry Watterson and invited him to become editor of the Rebel. Watterson already had considerable newspapering experience, having written for the press in Washington, D.C., New York, and Nashville. Shortly after Watterson began writing for the Rebel, his friend Albert Roberts joined him. (Both went on to notable journalistic accomplishments after the war.) As was customary amongst Civil War correspondents, both Watterson and Roberts wrote under pen names. Watterson, writing as John Burley, often criticized General Braxton Bragg’s military operations, prompting Bragg to threaten to ban the paper from his camps. In addition to his war reports, Roberts provided “a cheerful witty side to every issue. His ‘JOHN HAPPY’ letters, ‘Grapevine Telegraph’ and bright, sparkling paragraphs were eagerly sought and read by the boys at the front and by the old men, women and children in the rear.”