In 1864, Nine Union Officers Escaped from a POW Camp and Trekked 300 Miles to the North

History Unplugged Podcast · Sep 21, 2023 · 53m

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 Columbia, South Carolina. 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…