In Captured Freedom is the epic true story of nine Union prisoners-of-war who escaped from a Confederate Prison known as Camp Sorghum in Columbia, South Carolina in November 1864. They scrambled north on foot in rags that had once been uniforms of blue. Traveling in brutal winter conditions more than 300 miles with search parties and bloodhounds hot on their trail. On the difficult journey they relied on the help of enslaved men and women, as well as Southerners who sympathized with the North, before finally reaching Union lines on New Years Day 1865.
After arriving in Knoxville, Tennessee, and checking in with Union authorities, one of the men had a wonderful idea. The nine officers and their three mountain guides found a local photographer, hoping to commemorate what they had accomplished by posing together for a photograph. The instant, frozen in time, showed twelve ragged men with determination strong on their faces. It was a Civil War selfie. A moment that Captured Freedom.
Author Steve Procko, an Emmy-award winning documentarian, received a copy of the more than 150-year-old photograph from a descendant of one of the mountain guides. Upon identifying and researching the men in the photograph, he realized their remarkable story had never been told.
They say every picture tells a story. This one tells many.
Our first book in the There’s History Around Every Bend Book Series.
Now available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Rebel Correspondent by Steve Procko is the true story about a young man who joined the Confederate army seven days after his eighteenth birthday and served bravely for more than two and a half years until the war ended. He emerged as changed person. 950 days of his life ticked by during his service and survival as a Cavalry Private. Then he returned to the peaceful farm life of his youth, before all the madness. But he wasn’t just a farmer, he was also a writer.
A little over thirty-six-years later, he decided to tell the world about his experiences. His autobiography was serialized in the Walker County Messenger, the weekly northwest Georgia newspaper published in the town of LaFayette, Georgia, between 1901 and 1903.
And then it was all but forgotten.
Steve Procko, an Emmy-award winning documentarian stumbled upon Arba F. Shaw’s account of his life as a private in Company F of the 4th Georgia Cavalry under the command of Colonel Isaac W. Avery while searching for information for a documentary series, “There’s History Around Every Bend.” The down-to-earth accounts of the everyday life of a lowly private just struggling to survive one of the greatest events in American history fascinated Procko. As he read the series of articles, he began to realize that this was a remarkable cache of history.
Shaw’s memories of the events are rich in details of the names, places, and events that he personally experienced during the Civil War. He was a son of the South, just a lowly cavalry private, one of hundreds in his regiment trying to survive day-to-day life, trying to understand the purpose of the turmoil he suddenly found himself thrown into.
He was there as the 4th Georgia rode into Tennessee in early 1863, and during the brutally cold winter campaign at Knoxville and Eastern Tennessee. He was seriously wounded at the Battle of New Hope Church and witness to the wounding of his commanding officer Colonel Isaac W. Avery (who would one day become the editor of The Constitution (today known as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) on the very same day. Recovering from his wounds, he returned to the war, and was wounded seriously again just five months later. He would suffer from the effects from these wounds for the rest of his life.
His eyewitness accounts are perhaps the only written record of some of the day-to-day activities of the 4th Georgia Cavalry (Avery) that survive today.
In Rebel Correspondent, Procko, brings us Arba Shaw’s complete, original account and enhances it with meticulous research of his own, uncovering the backstories of many of his Rebel comrades and offering historical perspective on places and events Shaw described so richly.
The book introduces to its 21st-century audience an important in-depth first-person account of one enlisted man’s experiences in the bloodiest and most controversial war in our country’s history.
The RebelCorrespondent.com website will also be used as a clearinghouse for information on the 4th Georgia Cavalry. This will eventually include a soldiers database with biographies and whatever photographs can be found for all the soldiers and companies of the 4th Georgia Cavalry. The rolls database will be added in the coming months.
This story is part of an upcoming “History Around Every Bend” episode to be titled “1864: Chaos in the Mountains” which will explore a series of events that started at the beginning of that year and proceeded through November 1864, each of which was a cause-and-effect incident related to the next.
Friday, September 2nd, 1864 dawned as another humid, hot day – the last vestiges of summer held its grip on the peaks and hollows of the North Georgia mountains. Just 100 miles to the south, as September 2nd progressed, the last vestiges of the confederacy released its grasp in the fall of Atlanta, and the critical hub of the south fell to Sherman’s army.
Senses fully engaged, carefully, with stealth, twenty-seven-year-old Edward Callahan O’Kelley, a Union private in Company C of the 10th Tennessee Cavalry[1]Compiled Service Records, Company G, 10th Tennessee Cavalry (Union), Edward Callahan O’Kelley. Age 26, Enlisted 1/18/1864 for a period of 3 years in Nashville, TN. Mustered into service 2/27/1864. … Continue reading and his brother thirty-three-year-old John Pendleton O’Kelley plodded through the maze of mountain laurels near the Toccoa River. John was a rebel private AWOL from Company H of the 42nd Georgia Infantry CSA[2]Compiled Service Records, 42nd Georgia Infantry (Confederate), John Pendleton O’Kelley. Muster Date 3/4/1862;’ 5/15/1862 Disabled/Rheumatism; 10/2/1863 Absent, Unfit for Service.
Copied from Aska Road – Toccoa Rapids Roadside Marker, original image owned by Bob Barton, descendant of Edward O’Kelley
Edward Callahan O’Kelley himself had at one time fought for the rebel cause as a private in Company G of the 24th Georgia Infantry[3]Compiled Service Records, 24th Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Edward Callahan O’Kelley. Enlisted 8/24/1862 in Whit Co., GA by Capt. Leonard. Left sick in Winchester, VA. 10/19/1862; Admitted to … Continue reading. He was wounded at 2nd Manassas in August 1862 and in the aftermath had switched sides, joining Federal forces in Nashville in January 1864. “We were always told as was passed down through my aunts and uncles that he was not happy with how his rebel company treated the civilians–pillaging and raping”, said Bob Barton, of Marble, North Carolina, O’Kelley’s 3X grand nephew, “they weren’t raised that way.[4]Bob Barton interview by Steve Procko; June 2018“
Since he was a former soldier in the confederate army, Edward O’Kelley signed a loyalty oath to the United States. There were several variations of this oath, but they all carried the same message–this would have likely been what Edward C. O’Kelley signed when he enlisted in Nashville at the Provost Marshall’s office:
Compiled Service Records, Company G, 10th Tennessee Cavalry (Union), Edward Callahan O’Kelley. Age 26, Enlisted 1/18/1864 for a period of 3 years in Nashville, TN. Mustered into service 2/27/1864. Present on muster rolls Mar-Apr, May-June, July-Aug/1864. Last paid April 20, 1864. He is reported as Killed in Action (KIA)A in September 15, 1864 though the place he was killed is incorrectly reported as Lumpkin County. Adjutant General’s Office, Washington, DC. 10/10/1864 officially reports him as Killed in Action.
Compiled Service Records, 42nd Georgia Infantry (Confederate), John Pendleton O’Kelley. Muster Date 3/4/1862;’ 5/15/1862 Disabled/Rheumatism; 10/2/1863 Absent, Unfit for Service
Compiled Service Records, 24th Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Edward Callahan O’Kelley. Enlisted 8/24/1862 in Whit Co., GA by Capt. Leonard. Left sick in Winchester, VA. 10/19/1862; Admitted to Richmond HospitalNo. 20 10/31/1862; Appears on receipt roll for clothing 2d Division Hospital; Camp Winder; Richmond, VA 1/15/1863. No further records after that date.
There’s History Around Every Bend nominated for an Emmy Award.
I am pleased to announce that There’s History Around Every Bend has been nominated for an Emmy Award in the Historical/Cultural category for the episode titled “The Hook & Eye Line and Blue Ridge Scenic Railway”.
If you have not seen the documentary – it tells the story of how the railroad came to Blue Ridge, Georgia in the 1800s through the founding of today’s Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. The rails this scenic line runs on have a history going back over 160 years. It all starts in 1854 with the first fifty years being a tale full of big ideas, engineering schemes, mergers, bankruptcies and acquisitions. They nicknamed the railroad the ‘Hook and Eye Line’ because of the unique engineering necessary to overcome the steep mountainous terrain through some of the most picturesque landscape in the Smoky Mountains.
You can watch the documentary and follow our YouTube Channel at:
As you ride the rails on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, it’s important to aways be on the lookout as the whistle sounds…because There’s History Around Every Bend.
The rails this scenic line runs on on have a history going back over 160 years. It all starts in 1854 with the first fifty years being a tale full of big ideas, engineering schemes, mergers, bankruptcies and acquisitions.
The railroad was nicknamed the ‘Hook and Eye Line’ because of the unique engineering necessary to overcome the steep mountainous terrain through some of the most picturesque landscape in the Smoky Mountains.
Eventually in the late 1980’s it was the end of the line. Until the rails were was brought back by Wilds L. Pierce II in the founding of the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway.
Please subscribe to our YouTube channel for more interesting history videos.
An undated photo, provided by family member Susan Lawrence, shows twin brothers Julius (left) and Ludwig Pieper in their U.S. Navy uniforms. Susan Lawrence via AP
Today as we remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice I heard this great story on NPR – A 16 year-old high school student discovered a clue that would eventually bring closure to a family some 74 years after the fact.
This story just reinforces the reasons why I gravitative to history’s mysteries and love doing the detective work trying to solve them.
The city began to suffer from the pandemic and people were asked to stay home. Initially, it was recommended that people wear masks, and an estimated 80% of the population obliged. Fines were instituted for those who chose to not to wear masks.
The city was effectively shut down. Businesses suffered. People got sick. Some died.
But soon, the pandemic cases began to go down and public health officials breathed a sigh of relief and began to recommend re-opening the city.
Residents rushed out into the city, suddenly free. The went to all of the entertainment venues and restaurants they had been denied for months. But because of the mask law, the mayor of the city was actually fined by his own police chief after going to a movie without a mask. Shortly after, the fine penalties for not wearing masks was discontinued.
Within a two months, a second wave of illness surged, worst than before. Health officers urged people to return to wearing masks but this time, they made it a voluntary option.
But even as the second wave became more serious, it was estimated that 90% of the population refused to wear masks. Businesses expressed concern about loss of sales. Citizens had spent a couple of months being hassled and fined for not wearing masks, they were having none of it. Constitutional rights were brought up, they wanted to live their lives as they wished.
A religious group argued that being forced to wear a mask and staying at home was “subversive of personal liberty and constitutional rights.” Some argued that if they were forced to wear masks, then the might also be forced to inoculate themselves and their families.
A local newspaper turned against the entire mask wearing idea – posing a series of questions to its readers.
Was the death rate actually high enough to require wearing masks again?
Wasn’t this just the return of a similar illness that is seasonal and not as bad as everyone makes it out to be?
How much of this whole thing was actually just a ‘hype’ and ‘scare’ of the public?
An op-ed in another paper ran with a headline stating “What’s the Use?” after someone got sick even while following the recommended guidelines.
Word that a vaccine would fast arrive turned out to be bogus.
Finally a large group of citizens numbering in the 100’s gathered together to debate the entire thing. On public health official refused to back down – “Staying home and using masks will help”, he pleaded. But an attempt to create another mask order with fines was voted down. “The dollar sign is exalted above the health sign” said the public health official.
Two weeks later was the worst day of deaths from the pandemic were recorded.
Finally organized labor changed their opinion against masks and asked for a new mask order which was passed on a day where 600 more cases were reported.
But the public continued to show widespread disobedience to the new ordinance, refusing to wear masks. Over 2000 “public spirited citizens, skeptical physicians and fanatics” attended an event by a group called ‘THE ANTI-MASK LEAGUE’ denouncing the ordinance.
The day the masking ordinance went into effect, the number of new cases/deaths declined, the first decline in quite some time. This continued until the epidemic faded, a signal that the mask ordinance and staying at home had helped wipe out the illness.
Ultimately this was one of the American cities hardest hit by the pandemic. 673 per 100,000 people died. There were more than 50,000 cases total and 3,500 were killed.
The city? San Francisco.
The year? 1918.
This was a flu pandemic, caused by an H1N1 flu virus with no vaccine at the time. Because WWI was underway, news was censored in the United States, Great Britain and France, but not in Spain, which reported about a new deadly flu virus – Spanish news accounts then spread across the globe, giving the pandemic a name – The Spanish Flu.
Epidemiologists today have traced the actual beginnings of this flu to…Kansas. It was then exported by American soldiers to the WWI petri dish in Europe.
San Francisco; 1918 – Masked citizens during the flu pandemic march in downtown San Francisco in support of American troops fighting overseas during WWI.
We are happy to announce that our article ‘The Heritage Bridges of Fannin County’ has now been published in the Spring, 2020 issue of Georgia Backroads magazine. Visit Georgia Backroads magazine to purchase the issue or even better subscribe to this wonderful publication.
‘The Heritage Bridges of Fannin County’ is the companion article to a micro-documentary we did last year for the YouTube series There’s History Around Every Bend titled ‘The McCaysville Magical Mystery Steel Bridge’.
It tells the story of sleuthing the facts as to what really happened to an old 150 foot long steel bridge in the North Georgia Mountains that local folk tales had claimed was left in place and would now be under more than 120 feet of Blue Ridge Lake’s waters
We experienced over six inches of snow on February 8, 2020 in the North Georgia mountains. The snow fell during the mourning and was quite beautiful. I shot this with my Nikon DSLR in 4K from one single place on my porch deck where I could keep the snow off the camera.
I also flew my drone for the first time in light snow towards the end of the weather event. Taking off and landing on a cardboard box.
Within 24 hours the snow was all gone.
This is a short 3 1/2 minute video – a ‘Moment of Zen’ piece of eye candy. Enjoy.
Think back to the past – who was a person you knew personally and touched during your life who was born the furthest back in time. For this exercise, assume the people you know have the genetic disposition and will be fortunate to live a long and happy lives of 85, 90, 95 or even 100 years of age. If you were born in 1956, your lifetime under this exercise could reach to the years 2041-2056.
Let’s say the furthest you can go back in time with was your great grandfather, who was born in 1877. You knew and hugged him in his rocking chair when you visited him as a child and he passed when you were six years old in 1962. He goes the furthest back in time that you touched.
Now think forward into the future. Your children. Your current or future grandchildren. Your current or future great grandchildren.
If one of your children was born in 1995. Their lifetime can reach to 2080-2095. If they have a child when they are 30 years old in 2025 and you at 69 years old lovingly take a selfie while holding and touching that child shortly after they are born. Your grandchild’s life could reach to 2110-2125.
If that grandchild has a child when they are 30 years old in 2055, and you, now at 99 years old sit in your rocking chair and lovingly hold and touch that child shortly after they are born. Your great-grandchild’s life can reach to 2140-2155.
So those are the years you touched during your lifetime across the generations from the furthest back born in 1877 to the furthest in the future, yet to be born in 2055 who will live a long and happy life until 2155.
