Congress until he resigned in 1882, to become Governor of Georgia.
Toombs and Stephens never lost their lead as dictators in Georgia
politics.

The man in Georgia who suffered most frequently from the criticism of
General Toombs during this eventful period was ex-Governor Joseph E.
Brown. His position in taking his place in the Republican party, in
accepting office, and separating himself from his old friends and
allies, brought down upon him the opprobrium of most of the people. It
was at a time when Charles J. Jenkins had carried away the great seal of
Georgia and refused to surrender it to a hostile government. It was at a
time when Linton Stephens, the most vigorous as the most popular public
man during the reconstruction period, was endeavoring to arouse the
people. Governor Brown's apostasy was unfortunate. No man was then more
execrated by the people who had honored him. His name, for a while, was
a byword and a reproach. Mr. Stephens defended his position as
conscientious if not consistent, and gave Governor Brown the credit for
the purity as well as the courage of his convictions. Governor Brown
bore the contumely with patience. He contended that he could best serve
the State by assuming functions that must otherwise be placed in hostile
hands, and his friends declare to-day that in accepting the amendments
to the Constitution he simply occupied in advance the ground to which
the party and the people were forced to come. But his position did not
compare favorably with that of the prominent Georgians of that day.

The relations of Governor Brown and General Toombs continued strained.
The latter never lost an opportunity to upbraid him in public or in
private, and some of his keenest thrusts were aimed at the plodding
figure of his old friend and ally, as it passed on its lonely way
through the shadows of its long probation.

On one occasion in Atlanta, in July, 1872, General Toombs among other
things referred to a lobby at the legislature in connection with a claim
for the Mitchel heirs. Governor Brown had remained quiet during his long
political ostracism, but he turned upon his accuser now with
unlooked-for severity. He answered the charge by declaring that if
Toombs accused him of lobbying this claim, he was an "unscrupulous
liar." The reply did not attract much attention until it became known
that General Toombs had sent a friend to Governor Brown to know if the
latter would accept a challenge. Colonel Jo