Libby Prison

Libby Prison (c. 1913)

Libby Prison (2014)

Site Name: Wall near the Virginia Holocaust Museum (Formerly Libby Prison)

Date of Construction: From 1845 – 1852 (Became a prison in March of 1862)

Reason for Construction: Turned into a prison when the Battle of First Manassas brought so many prisoners to Richmond that many buildings were forced to become prisons to hold all of them.

Site History: Libby Prison was originally built as a tobacco factory by John Enders Sr. from 1845 to 1852, until met his unfortunate end when he fell from a ladder in the center of the building. It was later leased by Captain Luther Libby, who used it for his private business, L. LIBBY & SON, SHIP CHANDLERS. However, after the Battle of First Manassas, Richmond’s prisons were not big enough to hold all of the Union prisoners, and Captain Libby was forced to use the building as a prison, thereby adopting the name “Libby Prison.” It is also home to one of the most famous escapes in the Civil War. On February 9^th, 1860, Major AG Hamilton and Colonel Thomas E. Rose headed the escape of 109 Union prisoners through a 57-foot tunnel created with an “old pocket knife, some chisels, a piece of rope, a rubber cloth, and a wooden spoon.” This escape had been previously planned and abandoned more than three times due to changes in guarding times and living space, as well as the popular location that Libby prison was in right next to a river. Living conditions in Libby Prison were sub optimal to say the least. Prisoners were required to all sleep on the stone floor, and, due to the limitations in space, the prisoners made use of the “spooning practice”. When lying on one side became unbearable, the Confederate soldier in charge of the room would yell, “One… Two… Three… Spoon!” and every man would flop onto the other side at the same time. Libby Prison was bought by a historical preservation group from Chicago, who was interested in preserving artifacts from the Civil War in a museum in the north, called Great Libby Prison War Museum, in 1888. The process was long and painful, and the three buildings that made up Libby Prison were eventually transported in 132 two-ton cars to Chicago. The museum was successful until 1889, when the entire building was dismantled and the Coliseum was built over it. Remains of Libby Prison can be found in the Chicago Historical Museum and the Confederate Museum in Richmond, and parts were even sold as souvenirs.

Area History: The Canal Street area is home to many places that were crucial in the Civil War. The canal was actually envisioned by Thomas Jefferson as a critical place for trade for America. It was constructed in 1789. During the Civil War, many of the canals were brutally damaged, and all were only reconstructed to its present beauty in a city wide restoration project in 1998.

What about the site has changed? Today, Libby Prison does not exist. There is a small monument to it that can be located at 20^th and East Cary Streets in its memory. There now lives a large wall in its place, very close to the Virginia Holocaust Museum. The plaque reads, “In this site stood Libby Prison CSA 1861-1865 for Federal Prisoners of war placed by the confederate memorial literary society.”

What about the surrounding area has changed? The Canal street area was formerly a bustling outlet for sea trade, complete with 195 boats that regularly traveled in and out for cigarette, tobacco, and other agricultural trade, also known as Tobacco Row. Today, the Canal Street area provides a beautiful walk for the residents of the Fan, with many historical monuments and plaques along the way. Those living in Richmond are able to enjoy the now slightly polluted water in a peaceful stroll next to the canal. There are even several restaurants instead of the bustling trade that formerly happened.

Reflection: This project has made history a lot more real to me than it had been. Seeing places that are close and tangible makes the Civil War feel as though it actually happened, and allows me to appreciate the reenactors a little more!

Sources: 

Bibliography

"Canal Walk." Venture Richmond. Accessed March 27, 2014. http://www.venturerichmond.com/experience/canal/.

 Canal Walk by City-Data.com. Accessed March 22, 2014. http://www.virginia.org/Listings/HistoricSites/CanalWalk/.

Canal Walk Haxell Canal. Richmond, VA: n.p., n.d. http://www.venturerichmond.com/pdfs/canal_walk.pdf.

Goodnoh, E. C. The Famous Tunnel Escape from Libby Prison "From Rat Hell to Liberty." Chicago: Goodnoh, 1900.

Libby Civil War Prison by Census Diggins - Free Census and Geneology Databases. Last modified 2002-2008. Accessed March 22, 2014. http://www.censusdiggins.com/prison_libby.html.

Author: Elizabeth Ratliff