Thrilling Adventures of Daniel Ellis, the Great Union Guide of East Tennessee

This 1867 Harper & Brothers publication presents The Thrilling Adventures of Daniel Ellis, the Great Union Guide of East Tennessee, Ellis's first-person account of his activities during the Civil War. Ellis, born in Carter County, Tennessee in 1827, provides biographical context: he was a wagon-maker who volunteered in the Mexican-American War, where he witnessed war's devastating effects. The narrative then transitions to the coming American conflict, during which Ellis served as a Union guide in East Tennessee. The text emphasizes Ellis's humble education, moral philosophy shaped by rural Appalachian life, and his conviction that honesty and duty constitute proper human conduct. The work combines autobiography with adventure narrative, establishing Ellis as an ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances protecting Union interests in Confederate territory. The volume includes illustrations and promises detailed accounts of near-four years of wartime experiences.