Ellis Harper

Ellis Harper was one of Tennessee's most feared Confederate Guerrillas. Harper carried out his raids in present day Gallatin, Hartsville, and Carthage, Tennessee. Harper was born in 1842, in present day Portland, Tennessee. He enlisted in the Confederate Army at the age of nineteen. He fought in the Battle of Fort Donelson. It was during this battle, that he was captured and sent to Springfield, Illinois, where he was imprisoned. It was not long until he escaped. After escaping, he came back South, and joined John Hunt Morgan's band of raiders. Morgan tasked Harper with carrying out raids on trains, burning bridges, and destroying Union supply lines. Due to his knowledge of the terrain, Morgan commissioned Harper as a major. After another brush with captivity, Harper decided to form his own band of raiders. Harper, like other guerrillas, knew his native lands much better then most. This gave him an advantage over the Union regiments in the area. He engaged himself in the same activities that he had been involved in with Morgan. Morgan would not be the only famous Confederate general Harper fought with. He and his men also served under General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Ellis Harper did not like Union sympathizers. He shot at them every chance he could. In Kentucky, a man named Harvey Travelstead went to the Union authorities, telling them where Harper was located, as well as his movements. When Harper got word of what happened, he and his men located the church where Travelstead attended, went in, drug him outside, and shot him to death. Harper later got word that a man by the name of Hensley Harris was planning to leak information on his whereabouts. He and his men traveled to the Harris home. When Harris would not answer the door, Harper busted in and shot up the house. It is unknown if he killed or captured Harris, but he did kill his three year old son. When the war ended, Harper was paroled by the Federal government. There were still warrants out for his arrest in both Kentucky and Tennessee. He feared that he would meet the same fate as Champ Ferguson had, so he and his men decided to lay low for awhile. When they knew it was safe, they continued to loot, and destroy from anybody that had Union sympathies. They limited most of these acts to Portland. The states of Kentucky and Tennessee eventually pardoned Harper. By the end of his career as a raider, Ellis Harper had killed around 15-20 people. Harper eventually got married and moved to Lebanon, Tennessee. In 1908, he was killed in a political argument. Ever since, Ellis Harper has been lost in the pages of Civil War, and Tennessee History.


At the funeral of Ellis Harper, the following eulogy was read: "He was a man of strong likes and dislikes and quick to resent an insult, for whoever offended him was sure to bring a fight upon himself. He could never forget an injury, but he was a staunch friend to those so fortunate as to gain his esteem..."




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