Thomas Bahde teaches in the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion at Oregon State University. He has authored articles on the midwestern experience during the Civil War and is the editor of The Story of My Campaign: The Civil War Memoir of Captain Francis T. Moore, Second Illinois Cavalry.
Listed in: American History, Midwest · African American Studies · Slavery and Slave Trade · Race and Ethnicity · 19th century · American Civil War · Illinois
The Life and Death of Gus Reed
A Story of Race and Justice in Illinois during the Civil War and Reconstruction
By Thomas Bahde
Gus Reed was a freed slave who traveled north as Sherman’s March was sweeping through Georgia in 1864. His journey ended in Springfield, Illinois, a city undergoing fundamental changes as its white citizens struggled to understand the political, legal, and cultural consequences of emancipation and black citizenship. Reed became known as a petty thief, appearing time and again in the records of the state’s courts and prisons.
