Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-11-08

, The MississiPPiaE Of yesterday contains as
full particulars of the accident as it was possible
to obtain It's list of those known to have been
killed numbers thirty fate unknown, sixteen.
4 Most Of them were women and girls. That
journal says:
About halfpast three o'clock on Wednesday
afternoon, our city was the scene of one of the
most appalling disasters that it was ever our
misfortune to witness, the results Of which are
hesrtTending. At the above hour one of the
buildings, about three squares back Of the Bow
man House, used by the ordnance officers for
the manufacture Of ammunition, exploded with
an awful crash that shook every house in the
| city, and caused the greatest alarm and excite
citement. In an instant astOnishment and nor
rOr was depicted in every face, and soon hum
dreds were running with bresthless haste to the
! locality of the sad occurrence. A scene here
met the eye that caused the stoutest hesrt to
quail The two-stOry brick building used as 6
| lsbTatorY was blown to the smallest atoms, and
| the debris were scattered for several hundred
yards around. All the men and women en-
ployed in the building at the time had been
hurled to instantaneous destruction. ShOckingly
mangled bodies Of both sexes lay around in the
most frightful and horrible position, besides
biackened and disfgUre5 so as to almost defy
identity as human beings One man had leg
torn off and his brains literally blown out. The
body Of a poor girl was hanging by one foot to
the limb of Hes she was evidently dead, but
her clothes were still burning. Other bodies
were blown to the distance of from fifty to one
hundred and fifty yards, and presented mu-
tilated and most shocking appearance. The
packages of powder and shells were yet con-
tinualiy exploding, as the fire of the burning
ruins reached them, and many who attempted
to 90 nearer, in order to render assistance, if
needed, were thus warned to desist until the
danger was over.
The IRE engine wss promptly on the ground,
but could not do much owing to the want of
water.
In a short time many.of the friends and reIa-
tives Of the unfortunate victims were on the
spot, and scenes of the most affecting and heart
rendiDg character took place as the awful fatality
was known. Several surgeons and humane
gentlemen endesvoTed 10 find some who had not
been killed outright, but the only one we saw
who seemed to have any chance of recovery was
a sentinel-his thigh was broken and he was
Otherwise wounded. He was carefully placed |
on a cot and borne off by friends Another SEN
tiuel, about one hundred yards or more from the |
explosion, vas hit in the face by flying brick, |
and but slightly injured. james Carnes, car
penter, was also slightly hurt in the side These |
three were the only ones outside the building |
who were hurt.
The officers in charge of the arsenal ere, we |
learn, Colonel P. Stockton, Captain W. Tames, !
Lieutenant R. S. Kinney and Captain H. Fisher |
Colonel Stockton had fortunately Just been called
away Captain Tames and Captain Fisher were |
luckily not in the immediate vicinity of the ex-
plOsion, and Lieutenant Kinney was providen- !
tally absent, sick in his room. At the time of /
the explosion, the laboratory held oRly few |
hundred rounds of fixed ammunition, and about |
two hundred pounds of powder, so that the pecu- !
mary loss Is quite inconsideTabe. The cause
that led to this trsgical occurrence must like |
others of similar nature, remain a mystery |
Il is most positively known that there was |
no FIRE within several hundred feet of the |
laboratory, aad no satisfactory account can |
ever be given of the cause of this direful ca |
lamity. The officers mentioned, are well known |
to be skillful, experienced and cautious, and the
employees had often been warned of the danger |
Gus character of the material they worked with |
only two out of twenty-one young women are |
known to be Ssved-twenty- nine bodies, through |
the humane exertiOns of the mayor and his at |
tendants, have been gathered together for burial |
Some Of them have not been recognized, so Sc |
verely have their features and bodies been dis |
tOTtsd. The other buildings of the arsenal were |
comparatively uninj jgred, but some OF the dwell |
ings in the immediate vicinity were considerably
damaged. Their occupants had = wonderful |
escape, and were terror stricken for hours after
the occurrence. While our community mourns
over the sad reality Of the f1ghtful destruction
Of life, we are all seriously reminded Of the
great uncertainty of human affairs. We trust
that we may never again have to relate such
sgonizing details of the loss of human beings
The unparalleled fact of the greater portion Of
the victims being helpless women, is dreadful
indeed, and serves to make this the most truly
melancholy record we ever pennsa. Owing to
the confusion and excitement in the city, we
were unable sooner to give our readers anything |
like definite statement of this sad and lsmenta- |
Bile sifair.