When the American Civil War began, George Reeves, Bass' enslaver, joined the Confederate Army, taking Bass with him. It is unclear how, and exactly when, Bass Reeves left his enslaver, but at some point during the Civil War, he gained his freedom. One account recalls how Bass Reeves and George Reeves had an altercation over a card game. Bass severely beat his enslaver, and fled to the Natives Territory where he lived among the Cherokee, Creeks and Seminoles. Bass stayed with these Native tribes and learned their languages until he was freed by the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, in 1865.