One of the most successful prison breaks of the Civil War occurred in February 1864, when over 100 Union prisoners escaped from Libby Prison in Richmond. Led by Colonel Thomas E. Rose of the 77^th Pennsylvania Infantry, the prisoners started tunnelling in a rat-infested zone which the Confederate guards were reluctant to enter. The tunnel emerged in a vacant lot beside a warehouse, where the escapees could walk out through the gate without arousing suspicion. Since the prison was believed to be escape-proof, there was less vigilance by the authorities than in other camps, and the alarm was not raised for nearly 12 hours. Over half the prisoners were able to reach Union lines, helped by their familiarity with the terrain gained while serving in McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign of 1862.

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