April 1865: Libby prison in Richmond
Libby Prison was one of the places in Richmond. Virginia where the Confederate government housed Yankee prisoners. Last year I was surprised while glancing through a newspaper at the Library of Congress. I noticed what seemed to be an advertisement for Libby. The paper was published 28 years after the war ended. How could that be?
The National Tribune July 20, 1893 on page 3
As it turned out, the ad was for Libby Prison Museum in Chicago. And the museum was really Libby Prison, the same building that was in Richmond during the war. According to Chicagology, a group of Chicago businessmen bought the prison in 1888. They had it disassembled (600,000 bricks), shipped to Chicago, and then reassembled on Wabash Avenue. The museum housed Civil War artifacts and memorabilia, as well as some other exhibits. The museum operated until sometime in the late 1890’s when Libby was again disassembled. A new coliseum was built on the museum site.
c1992: Libby Prison in Chicago
According to the Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal one of the leaders of the Libby project was Charles F. Gunther (aka “The Candy Man” and “The P.T. Barnum of Chicago”). When he was a boy, Gunther and his family moved to the United States from Germany. The family originally lived in the north, but Charles moved to Memphis around 1860 when he was about 23. He worked for an ice dealer, but
“Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, he was employed as purchasing agent and purser of the steamer “Rose Douglas” in the Confederate Service. Being captured when blockaded in the Arkansas River by Federal gunboats in Van Buren, Arkansas, ‘he was released in a prisoner exchanged and made his way north until he finally reached Peru [Illinois].'”
Mr. Gunther gradually became involved in the candy business and became a confectioner. Although his original building (with some rare artifacts) was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire, he eventually became very successful and purchased more Civil War (and other) memorabilia. Many of these artifacts were displayed in the Libby museum until Gunther decided to build a new coliseum on the museum site.
at the museum – tree stumps embedded with shells
shot and shell on display at Libby Museum
The Candy Man
There is a lot of information out there about the prison museum. Here are some examples. In a November 1994 American Heritage article William B. Meyer is critical of the commercial nature of Libby museum venture. You can see more photos at James E. Arsenault & Company; one of the pictures presumably shows a tour guide. The Chicago Time Machine – “The museum hired Civil War veterans as guides and displayed genuine Civil War artifacts alongside items of potentially dubious provenance – such as “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (said to be the home of the character that inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe), or what was alleged to be a snakeskin from the Garden of Eden.” Chicago History Resources’ The Bloody Evidence includes a bit more about Charles Gunther’s service on the Rose Douglas.
1889 museum catalogue
“132 twenty-ton cars”
just a few of the artifacts
From the Library of Congress: Libby photographed in Richmond April 1863; the July 20, 1893 issue of The National Tribune – the Libby ad is on page 3; the c.1892 photo of the street view of the museum from Views of Chicago – Libby Prison is behind the castle-like wall, the photo is number 99 in the book; War logs; Prisoners Reception Room’s shot and shell; there are three museum catalogs at the Library – the thumbnails above are from the 1889 catalog – cover, describing the move, partial list of the artifacts; the prison museum
From Wikipedia: the image of Charles F. Gunther
On Wabash Ave – prison behind the castle front
On Wabash Ave – prison behind the castle front
