Union County star and Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1859-1864, 1859-12-30
How Portsmouth was Bombarded.


The town of Portsm outb, in the gallan
Granite State, is place Of qlies habits
and commendable decorum, even in thI:
fast age. Thirty years ago, in the course
of examining into the state OF the towni
some of the chaps discovered dozen old
cannous "laying around loose" upon a
wharf close to what vas called Liberty
Bridge, a solitary, unfrequented place at
might, though busy enough by day. Those
guns had been left upon that wharf by a
privateer, at the close Of the War of ISL,
and although they had made some noise
in the world in their day, yet they we're
but "dumb dogs" at that time. luwardly,
they might be termed coustipsted by an
accumulation of dirt and rust, and unit
to 'vomit FORTH" or "bclch' anything, or
indeed to make any effort in that direction.
1t was decided, however, that these "bar-
kers" had been still long enough, aud
their throa:s should be cleaned and allowed
20 speak once more. After many weeks
of hard night toll, the whole dozen guns
were reported in good, clean, reliable con-
dition for public service. In pursuance
of the great rule not to let the left hand
bother the duties of the right, the boys
waited till very dark, drcary night, for
the grand display. Ga such night as
that, about the owlish hour of one, those
twelve guns we're loaded with full three
pounds or more Of powder each the same
were wadded quite up to the mu1Elc with
green grass; twelve slow matches of pro-
portioned lengths were set in full primed
toucbholes and each slow-match was fred
by those twelve dutifal servants Of the
public, who fed to their homes the Instant /,
the deed was done. The reader must
imagine the innocent character and habits
Of the good people Of PortsmOuth-the |
darkness and la:eness Of the hour-the |,
startling nature Of the interruption to
their dreams, to have any sort of concep-
tion of the scenes of confusion and positive !
terror that ensued. The first grn that
thundered upon the sleeping town, walked
about everybody in Portsmouth. After
some ten minutes, the second doomed its
warning of danger a: hand, and half the
nightcaps in town were dOttiug the opened
windows. The third gun, put every soul
into clothing aad a cold sweat the fourth,
filled the streets with excited citizens the
fifth, proved the truth of the report that
the British were bombarding Fort Consti
fulton aud the town; the sixth sent the
Selectmeu into most solemn conclave and /,
deliberation the seventh, found Iusfy Old !
Queens arms and sho,-guns in the hands /.
of volunteers and so on until the firing
ceased, about three of the clock, A. NJ. |
Of course, there was TO more going to bed |
in Portsmouth that night, and DO end to
the reasons for the awful event that had .
occurred. Daylight revealed the whole
story. Every "son of gun had recov
cred more than pristine yigor, under the
peculiar srimulants applied to them. Three
of them had whisked themselves up into
the air, and were found quiet and satisfied
in the road, one Of them half through the /.
venerable bridge; two had reared up and
plunged bodily through an old building
on the wharf; while another, no less frisl;y,
had skipped and gone through an innocent
oyster boat which bad sank under the
nflction. Three OF the excited pieces had
cast themselves into the deep, aud the rest
were scattered in various attitudes about
the wharf. The people were mostly indig-
Dant at first, but became good humored at
last The Selectmen offered large re-
ward for the discovery of the wicked dis
turbers of the public peace and destroyers
ofproperty. Every one Of the crew qusked
many day afterwards, but nothing more
came of it. And that is the way Ports
mouth was bombarded
The "Sawb0nes Exodus"