This no doubt added greatly to the window of opportunity that helped 59 men reach Union lines. The Richmond Enquirer of  February 11, 1864 expressed such a sentiment: "It is feared that [the fugitives] have gotten rather too much the start of the pursuers to admit anything like the recapture of them all."
This undoubtedly widened the time frame that enabled 59 men to reach Union lines. The Richmond Enquirer of February 11, 1864 expressed a similar sentiment: "It is feared that [the fugitives] have gained an unfair advantage over their pursuers to the point where the recapture of all of them is unlikely."