Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-02-08
ESCAPED FROM LIBBY PRISON.

When, on the night of February 8, 1864
Colonel Rose completed the tunnel at
Libby Prison, through which sixty-one
Union soldiers escaped to the Federal
lines, Captain Frank E. Moran, of the
Seventy-third New York Regiment, then
a prisoner there, got an inkling of what
was going on and hurried to Join the
crowd of fugitives. While hundreds
were pressing for precedence at the mar
row mouth of the tunnel, the cry of
guards" was raised. A stampede fol-
lowed. Notwithstanding the panic no
guards appeared, and Capt. Moran hast
ened back toward the opening. What
befell him is related in an extremely en-
tertaining article in the Weekly Times,
from which article the subjoined ex-
tracts are taken:
squeezed myself feet first through
the narrow aperture in the fireplace and
found that the opening led in descend
ing slant from the back to the fireplace
through the chimney and into the east
cell, which was divided from the cellar
containing the cells by wall. These
cells were directly under the kitchen at
the front of the building, and were al
ternately used for the confinement of
hostages, troublesome prisoners" and
Union spies under death sentence. They
were tioorless and closets about ten or
twelve feet square. A small stream of
light stole into them part of the day
from a narrow grated window half
sunken in the sidewalk above. They
were guarded by special sentinels, were
alive with enormous rats, and the air in
them was sickening. From these dread
full cages many brave fellow went forth
to death. A thick wall divided this
from the east cellar under the hospital
room. and it was in the east wall of
this cellar that the tunnel proper be-
gan.
Finding the short fragment Of blank
ct rope hanging from the top of the
opening. / let my feet down, hoping to
touch bottom, but found none, and as
my bruised hand and shoulder made it
impossible to hang long, balanced my
self for afall, whittier and to what depth
knew not, for it was q rayless pit of
darkness. With sort of faith in for
tune / shut my eyes and teeth, and in
the name of liberty let go. Thanks to
my thoughtful comrades I fell into q
huge pile of straw, and, after rolling
over two or three times, found myself
in the darkness among hundreds of
squealinG rats, and before could re-
cover my equilibrium q score of the re-
pulsive creatures ran over me. Com
plying with my instructions, placed
my back to the wall near where / drop
ped, and waded knee deep toward the
opposite wall through the straw that
covered the cellar. The place seemed
to be perfectly alive with rats that
fought, squealed and tore each other
and thumped against my ankle atevery
!. step.
At last l reached the wall and ran my
hand along the cold, damp surface in
search of the opening of the tunnel. In
this manner Igroped along until reach
ed the southeast corner, and believing
that must have passed the hole, I
made my way back in the same way,
feeling the wall with increased anxiety
and caution. I stopped dozen times
to listen for some friendly token from
my comrades, who had long since pre-
ceded me, but no sound could be heard
but the horrible chorus of the rats. The
thought of failure began to harass me,
as did the fear that should be forced to
pass the night in the loathsome place.
Great beads of perspiration came out on
my forehead when l thought of being
found by the guards in the morning, if,
indeed, the colony of rats did not long
ere that time battle for the choice cuts
of my remains.
1t paralyzed me to think that through
my laundering the tunnel would be dis
covered, that had cost such heroic la
Dor, and that | should be loaded with
the disgrace of depriving hundreds of
my prisoners Of their liberty. In
this train of expressing thoughts came
the remembrance that this had at one
time been the s'dead cellar" where
bodies from the hospital room above it
used to be boxed up prior to burial
The revolving idea that the Union dead
should ever have been left, even tempo
rarily, in such place, sickened me and
/ would have given fortune at that mis-
cradle moment for friendly stream of
light and blessed breath of fresh air. I
thought I had already surveyed an acre
of wall and was on the border of despair
when. to my boundless joy. my hand fell
upon pair of heels. / knew that they
were live heels, for I had no sooner
touched them than they vanished like
magic in the wall.
who's therep" said a voice, as if
from grave.
Moran" I answered, from the Get
tysburg room. Who are youp''
Charley Morgan" the sepulchral
voice responded. ''from the Chickamau-
ga room. Are the rebs comingp'
"No. Go ahead and make room for
me-" said /; and away went the heels
after sending shower of dirt into both