2020-09 Putnal
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/26/2020
Manuscript Diagram of Libby Prison completed in the hand of Thomas E. Rose, Colonel 77th Pennsylvania Vols, who details the environs and writes "The Diagram below shows the ground plan of every floor of Libby Prison as it was the 9th of February 1864. The one in the lower right hand margin shows the tunnel shed lot and covered wagon way through which the prisoners escaped on the 9th of February 1864." He provides extreme detail and states that the Libby Prison on display in Chicago does not seem to contain the portions that the escape tunnel were constructed in. He closes with "This rough sketch was drawn for the information of my friend Col. Geo E. Albee. Thos. E. Rose Lieut. Colonel 77th Pa. Vet. Vols." Mounted to card stock, break at center, else very good 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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