Escapes
Information about prison escapes in Richmond, VA during the Civil War

Written Accounts

1865-05-13, Richmond Whig; Dick Turner escapes from Libby Prison
1865-05-15, Richmond Commercial Bulletin; report that Dick Turner has been recaptured
1865-05-15, Richmond Whig; Nothing has been heard from Dick Turner after he escaped from Libby Prison
1865-06-19, Richmond Commercial Bulletin; Richard Turner, of Libby Prison infamy, has been recaptured on Union hill.
1865-07-28. Richmond Commercial Bulletin; 5 convicts escape from the State Penitentiary
1865-08-14, Richmond Commercial Bulletin; man who has twice escaped from Castle Thunder has been recaptured
1865-08-26, Norfolk Post; Dick Turner is being held in the State Penitentiary, awaiting trial by military commission. Notes on the two other prisoners there – Poole, a spy, and a mysterious man whose name is not known.
1865-09-27, Richmond Commercial Bulletin; two men escape from Castle Thunder – paper opines that the prisoners in the Castle are their “voluntarily” and advocates for a different place of confinement
1865-09-28, Richmond Commercial Bulletin; recent escapes at Castle Thunder are due to the “dilapidated condition of the edifice,” not the lack of vigilance of the guards.
1865-10-30, Richmond Commercial Bulletin; man who escaped from the city jail rearrested, sentenced to Castle Thunder, recognized, and on the way back to jail shot while trying to escape

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