Police Catch Man Hours After Iowa Prison Escape - http://clapway.com/2015/07/05/police-catch-man-hours-after-iowa-prison-escape767/

Yet Another Escaped Convict

Escaped convicts are finding themselves in the news more often nowadays than they have been in quite some time, particularly as a result of David Sweat and Richard Matt successfully making a prison escape (until, you know, it got less successful) out of an upstate New York facility. It’s a reminder that while similar scenes in Prison Break and Orange Is the New Black are fiction, the idea of a prison escape is based off of real wants and real examples of it. Last night, a prison escape occurred in Iowa, but with a less intense ending than previous news stories, as the man was captured (albeit outside state lines) just hours later, according to the Iowa Department of Corrections.

What Happened?

How the prisoner, 25 year old Justin Kestner, made his daring prison escape from the maximum security Iowa State Penitentiary isn’t clear or confirmed at this moment. What is known is that he had last been seen during a standard headcount at 1:30 am. When guards performed another headcount at 4:45 am, Kestner was nowhere to be found. So began a manhunt, with word spreading of Kestner’s prison escape so authorities could track him as quickly as possible. Authorities, besides looking for Kestner, also had to go from house to house in areas near the prison to notify the residents of the prison escape to warn them.

So where was Kestner found? Well considering how many authorities in Iowa were on the lookout for him, it absolutely wasn’t anywhere in Iowa. Kestner was instead found over 100 miles northeast from Iowa State Penitentiary, just south of Geneseo, Illinois. Illinois State Police apprehended Kestner to bring back to the penitentiary, which is currently on restricted movement.

Who Is This Mysterious Convict?

Justin Kestner, when authorities were on the lookout for him, was described as a 6-foot tall, 25 year-old white man who weighs 172 pounds. In addition, he has both brown hair and brown eyes. Tattoos can be found on his left arm, as well as both of his calves and both of his hands. Despite his best effort, Kestner is still serving a 10 year sentence after a convenience store robbery turned into charges of first degree theft. After this attempt at a prison escape, that sentence is likely to get a little longer.

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Police Catch Man Hours After Iowa Prison Escape

Life in Camp Douglas, a Civil War Prison - http://clapway.com/2015/06/26/life-in-camp-douglas-a-civil-war-prison765/

Brother Against Brother

I grew up with a healthy diet of American Civil War History. When I was young, my family took a thorough vacation to Gettysburg. The kids were bought blue and grey kepi hats, and fake rifles. I could reenact the 20th Maine’s bayonet charge down Little Round Top. And this was all before I was 13 years old.

So, I don’t think it is surprising that I often peruse the latest in American Civil War gossip and news. And what I found this time is very cool.

An Important Piece Of History

The fourth excavation of former Camp Douglas, one of the most infamous civil war prison camps, started this week on the 25th.

The camp was located in Chicago, Illinois, and in its heyday held over 18,000 confederate soldiers in horrific conditions.

Paling in comparison only to the southern prison camp Andersonville, Douglas was a very dark moment in American Civil War history, and even today it’s impossible to know just how many men died in the camp. Most records that were kept (when they were kept at all) were fudged, or conveniently misplaced.

Conditions Were Less Than Perfect

To keep the prison in business, death tolls were covered up and sanitation reports bribed. They worked with a meager budget based on the fudged numbers. The camp was made to house and support a total of 8,000 prisoners, but at any given time in its grim history, an estimated 12,000 prisons were crammed in. Overcrowding meant shortage of supplies, food, and the fast spreading of disease. There were no toilets. Excrement and rotting food were left in infectious standing water. Often, the lack of man power made it difficult to dispose of corpses.

Gangrene, small pox and scurvy took many of the lives in Camp Douglass. Throw in starvation and bitter Chicago winters, and the modern day estimate is 6,000 dead between 1862 and 1865. Many of them are still interred in Confederate Mound, the mass grave on site.

And that’s just a general synopsis.

Preserving For The Future

The fourth dig at the site is being led by Dr. Michael Gregory and the Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation, and will only last till the 30th. These short excavations have been held twice a year since 2013, and every dig brings up small personal items that belonged to the prisoners of war. With my love of Civil War History, I am very eager to hear what Dr. Michael Gregory and his team discover this time around.

Today, the original barracks are gone. There isn’t much left of the original camp, but as The Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation continues forward with its excavations, there appears to be hope! The foundation hopes to eventually mark the site with a Camp Douglas museum. And with it, a proper memorial for the confederate men who suffered through the camp.

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Life in Camp Douglas, a Civil War Prison