American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-04-06
The Mining of Libby Prison.

The Mining of Libby Prison.
General Neal Dow made a long and in
teresting speech at Portland, Maine, on
Friday last, at the public reception given
him by the citizens, and in the course of
his remarks confirmed the report that the
rebels in Richmond mined the Libby Pris-
on at the approach of Kilpatrick's forces.
The following is General Dow's account
of this barbarous act
"They told us of Kilpatrick's raid
On the first of March arrangements had
been made to receive him. And what do
you suppose the arrangements we're? To
defend Richmond? Was that it? No
They mined Libby Prison, with the inten-
tion of blowing up it and us; to use their
own phrase, {" to blow us to hell !" Voice
Is there proof of that? That is capable
of proof. l cannot tell you how the act
was intimated to us the next day, with
out betraying those from whom the init
nation came. On the morning of We'd
uesday, March I'd, after we had been in
formed of the gunpowder plot, Dick Tur-
ner, the Inspector of Military Prisons,
was asked by many officers, at different
times, if we were correctly informed, and
he assured us it was true; that large
quantity of powder had been placed un-
der the prison, to blow us up, if Kilpat-
rick had come in, and that it would be
done yet if attempts were made to rescue
us.
Rev. DIR. Smith, President of Ran
dolph Macon College, well known down
South, and known in the North too as an
able and influential man. came into the
prison to visit Lieut. Colonel Nichols, of
the 18th Connecticut regiment, with whom
he was acquainted. He said that powder
had been placed in the basement for the
purpose of blowing us into atoms Col.
Nichols did not believe it. Dr. Smith as
sured him it was so. lie had then come
from the office of Judge Ould, Commits
sioner of exchanges, who told him it was
so. Rev. Dr. McCabe said the same thing
to Col. Cesnola of the 4th New York Cav
airy, and others. Some officers were in
the kitchen at the back window, directly
over the door leading into the cellar. Maj
Turner, the commandant of the prison
Dick Turner-and four or five rebel Off
GERS went into the cellar, and on coming
out they remained few moments at the
door, and one of the rebel officers said,
by c., if you touch that off it will
blow them to h, sure enough ?"
On the morning we came away, Major
Turner assured Captain Sawyer and Capt.
Flynn, who were exchanged in connection
with myself, that powder was there, and he
said, "Rather than have you rescued |
would have blown you to 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 fools enough to be guilty Of
an act like that. The destruction of 900
Federal officers in that way would not have
been fatal blow to the Union cause, but
it would have drawn down upon them the
execrations of all mankind itwould have
united the northern people as one solid
man, and would have filed the northern
heart with an intense indignation, and
when Richmond should be captured, il
would have been utterly destroyed, and
blotted 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 leader;
of the rebellion Such their character