Ellen Hunt Graham was born about 1841 in Tazewell, Tennessee to Hughe Graham and Catherine Nenny Graham of "Castle Rock."
During the War Between The States, Tazewell, Claiborne County, was a crossroads just below the Cumberland Gap (where the borders of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet), a strategic battleground contested by both sides.
Miss Ellen H. Graham often aided the Confederate cause by providing food, supplies, and information about Union positions to the Confederate pickets of Colonel Henry Ashby's 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry stationed nearby.
In November 1865, Ellen was involved in a plot to break 13 Confederate "political" prisoners out of a Tazewell jail. Among the prisoners were her nephew and several friends.
During a visit to the jail, Ellen smuggled a file and other tools concealed in a peach cobler and a loaf of bread. The tools enabled the prisoners to eventually escape during a heavy rain storm.
Ellen fled Tazewell when she learned that she was about to be arrested by the sheriff, after having been indicted for her role in the prison escape.
With the assistance of several former Confederate soldiers, Ellen eluded authorities, escaping into Southwest Virginia. Escorted by an ex-Confederate Captain, Dr. Thomas S. Gibson (Co. G, 25th VA Cav), Ellen made it to Seven Mile Ford Depot (near Marion, VA) where she boarded an eastbound train to Bedford Courthouse, VA. Within weeks, Ellen eventually arrived at the home of her sister, Cornelia Graham Patterson, in Philadelphia, PA.
Ellen Graham later met and married merchant Thomas Rankin Patton, of Philadelphia. In March 1869, she died of fever, several days after giving birth to a son.
In December 1889, Thomas Rankin Patton, Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania established a memorial charity fund for the aid of widows and orphans of fellow Masons and dedicated the fund in the name of his deceased wife.
Corp. John William Yoe, I Co., 2nd TN Cav, wrote "after the mantle of peace covers a united country and the passions and hates of war have largely passed away, the widows of some who wore the blue are now being aided and helped through a fund dedicated and founded in memory of one who respected and honored those who wore the gray."
In a letter to Ellen's nephew, Dr. Gibson, who was her escort during her escape, said, "I found Miss Ellen Graham to be one of the strongest of Rebels, true and unspotted to the cause of rebellion, and a perfect lady."
The story of Ellen Graham Patton can be found in the Confederate Veteran, Vol. XV, No. 1, January 1907.
During the War Between The States, Tazewell, Claiborne County, was a crossroads just below the Cumberland Gap (where the borders of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet), a strategic battleground contested by both sides.
Miss Ellen H. Graham often aided the Confederate cause by providing food, supplies, and information about Union positions to the Confederate pickets of Colonel Henry Ashby's 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry stationed nearby.
In November 1865, Ellen was involved in a plot to break 13 Confederate "political" prisoners out of a Tazewell jail. Among the prisoners were her nephew and several friends.
During a visit to the jail, Ellen smuggled a file and other tools concealed in a peach cobler and a loaf of bread. The tools enabled the prisoners to eventually escape during a heavy rain storm.
Ellen fled Tazewell when she learned that she was about to be arrested by the sheriff, after having been indicted for her role in the prison escape.
With the assistance of several former Confederate soldiers, Ellen eluded authorities, escaping into Southwest Virginia. Escorted by an ex-Confederate Captain, Dr. Thomas S. Gibson (Co. G, 25th VA Cav), Ellen made it to Seven Mile Ford Depot (near Marion, VA) where she boarded an eastbound train to Bedford Courthouse, VA. Within weeks, Ellen eventually arrived at the home of her sister, Cornelia Graham Patterson, in Philadelphia, PA.
Ellen Graham later met and married merchant Thomas Rankin Patton, of Philadelphia. In March 1869, she died of fever, several days after giving birth to a son.
In December 1889, Thomas Rankin Patton, Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania established a memorial charity fund for the aid of widows and orphans of fellow Masons and dedicated the fund in the name of his deceased wife.
Corp. John William Yoe, I Co., 2nd TN Cav, wrote "after the mantle of peace covers a united country and the passions and hates of war have largely passed away, the widows of some who wore the blue are now being aided and helped through a fund dedicated and founded in memory of one who respected and honored those who wore the gray."
In a letter to Ellen's nephew, Dr. Gibson, who was her escort during her escape, said, "I found Miss Ellen Graham to be one of the strongest of Rebels, true and unspotted to the cause of rebellion, and a perfect lady."
The story of Ellen Graham Patton can be found in the Confederate Veteran, Vol. XV, No. 1, January 1907.
Ellen Hunt Graham was born about 1841 in Tazewell, Tennessee to Hughe Graham and Catherine Nenny Graham of "Castle Rock."
During the War Between The States, Tazewell, Claiborne County, was a crossroads just below the Cumberland Gap (where the borders of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet), a strategic battleground contested by both sides.
Miss Ellen H. Graham often aided the Confederate cause by providing food, supplies, and information about Union positions to the Confederate pickets of Colonel Henry Ashby's 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry stationed nearby.
In November 1865, Ellen was involved in a plot to break 13 Confederate "political" prisoners out of a Tazewell jail. Among the prisoners were her nephew and several friends.
During a visit to the jail, Ellen smuggled a file and other tools concealed in a peach cobler and a loaf of bread. The tools enabled the prisoners to eventually escape during a heavy rain storm.
Ellen fled Tazewell when she learned that she was about to be arrested by the sheriff, after having been indicted for her role in the prison escape.
With the assistance of several former Confederate soldiers, Ellen eluded authorities, escaping into Southwest Virginia. Escorted by an ex-Confederate Captain, Dr. Thomas S. Gibson (Co. G, 25th VA Cav), Ellen made it to Seven Mile Ford Depot (near Marion, VA) where she boarded an eastbound train to Bedford Courthouse, VA. Within weeks, Ellen eventually arrived at the home of her sister, Cornelia Graham Patterson, in Philadelphia, PA.
Ellen Graham later met and married merchant Thomas Rankin Patton, of Philadelphia. In March 1869, she died of fever, several days after giving birth to a son.
In December 1889, Thomas Rankin Patton, Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania established a memorial charity fund for the aid of widows and orphans of fellow Masons and dedicated the fund in the name of his deceased wife.
Corp. John William Yoe, I Co., 2nd TN Cav, wrote "after the mantle of peace covers a united country and the passions and hates of war have largely passed away, the widows of some who wore the blue are now being aided and helped through a fund dedicated and founded in memory of one who respected and honored those who wore the gray."
In a letter to Ellen's nephew, Dr. Gibson, who was her escort during her escape, said, "I found Miss Ellen Graham to be one of the strongest of Rebels, true and unspotted to the cause of rebellion, and a perfect lady."
The story of Ellen Graham Patton can be found in the Confederate Veteran, Vol. XV, No. 1, January 1907.
During the War Between The States, Tazewell, Claiborne County, was a crossroads just below the Cumberland Gap (where the borders of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet), a strategic battleground contested by both sides.
Miss Ellen H. Graham often aided the Confederate cause by providing food, supplies, and information about Union positions to the Confederate pickets of Colonel Henry Ashby's 2nd Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry stationed nearby.
In November 1865, Ellen was involved in a plot to break 13 Confederate "political" prisoners out of a Tazewell jail. Among the prisoners were her nephew and several friends.
During a visit to the jail, Ellen smuggled a file and other tools concealed in a peach cobler and a loaf of bread. The tools enabled the prisoners to eventually escape during a heavy rain storm.
Ellen fled Tazewell when she learned that she was about to be arrested by the sheriff, after having been indicted for her role in the prison escape.
With the assistance of several former Confederate soldiers, Ellen eluded authorities, escaping into Southwest Virginia. Escorted by an ex-Confederate Captain, Dr. Thomas S. Gibson (Co. G, 25th VA Cav), Ellen made it to Seven Mile Ford Depot (near Marion, VA) where she boarded an eastbound train to Bedford Courthouse, VA. Within weeks, Ellen eventually arrived at the home of her sister, Cornelia Graham Patterson, in Philadelphia, PA.
Ellen Graham later met and married merchant Thomas Rankin Patton, of Philadelphia. In March 1869, she died of fever, several days after giving birth to a son.
In December 1889, Thomas Rankin Patton, Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania established a memorial charity fund for the aid of widows and orphans of fellow Masons and dedicated the fund in the name of his deceased wife.
Corp. John William Yoe, I Co., 2nd TN Cav, wrote "after the mantle of peace covers a united country and the passions and hates of war have largely passed away, the widows of some who wore the blue are now being aided and helped through a fund dedicated and founded in memory of one who respected and honored those who wore the gray."
In a letter to Ellen's nephew, Dr. Gibson, who was her escort during her escape, said, "I found Miss Ellen Graham to be one of the strongest of Rebels, true and unspotted to the cause of rebellion, and a perfect lady."
The story of Ellen Graham Patton can be found in the Confederate Veteran, Vol. XV, No. 1, January 1907.
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