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

Written Accounts

1863-01-12, Richmond Dispatch; Big Castle Thunder list, including a creative escapee
1863-01-13, National Archives, RG 109, Ch. 9, Vol. 199.5, p. 50; T. P. Turner is ordered to be on a board of inquiry to investigate an escape from Castle Thunder
1863-01-14, Richmond Dispatch; eleven POWs recently escaped from Castle Lightning. G. W. Alexander, Capt. Bossieux & Maj. Elliott to look into causes
1863-01-24, Richmond Dispatch; Geo. W. Todd, 2nd La. AWOL, ex-Castle Thunder, returned to unit near Fredericksburg. Tried to desert again, wounded by sentinel, shot almost immediately after drumhead court-martial
1863-01-26, Richmond Dispatch; interesting story of captured spy – broke out of Castle Godwin last year, taken to Castle Thunder to await trial
1863-02-12, Richmond Dispatch; descriptive AWOL notice for Wm. Myers, CSMC at Drery’s Bluff – wounded while escaping from Camp Lee, where he was trying to serve as a substitute
1863-02-13, Richmond Dispatch; Wm. Campbell, Washington Artillery, escapes from Castle Thunder for 3rd time
1863-02-17, National Archives, RG 109, Ch. 9, Vol. 199½, p. 68; nine negroes have escaped from Libby Prison - they had been used as laborers around the prison
1863-02-19, Richmond Dispatch; 2 men headed to state pen – one briefly escaped near African Church
1863-02-19, Richmond Dispatch; breakout at city jail. Inattentive members of City Battalion jailed and court martialed. One of escapees was Samuel Blake, charged with stealing $200 worth of clothing belonging to Capt. Wm. M. Blackford.

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