August 30, 1864
Another Attempted Escape of Prisoners. - Yesterday a large hole was found in the floor of the basement story of the Atheneum occupied by Federal soldiers under sentence of Courts Martial. The floor is some four or five feet above the ground and the prisoners were in the habit of going down and prospecting for a tunnel during the night and keeping the work concealed during the day. The discovery was a very lucky one as many of the prisoners would have escaped if the work had been accomplished.
Timeline of West Virginia: Civil War and Statehood: August 1864