top of page

Libby Prison Breakout

Fig. 20
Fig. 13
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 18

          Elizabeth Van Lew did her first recorded act with the aide of her mother. Her father had died, so she and her mother released their own slaves. She collectd more money and bought more slaves. If families were about to be split in the Slave Market, she would buy the entire family to keep them together. After buying them, she immeadiately freed them. 

       After Virginia officialy seceeded from the Union, Elizabeth, John Minor Botts, F. W. E. Lohmann, William S. Rowley, and other Unionists developed a secret network. They had a main target in mind: the Confederate Prison System.

        She and her mother soon started aiding Union prisoners in the Summer of 1861 after the first battle of Manassas. She took food, clothing, medicine, and nursed them back to proper health. in September 1861, they started helping the prisoners escape. Elizabeth did not have easy access to the Libby Prison, in fact, she had to bribe the guards to let her just go inside. In many situations, she slipped notes and information through shoe soles, clothing, food dishes, and anything else. (Van Lew was an expert at hiding notes ans slipping them to others.) By 1864, she hadhelped free more than 100 prisoners from the Libby Prison. 

         One of the Union prisoners she helped escape was Colonel Paul Revere. Later in her life, he helps her a great deal. In December 1863, she also was appointed the head of Benjamin F. Butler's spy circle. This is when the real deal begins...

 

 

bottom of page