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			JOEL A. and CLARA L. (WORDEN) PROCTOR

	Joel A. Proctor was born in Mesopotamia, Trumbull Co., Ohio, Feb. 22, 1842.  He is the 
son of Alonzo and Leah B. Proctor.  When quite small he went to live with his uncle, Benjamin 
Long, with whom he resided until the 1st day of June, 1861, when he enlisted in Company B, 
Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, to serve three years.  From Camp Chase his regiment was 
sent to West Virginia, where it remained during the summer of 1861, doing picket and outpost 
duty.  In September, 1862, the regiment joined the Eighth Corps at Alexandria, and soon after 
took an active part in McClellan's Maryland campaign.  After Antietam the regiment returned to 
West Virginia, where they remained until 1864, when they joined Gen. Crook in the Shenandoah
Valley, and soon after, in an engagement with the rebel Gen. Early, near Winchester, they were 
drawn into a trap, and in attempting to fall back were captured.  There were two thousand of them
corralled in a pen for five days, fed only three-fourths of a pound of bread and half a pound of
beef. On the fifth night of their capture, Mr. Proctor, who had been for two or three days laying
plans to escape, knowing, as he did, that to remain meant Andersonville with all its horrors, got
into a small brook which ran through their camp, and, lying down flat in the shallow stream, 
crawled slowly along towards the rebel guards, who were standing within a few feet of each other 
on each side of the stream.  The night was dark, and, covered by the shadow of the banks and the 
darkness, he drew himself cautiously along.   A single miss move, the slightest noise, and he 
would be seen, and discovery meant instant death.  He had reached the most dangerous part of his 
route when the officer of the day came to the guards and cautioned them to be more vigilant, as 
several attempts to escape had been made, and an example must be made of them.  As the officer 
crossed the creek on his way to the next sentry he passed within three feet of the escaping 
soldier, who lay nearly submerged in water, waiting with bated breath for the danger to pass.  
He was not seen, and he again moved forward, an inch at a time, as it were, until a distance of 
several yards from the guards had been reached, when he arose to his feet and cautiously but
swiftly made his way towards North Mountain.  Reaching the summit of the mountain about daylight,
he dropped down in an old bear-trail and sought the rest he so much needed after the excitement 
of the night.  About 10 A.M. he awoke, and then learned that he had stopped in the very brink of 
a deep gorge, down which he must have plunged had he taken another step in the direction he was 
going.  Standing there on the mountain-top, he could see the rebel cavalry scouring the country 
in all directions.  He made his way down the mountain until he came to a small clearing, where 
he made a meal of dewberries, the first thing he had eaten for many hours.  At the foot of the 
mountain he laid down in the bushes and passed the day in sight of a road over which rebel 
troops were continually passing.  After dark he again resumed his way, going through the woods 
and fields, his guide being the North Star.  He had been traveling but a short time when he came 
to the edge of the woods, and to his dismay found himself within a few rods of a large rebel 
camp.  As he stood behind a tree debating what to do he saw two rebels approaching, and so near 
that retreat was impossible; but his presence of mind saved him.  He commenced gathering wood and
putting it in a pile, which made the men think he was one of them, and they passed him by 
unnoticed.  The danger passed, he made a wide detour, and soon left the camp in the rear.  Tired
and hungry, he dragged his way along until nearly early morning, when he again lay down and slept
until noon, then resumed his flight, reaching the Union lines near Pawpaw Station about 5 P.M.  
He was at once taken under guard as a suspicious character, but soon satisfied them he was a 
genuine Yank, and he was set free.  Here he met David Hunter, who had made his escape the night 
before he left, and together they came home to Ohio, where Mr. Proctor remained three months, 
then returned to the regiment, where he was joyfully received by his comrades, and  by his 
officers promoted to corporal for the courage and tact he displayed in his escape.  At the 
expiration of his time he re-enlisted, and was finally discharged July 25, 1865.  Mr. Proctor 
was in the following battles: Carifax Ferry, Giles Court-House, South Mountain, Antietam, Cloyd 
Mountain, Winchester, Cedar Creek, Berryville, and Fisher's Hill.  After the war he came to 
Bloomer and located eighty acres of wild land on section 25, which he has cleared and improved. 
	On the 24th day of October, 1867, he was married to Miss Clara L. Worden, born in Wayne 
Co., Mich., April 29, 1849, daughter of Albert and Aurelia Worden.  Their children are Maud L., 
born Aug. 31, 1870; Emma J., Dec. 2, 1875; and Rutherford J., April 24, 1877.  



This biography is taken from "HISTORY OF IONIA AND MONTCALM COUNTIES, MICHIGAN" 
by John S. Schenck. Philadelphia:  D. W. Ensign & Co., 1881.  Pages 424-425.  Bloomer.