Shockoe Bottom in Richmond, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Libby Prison
1861-1865
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, September 20, 2011
1. Libby Prison Marker
Inscription.
Libby Prison, one of the most notorious prisons of the Civil War, housed mostly Union officers. It was located at the southeast corner of 20th and Cary streets (the doorway in the floodwall is at 20th, and the wall runs through the site of the building). Its appalling conditions , overcrowding, lack of sanitation and rampant disease , were chronicled by numerous inmates, including Robert Sneden, a Union soldier, who wrote that the prisoners “walk up and down, ragged, shoeless and crawling with vermin.” It is estimated that 40,000 to 50,000 prisoners of war came through Libby during the Civil War. Usually after a short stay, they were transferred to larger prisons, such as Belle Isle or Andersonville. In 1889, the building was disassembled and rebuilt in Chicago as a Civil War museum., Prisons and Hospitals, During the Civil War, the Union naval blockade closed many Richmond businesses, such as tobacco factories, that depended on trade. Once fighting began in 1861, dormant factories and warehouses were taken over for hospitals and prisons. A prison hospital was set up in Seabrook’s Warehouse on 17th Street. Castle Thunder (between 18th and 19th streets) and its neighbor Castle Lightning, both tobacco warehouses, served as prisons. The first was used for civilian criminals: murderers, thieves and the like. Castle Lightning held Confederate deserters and soldiers who had committed crimes.
Libby Prison, one of the most notorious prisons of the Civil War, housed mostly Union officers. It was located at the southeast corner of 20th and Cary streets (the doorway in the floodwall is at 20th, and the wall runs through the site of the building). Its appalling conditions — overcrowding, lack of sanitation and rampant disease — were chronicled by numerous inmates, including Robert Sneden, a Union soldier, who wrote that the prisoners “walk up and down, ragged, shoeless and crawling with vermin.” It is estimated that 40,000 to 50,000 prisoners of war came through Libby during the Civil War. Usually after a short stay, they were transferred to larger prisons, such as Belle Isle or Andersonville. In 1889, the building was disassembled and rebuilt in Chicago as a Civil War museum.
Prisons and Hospitals
During the Civil War, the Union naval blockade closed many Richmond businesses, such as tobacco factories, that depended on trade. Once fighting began in 1861, dormant factories and warehouses were taken over for hospitals and prisons. A prison hospital was set up in Seabrook’s Warehouse on 17th Street. Castle Thunder (between 18th and 19th streets) and its neighbor Castle
Lightning, both tobacco warehouses, served as prisons. The first was used for civilian criminals: murderers,
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thieves and the like. Castle Lightning held Confederate deserters and soldiers who had committed crimes.
Erected 2011 by Virginia Capital Trail.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1889.
Location. 37° 31.839′ N, 77° 25.626′ W. Marker is in Richmond, Virginia. It is in Shockoe Bottom. Marker is on Dock Street west of South 21st Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Richmond VA 23223, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Union prisoners of war in Libby Prison
Lithograph after drawing by Otto Botticher, 1862. Virginia Historical Society
Libby Prison in
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, September 20, 2011
2. Libby Prison Marker
wartime
Photograph by Charles R. Rees, 1863. Valentine Richmond History Center
Great escape
In February 1864, more than a hundred prisoners escaped from Libby Prison by digging a tunnel to an adjoining warehouse. Forty-eight were recaptured, two men drowned, and 52 were able to reach Union lines. Virginia Historical Society
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, September 20, 2011
3. Libby’s warehouse, situated on the edge of the canal, ca. 1860
Built between 1845 and 1852 by John Enders, Sr., the warehouse was leased by Captain Luther Libby
Photographed By Charles R. Rees, 1863
4. Old "Libby Prison" building, Richmond, Va.
Library of Congress [LC-DIG-stereo-1s02434]
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 21, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,193 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 21, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.