This is a view of the infamous Libby Prison in Richmond Virginia, as it appeared in April 1865 when Union soldiers under Ulysses S Grant captured the city. By that time it was being used to house Confederate military criminals, who doubtlessly fared no better than the Union soldiers who preceded them. The Union prisoners, perhaps as many as 40,000 at one time, had been moved to other Confederate prisons in 1864, in part due to the high mortality rate. Prisoners, mostly officers, were underfed, overcrowded and wracked with diseases made worse by unsanitary conditions.

This public domain image is another Andrew J Russell photograph. We gave information on the photographic career of Russell along with his image of the Capitol Building in Washington DC.