On February 9, 1864, Colonel Thomas E. Rose (1830-1907) led 108 other imprisoned Union officers in a daring escape from Libby Prison, located on the James River waterfront in Richmond. Rose, colonel of the 77th Pennsylvania Infantry, planned the breakout, organizing the week-long effort to dig out of the prison’s cellar known as “Rat Hell.” Prisoners endured dark, dank, chill conditions, as well as omnipresent rodents continually crawling over them. Breaking through at a tobacco shed some 55 or so feet beyond Libby’s confines, the escaping officers made their way through the Richmond night, hoping to make it to Union lines. Of the 109 men who escaped, 59 found their way to Federal lines, two drowned, and 48 were recaptured, including Rose, who had almost made it to safety.



Find new records related to the Libby Prison Escape, now available for research at the Library of Virginia, in today's UncommonWealth:



https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2024/02/09/the-great-escape/







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