Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1854-07-08
v YESTERDAYS MAILS.
TERRIBLE CALAMITY !
81 FyTy-EsGHT PERSONS KILLED!
..,,,pry.TnREE SERIOUSLY INJURED.

,d deal of sensation was created In our
=. \ .a.osterday morning, by the intelligence that
oin ,;bIe accident occurred on Tuesday. ON the
tefiiJb ,nna Railroad to two trains returning
sas l.asure excursion to Riders Grove. The
iron;; oore American furnishes the following
basa of the accident, written by an -witness
..At % minutes past O'Clock, Tuesday after
the regular train for York left Calvert sta
noo"' consisting of four passenger cars and Il
ton, ,e car-all with the exception of the last
oaee yere filed with passengers. Mr. William
g" was conductors accompanied by Mr.. Hol-
SUI IA other officers of the road, who were re-
w. ;.;nr to Riders Grove to assist III the arrange
Us for the safe return of the excursionists.-
nea.r;vine at the Relay House. the York train
on.ardinp to orders.proceeded to lay off on the
IN Spring switch. The instructions were
93s.;t should there wait until the excursion tran
ma' nassed The express train from DIRK,
Of tta'" !, the day, which had been thrown out
da due e"' vos waiting at the Relay, and after it
oil tiiii'' "a dawn towards Baltimore. we waited
nae a,oursion train, OF about sixteen cars,
1of oto ~ excess, which passed down without
efo""e a,, information to the cundtctor that two
gyms "; we're coming, which unfortunately
neoved to be the case.
r ,rhe road being now supposed 10 DC clear, the
wi. train again took the mann track, and pro-
to' OH On and had scarcely cot fully under
.uhDn
E sep55n,a, and about mile from Riders, ter
t ~ oro IL accompanied by a rush of steam,
lip'. .ht all who were injured to their feet, and
,oS9oaninr from the wrecked cars, most heart
,d;ng scene presented itself, that it is impossi
hla ~ describe in all its horrors.
w tsn,od;atelv in advance of us was train con
s;stnp of two passenger cars and the ten bur
,hen cars, which had been fitted up to carry pas
.an,ors all of which were filled to overflow. The
i,eomotiye was backing down towards Baltimore,
.,;tl the tender in front and the two passenger
aars Of the head of the train. The locomotive
20, tbe York train was going ahead in its usual
nas,tion. and although neither train was moving
II nm extra speed, the two passenger cars at the
Laad of the Excursion train offered but little re-
";stonce. and were completely crushed together,
.Lo roar ear passed entirely through the fore
aast one. Both being filled with passengers,th
destruction of life and limb was almost unpre-
oedented. - =,
dc doad diving and wounded, all wedged togeth
~ IA ono mass with the fragments of the car and
tho seats. so compactly that it required half
ha,r,s time and the use of axes TO rescne the
,ronpded A number of females and children
were taken out from among the dead, scarcely
;,;nred whilst through the floor of the car could
he seen the protruding limbs of some who had
been instantly struck dead.
Among the dead in the centre OF this car was
Mrs. Robinson, named in list be 'ow, young and
beantful woman and Henry Clay Jeffers the
son of Madison Jeffers,a bright and beautiful boy,
the bodies of whom were SO wedged among the
fragments of the two cars. which had been run
through each other like telescope that 1t was
impos sible to extricate them without hauling off
the fragments of the upper car by the locomotive,
which was also necessary to release the large
number of unfortunate creatures who stlll re-
NAMED wedged between the forward cars, some
still alive and others dead. In removing the
cars Mrs. Robinson's body was literally torn to
pieces but in the effort to recover those IN whom
life still remained, 1t becomes necessary 10 as
regard the dead.
On all the platforms of the wrecked cars the
obstruction of life and limb was immense, and the
cars being so closely wedged together it was ut
tery impossible for more than an hour, to relieve
anv Of them, although the screams of the suffer
ers caused the most superhuman exertons for
their succor.
On the platform at the head of the Excursion
train, four men were caught by the tore-part OF
the enpine two of whom were instantly Killed.
and the other two were fast by their limbs, suff-
ernp the most excruciating agony, and almost
roasted by the smoke-pipe of the locomotive
They both tainted from exhaustion before they
could be rescued, requiring more than an hour OF
incessant labor. One of them subsequently
died.
Two or three were instantly killed also ON the
front platform of the York train, one OF whom
was BENJAMIN Merryman, the baggage master,
who met death standing at his post at the break,
endeavorng to check the destruction:
The shrieks of the women and children over
the bodies of their husbands and fathers, and over
I'll g wounded. were enough TO eppal the stoutest
heart Several of those who were crushed ON
the platforms had their wives with them, whose
appeals for their rescue were 1ncessant. The
wife of Martin Boyd was compelled to stand and
see her husband die from heat and exhaustion and
his body subsequently lie for an hour on the rear
of the hrebox of the locomotive.
Another wife was wailing over the mutlated BODY
of her husband, Il consuming herself for having
persuaded him. against his better judgment, to
join in the excursion
Messengers were sent to the city, Immediately
after the accident, for relief, and number of ply
scians, whose names we did not ascertain, were
soon on the ground, and also were number from
the vicinity. who labored unremttlngly to relieve
the sufferings of the Observation-Disclosures strewn
about
The trains from the city did moi, however, reach
the scene of the accident until after O'Clock in
the evening, at which time there were about 5000
awaiting conveyance home, all the excursionsts
having arrived from the of their fest vities
at the scene of death. The first train carried in
the women and children, and the second the woun.
ded who where all taken to the infirmary for med
ical assistance, and reached the city about ~
O'clock at hight some of them suffering intense
y.
Not less than q thousand of those that escaped
injury walked home by the Falls Road, many
carrying their children in their arms through heat
and dust for nine miles.
The dead bodies were brought in about clock