In 1862, fiery Knoxville Unionist newspaper editor and Methodist parson William G. Brownlow, turned his steam-powered presses to producing a personal memoir predicting the collapse of secession. He wasn’t far off—secession collapsed three years later.

“Sketches of the Rise, Progress, and Decline of Secession: with a Narrative of Personal Adventures among the Rebels” was reprinted in 2005 by the University of Michigan. It’s available here.