, 1861-12-18
TIE FIRE AT CHARLESTON.
Extent OF the De8tructIon-SaYen NIL
Hon Dollars sOcstroyed~-TheE Eoufed-
crates Vote Relief.

FORTRESS HoSRoE, Dec 16-Norfolk and
Richmond papers give full particulars Of the
extensive eondagration in Charleston, South
Carolina. The fire broke out the 11th Inst,
in sash and blind factory at the foot Of Hazsl
street, extending to the machine shop Of CAM
eron d Co. Before midnight the tire had as
sumed IN appalling magnitude, and Meeting
street, from Market to Queen, was mass Of
flames. As tenement after tenement Wis en-
yeloped in fIanles the panic became awful and
thousands Of families evacuated their houses
and filed the streets. The buildings il tic
lower part Of the city, where tile ire broke
out, we're principally Of wood and extremely
infamable, which accounts for the remarkably
rapid progress OF the fire.
At midnight the Circular Church and lnsti-
tute Hall were burning, and the proximity Of
the flames to the Charleston Hotel and the
Mills House caused them to be evacuated by
their inmates. At one o'clock the fire tended
more southwark towards the corner Of Arch
dale and Queen streets, to the rear Of the
Charleston Hotel, and to the end Of Home
street Crossing Market street, ths fire spread
down East Bay to Cumberland street.: and
ACROSS to the Mills Horse, Including i It's de-
straction the Circular Church, Institute Hotel
and the Charleston Hotel. ALI the buildings
| on King street, from Clifford zcsfd5 to Broad,
were destroyed before O'Clock.
| Gen. Ripley, who superintendent the move
| ments Of the troops, VINO arrived at the scene
! about this time, ordered several buildings On
{ the route Of the condagration to be blown up,
| After some delay, the order was executed, bat
| not before the theatre, LORDS coach factory,
| oppo=ite the Express Office, the old Executive
building, and all the houses from this point to
| Queen street, had caught fire and were dc5-
| troyed. At about O'Clock the wind changed
| the direction Of the flames towards Broad
! street. Soon after ST. Andrew Hall took fire,
| and subsequently, the Cathedral, the spirc Of
| which fell shortly after o'clock.
| The fire made clean sweep thronmh the
I ma ;pyf ffs fr1rE fr0tr ~ to mr.
| street..
| The Charleston Co,.rie,. Of the 18Th inst,
| gives list Of between go and 800 sufferers,
and says that tlr loss Is estimated at from s.,
C1o, Geo to $, ,0O0,0GO.
Afr. Russell, at whose factory the fire origi
mated, thinks that it must ha5e been occasion-
ed by an lncGn1iary OF the negligence Of the
negroes: Tie Mills House is only slightly
damaged
A message was sent to the Confederate Con-
grcsE On Friday night By President Davis in
| relation to the contl1gF1tion ut Charleston,
recommending an appropriation in a1d Of the
sufferers. 4 resolution was accordingly unan-
| imously adopted by the Congress, approprs-
ating 800, ,0OU as an advance on account of the
claims Of South Carolina upon the Confeder-
ate States
The Churches destroyed were the Roman
Catholic Cathedral, st. Peters {Episcopal}
Church, the Cumberland Street Church, the
Methodist Church and the Circular Church.
/ LIE Iu4ilEStuH -AeFEH9Y ssls5 u&LH-cEftL
buildings we're destroyed by the fire.
Gen. Pope Blowing ON Lexington. ITO,
-Great NeNBE1peeteu.
ST.. Lou1s, no, Dec. 17.-Correspoudenc
| OF the st. Louis Densocrut, dated Upton, 18th
says that on the previous day orders were re-
ceiyed here for all the forces ut this post Il
hold themselves in readiness to march at {
moments notice At the sa1ue time, Gen
Pope, commanding the Department Of Cen
I 1f r-41 ~.
troops in winter quarters at 0tterville, ,marchet
westward wards WarTrnsbur;., for the pur
pose, as is generally believed here, Of cutting
o1f Price, whom our scents reported n1aiiuE
| forced MARCHES to reach Generals Raius an,
Stein, now in the Entertainments II Licking
ton. Everybody is on the qui yiye TOR start
ling and good news rs universal confidence /
iclt il The ability Of Gen. Pope aud his army