The Old Red Fox of East Tennessee: Daniel Ellis

The Old Red Fox of East Tennessee: Daniel Ellis

Published: March 21, 2026

Duration: 19:56

Daniel Ellis of Carter County, Tennessee was a wagon maker who became one of the most successful guides of the Civil War. Living behind Confederate lines in East Tennessee, Ellis created a secret route through the Appalachian Mountains to Union territory at Cumberland Gap.

Traveling mostly at night and avoiding Confederate patrols, Ellis made about twenty journeys through East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, guiding roughly four thousand Union supporters to safety. About two thousand of them later joined the Union Army.

Join us as we tell the story of the man Confederate soldiers called “The Old Re...