Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1879-05-22
DIGGING FOR LIFE.
A Story of imprisonment at Libby.
TGeneral R. S. Northcott in Philadelphis
Weekly Times.


Weekly Times.
The Libby Building, Richmond, Va,
which was used by the Confederate au
thorities as a prison in which to confine
Federal officers who were so unfortu
rase as TO be captured, is situated near
the southeastern limits of the city
The building, as it was during the war.
fronted $50 feet on Carey street and
extended south from the said street 100
feet, reaching within few yards of the
James River Canal. Previous to the
rebellion it was used as a mercantile
house. While it was used as a militia
~ prison during the war, the business
sign Of the firm last occupying it was
suspended from one corner of the edi-
fee and read: Libby & Sons, ship
chambers and grocers." And this Lib
by firm had the honor OF imparting the
family name to this historic prison -
The building extended longitudinally
from east to west. On the side front
ing Carey street there were three en-
frances, each affording ingress into a
separate room. Each of these rooms
extended from the front to the rear of
the building, consequently each room
was fifty by one hundred feet; and the
house being three stories high, there
were nine rooms in it of the size men
toned. The building also contained a
basement irregularly divided. One
large room in the basement was used as
a kitchen, in which the cooking was
done for the hospital attached to the
prison. The lower room of this build
ing, during the time the Federal prison
ers were confined in it, was used by the
Confederate officials who had charge of
the prison, and for other purposes.
HOW THE PRISONERS WERE QUARTERED.
During the winter of 1864, there
were above one thousand Federal Off
GERS confined in this building. In the
second and third stories of the eastern
division Of the edifice the officers cap
tured at Gettysburg had their quarters,
to which were added a few officers of
the Army of the Potomac, captured
: miseellaneously. In the same story of
the middle division, the officers captur-
ed at Chickamauga had theii lodgings.
The officers who belonged to General
Milroy's command, captured at Win
chester, Virginia, on the 18th of June,
1868, had their dwelling-place in the
second story of the western division
in the same division in the third story
Colonel Streight and his officers, who
were captured near Rome, Georgia, on
the 4th day of May, 1863, had their
quarters. Ir all the rooms prisoners
captured miscellaneously could be
found. There was free communication
between all the rooms, there being two
doors in the partitions connecting one
room with the other. Owing to the sus-
pension of the exchange Of prisoners
restlessness and impatience were quite
prevalent There was great desire
to escape, but this was apparently i'm
possible The prison was strongly
guarded at every point, and could the
prisoner have escaped from the walls of
the building dangers would have beset
him continually until he could reach
the Federal lines; but Notwithstanding
the great difficulty and danger attend
ing an effort to escape it was occasion
ally made, and sometimes successfully.
The grandest stampede which was
made from Libby was made on the
night of the 9th of February, 1864.
MAKING A TUNNEL.
In December, 1863, Colonel Rose, of
the One Hundreth Pennsylvania, con-
ceiyed the idea of escaping by means
of tunnel. He communicated his
plans to SOME of bis comrades, who
promised their cooperation in the mat
ter. The great difficulty they found
was in getting access to the basement
of the building, where they designed
commencing operations. They could not
get access to the first floor cf the east
ern division, for This was occupied by
the hospital cooks, who were enlisted
soldiers who had been captured; but
then there was no opening into the
basement. There was, however, large
chimney leading up from a fireplace in
the basement. They finally discovered
that they could go down the aperture
Of the chimney, and thus reach the
basement At the east end of the
building there was narrow alley, upon
the opposite of which was lot of con-
siderable size, near the center of which
there was an unused stable, this stable
being some distance beyond the guards,
who were stationed near the building.
1t was the design of the projectors of
the tunnel to open the terminus of il
into this stable. The greatest difficulty
encountered was at the beginning
They had to effect an opening in the
foundation wall, which was of stone
To do this they had no better tools
than few small hatchets which were
used about the building for splitting
kindlings. After great labor an open
ing was effected. But the tunnel must
be walled and arched. The only ma
terial that could be found for this was
tbe wooden hoxes which had contained
articles of food and clothing sent to
the prisoners from their homes. The
secret of the tunnel had been com
municated to but few, and it was not
desired that it should be generally
known what they were driving at; but
to avoid this, after using their own
boxes they procured the services of the
hospital cooks, who weuld go among
the prisoners and beg their empty
boxes for ffrewood. Not more than one
man could work in the tunnel at the
same time, and, consequently, the work
proceeded slowly. Then the tools they
had to work with, knives and sharpened
sticks, were very inefficient. The men
had to remain. on all fours or lie fat
while at work. They had estimated
the distance to be seventy-five feet be
fore reaching the center of the stable
They measured their work carefully as
they advanced. and when they reached