November 16, 1863
ESCAPE OF PRISONERS FROM THE ATHENEUM. - On Friday evening five prisoners escaped from the Atheneum. They were confined in the second story of the building. Taking advantage of the negligence of the guard they broke open a window on the south side of the building, jumped down into the yard, and then, by means of an old ladder, climbed over the yard fence into the street and escaped. - They are Franklin Allen, under sentence of hard labor by court martial during his term of enlistment; Samuel Edwards, a deserter from the 9th Michigan cavalry; Alpha O. White, a deserter from the 11th West Virginia Infantry; Perry McDonald, a deserter from the 6th Ohio Infantry, and Wm. M. Darby, a deserter from the 91st Ohio Infantry. The latter named individual has been absent from his regiment for two years, and although he has been several times arrested he has always succeeded in making his escape.
Timeline of West Virginia: Civil War and Statehood: November 1863