Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1864-04-06
MINING OF LIBBY PRIS ON.
General Neal Dow Confirms the BE port


4 long and interesting speech was made
by Gen. Neal Dow, at Portland, Maine, on
Friday March 25th, at the public reception
given him by the citizens, and In the course
of his remarks, he confirmed the report that
the rebels in Richmond mined the Libby
Prison, at the approach of Kilpatrick's for
ces. The General gave the following ac-
count of the barbarous act:
They told US Of Kilpatrick's s raid On
the first Of March arrangements had been
made to receive him. And what do you
suppose the arrangements were To de
fend Richmond Was that it No. They
mined Libby Prison, with the intention of
blowing it and US; to use their own phrase,
ito blow us to hell ~ Voice, Is there
proof of that = That is capable of proof
| cannot tell you how the fact was intimated
to US the next day, without betraying those
from whom the information came On the
morning OF Wednesday, March ID, after We
had been informed of the gunpowder plot,
Dick Turner, the Inspector of Military Prs
ons, was asked by many officers at different
times il we were correctly informed, and he
assured US it was true; that large quantity
of powder had been placed under the prison,
to blow us up, if Fitzpatrick had come IN,
and that It would be done yet II attempts
were made to rescue US.
Rev Dr. Smith, President Of Randolph
Macon College, we'll known down South, and
known in the North too as an able and infiu-
entail man, came into the prison to visit
Lieut.. Col. Nichols Of the Eighteenth Con-
necticut regiment, with whom he was ac-
quainted. He said that powder had been
placed in the basement for the purpose of
blowing us into atoms. Colonel Nichols
did not believe it. DR.. Smith assured him
it was so. He had then come from the of
fee of Judge Ould, Commissioner of Ex-
changes who told him it was SO. Rev. DR..
McCabe said the same thing to Colonel Ces-
nola, Of the Fourth New York cavalry, and
others Some officers were in the back
leading into the cellar Major Turner, the
commandant ofthe prison--Dick Trner--and
four or five rebel officers went into the cellar,
and on coming out they remained few min
utes at the door, and done of the officers said,
by C., if you touch that off 1T will blow
them to h-,sure enough p On the morn
ing we came away Major Turner assured
Capt Sawyer and Capt. Flynn, who were ex-
changed in connection with myself, that
powder was there, and he said, rather than
have you rescued would have blown you 10
h, even if we had gone there ourselves.
At first we could not believe it, not that we
did not suppose them capable OF it. We
did not suppose them to be fools enough to
be guilty of an act like that The destruc-
ton of nine hundred Federal officers in that
way would not have been a fatal blow to the
Union cause, but it would have drawn down
upon them the execrations of all mankind ;
it would have united the Northern people
as one man, and would have filed the North
ern heart with an intense Indignation, and
when Richmond should be captured, it
would have been utterly destroyed and blot
ted out forever from the earth. At first we
could not believe that such an act could
have been contemplated, but we now regard
it as established by satisfactory proof Such
is the temper of the leaders Of the rebellion
Such their character.