From the time in sixth grade when she read the novel "Andersonville" by MacKinlay Kantor, Kathleen Jensen was fascinated with the notorious Civil War prison.

In 2000, the Decatur woman visited the Andersonville National Historic Site and Cemetery in southwest Georgia. But there was a connection with the Confederate prison she didn't realize.

"I didn't know I had an ancestor buried there," she said.

In May, she answered a telephone call from Norma Meyer, who was writing a 150th-anniversary book for Clifton, the Iroquois County village where Jensen grew up. Jensen was asked if she had any information about Leon Joseph Laurent, her great-great-uncle.

The answer was "no." He had been forgotten. His story had vanished from the family's remembrances.

Jensen, a special-education teacher at Sangamon Valley High School in Niantic and in Harristown Grade School, began a genealogy project.

She discovered that Laurent was born in Belgium in 1839 and came to America in 1856 with his parents and three siblings. After a 41-day journey aboard a sailing ship, the family settled on a farm near Clifton.

In 1862, Laurent joined the Union Army in Chicago. He was 22 years old and unmarried.

Serving with the 89th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Laurent was captured three times: at Murfreesboro, Tenn., Dec. 31, 1862; at Franklin, Tenn., April 10, 1863; and on May 27, 1864, at the battle of Pickett's Mill in Georgia.

The first two times, he was released in a prisoner exchange and returned to duty. After the third capture, he was sent to the hellhole of Andersonville.

In a matter of months, he became sick with scurvy, a severe deficiency of vitamin C, and he died Sept. 24, 1864. He was buried as an unknown in grave number 9635 or grave 9697.

"Thirteen thousand Union soldiers died in Andersonville," Jensen said. Four hundred were buried as "unknown."

In September, Jensen went to Andersonville, searching for the grave. She was told the records showed he was probably buried in grave 9635. Those who died on Sept. 24 were buried in grave numbers 9623 to 9699.

Jensen thought grave number 9697 was a better fit. She said the records showed it was probably L.G. Lawrence - different spelling - from Illinois. Nobody else from Illinois died on that day.

Jensen obtained a priest from Americus, Ga., to bless the grave. The priest said: "All prisoners of Andersonville who died went straight to heaven."

Andersonville officials verified that Laurent has been added to their registry. "They're willing to give him another tombstone," Jensen said. "They have a memorial area there.

"I found him 143 years to the day that he died. I'm so proud of him. He's no longer unknown. He was an American hero."

John Gray, a National Park Service ranger at Andersonville, said: "He has been an 'unknown' long enough."

Bob Fallstrom can be reached at bfallstrom@herald-review.com or 421-7981.