He broke the news of the Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861 and of the Confederate invasion of the North in 1862, became one of the earliest investors in Thomas Edison's phonograph company, and became implicated in the Crédit Mobilier scandal during the 1870s.

Uriah Hunt was born on March 5, 1837, to Samuel Marshall and Ann (Vickers) Painter in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in the United States.

Negotiating an infusion of capital from Philadelphia-based investors, Painter ensured that the lumber company flourished, affording him a steady income for the rest of his life.

"[4] Embedded with the Army of the Potomac, he interviewed freedom seekers and malingerers and deserters from both sides, becoming the first journalist to report on the Confederacy's plans to invade the North in September 1862.

During the Gilded Age of the 1870s and 1880s, Painter became an influential Washington lobbyist, best known for his connections to powerful railroad and shipyard magnates.

He allegedly used his skills as an investigative journalist to uncover secrets and essentially blackmail corrupt politicians and business executives into supplying him with payoffs and insider trading information in exchange for his silence.

Painter was implicated in the Crédit Mobilier scandal and allegedly sought a cut of the monies circulating to buy support for legislation backing the Alaska Purchase.