The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-12-04
LIBBY PRISON.

LIBBY PRISON.
"reminiscences OF II Place whose Name IA
sin TerribIe--The Comnandant of the LIB
blythe Odd Disappearance of u Lot OF
4 Vans.
! RICHMOND, Nov. 1l.-This evening Libby
Prison, the historic military jail of the Con
icderac Government, was sold al auction un.
der deed of trust. The auctiOneer stated that
the property Has now beng rented as a tobaC.
co factory at $50 q month. The building was
started at $500, and went up by slow degrees
to $1,000. The aucionccr said reproaChtully
that 1t cost over half this amount to put down
the piles upon which the building was erected.
lie then suggested that such was the value of
the historical associations Of the building, that
| if it were pulled down the bricks could easily
be sold at the North for 81 apiece, and as there
were 100000 bricks, the building would bring
S2i0000 He would, however, be satisfied to
sell it for less money This appeal sent the
bidding up to $6125, and it was knocked
down to Mr.. James T. Gray, a young capital.
ist Of this city The building is now occupied
| by Mr. f. NJ. Boyken AS tobacco factory. A
crowd of negroes looked through the upper
story IRON bars interested spectators Of the
sale.
! Libby Prison was the most famous OF the
Confederate military prisons, and by the Con
iederate Government 1t was ranked as the most
secure, although the success of the tunncling
enterprise Of Strclght, Rose and others rather
deprecated the idea of its safety, and caused
Major Turner to double his guards The Lib.
by in outward appearance has changed little
since the war. Even the sign, although now
much weathcr.staned and rather indistinct, Is
there still-"Libby Prison" The iron bars
have been taken away from the windows and
sold a, old IRON. Soon after the war the prison
was without tenants, but finally Northern
gentlemen rented 1t and fitted ltup as sumac
warehouse. Subsequently it was used as a
tobacco steamery, and then as tobacco fac
tory. The building has u front of l40 feet and
depth of l0j feet. When it was used as q
prison it was divided INTO nine rooms, each
102 feet long and 4j feet wide The partitions
have been knocked down. In many places on
the walls there can still be seen letters and
dates carved in the bricks by Federal captlves
Scattered about there are designs by those
prisoners who were artistlcally inclined and
had a turn for the sculptor's art. Skulls, cross
bones, collins, chains, are mixed up with more
ambitious attempts in the shape OF thin-legged
animals, which the beholder's fancy can take
for horses, cows or dragons.
Men who were confined IN the Libby are
scattered all over the Union, and yet il may be
doubted whether there is one In a hundred
who knows the history OF Libby Prison. 1t
was built as a warehouse by an old citizen OF
Richmond, Mr.. Libby, and up to ten years be
fore the war he occupied the building. When
the war began the sign, Libby & Sons, Ship
Chambers and Grocers," was over the entrance,
and renamed there up to the year 1868. Many
Il Federal prisoner will remember seeing it,.
Old Mr., Libby lived on Church Hill, in the
lower portion of the city, near the historic St.
IL. II, ,,h Dat ,nl IIn,, On
livered his immortal Grafton, concluding "but
for me, give me liberty or give me death"
This hill, overlooking the river, since the war,
has been turned into park, and is known as
Libby Hill Park In his warehouse Mr. Lib
by amassed a large fortune.
Libby Prison was not the first choice of the
Confederate Government as military prison.
Soon after the commencement OF hOstllties the
authorities began to look around for suitable
building as 4 prison for Union soldiers. They
fixed upon large frame building IN what is
known US Lumpkin's alley. This was the first
military prison In Richmond, and, perhaps the
South, and was called Castle Goodwin" 1t
HAD been built and used as a Jail" for the
housing of slaves before they were sold Lump
kn's alley was filled with these large houses
called "jails," and here the slave sales took
place. Castle Goodwin had not been in use a
IL
accommodation of the prisoners, and the Con,
federate authorities fixed upon the large ware
house of Libby IL Sons, ION the dock"
Castle Goodwin was nearly u mile from the
river and in a low and swampy portion of the
city Ills a singular fact that none OF the
Libby Prison officials are now in Richmond
There are quite Il number OF eX-Conederates
who acted as guards at the prison still living
here Major Turner, the commandment of the
Libby, was one of the youngest officers In the
Confederate service, and his rank was owing
to the fact that he had been at West Point
When the States seeded he was cadet there,
and at once resigned and came South. lie
held the position of commandment of the Libby
until the close of the war, when he went to
Mexico and experienced an adventurous life
with Macmillan. Afterward he returned to
Mississippi, studied dentistry and one of his
guards SAYS that he is now successful dentist
IN Memphis. To-day, in speaking OF the sale
of the Libby, Mr.. Joseph Wingtield, an ex-
guard, told his experience on memorable
light while standing sentinel over the prison.
ers there
$50 the old prison is sold, is it?" he sand.
We'll, gentlemen, | never 20 by that place
without laughing now. can't help thinking oI
the cute trick played by n lot OF Yankees there:
The fact is il was so good that, although hau
been ordered to shoot in among them, l dis
obeyed orders. Is was about 'G3, and the LIB
bv building was So crowded that 1t wouldn't
hold any more prisoners, so they put large
lot OF them in the second story OF the building
across the street Soon after these prisoners
came the prison officials got large supply OF
sweet potatoes Irregular yams) from North
Carolina. and stored them on the first floor OF
the building IN which those prisoners wert
confined Big sweet potatoes were luxuries IN
those DAYS, and Turner and those fellows kept
strict watch over the building, can tell you
The third day after they had been slowed
away il was noticed that they were disappear
| ing at the rate OF about bushel aday. Al
first it was thought that the rats took them
but a second thought showed that the idea wa
absurd. Sentinels were posted all around the