An Italian American with Confederates in the famiglia? The branches of our family trees often contain mysteries and secrets that are lost until future generations decide to investigate them. This is precisely the case with this week’s episode as we talk with Joe Elia, one of the delegates to the inaugural Italian American Future Leaders Conference.

Joe explains that during his genealogical sleuthing, he discovered that one of his ancestors was a post-Unification Bourbon prisoner of war who was sent to serve with the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Our Bourbon history expert, Lou Mendola, joins us to help Joe decipher his family’s lore, as well as explain how Bourbon soldiers came to serve in our nation’s bloodiest war.