2021-10 Raynors HCA Live
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/15/2021
Union officer Autograph Document Signed "Thomas E. Rose Colonel 77th Regt. Pa. Vol." 1pp. quarto, Head Quarters 1st Brigade 1st Div. 4th A.C. Camp Harker, Tennessee, June 11, 1865, being General Orders No. 1 stating that he assumes command of the 77th Pa, 51st Ohio, 31st Indiana, 21st Kentucky, and the 23rd Kentucky. Fine condition. The Libby Prison escape was a prison escape from Libby Prison, a Confederate prison at Richmond, Virginia in February 1864 that saw over 100 Union prisoners-of-war escape from captivity. It was one of the most successful prison breaks of the American Civil War. Led by Colonel Thomas E. Rose of the 77th Pennsylvania Infantry, the prisoners started tunneling in a rat-infested zone which the Confederate guards were reluctant to enter. The tunnel emerged in a vacant lot beside a warehouse, from where the escapees could walk out through the gate without arousing suspicion. Since the prison was believed to be escape-proof, there was less vigilance by the authorities than in other camps, and the alarm was not raised for nearly 12 hours. Over half the prisoners were able to reach Union lines, helped by their familiarity with the terrain after serving in McClellan's Peninsula Campaign of 1862.
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