Basil Wilson Duke

Basil Wilson Duke was an American lawyer, Confederate cavalry officer, memoirist, and historical writer whose accounts preserve a participant's view of the Civil War. He served under his brother-in-law John Hunt Morgan, was captured during the 1863 Ohio raid, and later commanded Morgan's cavalry. Following the war, Duke wrote extensively, helped found the Filson Club in Louisville, and worked to preserve historical records. Famous Adventures and Prison Escapes of the Civil War is a multi-author collection rather than a sole-authored memoir. Duke contributed the section on Morgan's mounted raid, while Orlando B. Willcox supplied the account of its capture and Thomas H. Hines described the escape. Other contributors recount the locomotive chase, Mosby's rangers, Libby Prison, and John C. Breckinridge's flight. Duke's chapter draws authority from direct participation, but the complete volume assembles contrasting personal narratives from several wartime experiences.