Libby Prison, A Unique Photograph

Several views of Libby Prison were taken from the land side, but this picture is unique in that it shows the building as it appeared from the river. The boat at the landing is loaded with provisions which have been brought from the mills of the upper James River for the prisoners and garrison. The view is taken from the south side of the dock. This photograph, with those on the three following pages, were taken inside the Confederate lines during the war by Confederate photographers. The officers in Libby Prison were not satisfied with their food, with the exception of Major James M. Sanderson, who had served in the Union commissary department and who issued a statement confirming the claims of the Confederate officials, thereby exciting the ire of his fellow-prisoners, who held a mass-meeting to condemn him.