The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1879-01-31
DIGGING FOR LIFE.


eral officers Went Down Chimney, Under
mined the Walls, Digged q Tunnel With
Knives and Made their Escape--The Scheme
Devised by Pennsylvania Colonel.
The Libby building, Richmond, Va,
which was used by the Confederate authori-
ties as prison in which to confne Federal
officers who we're so unfortunate as to be
captured, Is situated near the southeastern
limits Of the city. The building as it was
during the war, frouted one hundred aud
fifty feet on Carey street and extended south
from the said street one hundred feet, reach
ing within few yards of the James river
canal Previous to the Rebellion it was
used as a mercantile house. While it was
used as military prison during the
war, the business sign Of the firm last occu-
pying it was suspended from one corner of
the edifce and read: Libby & Sons, ship
chambers and grocers." And this family
had the honor of imparting the family name
to this historic prison. The building ex-
tended longitudinally from east to west. On
the side fronting on Carey street there were
three entrances, each affording ingress into
a separate room. Each of these rooms ex-
tended 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 mentioned. The building also
contained a basement irregularly divided.
One large room in the basement was used as
kitchen, in which the cooking was done
for the hospital attached to the prison. The
lower rooms of this building, during the
time Federal prisoners were confined in ii,
were used by the Confederate officials who
had charge of the prison, and for other pur-
poses.
above one thousand Federal officers confined
iu this building. In the second and third
stories of the eastern division of the edice
the officers captured at Gettysburg had their
quarters, to which were added few others
Of the Army OF the Potomac captured mis-
cellaneously. In the same story of the mid
die division, the officers captured at Chicka-
mauga had their lodgings. The officers
| who belonged to General Milroy's command,
captured at Winchester, Va, on the 10Th of
June, 1868, had their dwelling place in the
second story of the western division; in the
| same division on the third story Colonel
Streigh and his officers, who were captured
near Rome, Ca, on the 4th day of May,
| 1868, had their quarters. In all rooms pris-
oners captured miscellaneously could be
found There was free communication be-
tween all the rooms, there being two doors
in the partitions connecting one room with
another. Owing to the suspension of the
excha ,re of prisoners, restlessness and i'm.
patience wers quite prevalent. There was a
great uesre to escape, but this was appar-
emily impossible. 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 attending an effort to escape, it wa
occasionally made and sometimes success
fully. The grandest stampede was made OIL
the night of the 9th of February, 1864.
In December, 1868, Colonel Rose, of tn
One Hundredth Pennsylvania, conceiveC
the idea of escaping by means of tunnel
He communicated his plans to some of hi
comrades,who promised:their cooperation il
the matter. The great difficulty they foun,
was in getting access to the basement of tn
building where they designed commencing
operations. They could get access to tn
first floor of the eastern division, for this wa
occupied by hospital cooks who were en-
listed soldiers who had been captured; bu
then there was no opening into the base
ment. There was, however, a large chimne
leading up from the fireplace in the base
ment. They finally discovered that the
: could go down the aperture of the chime
and thus reach the basement. At the eai
end of the building there was narrow a
ley, upon the opposite of which was lot {
considerable size, near the centre of whic
there was an unused stable, this stable b.
: ing some distance beyond the guards, WI
were stationed near the building. 1t Wi
8 the design of the projectors of the tunnel
open the terminus of it into this stable. I'll
greatest difficulty encountered was at the b
n ginning. They had to effect an opening
the foundation wall which was of stone.
,. do this they had no better tools than fe
small hatchets which were used about Il
!. prison for splitting kindlings. After gre
h labor an opening was effected. But the tn
mel must be walled and arched. The on
/. material that could be found for this was t
!, wooden boxes which had contained attic
e of food and clothing sent to the prison'
from their homes. The secret of the tunl
q had been communicated to but few, and
At was not desired that it should be.genera
d known what they were driving at; but
st avoid this, after using their own boxes, th
r procured the services of the hospital coo
e. who would go among the prisoners and
IN their empty boxes for firewood. Not NJ
1t than one man could work in the tunnel
ID the same time, consequently, the work P
H. ceeded slowly. Then the tools they had
id work with, knives and shsrpened site
re-, were very inefficient. The men had to
x main on all-fours or lay fat while at VIC
re- They had estimated the distance to be s
sr- enty-fve feet before reaching the centre
the stable. They measured their work CT
fully as they advanced, and when t
reached the length of the seventy-fve
they tunneled upward, and upon reach
les the outside earth found they were correc
ul- their estimate of distances.