Talk:Libby Prison

Needs secondary sources/reduce length of quotes
Editors have found interesting primary sources in prisoners' accounts, but are supposed to rely on secondary sources, preferable published academic work in peer-reviewed journals or books. In addition, the quotes from books and newspapers are too lengthy, comprising potential copyright violations. Please paraphrase material to be used. Better, please use secondary sources - works by historians. What was the mortality rate at Libby? How many prisoners in total were held there? How many died? How did it compare to Union officer prisoner-of-war facilities, e.g. Johnson Island. The prison had difficulty feeding prisoners, but this was a time when the Confederacy had difficulty feeding itself. Article needs more facts and fewer impressions.Parkwells (talk) 20:12, 21 April 2012 (UTC)


 * @Parkwells I am not the principal author, but I shored up the newspaper and book quotes. An array of studies end with the early 1864 prison break or the summer of 1864. Many of the secondary sources provide different, albeit not necessarily irreconcilable, reasons---from Confederate repurposing of Libby Prison to Union forces marching to Richmond. There are scattered secondary sources on Libby Prison in fall 1864, although none that offered a sufficiently detailed account. For example, one secondary source described an October 1864 escape attempt by two disguised Union prisoners. My chief concern is late September/early October 1864, when Confederate repurposing was still in its beginning stages. Thus I retained that period's newspaper narratives. I hope to find a secondary source that adequately examines those specific months/weeks as well. A chapter in Captives in Blue included evidence of deplorable facilities and conditions through early 1864. Although my focus is, again, late September/early October 1864, I'll try to add that secondary source content to preceding passages in the wiki-article...in the near future. Bustamove1 (talk) 09:15, 22 September 2022 (UTC)


 * Thanks for all your work, Bustamove1! I didn't have time to work on the article at the time, but could see additions it needed. You have added much substance and cites, and seem to have a good plan for areas of focus.Parkwells (talk) 16:02, 23 September 2022 (UTC)

When was it built ?
I can't see any info about what year it was built.--Ezzex (talk) 10:21, 20 October 2013 (UTC)

Mortality rate in lead
In the lead for the Andersonville Prison article, we are told clearly and concisely how many people died: 'Of the approximately 45,000 Union prisoners held at Camp Sumter during the war, nearly 13,000 died. The chief causes of death were scurvy, diarrhea and dysentery.' Something similar should be added here, if anyone knows the numbers. LastDodo (talk) 09:43, 18 August 2022 (UTC)


 * @LastDodo I am not the principal author, and my overriding concern is late September/early October 1864, but I will try to find aggregate statistical studies in the near future Bustamove1 (talk) 09:18, 22 September 2022 (UTC)
 * That would be great, thanks. LastDodo (talk) 10:42, 22 September 2022 (UTC)