Harper's Weekly Text
February 20, 1864, pp. 122-123 Synopsis A Union soldier recalls his time in the Confederate prison camp,
Libby Prison. Confederate guerillas captured him from a hospital,
along with other Union soldiers, and took him to the notorious
prison. The cells were crowded, the food was scant, and the water
was brackish. Many men died from these poor conditions at the
camp. During his confinement, the narrator looked for his brother
among the other prisoners. One day, he spotted his brother among
a group of Union soldiers brought from the prison at Belle Isle,
where conditions were even worse. The brother, who was in the
last stages of starvation, died without knowing that the narrator
was at his side. Increasingly desperate, the narrator and a
friend decided to escape. Once they made their way out of the
camp, they journeyed under the cover of darkness and hid along the
road to avoid Confederate troops. In their travels, they were
helped by a black man who hid them in the slave quarters of a
large plantation, fed them, and led them to the river. After
nightfall, they crossed the river to safety. Though the narrator
and his friend escaped, they are still haunted by the suffering
they witnessed in the ‘Libey.’ |
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Harper's Weekly References |
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History:
Illustrations:
"The Escaped Refugees from the Libey Prison"
March 5, 1864,
p. 145
"Exterior View of the Libey Prison, Richmond, Virginia"
October 17, 1863,
p. 668
Text:
March 5, 1864,
p. 151 (4)
Military Background:
"The Prisons at Richmond"
October 17, 1863, pp. 667–668
Illustration:
"Exterior View of the Libey Prison, Richmond, Virginia"
October 17, 1863,
p. 668
Illustrations:
"Interior View of Libey Prison"
October 17, 1863,
p. 669 (1-4)
"The Prisons at Richmond"
December 5, 1863,
p. 781 (1-4)
"Escaping Union Officers Succored by Slaves"
March 12, 1864,
p. 164 (1-4)
Commentary:
"Rebel Cruelty"
June 18, 1864,
p. 387 (1-2)
Illustration:
"Rebel Cruelty—Our Starved Soldiers"
June 18, 1864, p. 385
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