In February 1864, a group of Union soldiers escaped from Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. Filthy and starving, the prisoners had set about finding a way out of Libby – which had become an overcrowded hell hole.

For other inmates, the long months spent trying to pass the time as the American civil war raged between the North and South was too much for them to bear.

But there were two captives that felt a deep sense of duty to breakout and make a run for the picket lines. After arriving in Libby, they refused to give in to despair, and instead, they set about finding a way out.