2020-09 Putnal
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/26/2020
Imprint "COL. ROSE'S STORY OF THE FAMOUS TUNNEL ESCAPE FROM LIBBY PRISON."12pp. quarto, c. 1870s, with diagram of the tunnel escape route. 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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