Frederick Steidinger Heiskell (1786 – November 29, 1882) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and civic leader, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, throughout much of the 19th century.

A Southern Unionist, Heiskell was a delegate to the pro-Union East Tennessee Convention on the eve of the Civil War.

These included Judge John Haywood's Civil and Political History of Tennessee (1823), one of the first comprehensive histories of the state, Judge Edward Scott's Laws of the State of Tennessee (1821), sermons by religious figures such as Isaac L. Anderson and John Doak, and the first major work of William "Parson" Brownlow, Helps to the Study of Presbyterianism (1834).

[1] His committee assignments included Education and Common Schools, Internal Improvement, Claims, and Banks.

He was also appointed by Speaker Josiah M. Anderson to a three-man "engrossment" committee, which was tasked with finalizing bills before they were sent to the House.

He was appointed to the Board of Directors for the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad in 1852,[8] and was elected president of the Knox County Agricultural Society in 1856.

"[15] He was released after ten days on the orders of General Felix K. Zollicoffer, the commander of Confederate forces in the region, who had once worked in Heiskell's printing office.

[2] In February 1862, Heiskell exchanged "angry words" with Colonel Danville Leadbetter when he was denied leave to visit Unionist leader William "Parson" Brownlow, who had been jailed in Knoxville.

"[18] After Joseph Brown Heiskell was captured by Union soldiers in August 1864, Brownlow's newspaper, the Whig, demanded he face the "most rigorous" military penalties.

He expressed support for President Andrew Johnson, and vowed to seek compensation for East Tennessee Unionists whose property had been taken or destroyed by the Union Army.

[21] The Whig, which had endorsed Horace Maynard for the seat, suggested that Heiskell was supported by "all the rebels and copperheads of the second district.

[23] Heiskell blamed the lopsided loss on voter intimidation, and accused Brownlow of meddling in the election.

In a scathing editorial published in the Knoxville Commercial, Heiskell denied cursing, but stood by his accusation that Brownlow was a liar.

He stated that Brownlow's typical editorials were nothing more than the "low, coarse, vulgar personal abuse of better men than himself."

[24] In May 1866, Heiskell published another editorial in which he accused Brownlow of exaggerating his "sufferings" at the hands of Confederate authorities in order to exploit northern sympathy and sell books.

[25] The Whig responded with an article mocking Heiskell as an "old Whisky-rotted, broken-down political hack" who had only pretended to be a Unionist to support his family's Confederate interests.