Joseph Alexander Mabry II[2] (January 26, 1826 – October 19, 1882) was an American folk figure and businessman active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the mid-nineteenth century.

[3] During the Civil War, Mabry donated a large supply of uniforms and tents to the Confederate Army, and was rewarded with the rank of general.

[6] After the Civil War, Mabry quickly made amends with the city's pro-Union businessmen, and continued to champion railroad development.

[6] In 1882, Mabry and his son were killed in a shootout with banker Thomas O'Connor in downtown Knoxville, an incident later chronicled by Mark Twain in his book, Life on the Mississippi.

[6] Mabry was named president of this railroad in 1858, and had begun building the first stretch of this line to Clinton when the Civil War halted construction.

[6] Mabry raised prized racehorses that competed in races across the South, and in 1860 he listed his occupation as "stock raiser.

[7] In April 1861, Mabry chased away a Confederate brass band attempting to interrupt a speech by pro-Unionist Andrew Johnson.

The following day, however, Union supporter Charles Douglas was shot by a Confederate soldier on Gay Street in an incident for which Mabry was later charged as an accessory.

[6] In December 1861, William "Parson" Brownlow, the vitriolic pro-Union editor of the Knoxville Whig, was jailed by Confederate authorities on charges of treason.

[6] In December 1881, Mabry's son, Will, was shot and killed by Constable Don Lusby during a barroom brawl at Snodderly's bar on Gay Street.

Hearing the commotion, Joseph Mabry III, hurried toward the bank, and upon seeing his father's body, drew a pistol and shot O'Connor.

The family argued this action violated the 1853 Mabry-Swan deed, which stipulated the land must be used for a Market House for farmers, or its ownership would revert to Mabry and Swan, or their heirs.