Pattison was for five months the 43rd governor of Ohio, serving for a shorter period than any other person elected to the office before his death.

After the war ended, Pattison attended Ohio Wesleyan University, graduating in 1869.

Pattison briefly served in the Ohio House of Representatives in 1873 before working as an executive at an insurance company.

Pattison directed the government from his bed until he died at his home Promont, near Milford, Ohio.

Pattison Park, located on US Highway 50 west of Owensville, is also named in his honor.