Monthly Archives: June 2013

Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia

Prison escapes make for good stories.  Stir in the additional aspects of the U.S. Civil War and the atrocious conditions of the famed Confederate Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, and you have all the makings of a great narrative.  One of the most stirring of all Civil War prison escapes involved a Kentuckian. Andrew Graff Hamilton (1833-1895), of Butler County, Kentucky, served in the 12th Kentucky Cavalry (Union) and worked his way up to the rank of Major.  He was captured at Jonesboro, Tennessee, in August 1863 and sent to Libby, the Confederacy’s sole prison for Union officers.

While at Libby, Hamilton met Colonel Thomas E. Rose, who shared his desire for freedom and a return to active service.  They formulated a daring scheme to escape.  By prying loose bricks from an old kitchen fireplace, they were able to access the prison’s basement known at “Rat Hell” because of its numerous rodent denizens.  From the basement, they determined to tunnel to a nearby open sewer and escape.

As the plan developed, more men were involved.  They took turns digging the tunnel, because lack of lighting and oxygen exhausted the men who were only working with a broken shovel and two knives.  After a tunnel to the open sewer failed, the men decided to burrow fifty feet eastward to a lightly-guarded adjacent warehouse.  On the night of 8 February 1864, the tunnel was completed.  The following night, 109 Union officers used the tunnel to escape.  Forty-eight were quickly re-captured, but the others reach freedom, including Hamilton.

Hamilton’s participation in this celebrated escape was known, but not properly documented until 28 years later, when the Libby Prison was effectively razed and reconstructed at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  At a reunion of the surviving participants in Chicago, Hamilton’s role as the project’s chief engineer was acknowledged.  Only two years later, Hamilton was murdered by two drunk youths right outside Morgantown.  The celebrated prison escapist was 62; he was buried at Reedyville.

On Saturday, 15 June 2013, a historical marker was erected to recognize Hamilton’s role in the Libby Prison escape.  Located on the courthouse lawn in Morgantown, the marker extols Hamilton as “a leader of one of the most incredible prison escapes of the Civil War.”

The Manuscripts & Folklife Archives unit of the Special Collections Library owns some original documents and numerous news clippings about Hamilton that were donated by his family.  To see a finding aid to this small collection click here.

Cross Section of Libby Prison Showing Escape Route

Viceroy butterflies painted by Nellie Meadows of Clay City.

Many Kentuckians purchase license plates that sport a colorful butterfly, but few can probably identify the fluttering beauty as the Commonwealth’s state insect, the Viceroy butterfly.  And even fewer would know that two Warren County women led the effort to obtain that designation from the Kentucky General Assembly.

In 1987 State Garden Club of Kentucky (GCK) president and Warren County resident, Jo Jean Scott, asked a fellow Warren Countian, Lillian Pace, to serve as the organization’s “Chairman of Conservation and Preservation of Butterflies.”  Within a year, Scott asked Pace for a nomination of a butterfly for the state insect to present for approval at GCK’s October board meeting.  Scott even suggested the Black Swallowtail.  By December 1988, after contacting several state offices about the matter, Pace and Scott–with the help of R.A Scheibner, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky–had selected the Viceroy as the best candidate.

By January 1989, the the GCK had approved the Viceroy nomination and local politicians advised Scott and Pace to contact Senate President Pro Tem John “Eck” Rose of Clark County to sponsor the legislation.  Pace finally made contact with Rose’s office and the legislation was drafted.  She also communicated with Powell County artist Nellie Meadows about painting the butterfly and then issuing a limited edition print.  She instructed Meadows:  “I see the Viceroy more often in late summer feeding on goldenrod (State Wildflower), butterfly weed, and other milkweeds.  Use your discretion as to the plants you wish the Viceroy to be on.  I would like to have at least two Viceroy Butterflies painted in the picture or more; with wings open and wings closed.”

The resulting print was praised for its beauty and sales were brisk.  Rose was also successful in guiding the legislation through the General Assembly.  Senate Bill 29 was signed into law by Governor Wallace Wilkinson on 16 Mary 1990.  Pace’s interest in butterflies never waned, and she continued to serve as the GCK’s state butterfly chairman for another decade.  She was pleased when the image of a Viceroy was selected to appear on Kentucky license plates in 2002.

The Manuscripts & Folklife Archives unit of the Special Collections Library is honored to house the Pace Family Papers which contain Lillian Pace’s collected information about butterflies.  The collection documents her other gardening organization activities and contains information about the family of her husband, Bowling Green dentist Dr. Robert N. Pace.  Click here for a finding aid to the Pace Family Papers.  To locate other finding aids for our collections, search TopSCHOLAR.