Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-08-15

| lines. Perhaps twas guubOat that was
blown up. Possibly it Was-the uprOal
| seemed to come from City Point. This
being the unanimous conclusiou,. true to
our reportorial instincts, we Immediately
headed our animals in that direction, in
tent upon ferreting out particulars. From
where we were City Point was distant
about eight miles, and although We were
going toward it, and consequently uni1-
formed on the subject, We were for the
first few miles periodically stopped by
anxious soldiers, teamsters, and suffers,
who wanted to know what it was that eT-
ploded, as we in turn, brimtull of curios-
ity, interrogsted every one we met coming
from the point. The information we CLEAN
ed in this manner was to the effect that
boat containing ammunition had been
blown up, doing an immense amount OF
damage to the wharVes, buildings and
boats in the vicinity, besides killing and
wounding many persons. Intelligence
gained in this manner is usually very
much exaggerated aud otherwise incorrect
but Obi would to Heaven it had been no
worse than represented by our iuformauts
on this occasion. From the faint account
as given us, how poorly prepared we were
to witness the sickening reality. A short
gallop and we were on the spot.
How shall l describe the scene that
greeted my vision2 From the cliff on
which l stood l could at glance take in
the entire vieW-houses partially and com
pletely demolished, tents torn to pieces,
whsryes destroyed, and boats badly bat
tered the ground for hundreds of feet
around strewn with remnants of the wreck
chaotic piles of massive and shivered tim
bers; ordnance and commisssry stores,
1baf hnl
beans, -four, coffee, pickles and amid this
conglomerate mass was to be seen, horrors
of horrors, the remains of human bodies,
mangled, dismembered, shattered and char
red, so that scarce trace remained to show
that they were once men. Even the cliff
which l mentioned, and which is upward
of forty feet high, and some two hundred
feet distant from the waters edge, was
covered with saddles, ruined arms, and
portions cf the wrecked boat. One shat
tered corpse was also found, but had been
removed ere l arrived. Houses on this
elevation were somewhat damaged, but not
seriously.
Casting about me for particulars, I met
a person who, from tugeboat mad wit
messed the explosion and its fearful effects.
The boat on which the accident occurred
was, it appears, the ordnance barge of the
munition, powder, shot and shell, fixed
cartridges for field artillery, musket car
tridges. signal rockets, and, in fact, all
manner of ordnance stores. To guard
against accident, another boat was placed
between it and the pier, so that no one
could go on her whom business did not call
there Another boat lay outside her to
prevent any vessel from hauling alongside.
The explosion, which occurred about IL
o'clock, is described as having been sight
of uncommon grandeur. First appeared a
dense, impenetrable volume Of black smoke
through 1.-THE center of which burst stimuli
taneously fash. so brilliant and so sharp
as to dazzle the eye, while following was
to be seen a rotating circle of pure white
smoke. The air was filled with fragments
of the shivered boats, iutermixed with
kissing shot, she'll, and various other mis-
siles, which had been projected by the tre-
mendous power. When this heterogeneous
shower began to descend it truly seemed
as though heavens artillery had opened on
US. AS may readily be supposed, the
greatest excitement prevailed for some
minutes after; but order was soon restored,
and a systematic plan for assisting the
helpless ones adopted.
First to the deck. Here it was discov-
cred that there were but few to be helped,
as those who were employed near the boat
at the time we're either blown to pieces or
killed outright. Here it was found also,
that of the three barges nothing but frag-
ments were visible. Two had been blown
to atoms and one sunk. All the commits
sary store houses were totally smashed up;
as also all the buildings occupied by the
post office, by Adams and Co.'s Express,
and the harbor master. These latter build
ings were some seventy five feet from the
wharf and across the railroad. On the
railroad was found the keel of one of the
boats, while another portion of her was
discovered on the cliff. In the trees back
of this cliff were found saddles and por-
tious of articles of dress. OF the boats in
the vicinity many were more or less dam
aged. One of the sanitary commission
boats received twenty seven shots through
her hull; one of these passing through a
cabin where clerk was was writing, com
pletely demolished the table he was using.
Three of the clerks of the express company
were sitting in the office, shell fell among
them, exploded, but they were not dam
aged The money packages IN the Office
were strewed liberally around the neigh
borhood, but were nearly or quite all re-
covered. There were but few letters in
the post office, the mail having left about
an hour previously. The working detail
appointed to help the wounded and bury
the dead accomplished the task with great
celebrity. Another detail for the purpose
of removing the debris from the railroad
performed their task admirably in a few
hours The loss will never be correctly
ascertaiued, as there are always some
strangers about the dock aud vicinity.
Had the accident occurred one hour earlier
over one thousand persons must have per
ished, as the mail boat would have beer
there at that time.
MeCLELLAN.