Futility Closet

Libby Prison was one of the most infamous prison camps of the Civil War -- thousands of Union prisoners were packed together in a converted warehouse, facing months or years of starvation and abuse. The Confederates thought the prison was escape-proof, and in this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll show how a determined group of prisoners set out to prove them wrong. We'll also duel with a barrel and puzzle over why an admitted forger would be found innocent. Intro: Iowa attorney Townsend M. Zink directed that his money be used to build a library that would exclude women and stock books written only by men. In the early 1960s, the American Automobile Association forgot to include Seattle on its road map of the United States. Sources for our feature on the Libby Prison breakout: Joseph Wheelan, Libby Prison Breakout, 2010. Jonathan Franklin William Vance, Encyclopedia of Prisoners of War and Internment, 2006. Bruce Klee, "Libby Prison," Civil War Times Illustrated 37:7 (February 1999), 32-38