Knox was acquitted on spy charges but found guilty of disobeying orders.

[2] Thomas Wallace Knox was born in Pembroke, New Hampshire, in 1835,[3] where he attended local schools.

[1] In 1860, at the age of 25, Knox headed west to take part in the gold rush in Colorado.

Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, Knox enlisted in the California Volunteers, where he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel.

He used these experiences as the basis for more travel, and wrote numerous books on foreign places for adults and children.