Libby Prison Breakout

The Daring Escape from the Notorious Civil War Prison

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By Joseph Wheelan

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$21.99

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$28.99 CAD

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  1. Trade Paperback $21.99 $28.99 CAD
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This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around April 5, 2011. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

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.
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On Sale
Apr 5, 2011
Page Count
304 pages
Publisher
PublicAffairs
ISBN-13
9781586489083

Joseph Wheelan

About the Author

Joseph Wheelan is the author of nine previous books, including the highly-acclaimed books Terrible Swift Sword and Midnight in the Pacific. Before turning to writing books full time, Wheelan was a reporter and editor for The Associated Press for twenty-four years. He lives in Cary, North Carolina.

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