Escapes
Information about prison escapes in Richmond, VA during the Civil War

Written Accounts

1887-05-18, Philadelphia Weekly Times; very good description of the political circumstances surrounding prisoners of war during the war from one of the Libby tunnel escapees. Gives only a few snippets of Libby details
1887-12-28, Philadelphia Weekly Times; brief article describing the author’s capture and brief imprisonment in Libby Prison, before and after a stay at Salisbury. Notes that when he arrived at Libby, he was the only one there.
1888-02-07, Richmond Dispatch; Libby Prison has been bought by a Chicago syndicate; extensive description of the history of Libby Prison.
1888-02-25, Richmond Dispatch; C. H. Quarles writes to rebut the rumor that his family harbored Col. Streight after his escape from Libby Prison. Details on the neighborhood around the White House of the Confederacy.
1888-03-11, Richmond Dispatch; more on the Libby Prison sale and speculation on the motives behind it. Very valuable description of the interior and history of the building as well as information from Abel Streight about the role Van Lew played in his esc
1888-03, Century Magazine, March 1888, pp. 770-790; Moran, Frank E. "Colonel Rose's Tunnel at Libby prison." Excellent account of the tunneling effort and subsequent escape of 109 Libby prisoners
1889-08-15, National Tribune; part two of a two-part memoir by Capt. J. W. Chamberlain, 123rd Ohio, describing at length his imprisonment in Libby Prison
1890-03-27, National Tribune; excellent description of the tunneling effort at Libby Prison by one of the tunneling party (W. S. B. Randall, 2nd Ohio Inf.) - slightly different from Moran's account
1891-02-22, New York Times; part three of serialized account of life in Libby. Notes on various ways prisoners attempted to escape, the Confederate preachers who came there
1891-03-01, New York Times; part four of serialized account of life in Libby. Notes that 1864 began poorly - the Confederates cut off supplies from the North in order to compel the US Government to resume exchanges

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