Robert L. Caruthers

Robert Looney Caruthers (1800 – 1882) was elected governor of the state of Tennessee under Confederate auspices in 1863. However, by the time that he was to have been inaugurated, the Confederate Government controlled a relatively small portion of Tennessee. He never actually served as governor, and therefore is not counted in the official list of those who served as governor of Tennessee. However, the fact that he was actually elected governor, although never inaugurated, is one reason for the discrepancies which arise between reference works as to exactly how many people have served as governor of Tennessee. Caruthers had a distinguished career as an attorney and educator prior to that time, serving as state attorney general (1827-1832), and subsequently as a member of the state legislature and of Congress. Along with a brother, he founded the Cumberland School of Law, formalizing an arrangement between it and Cumberland University.