, 1864-02-21

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Gated to. q few others, and then q party Of
seventeen concluded 20 tunnel under Carty
street, On the opposite side Of this street
from the prison was sort Of carriage house
Or out hoase, and the project Uas to dig IN
der the street and emerge under or neur the
house. There Was q high fence around 1t,
ard the guard TaB outside this fence.
Tho prisoners then commenced to-dIsy ut
the other eide Of the chimney, and after tcw-
handinls Of dirt hed been removed, found
themselves stopped BY, q stone wall, which
With pcn.knivce they commenced operatlons
npon the stone and mortar, and after nine
teen nights hard work they again struck Tho
Garth beyond the wal, and pnshed their WORK
forward. On the 9Th OF 5th Of February ttc
Worktns party supposed they had gone d sui.
fcient distance, and commenced to dig up
wsrd. When near the surtace shoy he,fd tic
rebel guards talking above them, and discoy-
cred they were sone two OR three feet get
outside the fence. The tunnel then confiu-
tue working party supposed they were about
ready to emerge to daylight others In the
prison were informed. Ono hundred aud
nine prisoners decided to make the attempt
to get away. Others refused, fearing the conse-
Quences iftheJ were captured: and Others Jet,
ulnong whom was Gen. Neal Dow, declined to
make the attempt because, as they. said, they
did not desire to hAye their Government
back down from Its enuncutcd policy Of cx-
change.
About half past 8 o'clock on the evening Of
the 9th the prisoners started out, Col. Rose
OF New York, leading the van. Before start
ing they had diTiled themselves into squads
q :, md !, and each squad Was to take q
different route, and after they were out to
push for the Union lines as fast rs possible.
party Was to haye an hours sta1t Of the 9th
er prisoners, and consequently the rope lad
der In the cellar was drawn out.
BEFORE the expiration OF the hour, however,
other prisoners became impatient, and were
into the cellar, Col. y. ?. kcndsick, End
Tenncssee; Capt. D. ]. Jones, 1st kentucky
cavalry; and Lieutenant E. 7. Bradford, 2nd
West Tennessee, were elected to 20 out last,
and from tue window Col. K could see the fa-
the enclosure Of the carriage house, and fear
lessly move or The aperaturc was SO mar
cow that but one man could ret through ut
tint, and each sqad carried With them provis-
sion IN q hayersack.
| At midnight false alarm was created, and
| the prisoners maio considerable noise In
| getting to their quarters. Progidentially,
However, the guard suspected nothing wrong,
and in a few minutes the exodus again CON.
| mcncea. Col kendrick and his companions
looked with some trepidation on the move
rucnts Of the fugitives, as some Of them, CT
ercising but little discretion, moved boldly
| out on tho fnclosure into tho glare of gas
| Light Many ofthcm were, however, in citi-
zen's dress, and, as all rebel guards wore U.
s. uniform, hut little suspicion could be cx-
cited cycn If the fugittves had been accosted
by the gunrd. Between one and two o'cloek
tue lamps we're extinguished In the streets,
and then the exit was more safely accom-
| plfshed. There were many officers who de-
sired to leave who were SO weak and feeble
that they were dragged through the tunnel
By main force: and carried to places Of safety
until such time az they would bo able to
move on their journey.
OEcc out, all moved of in different dlrec-
i uons, each squad looking out for itself, and
choosing what 1t thought tho safest and
speediest way to some point in the national
1ines. Officers have signed the following
I tribute to Butler and others. The names at
tachea are all Of Western men now here.
| The. undersigned, officers OF the United
States army, and recently prisoners Of war,
desire to express their deep gratitude to Maj.
resmeht PcSnsyTanis a sl aftiery ~ saS ths
I gallant officers aud men 9f the Pennsylvania
cavalry, and one regiment mounted rifles, for
their effective assistance, in completing our
escape from the rebel {Iibby} prison At Rich
mond, and tic lines Of pickets and blood
| hounds Of the rebel ar1nyi and also for many
acts Of kindness 50 gracefully rendered us In
our present time Of need We desire, also. .ln
common With every loyal heart in tho Union,
to lender to Maj. Gen. Butler our high appre-
ciation Of his prompt and extensive efforts to
aid our comrades yet in the rubel lines, In al
+ 'temptingto elude their vigilance, and make
good their escape from TINT prison Of refined
cruelty and slow death
| ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
The lions Of tho day here arc. the twenty
fire gallant officers who escaped from Libby
here this evening from Fortress Monroe
| They hare more than settled the accounts
which John Morgan opened. and feel amply
compensated for their hardships In the hearty
welcome they now receive
They look as II their Escape involved much
priyation and suffering, and thsir different
statements Of the pcrils through which they
passed sound like romance. Up to tho tfmc
Of escape (Tuesday night, tho 9th), their ex
periencc Was similar, and rnnB somewhat If
follows:
Libby Prison is divided into. three grand
divisions; known Us tic Eastern, Western
and Central Rooms. About the middle OF De
I cember, eight OF the moro hopeful Of the OIL
GERS commenced an excavation on the side o1
the basement Of the middle apartment
| which was occupied Us dfning-room.
This WAS continued carefully at interval:
| until u sewer was encountered, when the
attempt was given up as failure They
then removed some stoues OF the fireplace
and commenced digging down oblqnely TO-
ward the eastern base ot the building, push
I stones carefully before daylight. They cui
their way with latchcts through wall aye
feet thick of solid masonry, and then ran Il
directly outward undcr the street.
1 They had large wooden spittoons. which
= dfggefs heaped with dirt in the narrow pas-
sage, and others drew ont With ropes and
deposited carefully In obscure corners of an
nufrequeuted cellar, By this time many d
the. more ambitions entered heartily into thu
plot, thus keeping up the work through al
tho eafa hours Of the night At last, aftel
tnnneling forty-tive. feet, they sought day
light. What ,wus the dismay Of the pionec1
ID the enterprise when at dusk :ho poked I
hole through and found himself under TIL
opposite walk, and within two feet Of TIL
beat Of tine sontrfes who guard the prison.
calling anothtr's attention to the noise, ant
receive for Lis reply, "Rats." The mistak'
was quickly corrccte;l. The Captain quietl,
kept his hole, and apalr Of old pantaloon
was llled with dirt and stones and lifted in
to the cavity. The direction Of the tune
feet further, within the fence, and on feelin!
again, it was found to open under d shed ii
the very place intended.
The inst man left the tuune. at $50 Tues
day evening, and was followed as rapidly
possible BY the otherF, and such, friends q
they might designate to haEe precedence
Many In the prison did not wish to take th
chance Of escape with tho accompanying pei
/ lis. Gnly one man could be within the tur
mel at time safely, It being necessary to al
nit fresh air. The passing eansed gfca
rumblfng sound. which created constant AZ
. preheusion Of discovery. =
Escapes succeeded each other as closely =
possible until daylight, when they stopped
and the officers within awaited the develop
mente Of roll.call. The sentries seemed Ut
. terly oblivious Of everything, and to the fac
| that they were new recruits and recently pu
On duty, is aseribcd the complete success 9
AFTER ieaying the subterranean passage th
fugitiyes made their way through Wago
house, and across an open space Into Can,
: street. The night. Was lot very dark
and as they turned in different diret
tons, In squads Of three to osi1, they saw th
sentrfes passing their beat From Cana
t street, they struck ont in all directions, n
, diating from Richmond north, south an
east. In planning and accomplishing the e
/ eare, they were assisted BY no co-ope1atlo
l from outside whatever. They au LETT th
shed and the city in the same blue overcoat
, they had worn In prison, trusting In thel
t nsagacity aud the cover Of darkness fc
safety. ..i
It Is believed that more than half Of thos
e who got out Of the prison will reach OF
lines. The officers who arenow In here Wc1
/ from five to eight days In getting from Rtc1