Leaving Libby Poem by John F. McCullagh

He was her only Rose,
and you might think it unkind
for Rose to have left Libby
so close to Valentine’s.
Still, Libby couldn’t hold him.
He felt that it was time,
for he knew in Libby’s cold embrace
So many men had died.
For Libby was a prison,
drafty, crowded and a hole.
A hundred Union men escaped
in a break daring and bold.
Under cover of the darkness
They broke for Union lines.
Like blacks escaping slavery
Polaris was their guide
It is the night of February 10,1864 and Colonel Rose is leading a jailbreak of 109 Union officers from the infamous Libby Prison in Richmond Virginia.59 escaped to Union lines.48 men were recaptured and 2 drowned while attempting to swim across the James river