Private practice, Madisonville, Tennessee, 1850-1852
Private practice, Kingston, Tennessee, 1852-1853
Private practice, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1853-1861, 1865-1880
Confederate Army, 1861-1865
Chancellor, Tennessee Chancery Court, Third Judicial District, 1870-1875
U.S. senator from Tennessee, 1875-1877
Postmaster general of the United States, 1877-1880