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Lieutenant Mark M. Bassett; 53rd Illinois. Cropped from the photograph taken January 2, 1865 by Theodore M. Schleier in Knoxville, TN. From the book "Captured Freedom".

Mark Bassett; 53rd Illinois

All indications pointed to a man who live in Peoria, Illinois after the war as the source for the copy photographs found at the Library of Congress, Chicago History Museum and Peoria Public Library. His name was Mark M. Bassett and he was a lieutenant in the 53rd Illinois. Promoted to Captain at the end of the war but never mustered. Bassett’s name is found with either the rank of Captain and Lieutenant attached to it in later years. Lieutenant… Read More »Mark Bassett; 53rd Illinois

Civil War POW Photo

Within a couple of months of starting research for the book, I found a third version of the Civil War POW photo at the National Archives. By now, I was calling it “The Photograph“. One thing became apparent, all of the photos were “copy photos”. Two of the photos were copied from the same original photograph. This led to a lot of questions. Where was that original photograph today – Did the fragile albumen print still survive more than 150… Read More »Civil War POW Photo

Chicago Confusion Mystery

The Library of Congress (LOC) offered an interesting clue. There was a Chicago confusion mystery. The Chicago History Museum (CHM) had identified the photograph as member’s of Morgan’s Raiders at Camp Douglas. How did this happen? Copy of the image held by the Chicago History Museum. Mounted on a backing cardboard. There is a hole at the top that appears to have come from a thumbtack Photo by Ray Johnson I found the photograph with the “Morgan’s Raiders at Camp… Read More »Chicago Confusion Mystery