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Captured Freedom - Book Details Epic Civil War POW Escape

Captured Freedom on History Unplugged

Scott Rank—is a history professor and host of the podcast History Unplugged. Scott interviews Captured Freedom’s author on History Unplugged. From History Unplugged: Steve Procko is today’s guest, and he’s here to tell the story. He’s also the author of “Captured Freedom: The Epic True Civil War Story of Union POW Officers Escaping From a South Prison.” At the height of the Civil War in November 1864, nine Union prisoners-of-war escaped from a Confederate Prison known as Camp Sorghum in… Read More »Captured Freedom on History Unplugged

The flag or colors of the 53rd Illinois with the blood of Sergeant George Poundstone still visible in the bottom right. The restored Civil War flag hangs on display at the Streator Public Library, Streator, Illinois, where it is on permanent loan from the Illinois State Military Museum. – Photo courtesy of David Reed

Flag Day

The flag or colors of the 53rd Illinois with the blood of Sergeant George Poundstone still visible in the bottom right.The restored Civil War flag hangs on display at the Streator Public Library, Streator, Illinois, where it is on permanent loan from the Illinois State Military Museum. – Photo courtesy of David Reed At around 9AM on the morning of Sunday, July 12, 1863, the incessant heat radiated down from the Jackson, Mississippi sun onto the men of the 53rd… Read More »Flag Day

Henry Fowler; 15th New Jersey

Memorial Day

How our country observes Memorial Day has an interesting connection to the Union POWs who posed for “the photograph’ in Knoxville in 1865. Lieutenant Henry Fowler of the 15th New Jersey was just 17-years-old when he was seriously wounded in the knee and captured at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse on May 12, 1864. An overzealous Confederate surgeon wanted to amputate his leg. Fowler pleaded with the man as a chloroform rag was placed across his mouth and nose. When… Read More »Memorial Day

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

Mark M. Bassett - Circa 1900-1910; Courtesy of the Peoria Public Library

Peoria Find

It didn’t take long until I found another copy of “the photograph”. A lead suggested that I search for records and photographs at the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) post in Peoria, Illinois. The GAR was the fraternal organization made up of Union Army veterans from the Civil War. Mark Bassett had been a member. The post was known as “Col. John Bryner Post, No.67“, with its historic Greenhut GAR Memorial building constructed in 1909, a year before Bassett’s death.… Read More »Peoria Find

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