Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1847-07-16
Explosion Of a Bomb Shell.
BY JOHN S. Z. ABBOTT.

INHaN fFhNals 4
BY JOHN S, Z, ABBOTT.
A few weeks ago, there was an accidental
explosion of a botnb-shell, in Charlton street,
New York. And as ] CHANGED 10 be at the
spot but a few minutes after the explosion, |
Will give you a description of the terrific
scene as 1t met my eye. | was sitting in my
house, about a quarter of a mile from the
place OF the explosion, at four O'Clock in the
afternoon, when the whole house was shaken
by the report of apparently the heaviest piece
OF artillery. | was just preparing to 90 down
in town, and taking an omnibus, soon saw a
multitude of men and boys running towards
Charlton street, In a moment more, a crowd
came around the corner of Charlton street
into Hudson street, bearing the body Of a
well-dressed man, upon a wlndow-shutier.-
They crossed the street directly by the en-
Dibus, and ! observed that the whole back
side of the head was blown of, and the blood
and brains were dripping down upon the
shutter. Perceiving indications of great ex-
citement in the rapidly gathering crowd, and
hearing EXPLANATIONS of "eXplosion," ''Ierri-
Bile explosion" &c. | left the omnibus to
learn the cause Of the disaster. Entering
Charlton street, guided by hundreds who
were rushing TO that point from all quarters,
| observed on both sides of the street, for a
little distance, that the windows were entire
ly demolished, the frames in many places
blown in, doors shattered, and holes blown
actually through the sides of houses. In one
place, forty rods, | should Judge, from the
| spot where the explosion took place, a hole
was blown through the front of a frame house
large enough for a man TO enter. Upon the
sidewalk, in front of "A shop of old iron, lay
in disorder some thirty or forty rusty bomb
shells, about eight inches in diameter. 1t
was said by the crowd that a man had one OF
these between his knees, endeavoring to loo
sen the charge with a stick, when it eXplo-
ded. producing this scene Of destruction and
carnage. The body of this man was torn to
pieces, and scattered in fragments through
thS s,rects. Observing a crowd gathered
around an object In the street at a little dis
lance, | approached it, and saw, apparently,
a large piece of butchers meat, which a boy
was pushing about with his foot. On exam
ming it, it proved to be the lower portion of
a mans leg, with the crushed bones and
mangled flesh. The other leg," said a by
standtr, ''was blown over into Hudson ST."
A crowd was collected round a window-sill,
gazing at some object. 1t was a mans hand,
the fingers burnt, and crushed, and blacken-
ed, having been torn from the body, and
thrown with violence against the brick wall.
The mangled trunk of the unfortunate man
headIess and limbless, had been carried into
the house, and the shrieks of his wife were
heard over the bloody remains. Upon an
iron window frame lay the torn and bloody
body of another man. A fragment of the
shell had torn away one half Of his head
lie was dead. His blood and brains Were
dripping down upon the pavement, and a
/ IL, l,bcrar h,I IL, ,bn,,b anl 6nmor nprp
his eyes, to close them forever. Two young
men who happened to be passing by in the
middle of the street, were literally blown up
into the air, and fell, with broken and man
glrd limbs, upon the pavement. They both
died, | believe, the next day. In the street
lay a horse dead, and it was singular that he
also had the whole Of the back of his head
torn off by a fragment of the shell. A beau
tiful wagon TO which he was attached was al
so demolished, the spokes Of the wheels bro
ken, and the vehicle almost torn to pieces.
Such was the devastation produced by the
explosion of one single shell. And yet this
shell did but perform its function. 1t was
made for this very purpose-to destroy prop
erty and life. 1t was made TO be thrown in
to the crowded streets of a city, there TO eX-
plode, and blow up houses, and tear limb
from limb. This was the function OF the IN
runner And this is war. TO throw such
missiles as these into the crowded streets OF
a city, is the business of war. As | looked
upon this scene, and witnessed its carnage
and woe, and reflected that it was the work
of one single shell, and then reflected upon
the Consideration and horror which must be
produced by raining down a shower OF these
shells upon a city, crushing their way thro'
the roofs of houses, exploding in the cham
bers Of the dying, or in %parlours where moth
ers, and daughters, and infant children are
gathered in terror; never did ! so deeply
feel before, the horrors-the unmltlglted lnl-
guilty of war; never before did SO deeply
feel that it was the duty Of every one who
has a voice to speak, or a pen with which 10
write, TO devote all his influence to promote
the abolition of this fend-llke work.
When Napoleon, with his blood-stalned
army, arrived before the walls OF Vienna, he
planted his batteries, and in less than ten
hours, threw three thousand of these horrible
projectiles into the city. Three hundred oil
these bomb-shells exploded every hour, hve
every minute, in the streets and dwellings oil
that crowded metropolis. Who can imagine
The terrors of that dreadful night, when, amid
the thunders Of artillery, the cry and uproar
of c~ontending armies, and CONGREGATIONS brea'
/, king out on every side, those terrible shells
/, like fiery meteors with portentious glare
, were st!eaking the air, and descending Ike
! hail .s'onas upon the deemed cityy CIaea
+ Inc through ths roofs Of the dwellings, they