Libby Prison Escapees - Surnames Starting with G
(27) 2nd Lieutenant James Harrison Gageby (19th U.S. Infantry) - He was from Pennsylvania and served in the 3rd Pennsylvania Infantry from April to July 1861.
He was captured at the Battle of Chickamauga on September 20, 1863. He was recaptured during the Libby Prison escape at Charles City Crossroad swith Lt. Adam Hauf and Capt. Edmund Smith after being run down by bloodhounds. His recapture was published in the Richmond Sentinel on February 15, 1864, six days after the escape. He was placed in a cell for 8 days upon his return to Libby Prison. He was transferred to Macon, Georgia on May 7, 1864 and from there to Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina. He was released on parole in May 1865. He was transferred from the 19th U.S. Infantry in 1869. Gageby was married in 1873 to Matilda Fend. They had one child, Emma. He was brevetted 1st Lieutenant for gallantry and meritorious service at Hoover's Gap, and Captain for gallantry and meritorious service at the Battle of Chattanooga. Gageby was promoted to Major of the 12th U.S. Infantry on July 4, 1892. Newspaper accounts list him as Lt. J. H. Gadsby, 19th U. S. infantry at the time of the escape; the CWSS lists a James H. Gageby as a 1st Sergeant but his online memorial (includes a picture of him and his tombstone) says he was promoted to major, Twelfth Infantry, July 4, 1892. Major Hamilton's account lists him as Lt. J.H. Gageby. He died on July 13, 1896 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and he is buried at Grandview Cemetery in Johnstown, Pennsylvania with his mother and two sisters, all of whom drowned in the Johnstown Flood of 1889. There is more information on Gageby here. (28) Captain John Gallagher (2nd Ohio Infantry, Company B) - He was captured at the Battle of Chickamauga on September 20, 1863. He was in both the original and final tunnel escape parties from Libby Prison. He was 31 years old when he successfully escaped. He mustered out with his regiment on October 10, 1864. Although Andrew Hamilton claimed Gallagher was a stone mason, he was actually a carpenter in civilian life, according to Gindlesperger. His name also appears as Gallaher in some records. Maj. Hamilton's account notes that his name is Capt. J.F. Gallagher and is listed as dead, so he could have died sometime by 1893. (29) Captain Michael Gallagher (2nd New Jersey Cavalry, Company H) - He was captured at Fairfax Courthouse, Virginia on October 18, 1863. He successfully escaped from Libby Prison in February 1864, only to be killed at the Battle of Egypt Station, Mississippi on December 28, 1864. He was buried at Corinth National Cemetery in Corinth, Mississippi. (30) 1st Lieutenant Samuel P. Gamble (63rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D) - He had been wounded at Fair Oaks, Virginia on May 31, 1862 and at Peach Tree Creek, Georgia on July 1864. He was captured at Harper's Ferry, Virginia on July 19, 1863. He escaped from Libby Prison but was recaptured. Gamble was transferred to Macon, Georgia on May 7, 1864 and he escaped again that same month. (A "G. P. Gamble, 2d Lieutenant, company D, 63d Pa." was noted as an escapee who was recaptured 2 days after the escape. He was discharged on April 26, 1865. Gamble died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 31, 1904. (31) 2nd Lieutenant David Garbet (77th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G) - He was captured at the Battle of Chickamauga on September 20, 1863.
He was in both the original and final tunnel parties that escaped from Libby Prison, but he was recaptured. He is listed as Lt. David Garbott in Major Hamilton's account. He was transferred to Macon, Georgia on May 7, 1864. Garbet was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on July 7, 1864 and to Captain in March 1865 while still awaiting muster as 1st Lieutenant. He was paroled on March 1, 1865 and discharged March 15, 1865. In Major Hamilton's account, published around 1893, his name was incorrectly spelled Garbott and he was noted as dead at that time. |
(32) Captain Junius Gates (33rd Ohio Infantry, Company K) - He was born December 19, 1835.
He was captured at the Battle of Chickamauga on September 20, 1863. He was placed in the hospital on December 26, 1863 for rheumatism and hepatitis. He was 30 years old when he escaped from Libby Prison, but he was recaptured the next day (listed as Capt. J. Gates, 3rd Ohio). In Major Hamilton's account, he is listed as Capt. T. Gates. He was transferred to Macon, Georgia on May 7, 1864, from where he escaped in November 1864. He had also served as 1st Lieutenant in Company F prior to his promotion to Captain of Company K. He mustered out with his company on July 12, 1865 and returned to his profession as a school teacher. He was married to Annie Beman Hastings and they had a daughter, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Gates, who died when she was 30 years old of typhoid fever in 1898. Lizzie's sister, Mrs. Becker, was visiting her and became ill with typhoid fever. Lizzie nursed her sister back to health but then became sick herself and never recovered. She was buried in the same cemetery as her father. Gates died December 27, 1870 and he was buried in Salem Baptist Cemetery in Gallia County, Ohio. (33) 2nd Lieutenant Freeman C. Gay (11th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K) - He was from Greensburg, Pennsylvania and worked as a farmer before the Civil War. He was captured at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, where he was wounded. After his escape from Libby Prison, he was recaptured when the skiff he was using to cross the Appomattox River capsized. He remained in the water for about 30 minutes, immersed up to his chin. Gay was taken back to Libby Prison and thrown into the dungeon in his wet clothes, where he remained for two weeks. He was transferred to Macon, Georgia on May 7, 1864, and from there to Charleston, South Carolina. After several months, he moved again to Columbia, South Carolina, from where he escaped. After 18 days, Gay was recaptured near Guilders Creek, East Tennessee. He was placed in the stockade at Columbia. He caught typhoid around October 15, 1864 and was confined for six weeks. He was sent to Rolla stockade, and from there to Goldsboro, North Carolina, from where he was paroled March 1, 1865. He had also been badly wounded in the neck at Antietam, and at Fredericksburg, he received a bad wound to the right hip when he was hit by a shell. Gay was sent to Washington for four weeks to recover from his hip wound, but he would be partially paralyzed after his recovery. He also suffered from seizures after his release from prison. He was discharged by special order on May 28, 1865. He died October 11, 1900. (34) 1st Lieutenant George Smith Good (84th Pennsylvania, Company I) - He was born on April 10, 1844 in Turbotville, Pennsylvania.
He was wounded and captured at Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863. He was captured at Mine Run, Virginia on November 30, 1863 and taken to Libby Prison. He escaped from Libby but was recaptured. Good was paroled and exchanged on April 30, 1864. He was discharged on December 31, 1864. He died on October 14, 1913 and he was buried at Highland Cemetery in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. (35) 1st Lieutenant Charles E. Greble (8th Michigan Cavalry, Company E) - Greble returned to his regiment on April 21, 1865. He was promoted to Captain on August 31, 1863 and mustered November 21, 1863. He was captured at Knoxville, Tennessee on November 18, 1863. He was 29 years old when he escaped from Libby Prison, but he was recaptured. He was transferred to Macon, Georgia on May 7, 1864 and transferred again to Columbia, South Carolina, from where he was believed to have escaped. He was discharged on July 20, 1865 at Pulaski, Tennessee. He suffered from rheumatism as a result of his time in Libby Prison, which resulted in partial paralysis. He died on February 27, 1879 and he was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek, Michigan. |