Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1863-01-09
the same spot across the railroad to which VIC

| the same spot across the railroad to which W.
had seen others taken earlier in the day.
About noon they formed us in line and
marched us off o few hundred yards to 8
house where some Of their higher officers
were preparing to parole us, which they pro
ceeded to do in great haste, doubtless fearing
the arrival of force of Union soldiers The
soldiers, citizens and Government employees
whom they had captured, numbered about q
thousand, should think, and they were
kept busy until nearly night, paroling us, dur
ing which time many Of US who were break
fastless tasted not morsel of food.
While all this was going on there were
squads of rebels securing che country and
every portion of the town, taking prisoners
and robbing and destroying everything be-
longing to the Government they could lay
their hands on. At the depot they burnt
several hundred bales of cotton, the building
itself and adjacent warehouses containing
thousands Of bushels of forage, the elegant
locomotive repair shops, the round house,
turn-table, about forty cars and their freight
ana two locomotives and tenders. They also
burned the armory buildings and two bridges
across Cold Water, about five miles up the
railroad. @N
About the middle Of the afternoon, while
we were waiting to be paroled, the earth was
Jared by one of the most terrific explosions
imaginable, which we have since learned was
the powder magazine and arsenal. The first
great shock was followed by sounds like the
firing of cannon, which proved to be the
bursting of bomb-shels. The arsenal was on
the east side of the public square.
This morning I went up to the court house
to see the destruction they had wrought
The entire square, built up nearly solid, in
which the arsenal was situated, is shoulder
ing mass Of ruins, while on the north side
the destruction is nearly as great, and the
windows of the court house and every other
building in the vicinity of the explosion is
utterly demolished. The streets are strewn
with shingles, pieces of clapboards, cinders,
brickbats, bomb-shells and solid shot. no.
ticed four dead horses lying in the streets,
that had been killed in the action. Truly, it
was picture of desolation.
The number of killed OF either side have
been unable to learn, though am quite sure
the loss is slight. There were quite num-
Der wounded, and I know of three secesh who
bit the dust in the vicinity of our quarters
It is said they lost Lieutenant Colonel.
Their entire force was under the command of
Van Dorm, consisting Of what is known here
as his ''picked cavalry" and I should think
would number about four thousand, though I
have heard various estimates, setting the
number at much higher figure.
After paroling the prisoners they made
haste to leave with the booty, which consist
ed of all manner of Quartermaster' stores
and every other valuable which could be
packed on mules and horses, as we'll as all
the "green backs" contained in the Quarter
masters safes.
BY bed time all was quiet and we went to
bed in our old quarters, not, however, with.
out many misgivings as to what the morrow
would bring forth. This morning the sun
rose bright and warm and the weather is
pleasant and Spring-like, but feeling of Sc
curity and comfort did not return to us until
we saw several regiments of our cavalry and
infantry coming into town.
l noticed this morning among the ruins of
the depot the charred remains of human
being, and have since learned that it was the
corpse of northern soldier that had been
brought there to be shipped home.
n 2