travel behind Confederate lines for the duration of the war. In May 1865, Pettit returned to Owensboro and found his print shop and printing press destroyed by federal authorities. He traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio to purchase replacement equipment and, on hearing the story of his arrest and subsequent travels, the equipment dealer extended him a generous line of credit, allowing him to purchase more sophisticated equipment than had ever before been used in Owensboro. With this new equipment, Pettit revived the Monitor and published his stories of wartime banishment, bringing him significant acclaim in Kentucky. Moreover, he also published editorials by future U.S. Senator Thomas C. McCreery, giving the Monitor further credibility and increasing its readership. In December 1870, Pettit married Margaret Blair, the daughter of a prominent Owensboro merchant. The couple had one son, Harvey Blair Pettit. After many years of publishing the Monitor, Pettit sold the paper to Urey Woodson, who changed its name to the Owensboro Messenger (now the Messenger-Inquirer). Political career In 1868, Pettit was elected assistant reading clerk in the Kentucky House of Representatives, a position he held for six years. Through the influence of Senator Thomas McCreery, Pettit was appointed assessor of internal revenue for the second district by President Andrew Johnson in 1869 and served in this capacity through the end of Johnson's term. Upon James B. McCreary's election as governor of Kentucky in 1874, Pettit accepted an appointment as the governor's private secretary. He later resigned this position after being elected Reading Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. He retained this position until the Republicans regained a majority in the House in the elections of 1880. In 1882, Pettit sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the Second District. He lost in the Democratic primary by 150 votes to James Franklin Clay of Henderson. The vote of Union County was thought to be the deciding factor in the primary. Contemporary biographers opined that Pettit had probably attended more Democratic state conventions than anyone else in Kentucky. At each convention he attended, he was elected secretary. He served as one of the secretaries at the 1884 Democratic National Convention; four years later, he was again chosen as a convention secretary and a member of the committee to officially notify Grover Cleveland and Allen G. Thurman of their nominations for president and vice-president, respectively. In 1890, he was chosen as a