Excerpt from My Experience as a Prisoner of War, and Escape From Libby Prison Entered the service of the United States May 25, 1861, as sergeant Company F. 2nd Michigan Infantry, particpating with his command in the engagements at Blackburns' Ford, July 18, '61; siege of Yorktown, April 4 to May 4, '62; Williamsburg, Va., May 5, '62; Fair Oaks, May 31st and June 1st, '62; near Richmond, June 18, '62; Glendale, June 30; Malven Hill, July 1st, '62; second Bull Run, August 28-29-30, '62; Chantilly, Sept. 1st, '62. At the battle of Williamsburg, Va., received three serious wounds, was promoted to rank of captain to date Sept. 10th, 1861. Nov. 20th, 1862, promoted to rank of Lieut. Colonel and transferred to the 21st Michigan Infantry on duty with the Army of the Cumberland, near Nashville, Tennessee. Soon after being assigned the command of the regiment, and as such engaged in the campaign and battle of Stone River, Dec. 26th, '62, to Jan 3, '63. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

While many books have been inspired by the horrors of Andersonville prison, none have chronicled with any depth or detail the amazing tunnel escape from Libby Prison in Richmond. Now Joseph Wheelan examines what became the most important escape of...

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Details the escape of Union prisoners of war from a Confederate military prison describing the horrific conditions, torture, and despair experienced by the Union soldiers.

While many books have been inspired by the horrors of Andersonville prison, none have chronicled with any depth or detail the amazing tunnel escape from Libby Prison in Richmond. Now Joseph Wheelan examines what became the most important escape of the Civil War from a Confederate prison, one that ultimately increased the North's and South's willingness to use prisoners in waging "total war." In a converted tobacco warehouse, Libby's 1,200 Union officers survived on cornbread and bug-infested soup, and slept without blankets on the bare floor. With prisoner exchanges suspended, escape and death were the only ways out. Libby Prison Breakout recounts the largely unknown story of the escape of 109 steel-nerved officers through a 55-foot tunnel, and their flight in winter through the heart of the enemy homeland, amid an all-out Rebel manhunt. The officers' later testimony in Washington spurred two far-reaching investigations and a new cycle of retaliation against Rebel captives.