Book & podcast collection

Escape!: The Story of the Confederacy’s Infamous Libby Prison and the Civil War’s Largest Jail Break

byRobert Watson

Robert P. Watson reconstructs the 1864 escape of 109 Union officers from Libby Prison in Richmond, the largest prison break of the Civil War. He describes the tobacco warehouse's overcrowding, hunger, disease, guards, and psychological pressure, then follows prisoners who secretly tunneled toward freedom using improvised tools. After the breakout, fugitives navigated hostile territory while Confederate forces hunted them. The book combines prison history with a suspenseful collective story of planning and endurance, showing how cooperation, secrecy, luck, and determination allowed dozens of men to reach Union lines.

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated

Publication date

2021

Format

Print edition

Pages

—

ISBN

9781538138229