Escape!: The Story of the Confederacy's Infamous Libby Prison and the Civil War's Largest Jail Break

On September 2, 2021, historian Robert P. Watson delivered a Banner Lecture about his research and book about the Confederacy’s infamous Libby Prison and the Civil War’s largest jail break.

Robert Watson provides the definitive account of the Confederacy’s infamous Libby Prison, site of the Civil War’s largest prison break. Libby Prison housed Union officers, high-profile foes of the Confederacy, and political prisoners. Watson captures the wretched conditions, cruel guards, and the story of the daring prison break, called “the most remarkable in American history.”

Robert P. Watson, Distinguished Professor of American History at Lynn University in Boca Raton, is the author of many books on American history and politics, including The Ghost Ship of Brooklyn: The Untold Story of the American Revolution; George Washington's Final Battle: The Epic Struggle to Build a Capital City and a Nation; and Escape!: The Story of the Confederacy's Infamous Libby Prison and the Civil War's Largest Jail Break.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

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