Steve Procko's Blog, page 2
March 3, 2023
Civil War POW Photo
Two of the three copy photographs are similar The Civil War POW photo held by the Library of Congress displayed similar traits to the one held by the Chicago Historical Museum. Specifically they both shared what appeared to be identical flaws in the emulsion in the upper right of the photo. They also share creases or cracks above the two individual’s heads in the upper row, far right. This indicates that each are “copy photos” … Continue reading →
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March 1, 2023
National Archives Discovery
Next in digging into this American Civil War POW escape story, I made a National Archives discovery as the story of the photograph itself began to become more intriguing. “Photograph of a Group of Confederate Prisoners” was the description at the National Archives website. What does that mean? With this version of the photograph it became obvious that there were multiple copies out there. Which ones were original prints? Which ones were copy photographs? I … Continue reading →
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February 25, 2023
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? I found the photograph with the “Morgan’s Raiders at Camp Douglas” identification not only at the Chicago History Museum, but also at the Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation’s website. It was also on the cover and featured inside “To Die … Continue reading →
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February 11, 2023
Identifying the soldiers
Identifying the soldiers was the first step to revealing the epic Civil War escape story. It wasn’t clear cut, and would require some sleuthing.So who were the 12 men in the photograph? When my North Georgia mountain neighbor shared the photograph with me. He told me the name of his cousin, the man in the far left middle row. David Ledford. Additionally, he told me that the back of the photograph had round a stamp … Continue reading →
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January 18, 2023
Identities Were Confused
Identities were confused almost immediately. T. M. Schleier took the photograph in the event that Captured Freedom on Tuesday, January 2, 1865. The former escapees and their mountain guides left Knoxville the next day. They all heading home, some to never see each other ever again. Escapees identities first confused shortly after the end of the Civil War In Spring 1866 noted historian Benson Lossing toured the south collecting stories and sketching the sites of … Continue reading →
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January 4, 2023
Civil War POW Escape Story
Researching the Civil War era photograph of POWs As soon as I saw it, I thought the picture was amazing and asked if I could research it a little. Despite the photograph being more than 150 yeas old, I began digging. A remarkable American Civil War POW escape story quickly emerged. Stories of the POWs that had never been told. Surprisingly, they misidentified the photograph from almost the moment they made the picture. Finally, in … Continue reading →
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An American Civil War POW Escape Story
How did the book come about? A neighbor of mine about two miles over the mountain from our log cabin on Stanley Creek shared an old photograph of 12 men in early 2021. Evidently, one of the men in the 156-year-old photograph was an ancestor of his, his great-uncle whose name was David Ledford who had helped a group of Union POWs escape through the mountains. Or so he thought. What he told me was … Continue reading →
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