Who is Mr. Underwood in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

Mr. Underwood is the owner, editor, and printer of The Maycomb Tribune, the town's newspaper. He works and lives in the Tribune office, which is located across from the courthouse, and spends his days at his linotype. He constantly refreshes himself with his ever-present gallon jug of cherry wine.

When a mob of men approaches the courthouse and demands that Atticus leave (he is sitting outside, protecting Tom Robinson), Mr. Underwood trains a double-barreled shotgun on the mob. Though Atticus doesn't realize it until the mob has dispersed, Mr. Underwood has him covered during the entire episode. However, Mr. Underwood, whose first name is Braxton Bragg (after a Confederate general), won't allow a black person to go near him. Despite Mr. Underwood's apparent racism, he writes an editorial in his paper after Tom Robinson is convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. He writes that it's a sin to kill people who are crippled or weak, much as it's a sin to shoot a songbird. Mr. Underwood is clearly committed to his own vision of justice and believes that the verdict in the Tom Robinson case is unjust.