Aided by the fact that the prison sentries sought shelter from the raging storm occurring at the time, the Confederate officers climbed the wall effortlessly, using metal hooks to effect their escape. Hines had even left a note for the warden. It read: "Warden N. Merion, the Faithful, the Vigilant" as follows: "Castle Merion, Cell No. 20. November 27, 1863. Commencement, November 4, 1863. Conclusion, November 20, 1863. Hours for labor per day, three. Tools, two small knives. "La patience est amere, mais son fruit est doux." By order of my six honorable confederates." Those left behind were strip searched and moved to different cells in the Ohio State Penitentiary. Two of the officers who escaped with Hines and Morgan, Captain Ralph Sheldon and Captain Samuel Taylor, were captured four days later in Louisville, Kentucky, but the other three (Captain Jacob Bennett, Captain L. D. Hockersmith, and Captain Augustus Magee) made good their escape to Canada and the South. Hines led John Hunt Morgan back to Confederate lines. First, they arrived at the train station in downtown Columbus, where they bought tickets to Cincinnati, Ohio. The duo jumped off the train before it entered the Cincinnati train station. They continued to evade capture in Cincinnati, staying for one night at the Ben Johnson House in Bardstown, Kentucky. In Tennessee, Hines diverted the Union troops' attention away from John Hunt Morgan, and was himself recaptured and sentenced to death by hanging. He escaped that night by telling stories to the soldier in charge of him and subdued him when given the chance. A few days later he again escaped Union soldiers who intended to hang him. Hines went to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, after his escape in January 1864. He convinced Confederate President Jefferson Davis of a plan to instill mass panic in the Northern states, by means of freeing prisoners and causing arson in larger Northern cities. Impressed by Hines' plan, Davis agreed to back him. Davis urged Hines to tell Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin and Secretary of War James Seddon his plan. Both men agreed to the plan, and encouraged Hines to proceed, with the only hesitation by Davis, Benjamin and Sheldon being the effect on public opinion on such a plan, including what Great Britain and France would think of Hines' actions. Hines thought it would be easier to enter the North from Canada and traveled there during the winter.