Escape From Libby  "Tunnel To Freedom"  February 9, 1864

The Confederate government converted the Libby & Son Ship Chandlers & Grocers warehouse near downtown Richmond into a prison for captured Union officers. Conditions at Libby Prison were second only to those of Andersonville in severity. The 150 by 100 foot three story prison held 1,200 men in eight crowded, vermin-infested, and drafty rooms.

Union Col. Thomas E. Rose of the 77th Pennsylvania was placed in Libby Prison after being captured at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863. Rather than endure the conditions in the prison, Rose planned to escape by tunneling from the cellar of the prison across a 50 foot wide vacant lot and up into a shed on the other side of a board fence bordering the lot. By making a hole in the back of a fireplace on the first floor, Rose was able to gain access to an unused section of the cellar. With makeshift tools, he and a few fellow prisoners toiled for more than a month to carve a narrow tunnel under the empty lot. Then, on February 7, Col. Abel D. Streight declared the tunnel long enough and, as senior officer involved in the project, demanded to be the first to escape. Unfortunately, when he broke through the ground, he found he was still several feet from the fence, and he overheard guard discussing the strange noise they heard in the ground. Miraculously, the hole in the ground was not discovered as the prisoners worked furiously for two more days to extend the tunnel.

During the evening of February 9, while other prisoners were holding a musical show to mask the escape, Rose and his men went through the tunnel and disappeared into the streets of Richmond. Prisoners watching from the top floor saw the escapees' success and followed them. At morning roll call it was discovered that 109 prisoners were missing, making it the largest mass prison escape of the war. Fifty-nine made it back to Union lines. Two drowned while crossing streams, and the other 48, including Colonel Rose, were recaptured.

Fascinating Fact:  Exchanged in July, Rose went on to fight in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. A career soldier, he resigned from the army with the rank of major in 1894.


Back to index page