During the American Civil War, he was a chaplain and colonel in the Confederate States Army, and he became known as the "Fighting Parson".

[1][2] In 1835–1836, he went to Brazil and Argentina,[3][4] where he established missionary posts that were manned by American men dispatched by the Methodist Church.

[1] Shortly after, he was appointed by Bishop Holland Nimmons McTyeire as the first pastor of the West End Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee.

[1] Pitts was described as "one of the most notable men in the Tennessee Conference" by The Clarksville Chronicle,[2] and as "one of the pioneers of Southern Methodism" by The Pulaski Citizen.

[1][11] His eyes were closed by John Berry McFerrin,[2] who also conducted his funeral,[12] and he was buried with Masonic honors[13] in Mount Olivet Cemetery.