author
Jacob R. Freese
1826–1885
A 19th-century American doctor, Civil War officer, and travel writer, he brought a firsthand sense of movement and public life to his books. His work ranges from vivid travel writing on the eastern Mediterranean to reflective accounts of the American Civil War.
1 Audiobook
Secrets of the Late Rebellion, Now Revealed for the First Time
by Jacob R. Freese
About the author
Born in 1826 and dying in 1885, Jacob R. Freese was an American physician and author whose career reached well beyond medicine. Contemporary library and book records identify him as Jacob R. Freese, M.D., and connect him with public service roles including U.S. commissioner to the Paris Exposition of 1867.
The title pages and catalog records for The Old World: Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor describe him as a traveler and observer, and also note earlier Civil War service, including work as Provost Judge of Alexandria, Virginia, in 1862 and as an Assistant Adjutant-General of U.S. Volunteers from 1862 to 1865. Those experiences likely helped shape the practical, documentary tone found in his writing.
Freese is remembered for books such as The Old World and Secrets of the Late Rebellion, Now Revealed for the First Time. Together they show an author interested in both distant places and turbulent history, writing for readers who wanted description, incident, and the feeling of being brought close to events.