Rensselaer Republican, Volume 20, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 April 1888 — LIBBY PRISON TUNNEL. [ARTICLE]

LIBBY PRISON TUNNEL.

How Over One Hundred Union Cap- [ tivee Escaped. Extract* from Century Magazine. The really historic portion of the building once known as Libby prison, later used as a tobacco warenouse, and how about to be transplanted to Chicago, was the tnnnel by which Col. Thomas E. Rose and 108 other union soldiers escaped the noisome walls. Heroism was never more conspicuously displayed in all the long, weary years of tbe war than by the little band which, in spite of almost incredible difficulties, dug the way to freedom for its own members and, so far as the welllaid plans are concerned, of all the thousand or so other unfortunates. The story of the tunnel is charmingly told by Frank E. Moran in the current number of tl e Century. Old Libby is, and was, a detached building, and thus easy to guard by sentries. The plan of tunneling out was the creation of one brain, that of Thomas E: Roie,colonel ofthe77ch Pennsylvania volunteers—now a captain in the 16th United States Infantry—who was taken prisoner at the battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1863. On his way to Richmond he escap’d from his guards at Weldon, N. C., but, after a day’s wandering about the pine forests with a broken foot, was taken by a detachment of confederate cavelry and sent to Libby prison, where he arrived Oct. 1, 1863. The prisoners were not allowed on the ground floor except in the day time, so that Rose and his faithfnl co-laborers had first to cut an ‘ 8” shaped hole from an accessible room through a floor or intervening wall to one below, a chamber to which they had no access. There only tools were an old chisel and some jack knives. These, combined with a rope and a box-spittoon, formed the sole plant for carrying on their stupendous undertaking. Their early efforts were attended oy wrong leads and a whole army of apparently, insuperable difficulties, and nearly half a dozen times bands that had been formed of the other prisoners to prosecute some apparently feasiole plan were dissolved in dispair. The work had been largely in sewage soaked soil, tbe earlier projects having contemplated escape by means of sewers leading to the adjacent canal. This had to be abandoned when it was found that the conduit in question was too narrow to admit even the slimmest of the party, and was in addition lined with oak planks, which their worn out tools refused to make any impression on. A previous effort to reach a six-foot sewer had resulted in the flooding of their works by canal water and the narrow escape of Rose from drowning. Up to this time, says Moran, thirtynine nights had been fentin the work of excavation. The mennow madea careful examination of the northeast corner of the cellar, at which point the earth’s surface outside the prison wall, being eight or nine feet higher than at canal or south side, afforded a better place to dig than the latter, being free from water and with clay-top enough to support itself. The unfavorable featuie of this point was that the only possible terminus of a tunnel was a yard between the buildings beyond the vacant lot on the east of Libby. Another objection was that even when tbe tunnel should be made-to that point, the exitof any escaping party must be made through an arched wagon way under the building that faced the street on the canal side, and every man must emerge on the sidewalk in sight of the sentinel on the south side of the prison, the intervening space being in the full glare of a gas-lamp. It was carefully noted, however, by Rose, long before this, that the west end of the beat of the nearest sentinel was between fifty and sixty feet from the point of egress, and it was concluded that by walking away at the moment the sentinel commenced bis pace westward, one would be far enough into the shadow to make it impossible that the color of his clothing could be made out by the sentinel when he faced about to return toward the eastern end of his beat, which terminated ten or fifteen feet east of the prison wall. ‘ It was further considered that as these sentinels had for their special duty the guarding of the prison they would not be eager to burden themselves with the duty of molesting persons seen in the vicinity outside of their jurisdiction, provided, of course, that the retreating forms—many of which they must certainly see—were not recognized as Yankees. All others they might properly leave for the challenge and usual examination of the provost guard who patrolled the streets of Richmond. The party now consisted of Col. Thomas E. Rose, 77th Pennsylvania; Major A. G. Hamilton, 12th Kentucky; Capt. Terrance Clark, 79th Illinois; Maj. George H. Fitzsimmons, 30th Indiana; Capt. John F. Gallagher, 2d Ohic; Capt. W. S. B. Randall, 2d Ohic; Capt. John Lucas, sth Kentucky; Capt. I. N. Johnson, 6th Kentucky; Maj. B. B. McDonald, 101st Ohio; Lieu. N. 8. McKean, 21st Illinois; Lieu. David Garbett, 77th Pennsylvania; Lieu. J. C. Fisla-, 7thlndiana, artillery; Lieu. John D. Simpson, 10th Indiana; Lieu. John Mitchell. 79th Illinois; and Lien. Eli Foster, 30th Indiana. This party was divided into three reliefs, and the work of breaking the cellar

wall was success ally done the first night by McDonald and Clark. The earth was very densely compressed sand, that offered a strong resistance to the broad-bladed chisel, which was their only effective instrument, and it was clear that a long turn of hard work must be done to penetrate under the fifty-foot lot to the objective point The lower part of the tunnel was about six inches above the level of the cellar floor and its top about two and a half leet. Absolute accuracy was of course impossible, either in giving the hole a perfectly horizontal direction or in preserving uniform dimensions; but a fair level was preserved, and the average diameter of the tunnel was a little over two feet. Usually one man would dig, and fill the spittoon with earth' tpor the signal of a gentle pull; an assistant would drag the load into the cellar by the clothes lines fastened to each side of this box, and then hide it under the straw;a third constantly fanned air into the tunnel with a rubber blanket stretched across a frame, the invention of the ingenious Hamilton; a fourth would give occasional relief to the last two, while a fifth would keep a lookout. When the opening had been extended nearly across the lot, some of the party believed they had entered under the yard which was the intended termi nus; and one night when McDonald was the digger; so confident was he that the desired distance had been made that he turned his direction upward, and soon broke through the surface. A glance showed him his nearly fatal blunder, against which, indeed, he had Deen earnestly warned by Rose, who from the fiist had carefully estimated the intervening distance between the east wall of Libby and the terminus. In fact, McDonald saw that he had broken through in the open lot, which was in full view of a sentinel who was dangerously close. The last effort was made by Rose alone one Saturday night. It was not cuctom* ary for the confederates to visit the operating cellar on Sunday, and he determined to make the most in his power of the now precious time. He therefore caused all the party to remain upstairs, directing them to keep a close watch on the confederates from all available points of observation, and to await his return. Taking McDunald with him, he went down through the fire place before daylight on Sunday morning, and, bidding Johnson to keep a vigilant watch for intruders and McDonald to fan air into tbe passage, he entered the tunnel and began the forlorn hope. From this time forward he never once turned over the chisel to a relief.

By midnight he had struck and passed beyond a post which he felt must be in the yard. During the last few minutes he had turned his course upward, and to relieve his cramped limbs ho turned upon his back. His strength was nearly gone; the feeble stream of air which his comrade was trying, with ail his might, to send him from a distance of fiftythree feet, could no longer reach him throrgh the deadly stench. His senses reeled; he had not breath or strength enough to retreat backward through his narrow grave In the agony of suffocation he dropped the dull chisel and beat his two fists against the roof p! his cave with the might of despair, when-r blessed boon! the crust gave way and the loosened earth showered upon his dripping face, purple with agony; his famished eytreatight-sight of a radiant star in the blue vault above him; a flood of light and a volume of cool, delicious air -poured over him. At that very inetant the sentinel’s cry rang out like a prophecy: “Half past I,and all’s well!” Recovering quickly under the inspiring air, he dragged his body out of the hole and made a careful survey of the yard in which he found himself. He was under a shed, with a board fence between him and the east side sentinels and the gable end ofLibby loomed grimly against the blue sky. He found the wagon way under the south side building closed from the street by a gate fastened by a swinging bar, which,after a good many efforts, he succeeded in opening. This was the only exit to the street. As soon as the nearest sentinel’s back was tnrned he stepped out and mads a minute examini tion of Libby from all sides.

He retraced hie steps to the yard, hunted up an old piece of heavy plank, crept back into the tunnel, feet first, drew the plank over the opening to conceal it, and crawled back. McDonald was overjoyed, and poor Johnson almost wept with delight as Rose handed one of them his victorious old chisel and gave the other some trifle he bad picked up in the outer world as a token that the underground railroad to God’s country was open. On Tuesday evening, Feb. 9, at 7 o’clock, Col. Rose assembled his party and waited till the last man had descended. They all made the passage in safety, and, awaiting their opportunity, left the vicinity singly. The nlan agreed upon for the programme by which the others should escape was frustrated by information leaking out among the bulk of the prisoners. There was a mad rush for the tunnel. This was followed by a panic and equally wild stampede for the upper floors. Moran was thrown to the floor in the confusion and severely bruised but finding himself alone be decided to make the effort, and succeeded in making his escape, only to be

recaptured, as was Col. Rose, when in sight of the Federal outposts, and returned to Libby., Qf. she fifteen men who dug the successful tunnel four are dead, viz : Fitzsimmons, Gallaher, Garbett and Capt W. 8. B. Randall lives at Hillsboro, Highland county, Ohio; Col. Terrance Clark at Paris, Edgar county, Illinois; Capt. Eli Foster at Chicago; Col. N. 8. McKean at Collinsyi.le, Madison county, Illinois, and Capt. J- C. Fislar at Lewiston, I. T. The addresses'of Capts. Lucas, Simpson, and Mitchell are unknown at this writing. Of the 109 who gjt out that night, fifty-nine reached theunfon lines, fortyeight were recaptured and two were drowned.